Meya , interesting thing about sock drawer cards...when I called 1st Premier Bank, I asked them when I pay off the card could i pay the monthly fee in full for the year. They said no it does not work that way. If I don't pay the $6 monthly fee , there would be nothing to report to the CB's....now I see why...good advise..

Our scores bounces like balls daily. Utilization and closed accounts keeps them bouncing (like from the results yoyo just mentioned). Mines bounces because I am using them more often than I used to, especially in the summer because I take my kids on vacations. If you are not going to apply anytime soon, don't worry about them dropping, that is natural. After you begin to focus on your credit on a daily basis you are going to soon not pay attention to your scores as much because you know that you are doing the right thing. Another thing, "Sock drawer" cards will also freeze your scores because they are not showing on-time payments, but it also helps out with history. The 3 cb's has their own method of how they move scores, don't let it bother you buddie, just keep doing what you are doing and you will be a 700 club warrior like you want to. I have came close but slid right back down to the low 600's again...lol:cool:

Hmmm, your credit to debt ratio might have went down. My score started to rise when I've notice my total card balances went from 11% to 46%. In a few months..your score should change. And of course I stop using the cards...hope this helps.

yes i am going to hold on to the 5 i have i don't want any more
but one thing i am lost about my score was in the mid and high 600's before i got the cap1 and the aspire and never late and never missed a payment and i am still trying to find out why my scores dropped there was nothing new on my credit report but the two cards for the year and i got them with the mail offer. has any one had that happen ?

I think your scores in the upper 500's and lower 600's reflect those of a lot of people on this board.

You may want to try out Hooter's Mastercard. I was right around 600 when I was approved.

Also, if you already opened 3 accounts this month, you might want to chill after that...and expect your score to drop by 30 or so points - to rebound 6-12 months from now.

thanks thats some good updated info
Meya did one something like you did just now but that was back in 2007 and a lot has changed.

You know what, I did put a posting in here for you with the link that was just provided. What happend to it? Humm, well anyway, thanks RivasGlo!

Hi mousepad, the cards you mentioned is still available and are not outdated. The creditors has asked FG to remove thier "Apply" (or do not offer our card from this site at this present moment type of sayings)access from their site. They do this from time to time and they do come back. You will just have to go to the original creditors site to apply or walk in the store.

I have heard some people tell me that some original sites has messages saying "No longer offered" or "link can not be found". Focus on your current cards, push for cli's, call the back door numbers if you have to, stay within your credit limit, and pay on time because that is going to build your scores.

Sometimes creditors approve people with credit scoes well lower than yours and deny some with scores well higher than yours, so don't be surprised when Target slams the door in your face on the first, second, third, or fourth try.

Which type of cards are you looking for? Like Brian1 mentioned, get your feet wet with bofa or wells fargo unsecured cards. This is exactly what I am going to do soon, and I with that, I am going to start closing my subprimed cards when I begin to get the teir one cards.

How am I a junior member? I was one of the original 5 members of Finance Globe along with Meya! Oh well, it's been about a year since I signed on the network, but anyways I know my stuff.

You know you are an OG here, no one has forgotten you. The site has changed twice since you been gone, and what "junior member" stands for is acording to your active postings.

OK here is where i stand as of now i have
cap1 at 1000 1yr
Aspen at 750 1yr
Macy's 300 this month
best buy 300 this month
orchard 300 this month still waiting for it in the mail and i don't think i am going to keep it.

Experian 629
Equifax 548
TransUnion 576

How am I a junior member? I was one of the original 5 members of Finance Globe along with Meya! Oh well, it's been about a year since I signed on the network, but anyways I know my stuff.

Mousepad!

First thing you need to do is get your scores.(all 3) Go to myfico.com and get the numbers. You may have a higher scores than you think. If you are at rock bottom, get a secured card from Bank of America. It's the best deal and they change it to unsecured after a year. The most common offer is 99/500. You give them $99 and they offer you $500 in credit. I don't recommend the Orchard cards, they are a good start but you get all kinds of fees. Another good secured card to get is Wells Fargo, this is available in a limited number of states only. They will switch you to unsecured also. There are a lot of cards you can get, namely store cards with a low score but everyone has a max number of cards and amount of credit they will get in total. Most depends on your income. If you make 20k a year, you'll never have 100k in credit card money available. Don't waste a card slot on something you won't use. Best example is the walmart card. These guys will give you $150 limit and you'll have that limit for up to 2 years before you get an increase. I pay $150 on gas a week, it's a waste to get this card. Only store card I would consider getting but don't have is something like best buy card backed by hsbc. Like most banks though, Hsbc is very strict as to not allow anyone to have more the 2 cards from them. You fill a slot with best buy and won't get that hsbc weekend card down the line. Point is, if you have low scores and you getting offers from first premier, don't take it just to have a card, it's well worth it to get a big bank card and build up. The increases come faster and you build a portfolio for their other products. Personal example is I went to Bank of America a few years ago, opened a savings account with 3k. I had the account for 4 months and closed it and switched banks. I applied for a credit card from them two months later and they gave me my highest limit at the time of 6k. The next highest limit at the time was 2,500 from washington mutual. I had 620 at the time. The card I got was the power rewards card, later switched over to a worldpoints, which is one of their best cards. They looked at the history I had with them even though the credit score was borderline. Prior to the Bank of American and Wamu card, I started off with the Total card from Plains Commerce. I've had that card for 5 years now, initially I had a 300 limit. 5 years later I have a 350 limit and I still pay $6 a month on an annual fee!. This is just taking up a card slot but I won't cancel because I have 5 years of good payment history. Had this been a 99/500, I would be unsecured with about a 3k limit. Oh well, I'm trying to get another a house soon so I'm not touching anything on the credit file. I'll get the new place and weed out the less desirables. Learn from my experience, I'm here to help.

yea thats the same with me my longest 2 cards i had them a year

Mousepad...a lot has changed because of the mortgage crisis etc..however..remain positive, once you're ready to control your credit..doors will open. My longest card history is about 1 year 3 months..not long ..but it is when someone is trying to take charge of their finances. I wish I started way before now,..but I can't look at the past only the future...which looks pretty from here...

thanks thats some good updated info
Meya did one something like you did just now but that was back in 2007 and a lot has changed.

Well Mousepad...do you have an Orchard/HSBC/Household bank card...they are all the same company. And you can only have two accounts with them. The Orchard $500 was for a short time only and the cards above does have annual fees of $29 to $ 79 which lowers your Credit Limit....however good to rebuilding your credit. The card mentioned above does not have a good increases ...only after a year of having the card. (posted on this site). They were the first bank ever to give me a card after my BK. My score was around 350..thats pretty low.

Then I got the 1st Preimer bank cards which i don't recommend because of the monthly fees and annual fees, start up fees..once you get the orginial $250 limit, when you get the card it has about $75 after the fees are taken out. However, they do report every month..again increasing your overall score.

My choices are]

1.Orchard/HSBC/Household (go online and get a pre-approval)
2.Captial One (goone line and get a pre-approval)
Hooters....most people get this card issued by merrick bank.
3.Direct Merchants Discover card issued by HSBC..apply for a regular
Discover and if you get declined, you might get a preapproval for this card. (there is an annual fee).

4.Bank secured cards, Bank of America, Washingtion Mu and Citibank.
(within a year it turns to a un secured card with a good CLI)
the Bank of America card have a $99/500 secured card...so when you apply for a regular visa and get declined you might get a pre approval for this card. Once they get the $99 from you , they will issue you a card with a $500 limit. (NO BK's )

5.Tribute (see card reviews)
6.Salute (see card reviews)
They have very high fees annual $150 and monthly fees, however they give you CLI without asking at no addtional cost.

7.Target Red...go to the store...I got decline online and went into the store a week later and got approved.

Remember inquires are take off between 3 to 10 points off your score if you already have too many. So apply for the pre-approval first, those are soft hits...hope this helps..

i understand that but my thing is all the credit card info on the main site is so outdated with old ratings about the fair and poor credit cards and it leads one into thinking that they have a chance at getting one of these cards. and alot of the cards are not even offered anymore.
like this
"not offered anymore or not a poor credit card"
Chevron® Basic Card not offered anymore
Orchard Bank Gold MasterCard not offered anymore
Target REDcard Store Card not for poor credit
JCPenney Card not for poor credit
Dillards’s Credit Card not for poor credit
Best Buy Credit Card not for poor credit
Texaco Credit Card not offered anymore
Chevron Premium Card not offered anymore
Orchard Bank $500 Line MasterCard not offered anymore
Wal-Mart Credit Card not for poor credit


and the list goes on