DP: 6 month FICO debut with my two baby credit builder prod
This is more for showing the data points than anything else but about 6 months ago I posted my plan of action of going from "Unscorable" to being considered someone that exists. (Building from nothing - not rebuilding)
I know what I'm going to mention next is going to ruffle some feathers but they were my only* options.
*In the first week of Dec 2025 I opened a Credit Karma Builder "loan" and a Chime credit builder "card". Naturally I pay them off every month as expected.
(*I was between jobs at the time so I:
- Wasn't going to chance applying for anything unsecured against a credit file that is literally a blank sheet of paper.
- Didn't want to justify budgeting a deposit for a secured card.)
You could literally fit my entire credit report on an index card because the only 2 things on it are Ck & Chime with just on-time payments. There is nothing else on it or anything that fell off like charge-offs, or collections, or lates, or bankruptcies, or suits, et al.
Of course I wish my 6-month debut numbers were higher but I know what I was working with so here's what I know:
Experian
Fico 8 - 699
VS 3.0 - 711
Bankcard Score 8 - 682
Bankcard Score 2 - 720
Score 3 - 719
Auto Score 2 - 673
Auto Score 8 - 661
Mortgage Score 2 - 714
TransUnion:
FICO 8 702
VS 3.0 705
Equifax
FICO 8 699
VS 3.0 705
(I expect to add more data points based on all of the scores from myfico but am going to wait until it's later in the month)
To ruffle feathers further, right at the end of May I opened a $2026/36-month pledge loan with Navy Federal Credit Union that I've already paid off 91%. (I'm a qualified member and have gad a checking and savings with Navy Fed for ~2 months)
Because of the timing, nothing about the NFCU SSL will show until next month, July 1st.
(Conversely, the Credit Karma "loan" shows as "Line of credit" on all 3 reports from annualcreditreport.com)
(With what I have to work with I 'had**' a whole plan set; Work with what I have and check pre-approvals with Chase (I've had a checking account with them for ~3 months and $2K), Capital One, and Discover in August and go with what they offer.
**Had a plan. Earlier today something in my head prompted me to just check for the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card because I know they don't ding you unless you accept an offer. I expected to be denied right when I clicked the button but the card is on its way. $1000 SL which is perfectly fine, and I get the perks. 15 month 0% APR but I don't care about that because I'm just going to pay the statement balance by the due like sane people.
Next up is waiting until ~August to apply for a Chase card, even if it is just the Rise, and something from either Capital One or Discover. (Yes, I know Capital One bought Discover a year ago).
From that point it's just do nothing for 12 months, aside from ask for occasional CLIs.