Bank of America

[cavazos007]

Does anyone know what BOA looks for when you apply for a credit card. I've been trying to get one and can't seem to get approved. It's been a while since I've applied. I've been working on getting my credit score raised.

TU 602

EX 593

EQ 593

[ThePeacock]

Scores are a little low for BofA. You could try and maybe they'll send you the partial $99/$500 secured offer. I would wait a little longer for prime credit. Do you have household/orchard or any other secured/sub-prime cards building your file now?

[obxdude]

I was going to apply for a secured card for BOA but, the teller told me not to apply online or fill out the application and mail it. She said I could apply for a cc with her over the phone and if I get denied for a unsecured cc then I might be able to get the 99/500 card. She took my info over the phone and called the credit department the next day. I was denied an unsecured but got a 99/500. I have some paid collections and unpaid judgement.

TU=634

exp=579

equ=615

[ThePeacock]

That's great to know as this seems to be a common topic

[cavazos007]

What does the 99/500 card give you? How much do you have to pay in fees? How long before you can get a normal card? I have 5 other cc in good standing. I have a Target, Providian, Chase, Dell, Macy's, Texaco. And they are all under the 20% utilization. So I should try to apply over the phone. Can I apply in person?

[ThePeacock]

I would try to apply on the phone as Obx suggested. It's a no anual fee card. You put $99 down and have a $500 limit. After a year of good payment history and usage, they give you the $99 back and it's then a normal unsecured CC, hopefully w/ a limit increase.

[obxdude]

There is a $29 annual fee. I only have one major cc and one store cc. So, for me this was a good deal. 99/500 was a lot better then 500/500. I just wanted another good TL. I did have to go to the bank in person to sign. The teller did the rest. She mailed my $99 and application.

[cavazos007]

Do I have to pay them the $99.00 first? What if I have a bank account with BOA. How do I pay this.

Also what CB do they pull?

[ThePeacock]

You send the $99 w/ the application. I don't know about the bank account question. These are probably things you could ask when you call to apply.

[obxdude]

BOA pulled TU. I went to the bank and the teller took the money out of my account. Then I had to sign and she mailed the cashiers check and application.

[cavazos007]

So they pull TU and do you know what type of credit score they look for?

[mithina]

I am looking to apply for BOFA card. Mostly because they say with one year of good payment history they will make the card unsecured. This is unlike the orchard bank card where they will never waive the annual fee and almost never make it unsecured.

With a TU score of 574 and EQ score of 631, Can I dare to apply for their 99/500 card??. My CR is full of collections/charge offs. I have one orchard card of $500 and $1000 secured loan from a Credit union.

Please advise.

[anonymouse]

I will say that I've had a good experience with BofA. Back when I was less responsible in handling credit, I racked up a 90 day late and they closed my card. I immediately paid it all off with fees and interest... and a few months later got a check for all of the late fees and interest, and they deleted all of the lates from all of my credit reports, without me doing anything! I'm not sure what happened there, but I was happy about it!

[obxdude]

My TU credit is 634. I have several paid collections and a few unpaid judgements. The teller told me to apply for a regular card over the phone with her. Then, the next day she called the credit department and called me and told me I wasn't approved. But, I was approved for a 99/500 card.

[ba0501]

I have a friend who has had a cc with BOA for 2 years. She has flawless payment history with them. On the other hand, she has a high overall utilization %, a recent 30 day late on her car, 1 recent med collection, and a short length of credit history, but in despite of all that, BOA just gave her a $5,000 CLI to push her limit to $7,700. Seems like they might be OK to deal with.

[mithina]

Back to my question.

With a TU score of 574 and some charge offs, do I stand a chance for $99/500. Just wanting to save an Inquiry if I know they will trash me.

[ThePeacock]

With a 574 and you're that worried about an inquiry I would wait until your scores come up to help secure a win. I would think over 600 would give a better chance. But there are always exceptions to the rule. I got a Providian Paypal Visa w/ $1000 limit w/ a 586 (or 589) TU Fico.

[cavazos007]

You know I was going thru the BOA website and it says on there that you can chat with someone online. So I went ahead and started chatting I guess with a live person. And I asked them about getting denied for a BOA card she said there was an alternative to a regular card. We'll bottom line was she was willing to help me fill out the application online with me. And if I didn't get approved she was going to give me the alternative card the 99/500. Is that the same thing as calling them to apply over the phone. I thought that was kind of weird.