Here is my situation. I just recently paid off all of my credit card debt and the only debt I have is a student loan I'm paying off, which I have never been late on.

I already have 1 Orchard Secured Mastercard and my credit score is already improving (it went up by 14 points this month). I'm thinking about expediting this by getting 2 more of the same card and using all 3 once a month to buy small things like car gas and chapstick and then pay it off.

Will getting all these cards in such a short time frame hurt my score, or will my idea of trying to rebuild credit quicker work?
I make enough to pay off the minimum, even If I had 3 cards. Only reason I was in the hole was because I was 17 years old and could not get a long-lasting job. I'm in the military now, so that is no longer an issue.

And why would I need a brokerage account? That sounds completely useless for what I'm trying to do.

You have made the right first step by getting a secured credit card. That was the first step I made when I was following the advice of Suze Orman from her book Young, Fabulous & Broke. She has a ton of advice in there on rebuilding your credit as well as other things financially related such as mortgages, stocks, 401k, etc. I am not looking at the book right this second, so I am not sure if she would recommend getting another secured credit card. What I did was get one secured card and then one unsecured card from a department store. Then I use them both a little each month and pay them off. I have raised my credit score quite a bit doing that. The most important thing is time and on-time payments. Unfortunately, once you screw your credit, you just have to be patient. I would recommend reading the book I mentioned and/or any other book by Suze. The more you understand about credit and how it works, the better decisions you can make. Good luck to you!

You have asked a very good question. Yes, getting two additional cards at a time to add to the credit card account that you already have with Orchard Bank, while still paying your student loan, will definitely hurt your score at the initial stage. But as time progresses - if you were able to manage all the four accounts wisely and responsibly, your credit score will continue to increase steadily.

Therefore, my advice to you is this: Continue to keep in perfect standing your secured credit card account with Orchard Bank, as well as with your student loan account. This would raise your credit score higher in a shorter time (and should continue - provided there's no late payment - and you don't exceed your credit limit), than if you were to obtain two additional credit card accounts at the same time to add to the one you already have, along with your current student loan.

While thanking you for sharing your question on Yahoo, I hope you find the above information that I have shared useful.

Best wishes!

RICHARD