My wife and I were discharged from Ch7 in June 2015. Just to update and give some encouragement to some folks just now going through the process, I'd like to share my rebuild so far. So, upon discharge my overall scores for the 3 CB's hovered around the 505 mark and I had a FICO score of 490. Absolutely abysmal. This is because when we petitioned our Ch7, my personal profile had numerous baddies on it: Charge-offs, collections, public records etc.. The BK just obliterated the score even further.
Anyhow, I received an auto loan 2 weeks post discharge for $16k. It was something we had to do because we surrendered our financed car in the Ch7. After the past 7MO of on time payments, I saw a CS increase of around 80 points across the board. I didn't apply for any credit cards until around 5MO discharge however. Even though I burned Capital One in the BK for an $18k loan and a credit card, they let me back in the door after the 5MO mark. I was approved for the Cap One QS1 and Plat credit cards ($600). I've been keeping those at 20% utilization for the sake of mentioning it.
At the cutting of the 2nd statement from Capital One, both cards reported to the CB's and I received my first major jump in credit scores. Overall each CB reported around a 45 point increase due to the reporting of the Capital One cards. This placed my FICO score at 621 (current). Yesterday, I decided it would be a great time to do a mini-spree and try to SP for some credit. I did the SCT (Shopping Cart Trick) for Comenity stores and immediately got the pre-qual for the usual suspects like JCrew and SimplyBee. I didn't accept them however. The only Comenity Bank accounts I was interested in was PayPal Credit, which yesterday I applied for and was approved for a small credit line. I use eBay/PayPal a whole bunch, so I was very pleased with the approval.
I also decided to try a Comenity store card after some thought. I wanted to try and have a fair credit mix by throwing in a revolving account. So I thought of my wife and applied for a Maurices' Store card. I did a straight HP app and was approved immediately for a small $300 line of credit. Perfect for my needs. Just a revolving rebuilder. My wife loves Maurice's, so it will work out great. Lastly, for the mini app spree, I decided to try the Barclay's pre-qualifier. Just because Credit Karma suggested it and my research of reviews for it led me to believe that I would be approved.
The Barclay's pre-qualifier did not suggest nor pre-qualifiy me for any products. However, I decided to go against the grain and just go for it anyways. I found it worth the few point inquiry ding, just to know where I stood with a major credit card app. Upon applying, I was immediately approved for a small (but highly welcomed) $750 credit line. Mind you, with a 621 FICO. VERY pleased to have this card added to my rebuilding mix! A good starter along with the Cap One cards, auto loan and Comenity revolving accounts.
My goal for the next 4-6MO's is to garden from applying BUT start utilizing some of the 'love' buttons in short time. My Cap One accts are 3MOs old coming in a couple of weeks. At the 4MO mark, I'll do the 'love' button and see what happens. Hopefully I can add some available credit to both cards and just leave them alone after that. I'll app for a DiscoverIT card after the 4-6MO mark, even though it is suggested that I'd be approved now. I'd like to see my FICO hit around 650 before applying for it (or other cards). It's give me a chance to obtain credit in more of a 'prime' level. Not that a 650 is 'prime' level scoring (lol) but I'd likely get a better interest rate than I will now.
I should note that I also did received pre-qualifier offers from BoA and US Bank for sub-prime 22%+- cards. I declined to apply but it was nice to see what the pre-qualifier sites would say. I received no offers from Chase, Citi or Amex, most likely because they aren't letting recent BK filers in the door (from what I understand). So there you have it! 8MOs after discharge my FICO went from 490 to 621 and I went from zero account to: 1 auto loan, 3 major credit cards, 2 revolving store cards and several offers for other cards.
YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) but my story while not as 'grand' as some of the others on here, does provide evidence that if you make positive, careful moves, you can see some rebuilding. Good luck everyone! =)
**Edit: I failed to mention that I did receive a $900 Firestone credit line at the 6MO post discharge mark with a 589 FICO.
