topic Re: New and need some help [approved for Blue] Thank you ! :) in General Credit Topics

New and need some help [approved for Blue] Thank you ! :)

galaxy — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:25:31 GMT

Hi,

I just joind fico, and and I need some help

My Fico score is 725

My CREDITSECURE EX is 665

My CREDITSECURE EQ is 736

My CREDITSECURE TU is 736

I have one unpiad medical that is due to get dropped from EX within 3-4 months(7 years old), after that I think EX score will go to 700s

I only have one Amex Gold card " open account " that was in good standing for 9 years, no late payments at all over the 9 years

in the last 4 years I applied alot for CC and always got rejected, now I have 0 inquiries for the last year and only 1 over the last 2 years about to get dropped in early 2013

my target is to get my score to 800s and to be able to get a decent revolving CC, I don't have debt at all and I always pay my charges by the end of each month

and I am not planning to get in debt, I just want have good score and one or two more cc, also I may need to get car loan in 2013

should I start applying now or wait, I am really scared of getting rejected again.

Regards

Re: New and need some help

my-own-fico — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:05:33 GMT

Hello there. It might be quite simple actually. In your myFICO EQ report on page 2 or 3, look for "Ratio of your revolving balances to your credit limits"; there should be a percentage. If you don't see it, look for your Amex Gold card account farther down in the report to see if a credit limit is reported. If not, your so-called utilization may be zero, and FICO likes it much better if there are reported credit limits. Also, on page 2 what are the factors in red under "What’s hurting your FICO® score"?

Re: New and need some help

Booner72 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:24:05 GMT

Well, it depends on what you need. If EX is the only thing w/a derog (and it's pretty old) you should be able to qualify. If you belong to a credit union, go apply for a cc with them. The limit will grow with you and they already know you.

You have good credit reporting, right?

What is your "dream" cc? I would go ahead and go for it, one inquiry surely won't kill you.

Re: New and need some help

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:46:12 GMT

Welcome to the forum!

Your scores are pretty good! The only thing you are lacking is credit history.

Is the AMEX Gold the only credit you have on your report? Do you have any old auto loans? Do you have any student loans? Do you have a mortgage?

You need to have at least 3 credit cards to maximize your scores. Here are my suggestions:

Apply for an AMEX Blue Cash Everyday or an AMEX Blue Cash Preferred, whichever card fits you best. The Blue Cash Everyday doesn't have an annual fee while the Blue Cash Preferred has an annual fee but the rewards are larger. I normally wouldn't suggest applying for this card but seeing that you've had a Gold card for 9 years you should be approved. If you are not approved it will only be a soft pull anyway because you are a current AMEX member. These cards are revolvers and let you carry a balance month to month unlike your Gold charge card.

Do you shop at Walmart? If you shop at Walmart then definitely apply for the Walmart card. You will get a free TU08 FICO score every month for free after signing up for electronic bill pay. This card is backed by GE and they are really good with automatic credit line increases. You have an excellent chance at being approved for this card.

You may also want to apply for 1 card from one of these prime banks:

CitiBank

Chase

Bank of America

Wells Fargo

Discover

You might be denied a card from these banks at this point but I would suggest giving it a try. You certainly won't get it if you don't try. If you are denied, keep trying again every 6 months. The only reason I see you being denied for one of these cards is your thin file or lack of credit card credit history.

Please stop back and let us know how you do with the approvals!

Good luck!

Re: New and need some help

galaxy — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:13:03 GMT

Hi thanks for your help,

on myfico report

i see this

Total owed on revolving accounts $4792

Largest past balance

$8,197

the 3 red items in my fico are

You have few accounts that are in good standing.

The amount owed on your revolving accounts is too high.

There is no recent activity on your credit cards.

Re: New and need some help

galaxy — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:15:44 GMT

Hi, thank you

well, I don't belong to a credit union, Amex is reporting every month and for 9 years, never late

I need to get cc with no anual, decent interst, I don't like debt and the max I want to do is maybe pay sometimes over one or two month not more, without the risk to

getting crazy high interst

Thanks

Re: New and need some help

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:17:52 GMT

How many credit cards do you have?

I thought you had just 1 AMEX Gold card?

Re: New and need some help

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:25:57 GMT

The AMEX Blue Cash Everyday is probably the card for you. You will get cash back on all your purchases and there isn't an annual fee.

Re: New and need some help

galaxy — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:26:49 GMT

Hi, thanks you again, I am not sure if its good to reply msg by msg or all at once ! anyway

Yes, Amex gold is the only card in my report, I never had cards before, never had car loan or any kind of loans or mortgage.

I know I need more cc, but trying to get the best for my needs, low interst, no anual fees, something like that

I like the idea of applying to Amex Blue, but how should I do it,

should I wait few month until the EQ record drops ? or do it now ?

also should I apply for all the cards I need one time, or one by one

I can bring my util to 0% within few days, because I pay the charges eveymonth anyway, should I do that, and wait until Amex soft pull and apply ?

I took longtime to be here, as more than 6 years ago, I always got rejected for cc, and did not know why, after long long crazy fight I found that the cc berue was reporting my brother bad records to my report ! including an bankrubcy, by the time I fixed that, my account already had alot of cc inqu. and I gave up getting any cc

now after longtime on 665 score, the last and the only bad medical record is dropped and my score gone high, so hope I can do it right this time,

I don't shop at walmart a lot, maybe 1 or 2 times a month, most of my money goes to designer closthing and resturants

if Amex refuse me for blue, I think the applied 3 years ago to get blue and they did not approve it, now can I talk to them ? or waste of time ?

Thank you

Re: New and need some help

galaxy — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:34:09 GMT

I need to add one more thing,

I don't need cc urgent now, I can wait if it is better, in fact also I have some cash that I can use to help my score if I can, maybe 2-3K

should I open secure card?

Thank you

Re: New and need some help

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:01:14 GMT

Let's take this one step at a time. If all you have is the one credit card I would suggest you apply for 5 more cards within the next year. Apply for 2 cards now and 3 more cards 6 months from now.

First, pay your balance down and make sure it is reported to the credit reporting agencies. Amex will usually report your balance within 3 to 4 days after your payment due date. You have to wait until 5 days after your payment due date before you apply for the new credit cards. You need to make sure you keep the balance low during that time so don't use the card from the time you pay the balance down until 5 days after your payment due date.

Then apply for the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday. Immediately after that apply for the Walmart card. Using it only once every 3 months is enough to justify getting this card.

After you have these 2 cards for 6 months, apply for 3 cards from those prime banks I mentioned earlier.

When is the payment due date for your Gold card?

Re: New and need some help

galaxy — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:07:05 GMT

thank you, I will follow that and posts updates here,

amex payment is due on the 9th, I just made payment of 25% of the balance few min ago, I will get it down to 0% I think by the end of Oct

then will wait 1 week and make my move ! :)

Thanks again

Re: New and need some help

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:18:31 GMT

You're welcome!

Please stop back and let us know how it went.

Good luck!

Re: New and need some help

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:22:16 GMT

You have to wait until 5 days after the payment due date. That means November 9th plus 5 days = November 14th.

You should apply on November 14th.

Good luck!

Re: New and need some help

galaxy — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:36:07 GMT

will do, and will update results right away thank you,

Re: New and need some help

my-own-fico — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:28:12 GMT

galaxy, thank you for response, which cleared your way to 800! But hold your horses though for today and do not do anything in hast.

"There is no recent activity on your credit cards." means that your Amex gold card is not used for utilization, since it's likely a charge card or a flexible spending card. Also, it likely cannot be updated for this purpose.

So the first thing you would want to do is to get a card that reports its credit limit. I suggest the Amex Blue Cash Everyday, because 1) it reports its credit limit, 2) there's no annual fee, 3) the second card will backdate to your first card and keep your average age of accounts intact.

Later you would want to pay down your near $5,000 balance, but that's secondary.

Do not do anything else for the next couple of months!

Re: New and need some help

galaxy — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:35:28 GMT

great, I think I can wait 2 months and do that, will cover the balance and get the Blue as you guys recommended,

waited 7 years, wont heart to wait 2 more months :)

Thank you so much,

Re: New and need some help

my-own-fico — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 01:33:17 GMT

jamie123 wrote:

I normally wouldn't suggest applying for this card but seeing that you've had a Gold card for 9 years you should be approved. If you are not approved it will only be a soft pull anyway because you are a current AMEX member.

I'm sorry, but it isn't so. Applying for a second Amex card will result in a hard inquiry. An Amex credit limit increase request though is a soft pull.

Re: New and need some help

jamie123 — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 01:55:49 GMT

I'm sorry, but I disagree with you to a point. If he applies for the BCE and is DECLINED, it will only be a soft pull. (As stated above.) If he applies and is APPROVED it will be a hard pull.

He also will be fine if he applies for the BCE on November 14th which is 5 days after his next payment due date. OP states he will have his balance paid down to zero by the payment due date. Where's the problem with that?

OP is also going to apply for the Walmart card on November 14th. In my opinion Walmart would approve him if he applied today.

OP is also going to wait for 6 months before applying for any other prime bank card.

Re: New and need some help

my-own-fico — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:44:02 GMT

Not having been declined for any Amex card, I cannot speak from personal experience. It's just that what you're saying is news to me. You might be right nevertheless of course, but if you are, that's a way to get your free credit score from Amex, which could be the otherwise almost always unattainable EX FICO: "Thanks to a new rule that’s part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, if you’re denied for a credit card, the lender must provide you with a copy of the credit score that was used to make the decision about your application." Is there really such a thing as a free lunch? In any event, I hope OP (he or she) gets approved. :smileyvery-happy:

PS: come to think of it, my logic was that the type of inquiry, hard or soft, is known before that inquiry makes it known whether you have been approved or declined?