Not to be a debbie downer, but the CSR is one of the top level reward cards. Typically you need some history length, and at least a 740+ score. It isn’t something you can go from having a secured card for a few months to having the CSR.

When it comes to establishing and then building credit, patience is a virtue. It takes time to do it right, and benefit from that work and perseverance.

Your number of inquiries vice number of accounts suggests you’ve been shopping for credit, and in turn getting denied.

Stick with that secured account for this year. I’m not sure how discover does it, but maybe after 12-18 months they will change it to an unsecured card. In the interim they may bump your limit up after 6 months of good behavior, but maybe not.

One thing you definitely want to do is get that $30 collection wiped off. That makes it appear even worse.

After that, you definitely want to wait out the time for most of those inquiries to drop off.


Another note on the CSR is it requires a minimum of a $10k credit limit. Going from a secured card with a $200 limit just isn’t going to happen overnight. You also have to have the income to support a credit limit like that.

At the very least, don’t apply for another card this year. Give it at least 12 reported months on your report for the secured card, and then try an entry level unsecured card.