Bankruptcy recovery - credit building to regular credit cards

cymruchris

I'm not in the right position yet - but thought I'd see how other people have moved from 'credit building' credit cards such as Vanquis, Aqua and Capital One - to more mainstream cards like Virgin, Barclaycard and other big name banks...

I went through bankruptcy in 2013 - and took a Vanquis card in 2016. Initial credit limit was £400 - and by using it from time to time, and paying off in full each month, the limit has now raised to £2000. In nearly three years I haven't paid a penny of interest. I also took a Capital One card a year ago, again with a starting limit of £400 - that's up to £550 now, and again, used and paid off in full. More recently I've gotten an Aqua card - with a starting limit of £450 which is too early in the cycle to have been reviewed yet.


My bankrupcty and remaining CCJ drops off my account in a few months - and wondered how people have moved between credit building cards to more mainstream accounts.


Did you wait a certain time to try for them?

Were you successful (based on your own circumstances) in obtaining one?


Did you then close your credit builder cards?


I'd like to apply for mortgage again in a few years - so I know long term accounts are always seen as stable, but I don't want to be stuck with credit builder high APR cards forever. (Not that a single one of my cards has ever had a penny of interest paid).



I'm wondering if I should aim for the mainstream cards - and if accepted - keep the creditbuilders open at £0 balance to show long term accounts. (But also know that having 'too much' available credit can also be seen negatively - even if you're not using it)


I'd welcome people's experiences as they reach this stage of their bankruptcy recovery....

KeepOnKnitting

At a different stage and have not yet got a regular credit card, but just thought I would chime in for comparison.

Nov 2015 Bankrupt.
Nov 2016 Discharged
June 2017 Capital one card with £500 limit
Dec 2017 Capital one card limit increased to £1000
June 2018 Vanquis card with £1000 limit
Oct 2018 requested increase to capital one, upped to £1250
Jan 2019 and March 2019 turned down for regular bank accounts.

Cards always paid in full on DD. Have been used for regular spending and sometimes for large purchases (holiday, laptop, car insurance, MOT) and also used abroad on holiday. Only charges ever paid have been for foreign currency transactions.

A4445

I wasn’t able to get a regular bank account until the bankruptcy came off. Right at the end of the term a few months before it came off I was able to get a regular card with Nationwide and Natwest.

For some unknown reason Equifax stopped reporting my bankruptcy after 3 years was able to get a Barcycard as they don’t like bankruptcy at all.