How long does it take to go from bad credit to a prime card?

ceremony

I realize this is very much a 'how much is a piece of string' situation, but I'm curious what the route was for other people.

I had appalling credit at the start of the pandemic. I've since paid off half of my debts. Got some that weren't mine (it's a long story) removed from my credit file, and paid off a CCJ (although it's not showing as paid yet).

The defaults are aging, some will drop off this year but unfortunately there's another CCJ that won't drop off until 2024.

I managed to get cards with Capital One (£200 limit, which is too low to do much with except pay the phone bill and buy groceries) and Aqua (£300 to start with). Within four months Aqua increased my limit to £1,300, which seemed like a big jump for someone with a 'bad history'.

I'm curious now.... my credit file shows three years of making on time payments and I'm building a history with the sub-prime companies now. My question to those who have been in my position is: How long were you with sub-prime lenders before more 'normal' places started accepting you?

Is it a case of "wait until the CCJ is gone" or were you able to access 'nicer' cards before then?

The interest on Aqua doesn't particularly bother me since I pay the card off in full every month, I'm just expecting to do a lot of travel once the pandemic is over and a card with more perks would be nice.

2021BJ

You'll be lucky to get a prime card with a CCJ on your file, even more so if it's one with "perks."

ceremony

2021BJ said:

You'll be lucky to get a prime card with a CCJ on your file, even more so if it's one with "perks."

Thanks, I thought as much but was holding out for a vain hope that there were some companies that were more friendly than others. I know my bank won't touch anyone with a CCJ for their credit card (although, strangely, they just offered me an overdraft, which I'm not taking because the interest is insane!).

Patience it is then

[Deleted User]

If you'd accepted the overdraft, it would have sped up your journey to the mainstream.

You don't need to use it.

MovingForwards

I got a sub-prime CC while my CCJ was outstanding, I was paying by instalments due to the size of it. 

4.8 years after the CCJ went on I got a CC with my own bank, less than 10% Apr. I still hadn't finished paying the CCJ off at that point.

ceremony

Deleted_User said:

If you'd accepted the overdraft, it would have sped up your journey to the mainstream.

You don't need to use it.

Fair point. I haven't turned the offer down either. It's a weird one psychologically for me. I had a great job for a while, had health problems and ended up in debt, and am only just recovering financially so I'm still irrationally debt-averse. I can probably 'balance it out' in my head by keeping the same amount as the OD in a savings account or something if it really would make a difference to my report.

MovingForwards said:

I got a sub-prime CC while my CCJ was outstanding, I was paying by instalments due to the size of it. 

4.8 years after the CCJ went on I got a CC with my own bank, less than 10% Apr. I still hadn't finished paying the CCJ off at that point.

That's interesting, thanks! I'm at 2years 8 months on the CCJ, I think. I'm also paying it off in installments, but expect to just clear it all in a few months. It's nice to think there's hope of 'getting back in the mainstream' before the six-year mark.

teachfast

I have great credit and crap credit cards. Does it really matter if you're paying it in full every month? Even a crap one, Amazon, gets me points.

[Deleted User]

Do remember that nobody sees "prime" or "sub-prime" except you and anyone you tell, no-one in a shop notices given it's all contactless or chip and pin this days, lenders don't see the brand of card you have either. There are 2 reasons to care: 1) if you reach the point you can get a card that gets benefits (though Aqua did a card for a while with cashback, that's a sub-prime more attractive than many prime card) 2) if you're some sort of brand snob muppet who cares. The former is good to focus on, the latter - well, my other half earns enough to get a genuine gold card from her provider - I have yet to see anyone in a restaurant start grovelling at her feet when she pays on that so read from that what you will

blue.peter

teachfast said:

I have great credit and crap credit cards. Does it really matter if you're paying it in full every month? Even a crap one, Amazon, gets me points.

I'm not convinced that there's any such thing as a "crap credit card". If it does the job, it's fine. A credit card is a credit card. You might have a low credit limit, or have an issuer that gives poor service, but that's not the same thing as a crap credit card. I have several mainstream credit cards (AmEx, TSB, Nationwide etc.), but am perfectly happy to have an Amazon credit card as well, simply because it gives me (in effect) cashback. I'm aware that NewDay doesn't have a great reputation, but I've found them fine. Importantly, the card is a MasterCard and retailers are as happy to accept it as they would be any MasterCard.

[Deleted User]

blue.peter said:

teachfast said:

I have great credit and crap credit cards. Does it really matter if you're paying it in full every month? Even a crap one, Amazon, gets me points.

I'm not convinced that there's any such thing as a "crap credit card". If it does the job, it's fine. A credit card is a credit card. You might have a low credit limit, or have an issuer that gives poor service, but that's not the same thing as a crap credit card. I have several mainstream credit cards (AmEx, TSB, Nationwide etc.), but am perfectly happy to have an Amazon credit card as well, simply because it gives me (in effect) cashback. I'm aware that NewDay doesn't have a great reputation, but I've found them fine. Importantly, the card is a MasterCard and retailers are as happy to accept it as they would be any MasterCard.

Agreed, the only real distinction between a sub-prime card and prime is that the prime ones typically have better deals whether BT offers, cashback, things like nectar points etc. So long as you don't pay interest then it's much of a muchness

cymruchris

Probably more important for me is the fact that accounts are open a long time, paid off in full every month, with a slow but steady trickle of credit limit increases. When I got my first card post bankruptcy I seem to recall it was a £400 credit limit on Vanquis. That was my entire credit availability. £400. Over the last couple of years, through maintaining full payments, things have improved in the available credit so that it now stands at about £15k in total (which is way below many posters) but it shows slow, but increasing trust in my ability to manage credit.

I now have plenty of 'pre-approved' credit card offers from people like the Capital One family - but I don't want those anymore. I had a Barclaycard Forward, which then converted to a Barclaycard cashback after a year, and although I don't ever intend to pay interest, I'm working on moving my cards from the 30-40% APR's to the 10-20% APR's. There's no one defined route - there's no singe way - the journey will vary depending on a huge number of cirumstances - but the key message is - keep paying everything on time, in full where you can, and you'll build up a positive credit history. The better your history, the more chance you have of obtaining further products at a more attractive rate further down the road.