Picked a secured card over a store card last year

I was trying to rebuild after some mistakes in my 20s and had to decide between a $200 secured card from Capital One or a store card from JCPenney. Went with the secured card because it reported to all three bureaus, not just one. After 8 months my score went up 45 points. Has anyone else had better luck with one type over the other?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamiew835d ago

Yeah you did the right thing. My buddy Tom went the other way and grabbed a store card from Macy's thinking it was a quick fix for his credit. He used it for a few months, paid on time, but his score barely moved like 10 points because it only reported to Experian. Then he applied for a car loan and the dealer pulled TransUnion and saw nothing. Real kick in the teeth. He ended up getting a secured card like yours later and his score jumped 60 points in half a year.

rowanc295d ago

Classic move. Tom got bamboozled by the Macy's fairy, only to find out his credit fairy was a ghost on two out of three bureaus. That's like studying for a test and only turning in 33% of the answers. Meanwhile, the secured card is over there reporting to everyone like a gossiping neighbor at a BBQ. 45 points in 8 months is solid, Tom's 60 in 6 months is just bragging at that point. At least he figured it out before he tried to buy a house or something.