Its a no go :(

[mommy2_3]

well we got our letter from Chase saying that we were not approved for a Disney Visa because our credit was to low. i dont get it? we make mortage payments to our bank so i know they report to the credit bureo and i called the place we got our van from and they also report. so how can our credit be to low? how can we get it higher? will it go up more once our van is paid off? we have never, not one time been late on a mortage or car payment or any bill for that matter (even though electric, gas, cable, ect.. doesnt report to the credit bureo). we always pay our mortage and car a week or two before its due. only one time have we paid on the due date. our mortage is $426 but DH like to round up so we pay $430. we dont have any other credit cards. i just dont get it. my sister who has no credit got a card from capital one. we tried them to and didnt get approved. so any ideas on how to boost up our credit score? we dont have bad credit, just low credit. if it helps any we bought our house in Aug. '07 and our car in july '08.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I'd start by getting copies of your credit reports to make sure they are accurate. You can get them at annualcreditreport.com - you can request from all three bureaus. You may have been turned down because you have no other credit cards. You can also request your credit score, but I think you will need to pay for that. (There may be different rules since you were denied credit.) I'm not sure what credit score is necessary for a Disney Visa.

It sounds like you are doing what you should to raise your credit score - paying the amount due or more on time every month. I think there is a part of your score that relates to credit card accounts specifically (revolving credit vs. installment loans like a mortgage or car payment) - you will get dinged on that for having no history.

Here is the info on how your score is determined:

http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/WhatsInYourScore.aspx

 

[NonScents]

Check your letter declining the credit card; there should be info there as to how you can get a copy of your credit report that they used to determine their decision. I believe you can get it for no charge, at least once a year.

There may be info on there you are not aware of, outdated/incorrect reporting or even someone else's bad reports or ID theft that worked against you. At any rate you will have more info and then would know where to start. Hope it works out ok for you.

 

[JenGC]

I have found that there are ways that your credit score is low without you doing a thing (i.e. past due payments). If you owe close to your credit line, then that hits your score. For instance, you said you have a house note and a car note. Well those dont have a set amount of credit. They say you owe this and that is all. It is unlike a credit card where you have a credit line of $1,000 but you owe $50. So they base part of your score on how much credit you have vs. how much you owe. So lets say you have no credit cards, you are 1:1 which is kinda bad. I have more of a $5,000 credit vs $500 owed so I have a 5000:5 or 1000:1 ratio (I think that is right. The point is, I have accessable MUCH more than I have borrowed).

I also found out that if I have a credit card that is closed due to inactivity, that shows as a closed credit card which hits your score as well. I was told to open all credit cards (i.e. department store credit cards) and charge one charge, pay it off, and leave it alone. That bumps up your credit:borrowed ratio as well as take off "closed" accounts.

I hope that helps!!

Jen

 

[mommy2_3]

well i just looked at hubbys report. our auto loan and mortage both have ok as payment and late payments as 0. all which is correct. i looked over everything and everything looks as it should be. no other accounts or anything. everything is as it should be. we had taken out 3 loans in the past (1 is current now). first one was 2 years ago for christmas. got it paid off on time and thats what it shows. 2nd one was just a few hundred that we needed and that was also paid off (way before the due date). that one was a car title loan. and now we have another one that we only owe like $75 but DH wants to pay it off little by little to try and get his credit up more. so by the time Aug. gets here we will have paid off car and that little loan. so i was thinking of reapplying then. but i dont know if that would make much of a difference. we are going to try first a secured CC where we have to put down a deposit. maybe then we can get one!

 

[mommy2_3]

I have found that there are ways that your credit score is low without you doing a thing (i.e. past due payments). If you owe close to your credit line, then that hits your score. For instance, you said you have a house note and a car note. Well those dont have a set amount of credit. They say you owe this and that is all. It is unlike a credit card where you have a credit line of $1,000 but you owe $50. So they base part of your score on how much credit you have vs. how much you owe. So lets say you have no credit cards, you are 1:1 which is kinda bad. I have more of a $5,000 credit vs $500 owed so I have a 5000:5 or 1000:1 ratio (I think that is right. The point is, I have accessable MUCH more than I have borrowed).

I also found out that if I have a credit card that is closed due to inactivity, that shows as a closed credit card which hits your score as well. I was told to open all credit cards (i.e. department store credit cards) and charge one charge, pay it off, and leave it alone. That bumps up your credit:borrowed ratio as well as take off "closed" accounts.

I hope that helps!!

Jen

well how are we supposed to get a card in the first place when we keep getting declined? we have tried disney chase, walmart, and capital one. kinda hard to build credit with a CC when no one will give you a CC.

 

[stichy]

They probably declined you due to having no credit history of unsecured debt. They want to see that you have a willingness to pay something that you won't lose anything if you don't pay. You need a more established credit history. I was a credit analyst for a major cc company for years and established credit card history was a big thing that we looked for.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

You might try to get a department store card first. The interest rates tend to be very high on those cards, so if you choose to get one, use it for small purchases that you would typically pay cash or use a debit card for, then pay it off in full each month. It will show you can handle unsecured debt and will increase your score. Then try for a Disney Visa six months or so later (not sure if six months is long enough, but someone here will know).

 

[It'sWDW4me]

well how are we supposed to get a card in the first place when we keep getting declined? we have tried disney chase, walmart, and capital one. kinda hard to build credit with a CC when no one will give you a CC.

Welcome to the Catch 22!!

You may have to start with a department store (Sears, Kohl's, Fashion Bug, etc) or a gas station card or even a secured credit card. Do you have an account or can you open an account with a credit union? Maybe you could get a low-limit card through a credit union....

Good luck - it's hard to break into that circle of "denied a cc because of lack of cc history".

 

[MomToOne]

Pay myfico.com for a 1 time check of your credit score. You should only need to get one score - you don't need to get both Equifax and TransUnion. Although they may be a bit different, they should be in the same ballpark. You are just trying to get a feel here.

Once you have a credit score, it will be easier to identify what credit cards you are eligible for. Some cards require good to excellent credit, others only require fair credit, even from the same bank. Here's a website that identifies credit cards that you would qualify for based on your score: http://www.financeglobe.com/ScoreMatch/. I suggest picking 30 as your range (since you may actually have better credit than the "recommended" score for some cards, and this will help pick those up).

 

[lovesmurfs]

To establish credit, you might want to look into a secured credit card (i.e. you deposit $1000 and they give you a card with that limit).

I don't know if it affects credit score, but I know creditors don't like to see a lot of open applications for credit -- it sounds like you've tried a lot of credit card places in a short period of time, which might be taken into account as well.

If you've made it this far without credit, I'd recommend continuing to pay cash, though. I have three credit cards I can't WAIT to be rid of.

 

[aggielawyer]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but why are you trying so hard to get a credit card? It sounds like you've done pretty well so far without one, so I don't understand. I haven't had one in almost 5 years--call me old-fashioned, but I'm a 'save up and pay cash' type of girl. I got burned by a store card once and it made me so angry I promised myself I wouldn't deal with cc companies ever again.

 

[budbeerlady]

Just as an option they do have a Disney Chase debit card from Chase bank if you dont want to mess with a credit card.

 

[disneygirl 17]

I assume the OP wants the card because they keep offering money for you to get it.

I noticed you said you have a loan that is "current now" - Does that mean it hasn't always been current? because if it hasn't all been current then that could be part of the low score.

 

[Mkaz]

Is it possible that your debt to income ratio is preventing you from being approved?

 

[bumbershoot]

I have heard that Chase has been, and is especially now, the toughest to get.

we have tried disney chase, walmart, and capital one.

In what span of time did you apply for all of those? Could be the reason!

Do you have an account or can you open an account with a credit union? Maybe you could get a low-limit card through a credit union....

I would do that. In fact, hubby DID do that!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but why are you trying so hard to get a credit card? It sounds like you've done pretty well so far without one, so I don't understand.

I completely agree with the question and the statement that you've been doing just fine.

Just as an option they do have a Disney Chase debit card from Chase bank if you dont want to mess with a credit card.

Yep, and you're offered the same exact deals for Disney!

 

[ForAandA]

We have a Disney debit rewards card from Chase. Since we use our debit card to pay for everythin (utilities, groceries, gas, etc) we get points. The card is linked to our checking and savings accounts.

That's good enough for us!

 

[mommy2_3]

I assume the OP wants the card because they keep offering money for you to get it.

I noticed you said you have a loan that is "current now" - Does that mean it hasn't always been current? because if it hasn't all been current then that could be part of the low score.

well yes we really dont need a CC, but it would be nice to establish our credit and have it for emergnacies. of course we would make a purchase once a month to keep it active. when i say current loan that just means that we took out a small loan about 2 months ago and still making payments on it (cause DH refuses to just pay it off even though we have the money too)

 

[mommy2_3]

thanks for all the info! i think we will just go with the disney chase debit card. it would be nice to get a CC, but i think we will try and apply again later in the future after i grad. from college.

 

[JenGC]

I also think it could be trying so many places to get a credit card. Each time you apply for a credit card, your credit takes a hit. You do it more than once in a certain amount of time, then it is hard on your credit. Yes if you are wanting disney/chase rewards, a debit card might must be the best avenue.

When I started getting credit, I also started with a department store. After 6-8 months, get another one. I applied for a Macy's department store cc because they were going to give me like 20% off my purchase, I ended up getting a Visa as well (VERY confusing because I was trying to pay my department store CC and was calling the wrong number....Visa's number....and they kept saying that I had a zero balance! I said "I Have the statement right here! they said "oh. that is your DEPARTMENT store cc"...like they need two different places?? arg!)