Freeze 2 credit reports and apply for Capital One cc?

Yeaaah..I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it works like that. You can't "freeze" them and then they are inaccessible, the bank will still see it, and they may not give a card just because of that. They will need her PIN in order to access the files. They won't just say "Oh, these are frozen, well then we don't need them!"

If you have an American Express card in your name, add her to the account as an authorized user. After a few months, that AmEx history should show up on her credit history. If you're history is good, it will help her. I believe AmEx is the only CC company that does this.

Quote from Serus : They will need her PIN in order to access the files.

To whom it may concern: NEVER give your credit freeze PIN to ANYONE.

kn9ght, if a creditor needs to pull a credit report from a particular bureau that you have frozen your credit file with, they will either decline you or let you know it was frozen and ask you to thaw it. You can then thaw it for as little as 24 hours or as much time as they say they need to pull that report. Then, if you've selected the auto-refreeze option, after the predetermined time you selected for your credit to be thawed, your credit will automatically refreeze. If you didn't choose the auto-refreeze option, you will need to go back in and manually refreeze your credit with that bureau.

Quote from Serus : Yeaaah..I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it works like that. You can't "freeze" them and then they are inaccessible, the bank will still see it, and they may not give a card just because of that. They will need her PIN in order to access the files. They won't just say "Oh, these are frozen, well then we don't need them!" If you have an American Express card in your name, add her to the account as an authorized user. After a few months, that AmEx history should show up on her credit history. If you're history is good, it will help her. I believe AmEx is the only CC company that does this.

I will correct you but your not far off. Yes you can freeze your credit report with the individual reporting companies (experian, transunion, equifax) and credit companies will no longer be able to pull your credit report. However you risk being denied credit. I agree with you 100% on the AmEx. They are the only credit company to my knowledge that backdates to the orginal account holders date and adding your wife to build her credit is and excellent suggestion.

Quote from kn9ght : My wife has no credit history; so we want to start building her credit history by applying the first cc for her. For what I know, Capital One seems to be the easiest bank to give cc to people that has bad-average credit score. However, Cap1 always pulls from all 3 credit bureau. So what I'm thinking is we will freeze 2 of her credit reports (e.g. EQ & EX) and then apply for Cap1 with the hope that they will only pull from the remaining credit bureau. Does anyone here have experience about this? TIA

See above^^^^^. If you have an error in one of those reports or some baddies then I can understand the freeze but just because you don't want an extra credit pull doesn't sound like a good idea. More than likely they will simply deny her credit or ask you to unfreeze the reports.

Why CapOne? I don't have a personal credit product with CapOne simply because of there policy to pull all 3 credit agencies when applying for credit. I do like CapOne I have business credit and banking accounts with them as well as personal checking account and savings accounts but no personal credit accounts no matter how hard they press.

You would probably be best served looking at credit unions for starting her credit off. Also as suggested by Serus adding her as an authorized user on your own accounts especially AmEx will go a long way in building her credit.

Thank you all for your input. The AMEX suggestion is great, never knew about it.

Quote from madadd : Why CapOne? I don't have a personal credit product with CapOne simply because of there policy to pull all 3 credit agencies when applying for credit. I do like CapOne I have business credit and banking accounts with them as well as personal checking account and savings accounts but no personal credit accounts no matter how hard they press. You would probably be best served looking at credit unions for starting her credit off. Also as suggested by Serus adding her as an authorized user on your own accounts especially AmEx will go a long way in building her credit.

We chose Cap1 mainly because among the big banks, Cap1 seems to be the easiest one to get cc for newcomers. But we will definitely look into some credit unions in the area.

Although credit scores do have a lot to do with the approvals there are also other factors. I would suggest applying from an Apple safari browser during the day. Sounds crazy I know - but ...

1. Establish a savings account with a credit union that offers secured loans (make sure rate is not more than 3% above the savings rate) and secured credit cards.

2. Deposit $500 to $1000 into a savings account.

3. Take out a "secured" personal loan. This is a good addition to mix as an installment loan.

4. When you get the loan check (the money you borrow), deposit it back into savings.

5. You now have doubled your savings balance (example: you deposited $1000, then borrowed $1000 which you deposited into savings giving you $2000). The amount of interest you collect on $2000 should be equal to or higher than the interest they charge you for the loan on $1000....so essentially you are not out (of pocket) any cost to build your credit with this loan.

6. Ask for a secured credit card. Same day you do secured personal loan. If they won't approve initially, ask again in 6 months.

7. Once you obtain the secured credit card, only use it for items you PIF each month (don't accrue interest)

8. Pay off the loan at 12 months.

9. At 12 months ask to unsecure the card.

10. You have established to great credit references and credit TL's and built a relationship with a solid credit source....credit union.

11. During the course of the year above, continue working on the repair side of your credit.

12. After you pay off the loan to the credit union, continue to make regular deposits to saving, just like you were still paying the loan off. This is a financial habit that you need to continue, and it gives you your emergency fund and savings that protect against unforseen events which can take you by surprise (and hurt your credit if you are short on cash).