     Rain King (Rain) | Monday, July 10, 2000 - 12:39 pm 
I am trying to establish some credit for myself. I currently have no negative credit, and have obtained a secured Visa with a small balance from Capitol One. I chose Capitol One because they say they report to all 3 bureaus,but do not flag the card as secured. It's been told to me by numerous sources, some more reliable than others, that if your credit report shows you have a secured loan, it will hurt your score. Is this true, and does anyone have the URL to more thorough info on the matter?
One friend told me the best way to establish a history was to get a secured card and a secured bank loan. They said this would establish my revolving and installment history. It sounds like good advice, however, another friend told me most banks report a secured loan as secured, and that will hurt my credit more than help it. Also, they said Capitol One was not a good card for me to have, but the major banks such as CitiBank flag their cards as secured, whereas Capitol One does not. So, I am interested to know if I made a wise or poor choice with the Capitol One secured card, and if it would hurt or help me to get a secured loan from my bank.
I'll be very grateful for any help or info anyone can offer. I'm in my mid twenties and have procrastinated establishing credit because it seems like everytime I've been ready to jump in, I just ended up dizzy from all the conflicting info. I'm ready to start climbing up the credit ladder...just confused as to which way UP actually is where FICO is concerned. 
Thanks in advance,
Rain |
