Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

[Divaofsongs]

That is great news, DaUsMsB. My husband and I both did the same with Capital One and we both opened 2 different cards with Cap One Platinum Mastercards just a few days/weeks apart from each other. We opened both accounts (2 each) in Sept of 2013 with starting ranges from $300 to $2000and since then we have had 2 CLI's. The first was at 6 month mark and that was automatic and was around $1000 increase from our starting limits. The second was by request online at the close of the 13th statement and we both received $3000 increases on each card the second time around. Together, we have almost $20K in credit between all 4 cards just a little over a year after opening the accounts. 

If you look at my siggy, you will see all the cards I have and all of them are BK friendly for sure because my BK was discharged in Aug of 2013 and I did not have any CC's opened at that time. These are all new accounts and all unsecured with online instant approvals. 

We upgraded our Platinum MC's to Quick Silver cards after we received the first CLI. 

If you have any questions about which one's were sp/hp, starting limits, etc. just ask. :-) 

[DaUsMsB]

Great that's good news...I'm right at 8 months post discharge...I've been hearing good and bad about barclays...but I want a BIGGER limit, not to necessarily use...just to have as "unused" and "available"...my measily 500 secured and 600 regular card was barely making it...each time I used it...it was taking a hit because it looked like a big "percentage".  I probably wont cancel the regular Credit One with Annual fee just yet...but probably will the secured one just to get my secured money back. 

So is the Barclay worth getting?  Is it a SP or HP? I'd like to get one for myself and my wife to just add along...then we can sit and garden on what we have.  I'm really on the fence of best buy for myself...or Barclay for both...I buy a lot of electronics anyways...and plan to buy the PS4/Xbox One for my kids for Christmas...rather than pay cash...I want to use credit and pay it immediately...just to show use.

[Divaofsongs]

Barclay's is great as well but is a HP. However, it may be worth it because they are good at CLI's every 6 months. Me and hubby both have Barclay's and I started wtih $1500, he started with $1300. At 6 month mark he got increased to $2800, I did not, but he used his card a lot and always carried about 15-20% balance and I did not. They LOVE heavy usage and carrying a 15-20% balance, there is a whole thread about it.  Overall, I like Cap One better because they have given me more credit and are not as picky about stuff as Barclay's. Barclay's likes to be the one and only and they reward you for it too with higher CL's. Hubby and I tested it out and sure enough, heavy usage and carrying a balance on his end yielded a CLI at 6 months while my limited usage and PIF every month did not. :-( Guess who's using the heck out the card now???? LOL 

P.S. Barclay's likes to see 4-6 months revolving history for approval and the rewards master card is the best, imo. I got my first cc's in late Sept/early Oct of 2013 and got approved for Barclay's in early Feb 2014.

Walmart, Amazon, HSN, and Lowe's are pretty good as well. Auto CLI on WM. Lowe's, and Amazon at 4 months and every 4 months afterwards, HSN at 6 months. 

Good luck and keep us posted. 

[DaUsMsB]

SWEEEEEET !!! thanks Diva!!! Now my wife and I each have our own $1,500 (1 for her, 1 for me) barclay rewards mastercard!!!  I think we have enough to garden awhile now...holy crap what a day!!! So refreshing...got our reports cleared up...and bam!!!!!!! Instant approval for every site for us today!!!!

For some reason barclayus page was broken...wouldnt bring me to rewards card I wanted...so I googled it...1st hit was it.  I filled it out for us both...and approved!!!

Congratulations!

You've been approved for the Barclaycard Rewards with a credit line of $1,500.00

That makes 7 cards total!!! Today!!! 3 for me and 4 for her!!! Time for Christmas Gardening!!!

[Divaofsongs]

YAY!!!!!!  So happy for you! I remember the exhiliration that I felt every time that screen said APPROVED! I was just beside myself and could not believe my eyes. Now I have that same feeling when I hit the credit limit increase button on my cards and it says APPROVED! 

Keep us posted on your progress.

I can tell you from our experience, Capital One will give you CLI's if you use your card frequently and pay it close to zero or carry a small balance. The first 6 months, I paid 2 or 3 times a month because I used them so much and did not let the balance ever go over 30%. You should get the auto increase at 6 months and the more you use the card, the higher the increase. They say in the letter that you will get a $250 increase but we both got $1000+ increases on all our cards when the auto increase came through. The next one will not come until you request it and they will not approve it until 6 full statement cuts after your first auto CLI. Believe me, I tried and always got denied with the "recent credit increase" denial letter. Once the 12th statement cut, all 4 of our cards got a $3000 increase approved when I hit the credit limit increase request button. 

Also, not sure if you each have just one Cap One card but we each had 2 cards with Cap One and both were rewards mastercards. I got mine approved 2 days after I opened my first account, hubby got his second card a month later. You can have multiple cards with them. 

Happy gardening and hope you get tons of CLI's in the near future! :-) I also forgot to mention that Barclay's provides a free true FICO score for Trans Union so that is a plus as well. 

P.S. Amazon has zero interest for 6 and 12 months, depending on your purchase amount. I got an auto CLI with them just 2 months after opening my account. :-) 

[DaUsMsB]

I thought I read some people had 2...I guess I'll wait until Monday or maybe Friday before I try again for a 2nd.  I think 1 more each would make it easier to manage and keep up.  I think I have a plan that may work for us both.  Split the cards up according to their due dates and use 1-2 cards for 12-16 days...then swap over to the other set.  PIF alternately as they post, while using the other set.

I'm hoping it isn't too long before we're going strong again!!!  We all know how hard it is to get back on track when going off!  I don't ever want to relive this struggle again and cannot thank the members here enough for all the comments on their journey.

[Pway]

Since my last post a couple days ago I have applied for an Express Credit Card (250.00) and approved after account verification.  I have all the cards I need for now. 

[Insoc]

I'm surprised to see people getting Barclay's App approvals so soon after BK discharge, my experiences with them were negative, but it's been over a year or so since I last applied.  I am still thinking I'll wait a little longer before attempting them again and feel more confident in getting another Capital One CC, I was prequalifed for two in total.

Nearing 16 months post Chap 7 BK Discharge and this is what I got in new credit the past 3 months:

Merrick Bank Visa $700 CL

Capital One QS1 MC $2000 CL

Amazon Store Card (Synchrony Bank) $600 CL

VW Credit $25K New Car Lease

[DaUsMsB]

Okay, now I'm done...I just need to cancel my secure card with NFCU and start gardening.  Diva...you were right...we were both approved via capital one for our 2nd card.  Just did it...only 1/3 of our 1st card though...but still...approved.  So our 2 latest cards are $1000 for me and $500 for the Mrs.  So we will just shuffle and pay everything with cards and PIF each month to garden.

[Divaofsongs]

We had the opposite happen to us, my 1st card was $300, 2nd was $2000, hubby's 1st card was $300, second $500. When the first auto CLI's came around on the 6th statement, our first cards were both increased from $300 to $1300 and the 2nd cards were increased from $2000 to $2500 and $500 to $750. We were not expecting such a large increase because the credit steps letter said we would receive a $250 increase after 5 on-time payments, so when we received $1000 CLI, we were very happy. 

The second CLI we received on these cards did not happen until the one year mark (6 statement cuts after the auto CLI at 6th statement) and we used the luv button online to make the request for an automatic approval. Our 1st cards each received a $3000 CLI, while the 2nd cards each received a $2000 increase.

We had tried several times for a second CLI on all the cards between the auto CLI at 6 months and the 12th statement cut but we always received a message that said they could not approve the CLI because we had "recently received a credit line increase." I decided to wait for the full 6 statements to cut after the auto CLI at 6 months and sure enough, all 4 cards received the 2nd CLI. I even tried 3 days before the 12th statement and was declined, only to try 4 days later (the day after my 12th statement cut) and was approved instantly. 

I said all that to say this................a lot of people say Capital One cards will not grow with you, but I have found the opposite to be true. These are our highest limit cards and we are more than satisfied with them.

All combined, between my hubby and I, we have almost $30K in unsecured revolving credit just a little over a year past our chapter 7 discharge date and about $22K of that is major credit cards, with the other $8K being in store card credit. I wonder how many people can say that? I think we are doing very well.

It has been almost a year now since I got my last credit card and I am beginning to get a little antsy. I have been thinking of trying for the Discover IT card but I am afraid I will get declined. I really don't "need" any more credit now anyways, I only use about 2-3% of what I have now. It is just that urge to see if I would qualify. I will do my best to NOT apply and let all my current cards age out to at least 2.5 years before trying for another line. All my cards are Mastercard, I want Visa and Discover too, LOL. I think I need to sit on my hands for a while. 

P.S. We added each other as an AU on all of each other's cards. Not sure if this has had any impact at all but I think it has helped.