Credit Cards?

[Evil Queen]

I have a BOA credit and debit card, but my Dad thinks I need another credit card to help build my credit faster. What do you guys suggest?

Dad thinks I should get a card like Home Depot, Lowes, or Wal-Mart. I currently live in Houston, and do not have a local Lowes, nor do I know of one in the city and nearest city that I will be moving to. But there is a Home depot (we get our special air filters from them) and Wal-mart is everywhere.

Now let me give you some of my financial background;
--I make all my BOA credit card bills on time, if not early (I try to pay them as soon as the bill notice comes through, since I have the paperless option).
--I have only been in the negative on my checking account once in the 7 years that I've had it, which was relatively recently (back when Ike blew through. I bought a shitload of ice).
--I make approximately $1200 a month, $300 of which goes into a savings account each month, plus any Over Time Hours money. The rest is rent, internet, auto insurance and groceries (at $100 a week in groceries, I think I'm doing pretty good considering both The SO and Roomie R likes to eat my stuff).

Anything left over is to buy myself something nice, like the new work shoes I purchased over the weekend (hey, they were $25!).

Did I miss any info you need to know? I want to build some really nice credit so I can get a house, build equity, go to college and finally buy my hotel (which I have designated "The Star Hotel" you should see the floor plan!) so I can have a lucrative career as the new Hilton Family (but without stupid Paris).

Now help me out here! :)

[draftermatt]

From what I understand about credit, it's almost like the more you owe (or could owe) the better your rating is, as long as you always make your payments.

So, if you have 1 card, 1 more isn't going to hurt you, and it certainly could help.

As long as you use it (having one and not using it hurts your credit score) and make at least the minimum payments, you're ok.

Have you ever checked your credit score? If not I'd do that before I worry about "building it up" because you could have a very good score already.

[Evil Queen]

Nope, never checked it though one of those tests where you don't input any personal information claim I have good credit (710, I think).

Edit: I went to Annualcreditreport.com and got a report from Experian. According to them, I have 1 good standing account (BOA) and no bad ones. Is that good?
Of course, it also has my mail forwarding address as my current address, not Houston. I guess that's okay. And my Saturn car isn't showing up, but the Suzuki is (which I'm still trying to sell). Oh well. At least nothing bad is showing up!

[KiaKat]

Make sure you check the other two reports (TransUnion and Equifax). Often times, an account will show up on one, but not the others.

Having a second card is useful for two reasons. First, it helps keep your utility lower, which pushes your score higher. That also means that when BoA does an account review, they're likely to offer you a higher limit, rather than slashing your current limit in half. A lot of card companies are doing that now, with the economic crisis. Second, because of the current economic issues, having a second card can act as a backup. Use it only for gas, and pay it off, and your score will shoot up.

Do NOT go for a store card. If you are going to take a second card, go for one of the biggies - Chase, Citibank, or Amex. Avoid Capital One, as they've been pulling some shady things lately. Avoid the smaller banks, because they're likely to go under, or be bought up by one of the biggies.

If your current address (or any former addresses) are wrong, get them fixed ASAP. And once you do pick up another card, freeze your accounts (all three agencies have information on how to do that) so you don't run into any fraud issues, or ghost accounts from a decade ago suddenly hitting.

I've spent the last year rebuilding my credit after a fairly nasty bout of identity theft, so I could go on all day about this. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and don't be afraid to call the agencies if anything looks weird. Don't believe any of those idiotic 'check your score' sites, because most of them have some weird algorithm to estimate your credit, and it's rarely the actual score.

Short answer - yes. Get a second bank-backed card, to increase your depth. Don't get a store card (although one that is a bank-backed store card is ok). Also consider asking BoA for a credit limit increase. Hit up MyFico.com and CreditBoards.com and ask them questions. You have a great start, though.

[SteeleDragon78]

you could get a gas card, something like a bp card or even exxon. that part is up to you, thats what my folks did years ago, mom got a phillips card, dad got a sears card and now they are doing well.

[SengaKitty]

Like KK said, check your other two reports. you can go to equifax.com and get a three in one report. Note that not all crediters report to all credit agencies, and the scores will be different, as will the report. Depending on which agency the crediter reports to, that's the score they'll see, as the score is based off the report, and Equifax is the only one that uses the FICO scoring model, which is what most lenders look at.

[Evil Queen]

Equifax said I had a morgage pending on my current address. It seems the landlords haven't "moved" from my address so they still get their info here. The website also wouldn't continue my test because of this.

My mail forwarding address (the address my bank, insurance and everything else is tired to) is still my current address even though it's in a different state.

[KiaKat]

You definitely have to call them and get that resolved. It's messing up both your report and your landlord's report. Give them a call and they should be able to help you with a dispute.

Also try the 'are you really you' test again - it's usually a random item, so they might ask about car payment or CC# or something.

[Evil Queen]

I have told the landlords about it before. Hell, we still get their stupid BANK STATEMENTS. They don't care! I could just strangle them for it.

[KiaKat]

That's why you tell the reporting agency, rather than the landlord. The agency will alert the mortgage bank, who will confirm the current address with the landlords, and everything should straighten itself out.