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Bank of America Secured Card

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I just opened my bank account in Bank of America. Bank of America offered their secured card.

Reading the brochure, it says there that the amount you deposited determine your available credit.

Is getting Bank of America Secured card a good way to start building your credit?

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May 2, 2009 EAD card received in the mail

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ROC Process

March 1, 2011 Mailed I-175 Application via Express Mail

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That's a good way to start building a credit history. you might shop around to see if there are any with lower or no annual fee and lower APR.

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Used to be getting a Sears Credit Card was the way to start building credit.

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Will try to look around. I will take note of the annual fee and APR. Thanks

That's a good way to start building a credit history. you might shop around to see if there are any with lower or no annual fee and lower APR.

Used to be getting a Sears Credit Card was the way to start building credit.

I will inquire with Sears. Would explore this option. There is a sewing machine i want to buy from Sears for my mom. :)

Thanks.

K1 Process:

May 1, 2008 Submitted I-129F to CSC

May 8, 2008 Received by CSC

May 9, 2008 NOA1

May 18, 2008 Touched

October 9, 2008 RFE

October 28, 2008 RFE Reply

October 29, 2008 Touched

October 30, 2008 Touched

November 1, 2008 NOA2 (HardCopy)

November 11, 2008 Letter from NVC (Hardcopy)

November 14 & 17, 2008 Medical (Passed)

November 26, 2008 Interview (Passed)

December 5, 2008 Visa Received

December 23, 2008 US Entry (POE: Hawaii)

February 7, 2009 Private Wedding

AOS Process:

March 9, 2009 Mailed AOS Application via Express Mail (I-485, I-765, I-131)

March 10, 2009 USPS confirmed that AOS application was delivered and received in Chicago

March 18, 2009 Received NOA for AOS, EAD and AP

April 8, 2009 Biometrics Done

April 27, 2009 AP Approved

May 1, 2009 AP received in the mail

May 2, 2009 EAD card received in the mail

May 29, 2009 AOS interview (Approved)

June 29, 2009 GC received

ROC Process

March 1, 2011 Mailed I-175 Application via Express Mail

March 4 ,2011 NOA for I-175

April 05,2011 Biometrics [Early Biometrics March 22, 2011]

April 21,2011 Approval

April 27,2011 10 Year Green Card Received

Naturalization Process

March 6, 2012 Mailed N-400 Application via Express Mail

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its funny how they say start w/ dept. store credit like sears, jc penny, target, macy's etc! lol...

when our dryer broke, we thought that its time to get a new one. and my hubby told me that maybe i should get a sears card coz thats the best way to build your credit if you dont have a credit. lol... so i drove to sears alone. shopping for a dryer and then asked if i can get a card... they ran all my infos and in the end, it says i have insufficient credit or no credit history and thats why i cant have it lol... so i thought hmmm ok... again, we love best buy and all our entertainment appliances came from best buy (most of it) so i thought i'll get a card there. same thing they wont let me coz of the same reason/s... and that goes on to macy's even walmart, target, home depot you name it... i did all those coz they said its the best way to start... never happened... so i end up trying to apply bank of america, the american express card and i do have a checking and savings account from them. to my surprised, they gave me a $1000 credit line... and now i have a $750 credit line from capital one (which is not that great coz of their APR. but as long as you pay on time, its great)... ive receive tons of mails from other credit card company that im pre-approved blah blah blah... thats good but who needs a lot of credit cards... just watch out for the surcharges... some say you're pre-approved but then you got to pay the annual fee or the approval fee and other fees they're trying to charge you... zero APR for a yr is always good!

good luck and God bless!

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capital one is best for starters ;) they offer small credit limit 300 and if you are a good payer..youll increase every 6months.. :star:

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try bankrate.com - they have a huge list of cc offerings for every type of person.

************

it is true the dept store CCs are issued by a bank most of the time.... i think that is why it was said above that "it used to be" a matter of going to sears.



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I just got my first credit card from Bank of America Platinum Card to build up my credit with no annual fee and 0% APR. They approved me instantly. I have 0 credit and my credit limit is $3000.

I was very surprised to find out that my credit limit is $3000 with 0 credit and jobless. I don't know if having me as second holder to my husband credit cards helps build up my credit, probably not since its under my husband SSN not mine.

If you pay your credit card full each month or more than the minimum payment or on time helps build up your credit.

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Used to be getting a Sears Credit Card was the way to start building credit.

Sears has gone in the crapper over the past few years :blink:

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My wife was able to get a card right away through her work as they have a bank for their employees, not to say you have that ability. But they said that the thing to do to increase the amount you can have for a line of credit is to be a prompt payer of balances.

pay them off before interest is accrued, and it will quickly be noted in your history as being assertive, and is looked upon as being a secure credit holder which is very important right now considering the fact that foreclosures, and such are at an all time high. It is unfortunate at the same time that banks can now change interest rates, and dividends at their leisure without prior warning with the new guidelines, and loan security requirements.

So shop around, and constantly monitor the rate as it can change.

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I think you did just fine with that decision. I would also suggest joining our own, local, Arizona Federal Credit Union. You only need deposit $25 to start a savings account with them. Since they are run for their members, they're rates are lower, and it's generally easier to deal with them on loans and other accounts. It's nice to get a montly dividend into my account, also. The more you have on deposit with them, the higher the dividend.

Just a thought... :)

Moving on w/life

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its funny how they say start w/ dept. store credit like sears, jc penny, target, macy's etc! lol...

when our dryer broke, we thought that its time to get a new one. and my hubby told me that maybe i should get a sears card coz thats the best way to build your credit if you dont have a credit. lol... so i drove to sears alone. shopping for a dryer and then asked if i can get a card... they ran all my infos and in the end, it says i have insufficient credit or no credit history and thats why i cant have it lol... so i thought hmmm ok... again, we love best buy and all our entertainment appliances came from best buy (most of it) so i thought i'll get a card there. same thing they wont let me coz of the same reason/s... and that goes on to macy's even walmart, target, home depot you name it... i did all those coz they said its the best way to start... never happened... so i end up trying to apply bank of america, the american express card and i do have a checking and savings account from them. to my surprised, they gave me a $1000 credit line... and now i have a $750 credit line from capital one (which is not that great coz of their APR. but as long as you pay on time, its great)... ive receive tons of mails from other credit card company that im pre-approved blah blah blah... thats good but who needs a lot of credit cards... just watch out for the surcharges... some say you're pre-approved but then you got to pay the annual fee or the approval fee and other fees they're trying to charge you... zero APR for a yr is always good!

good luck and God bless!

Thank you for sharing your experience. This saves me time. I'm reading APR here.. Its high.

Store cards are no longer easy to get, especially Sears. The Sears Card is now being issued by Citibank.

Bob

Thank you. I would look on Citibank too.

capital one is best for starters ;) they offer small credit limit 300 and if you are a good payer..youll increase every 6months.. :star:

Thanks for the input. Capital one is now included in my research.

my wife had no credit file... capital one approved her instantly

You confirmed that capital one is good for starter. Thanks

try bankrate.com - they have a huge list of cc offerings for every type of person.

************

it is true the dept store CCs are issued by a bank most of the time.... i think that is why it was said above that "it used to be" a matter of going to sears.

Thank you. I would look on bankrate.com too.

K1 Process:

May 1, 2008 Submitted I-129F to CSC

May 8, 2008 Received by CSC

May 9, 2008 NOA1

May 18, 2008 Touched

October 9, 2008 RFE

October 28, 2008 RFE Reply

October 29, 2008 Touched

October 30, 2008 Touched

November 1, 2008 NOA2 (HardCopy)

November 11, 2008 Letter from NVC (Hardcopy)

November 14 & 17, 2008 Medical (Passed)

November 26, 2008 Interview (Passed)

December 5, 2008 Visa Received

December 23, 2008 US Entry (POE: Hawaii)

February 7, 2009 Private Wedding

AOS Process:

March 9, 2009 Mailed AOS Application via Express Mail (I-485, I-765, I-131)

March 10, 2009 USPS confirmed that AOS application was delivered and received in Chicago

March 18, 2009 Received NOA for AOS, EAD and AP

April 8, 2009 Biometrics Done

April 27, 2009 AP Approved

May 1, 2009 AP received in the mail

May 2, 2009 EAD card received in the mail

May 29, 2009 AOS interview (Approved)

June 29, 2009 GC received

ROC Process

March 1, 2011 Mailed I-175 Application via Express Mail

March 4 ,2011 NOA for I-175

April 05,2011 Biometrics [Early Biometrics March 22, 2011]

April 21,2011 Approval

April 27,2011 10 Year Green Card Received

Naturalization Process

March 6, 2012 Mailed N-400 Application via Express Mail

[/size]

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I just got my first credit card from Bank of America Platinum Card to build up my credit with no annual fee and 0% APR. They approved me instantly. I have 0 credit and my credit limit is $3000.

I was very surprised to find out that my credit limit is $3000 with 0 credit and jobless. I don't know if having me as second holder to my husband credit cards helps build up my credit, probably not since its under my husband SSN not mine.

If you pay your credit card full each month or more than the minimum payment or on time helps build up your credit.

No annual fee and 0% APR. Great! I would review Bank of America brochure to learn more about its services. Thank you for sharing.

K1 Process:

May 1, 2008 Submitted I-129F to CSC

May 8, 2008 Received by CSC

May 9, 2008 NOA1

May 18, 2008 Touched

October 9, 2008 RFE

October 28, 2008 RFE Reply

October 29, 2008 Touched

October 30, 2008 Touched

November 1, 2008 NOA2 (HardCopy)

November 11, 2008 Letter from NVC (Hardcopy)

November 14 & 17, 2008 Medical (Passed)

November 26, 2008 Interview (Passed)

December 5, 2008 Visa Received

December 23, 2008 US Entry (POE: Hawaii)

February 7, 2009 Private Wedding

AOS Process:

March 9, 2009 Mailed AOS Application via Express Mail (I-485, I-765, I-131)

March 10, 2009 USPS confirmed that AOS application was delivered and received in Chicago

March 18, 2009 Received NOA for AOS, EAD and AP

April 8, 2009 Biometrics Done

April 27, 2009 AP Approved

May 1, 2009 AP received in the mail

May 2, 2009 EAD card received in the mail

May 29, 2009 AOS interview (Approved)

June 29, 2009 GC received

ROC Process

March 1, 2011 Mailed I-175 Application via Express Mail

March 4 ,2011 NOA for I-175

April 05,2011 Biometrics [Early Biometrics March 22, 2011]

April 21,2011 Approval

April 27,2011 10 Year Green Card Received

Naturalization Process

March 6, 2012 Mailed N-400 Application via Express Mail

[/size]

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