jamie123 Tracker

Re: Need some advice before I do anything dumb.

jamie123 — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:31:03 GMT

sidney79 wrote:
@improvingcredit,

I actually decided to get my TU/EQ score from here last night. TU is 663, and EQ is 628.

Those scores are pretty good.

You should be approved for both the Cap1 and Walmart cards.

I know other posters are telling you to apply for the Cap1 Newcomers card but I disagree with them. The Newcomers card is for people that are new to this country, not new to credit.

Do it now! Apply for one of those cards and stop back to let us know how it went.

You can do it!

Good luck!

Re: Need some advice before I do anything dumb.

jamie123 — Sat, 11 May 2013 05:21:50 GMT

I agree with some of the other posters. It is definitely okay to try and apply for 1 or 2 cards just to see where you stand. If you get approved, that would be great! If not you at least know where you stand and exactly what you need to do. Don't worry, a couple of HPs at this point won't really matter.

Apply for one of the Capital One cards that have an annual fee. Pick your poison. Two cards have a $39 annual fee and one card has a $19 annual fee.

Apply for a Walmart store card. Walmart cards are backed by GE and they are very generous with CLI. You also get a free monthly TU 08 score after signing up for electronic billing.

I think you have a great chance at being approved for both of these cards.

You can do it!

Good luck!

Re: Enlightenment needed...

jamie123 — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:20:12 GMT

I think everyone is missing a reason for having 6 to 8 credit cards. Having 6 to 8 credit cards builds a strong and wide base for the rest of your credit needs. If you have just 2 credit cards and then add an auto loan your scores will drop much further than if you had 6 to 8 credit cards. The auto loan will kill your AAoA if you only have 2 credit cards. Even in a manual review, 2 cards is a pretty thin file for an underwriter to gage your true credit risk when applying for new credit.

Re: How soon will credit appear improved?

jamie123 — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:51:08 GMT

Definitely pay off the credit cards.

Pay down as many as you can to zero. Leave a balance on only one card if you run out of money to pay them all off.

Your credit card companies only report to the credit reporting agencies once a month. You will be safe to apply for a truck loan one week after the last payment due date for the last credit card payment you made. Even if you pay them down before the payment due date, you must wait until one week after the payment due date.

EDIT: Don't close any of your credit cards unless they carry an annual fee. Just use each one lightly every 3 to 4 months to keep them active.

Re: Helping Mom Rebuild...Need opinions

jamie123 — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:19:15 GMT

If I were you I would try and apply for a Walmart credit card. They are one of if not the easiest unsecured credit cards to be approved for. This will give you great insight as to where your Mom really stands. If she's approved that would be great. If not, you know you have your work cut out for you.

It would definitely be worth a HP at this point to find out just where she stands.

Re: Which AMEX card should I apply for? (Warning: myFICO noobie!)

jamie123 — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 04:40:02 GMT

I just lost a long response! I must be tired. I'll try stopping back tomorrow.

Re: Which AMEX card should I apply for? (Warning: myFICO noobie!)

jamie123 — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:15:34 GMT

First off you need to do a few things for us to be able to give you accurate advice.

We need to know who the lenders are for your existing credit cards and how old those cards are.

Why do you want an AMEX card?

Why, if your banker and home builder told you not to do anything with your credit, you are not taking their advice?

There are things you could do to improve your score but getting a new credit card right now isn't one of them.

EDIT: AMEX will not allow you to put business expenses on a personal credit or charge card. Well, maybe an airline ticket and hotel occasionally but certainly not $30K a week. You need their business credit card for that.

Re: ADDING FAMILY AS AU ON CC's?

jamie123 — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:26:31 GMT

I commend you for wanting to help your parents. I do however think you should help them repair the credit they do have first. You might just be giving them an oppurtunity to dig a deeper hole.

A lot of us here never valued our credit until we labored through the credit rebuilding process for ourselves. Once you have to do all the work it takes to recover, it focuses all your credit decisions on where they should be. Don't buy it with credit unless you can pay for it!

If I have learned one thing here, it is to start a rainy day fund. Just look around these forums and witness how many people have been rained on sooner or later and weren't prepared. The house of cards falls pretty fast in the rain.

Re: 674 FICO. Want to get first card.

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:48:22 GMT

Now is the time to go for it!

What's the worst thing that could happen? You get denied and have 1 extra HP on each report. Big deal! Then you wait six months and apply again. You basically haven't lost anything!

But if you are approved...

You will start out with 2 cards and will be in a much better position 6 months from now. Walmart will have given you your first CLI after 4 months.

A Cap1 unsecured card is usually harder to get than a Walmart card. Walmart will just give you a small credit line to start.

If you truly have no baddies on your report IMHO you are a shoe in for the Walmart card.

Just do it!

Good luck!

Re: 674 FICO. Want to get first card.

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:55:25 GMT

Congrats!

Now app for a Walmart card. Like right now before the Cap1 card starts reporting. Your scores will go up faster and you will build history faster by having 2 CCs.

The approval of the Cap1 is a good sign that you will be approved for a Walmart card. Walmart CCs are serviced by GE and they are really good about giving generous CLIs. That's why you want the Walmart card. You need to build up your credit line so when you app for future cards they will usually match your highest existing credit line. Cap1 is very, very stingy with CLIs.

Good luck!

Re: Two different questions (regarding opening a new card and upgrading another)

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 01:01:03 GMT

I was just thinking about this again. The reason you were not immediately approved for the BoA card was because the computer is not able to approve a CC with such a high credit line. An actual human probably has to look over the app and agree with the computer that yes, he does deserve a 10K CL.

The same thing has happened on this forum before but its been a while ago. Not too many people get huge CL when cards are first issued.

Re: Two different questions (regarding opening a new card and upgrading another)

jamie123 — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:26:05 GMT

Awesome! Congratulations!

Really nice credit line!

See...Prime banks will take care of you. Wait until this card is 6 to 7 months old and app for another prime bank CC.

Re: 674 FICO. Want to get first card.

jamie123 — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 20:21:43 GMT

sleepless619 wrote:
I've never had a credit card and want to increse my 674 score. My only credit history is my student loan. So, I'm wondering what the best cards I would have a good chance of getting approved for are.

I would suggest doing this:

1. Apply for the Capital One Classic Platinum unsecured credit card. You have a very good chance of being approved. You have no baddies on your report and just lack history. Don't be surprised at a small CL. If you are denied this card then for sure apply for the secured version.

2. Regardless of what happens with the Capital One app, apply for a Walmart credit card. You have a very good chance of being approved. Again, no baddies, just a lack of history.

After these cards are 6 months old other options open up for you but that would be pressing it. After they are a year old you will be golden.

Re: Two different questions (regarding opening a new card and upgrading another)

jamie123 — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:30:52 GMT

You are in a really awesome position right now. Keep up the good work!

One word of warning though...If you are carrying balances month to month you are probably using your cards too much and probably not saving for a rainy day. Almost everyone gets rained on sooner or later. Be prepared.

Your scores are so good that you should only be applying for credit from the PRIME banks. Prime bank CCs will grow with you for life and give you some really good CL down the road. These are the prime banks:

AMEX

Bank of America

Chase

CitiBank

Discover

Wells Fargo

The BoA CC would fit real nice in your portfolio!

I would suggest adding 1 or 2 cards per year from these prime banks until you have about 6 prime bank cards in total. Keep calling them every 6 months for CLI and you are golden!

Re: Any chances of approvals??

jamie123 — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:04:43 GMT

I think you should wait until May before apping for anything. In the mean time try and get the UTI down as much as you can.

When it comes time to app I would suggest adding only 2 cards, any more than that and she is destroying her AAoA and risks rejection.

She is at the point where she sould only be apping for cards from the PRIME banks. These banks will grow with her for a lifetime and give her some really great CL down the road. The prime banks are:

AMEX

Bank of America

Chase

CitiBank

Discover

Wells Fargo

It would be great for her to get an AMEX as soon as possible but they are very income sensitive and her scores need to be at least 680 across the board.

I would therefore recommend apping for Chase and then Discover. She should then wait another year and apply for 2 more cards from the other prime banks.

Re: Deposit question for BOA secured??

jamie123 — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:38:59 GMT

I was just graduated at 9 months. Total suprise to me!

Received a letter in the mail one day saying I was graduated to an unsecured card, two days later I received a check reimbursing my deposit money.

My secured CL was $500 and it stayed at $500 when it unsecured.

Re: Plan of attack for future CLI??

jamie123 — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:08:56 GMT

You worked so hard to get credit, why would you want to voluntarily cancel those cards now?

I would suggest putting the Orchard and Regions cards in your sock drawer. Take them out to buy something small every 4 months or so to keep them active for at least the next 2 years while your new cards age. They are currently helping your score with the AAoA. (I know it doesn't make a difference if he closes them.) After 2 years you can reasses the situation and close them at that point.

If something happens between now and 2 years and you need to apply for new credit, these older open accounts could help you get the new credit in a manual review.

Re: Near 700 FICO score. What is the best card for me?

jamie123 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 04:00:27 GMT

Before you apply for a new card I would try calling Discover for a CLI. That is probably your best option for a higher limit right now.

Once you get the CLI from Discover then go for a new card. Perhaps a BoA 123 or AMEX BCE.

Re: Transunion deleted 6 false reports.. credit increase of 1 point.

jamie123 — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 03:52:20 GMT

eculley wrote:
So my transunion dispute finished yesterday. The total number of negitive reports removed was 6. However, my score only went up a single point. Does it take time for my credit score to reflect the deleted items?

Thanks!

How many baddies do you have remaining on your report and what are your scores?

Re: FICO Score keeps dropping and I have no clue why...

jamie123 — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 03:16:57 GMT

You don't really want ANY NEW CREDIT one year before applying for a mortgage. This means credit cards, auto loans, pay day loans or what have you. Any kind of new credit will knock your score down for about a year. (Let me qualify this. New credit will make your score go up if you are just starting out or rebuilding.) If you have a high score, a few missteps in the year leading up to applying for a mortgage could end up costing you thousands of dollars if you miss getting a lower interest rate by a few points.

Unless you really need a new car, getting a car loan in the year leading up to a mortgage is a big mistake. Now I know you are just refinancing an existing mortgage so it is not quite as bad, but I am talking about an original mortgage. These are the reasons a car loan is bad in the last year:

1. You now have an installment loan on your reports for tens of thousands of dollars and it is new credit. Can you make the car payments? That's what the lender will be asking. They don't know because it is new credit and you have not demonstrated being able to make the payments for a year.

2. The inquiry to get this loan cost you anywhere from 5 to 20 points off your scores. Hope you weren't close to an interest rate step.

3. Dollar for dollar you just qualified yourself for a much smaller house. Whatever your car payment is will be directly taken off the size of the monthly mortgage payment the lender will figure that you can afford. Yes, it will have a direct impact on your DTI ratio.

Now, a good income can overcome all of it except for the interest rate the lender will be charging you for the loan. That interest rate is 100% credit score based.