topic Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012 in Credit Cards

Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

tinuviel — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:01:48 GMT

Greetings, fellow credit gardeners! We’re starting a new month, so it’s time to start a new thread. I hereby convene the May meeting of the myFICO Garden Club.

For those who are new to the concept of gardening, it involves refraining from applying for new credit or seeking CLIs that require hard pulls. Soft pulls CLIs, however, are not only acceptable, but are encouraged. The idea is to allow one's current TLs to grow and mature, waiting for inqs to age or fall off, and possibly waiting for "baddies" to be removed or age off. During this time, one tends to one's current accounts and watches their AAoA grow and the new credit ding fade.

So, if you're at the stage of your credit journey where you're ready to enter the garden, please come and join us. You may pick up your complimentary watering can and garden gloves by the front door -- you can even choose your favorite color! We're proud to offer a well appointed clubhouse. There is a snack table set up. This month, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, we have a variety of quesadillas, along with a pitcher of margaritas. In addition, we have a selection of mini-quiches, as Relevate really likes them. And with the Kentucky Derby coming up, we also have mint juleps available. Please feel free to bring and add any items that you'd like. There's also a selection of cold beers and soft drinks. And, in the corner diagonally across from the front door, there is a fully stocked bar. If needed, there are some anti-itch medications stocked in our supply cabinet near the door -- Lanacaine, Benedryl, etc. If you need to place your reports in the deep freeze, we also have a freezer, located next to the bar, so go ahead and throw your reports in! And finally, our newest addition is… a full featured gas grill on the back patio for burgers, kebobs or any other such spring/summer fare; it we ask very nicely, perhaps FR will prepare something for us. :)

Come on in and make yourself comfortable. Make a gardening plan and commit to sticking with it! Are you planning to wait six months before applying for additional credit? A year? Until the last of your baddies drop off? Whatever your goal, we're here to support you. If you feel the "app-itch" coming on, let us know and we'll try to help you through it.

Now, if you happen to leave the garden prematurely, that’s your decision and we respect that. You are always welcome to come back, pick up your gardening tools and start over again. But please, celebrate any approvals on another thread. While we are happy with members’ success stories, we really do want to keep this thread’s focus and tone to be consistent with gardening efforts. You are certainly welcome to celebrate soft CLIs on this thread, though, as they do not involve inqs or apps for new credit.

So, how's everyone's garden looking this month?

This is the current view of my garden:

Cap1 Visa Platinum - 6400 CL

Cap1 NHCR MC - 750 CL

Dillard's Amex - 4200 CL

JC Penney - 2300 CL

Kay Jewelers - 5100 CL

Amex Green - NPSL

This month marks the 1 year anniversary of the last card that I added to my wallet, the Amex Green. It feels great to have a wallet full of cards that are all past the one year mark!

So, how's everyone else doing? Please feel free to share and mingle!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

CS800 — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:02:41 GMT

Fell off the wagon. Got the NFCU cashrewards and the NavChek :(

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

logan_720 — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:04:16 GMT

I'm the first to post in the GCM :smileysurprised: It has also been 3 months to the date that I have apped, well, except for one. But that's pretty good, in my opinion. So I'm gonna help myself to some metaphorical drinks ;)

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

drkaje — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:11:39 GMT

Still gardening around $40K in CLs hoping two cards will bloom so a weed can be plucked.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

Brian_Trying_700 — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:30:18 GMT

I have gloves and a shovel. Check my sig :smileysurprised: Since October I got Discover More $1000 >$1700, Amex Zync $500 auto pay and a Barclay $1300> $2500. Come April 2013. Im working on my company credit now without a PG right now. I have been in business since 2006 and we never had a cc.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

BigDaddy18 — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:33:29 GMT

I was wondering what this Garden Club meeting thingy was!

Well I think I might be in this catagory since I was approved last night for the AmEx Platinum, I'm now in Gardening mode for at least a year! I think!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

snowangel — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:59:47 GMT

I'm app free since 4/2.

This is my garden:

Orchard Bank | $470 Weeded out last month just before it's 5th birthday

Cap 1 | $750

Barclaycard | $2500

Neiman Marcus | $2500

Freedom | $500

Gap Card | $500 -> $871 -> $4000 VISA (all in 2 weeks)

Amex charge

AA Visa Sig | $3500

AA AMEX | $4000

United Explorer | $1000 -> finally approved today after 2 recon attempts earlier this month and offering to close my freedom to transfer the CL.

My goal is to stay in the garden until Oct '12.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

logan_720 — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:04:08 GMT

snowangel wrote:
I'm app free since 4/2.

This is my garden:

Orchard Bank | $470 Weeded out last month just before it's 5th birthday
Cap 1 | $750
Barclaycard | $2500
Neiman Marcus | $2500
Freedom | $500
Gap Card | $500 -> $871 -> $4000 VISA (all in 2 weeks)
Amex charge
AA Visa Sig | $3500
AA AMEX | $4000
United Explorer | $1000 -> finally approved today after 2 recon attempts earlier this month and offering to close my freedom to transfer the CL.

My goal is to stay in the garden until Oct '12.

A Visa Sig at $3,500? I thought the minimum CL for a Visa Sig was $5k?

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

snowangel — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:45:42 GMT

logan_720 wrote:
snowangel wrote:

AA Visa Sig | $3500

A Visa Sig at $3,500? I thought the minimum CL for a Visa Sig was $5k?

I initially thought the same. See my post.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

logan_720 — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:52:55 GMT

Yeah, when I foolishly apped for the Hyatt card, which is exclusively a Visa Sig, the Chase CSR told me that it was a starting limit of $5k. Similar to the World Mastercard.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

Smug — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:05:36 GMT

About 12k in CLI not showing yet and my Zync is not listed.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

LS2982 — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:28:54 GMT

My hands are firmly in the soil!

Still waiting for the last of the damage to pass with TU reporting Discover. Then finally my scores will see nothing but increases!!!!

:smileyhappy:

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

FrugalRican — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:40:51 GMT

Cards are in my siggy.

DGF and I dropped the idea of the elusive Chase United MileagePlus. We found out we'll probably be using Jet Blue one way and United the other, when we travel over the next few years.

So instead, we discussed a plan involving me applying for the CSP to round out the combo of Checking/Freedom, under the condition that I'd apply if we found an apartment that would allow me to pay rent online so we could reach the 3K spending requirement for the bonus points/miles/whatever.

That won't happen til October/November, so right now, as stated before, my plan looks like this:

- Get a CLI on AMEX.

- Use BoA for next 11 months, and cancel.

- Get an apartment and hopefully a CSP.

- Garden rest of the cards and rack up cashback to the best of my cards' abilities.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

jimbo831 — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:07:45 GMT

I am now just a week shy of 2 app free months. I have finally started noticing a small rise in my score since my app spree and new accounts and still waiting patiently until November to apply for Amex again.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

KesMoosa — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:37:31 GMT

So I stepped out of the garden last week to app for Freedom, Discover More, and Zync - Which I have all been approved for. I have also cancelled my Wells Fargo College Card and now thinking of paying off and cancelling the Cap 1 starter card.

I am back to Gardening for a year or so and then hopefully PC from Freedom to CSP and apping for BCP

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

UFGuy2006 — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:09:35 GMT

CS800 wrote:
Fell off the wagon. Got the NFCU cashrewards and the NavChek :(

Same here... but got the Citi TY Preferred and PSECU Visa/PSL combo. Also apped for the Penfed Plat Rewards but I withdrew the app as I didn't want to reallocate from my other Penfed card. Time to put apping on ICE until the end of the year.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

aggieguy — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:18:09 GMT

I am now in the garden, after a successful April!

I'm coming from terrible financial decisions in my late teens/early twenties which led to terrible credit--go figure. I've worked fairly hard over the past couple years to clean up the mess I made, and after things that wouldn't budge finally fell off, I have decent reports. They all still have multiple 90+ day lates from 2006 on multiple trade lines added by the lovely folks at Wells Fargo Student Loans--can you tell I'm still kicking myself for that?

Anyway, on to my current garden, which is pretty big, but will be getting weeded soon:

Kohl's Store.......$300......11/2008
Orchard......$300......06/2009......getting axed in 08/2012, $6/mo monthly fee)
Kay......$1400......07/2009......I keep this around for the limit really)
Best Buy Reward Zone MC......$300......07/2009
CapitalOne Platinum......$500......07/2009
CapitalOne Platinum......$500......09/2009......thought I would be able to combine...nope
Merrick......$1000......02/2011......getting axed before 12/2012...merrick just sucks but they were my highest tradeline...
First Premier......$700......05/2011......getting axed by end of year...obnoxious fees
First National......$300......05/2011......sock drawered, possible axe soon
Barclays Apple......$1300......08/2011......sock drawered. they wouldn't give me a CLI this month, so SD for them
CapitalOne Cash Rewards......$1000......04/2012......I will probably close one or both of the Platinums in favor of this card
Amex Zync......NPSL......04/2012......woohoo! foot in the door with Amex!

Whew! Writing all of that out is scary.

I wasn't planning on apping this year, but I had a hard pull from a rental application for a house and thought I would take advantage and try to get a couple better-ish cards. The plan is to be in primeville next year. I have a couple more baddies to take care of and then I think I'll be ready.

Getting my util down, then I'm going for SP CLIs if I can get them in 6 months or so, and then I have my eye on a Chase Freedom next year-ish (just opened a chase checking and savings account in preparation. Will switch to Chase checking 100% in 07/2012 after we move. I think I'll leave my Citi savings account open for relationship sake in case I become interested in any of their CCs.

So suggestions on gardening techniques? ;-)

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

tinuviel — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:40:09 GMT

I've made mention of my gardening plan in previous GC threads, but I think it's a good idea to restate it. I believe that speaking it out loud, or putting it down on paper, or in this case as a post on a public forum helps to solidify one's plan and make it a more concrete goal.

What am I working towards? I would like a prime Visa and/or prime MC. I have three particular cards in mind that suit my needs and desires.

How can I get approved for these cards? Both my EX an TU reports show that my CA and 2 COs should all be gone by August; they should come off of EQ within the same time frame. Once those are gone, I will have a few scattered lates on old, closed accounts, but more than 1-1/2 to two years of spotless history on my new accounts. I will pull my scores at that time, and if I've made it over 700, I'll attempt apps on the last few cards that I want to add to my wallet. If my scores are not 700+, I'll sit back and wait until they are.

How willl I deal with the results of the decisions? If I get approved for any or all of them, wonderful! If I don't, I'll look at the reasons why and see if there is anything further that I can do about it. For both my attempts last October, the denial reason was the CA/COs, so I'm hoping that once they're gone my barriers to approval will be lifted.

So, that's my plan, and for my situation, I believe that it's a good one. Unless something earth-shattering happens, I'm sticking with it and staying firmly planted in the garden.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

tinuviel — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:48:13 GMT

aggieguy wrote:
I am now in the garden, after a successful April!

I'm coming from terrible financial decisions in my late teens/early twenties which led to terrible credit--go figure. I've worked fairly hard over the past couple years to clean up the mess I made, and after things that wouldn't budge finally fell off, I have decent reports. They all still have multiple 90+ day lates from 2006 on multiple trade lines added by the lovely folks at Wells Fargo Student Loans--can you tell I'm still kicking myself for that?

Anyway, on to my current garden, which is pretty big, but will be getting weeded soon:

Kohl's Store.......$300......11/2008
Orchard......$300......06/2009......getting axed in 08/2012, $6/mo monthly fee)
Kay......$1400......07/2009......I keep this around for the limit really)
Best Buy Reward Zone MC......$300......07/2009
CapitalOne Platinum......$500......07/2009
CapitalOne Platinum......$500......09/2009......thought I would be able to combine...nope
Merrick......$1000......02/2011......getting axed before 12/2012...merrick just sucks but they were my highest tradeline...
First Premier......$700......05/2011......getting axed by end of year...obnoxious fees
First National......$300......05/2011......sock drawered, possible axe soon
Barclays Apple......$1300......08/2011......sock drawered. they wouldn't give me a CLI this month, so SD for them
CapitalOne Cash Rewards......$1000......04/2012......I will probably close one or both of the Platinums in favor of this card
Amex Zync......NPSL......04/2012......woohoo! foot in the door with Amex!
Whew! Writing all of that out is scary.

I wasn't planning on apping this year, but I had a hard pull from a rental application for a house and thought I would take advantage and try to get a couple better-ish cards. The plan is to be in primeville next year. I have a couple more baddies to take care of and then I think I'll be ready.

Getting my util down, then I'm going for SP CLIs if I can get them in 6 months or so, and then I have my eye on a Chase Freedom next year-ish (just opened a chase checking and savings account in preparation. Will switch to Chase checking 100% in 07/2012 after we move. I think I'll leave my Citi savings account open for relationship sake in case I become interested in any of their CCs.

So suggestions on gardening techniques? ;-)

Congrats on working to rebuild your credit! I trashed mine when I was young, so I can relate. I think that it's wonderful that you've started taking charge of your credit and are working to improve it.

You have some good cards to garden. Like you, I have the Kay card strictly for the limit; I consider it my util padding card. And it makes sense to prune the cards that you've targeted and concentrate on keeping the ones that have fewer fees and/or are not redundant, like the multiple Cap1 accounts. And major congrats on the Zync!

I like your idea of waiting 6 months and seeing if you can get any soft CLIs. I would suggest letting everything age for another year, especially to get a solid history on your Zync, before you apply for any of the prime cards. You should see some score increases over that time, especially as your 90+ lates continue to age and eventually drop off, which will help you a lot.

Best wishes, and may your garden prosper! :)

Re: Garden Club Meeting - May 2012

jla84 — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:55:46 GMT

I apped last month for the Citi Forward - said I'd wait until this month, but I just couldn't wait and when my EQ score jumped a bit, I seized the opportunity. I was instantly approved for $6,500, my biggest CL so far! My EQ score dipped a bit when it started reporting yesterday, but it should go back up in a few months. Right after that, I tried a million times to app for the AmEx BCE, but the website was just not cooperating and I took that as my sign to wait. :) I have plans to app for that in October now. I'm also going to "weed" my Cap One before the AF hits in July. I wish I had the BCE to replace the groceries rewards, but I decided it wasn't worth it to keep it for another year.

My garden:

Capital One No Hassles Rewards card $750 CL

WFNNB Lane Bryant $100 CL

AmEx Zync NPSL

Discover Miles $3000 CL

PenFed Premium Travel Rewards with AmEx $5000 CL

WFNNB Avenue $750 CL

Citi Forward $6500 CL

By the time I app for the BCE in October, I'll have paid down my balances (I'm going from NYC-> Hawaii in July. I can't wait!!! But the plane ticket I just bought also temporarily messed up my utilization and I'll need a few months to pay it off) and kicked out Cap One for good. I have $16,100 in credit right now! It's a good feeling, along with the "pre-selected" and "pre-approval" mail I've been getting for various prime cards lately (not apping for those; still following my plan. But I'm allowed to bask in the knowledge that credit companies are actively seeking me out and want me!)