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4 months, 6 new accounts. Next Steps.

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Anonymous
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4 months, 6 new accounts. Next Steps.

Hi! Until recently, I didn't pay much attention to my credit. I had four cards opened at age 20, closed them all at 23 when my finances got tough and before the debt could consume me, and didn't get a new card again till last year, at age 29, a Barclaycard with a $1.5k CL. Since opening that card, I've been promoted at work (a local video production firm) twice and now work in upper management, have saved up much more, and, expecting to make some major purchases soon (including a house), I decided this year to open a handful of credit cards to expand my credit file and therefore have a better shot at getting approved for personal and business financing that will aid me in achieving several career, family and business goals that I have.

Unfortunately, I went a tad bit over board and opened up a bit too many new accounts in a short time (6 accounts since May of this year), and my FICO scores have dropped from roughly 750 to about 680/690, even after having 90 days pass since the last inquiries.

I don't want to or feel the need to apply for any more personal credit cards, but I'm in the process of starting my business, have opened a few net 30 accounts, gotten a duns number and paydex score, and were looking to apply for just one more credit line: a revolving one and/or business card for the new business, to help get it on its feet.

I make $60k a year, have one auto loan, 8 total cards (6 opened since May), total credit usage at around 25%, no card balance over 29%, and 5 cards with $3k or higher credit lines.

My question is: with all the recent inquiries on my report, should I:

1) wait a few months to apply for a business card (Amex, Citi, etc), once the recent inquiries shed a little more of their impact, to have a better chance at approval?

2) Apply for a business card now, because the 680/690 scores, multiple accounts and my relatively low usage can get me approved, regardless of the recent inquiries?

3) Apply for a revolving line instead of business card this month with a small business lender like OnDeck or Lending Club, since I can use other elements of my finances (bank statements, tax returns, etc), and therefore increase my chances of a larger loan? Or

4) Do something else?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

P.S.: I understand that option 3 would put a business CL on my personal report, and that's not always advisable, but if it's the best option of the 4, I'm willing to do it.

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1 REPLY 1
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: 4 months, 6 new accounts. Next Steps.

While lending club would just be a personal loan and would report to your personal credit.

OnDeck is a business line and can be accessed repeatedly and would not report to your personal credit. However they require BUSINESS INCOME and if you are just starting you won't qualify for any of them... usually 1 year in business and $10k month in revenue minimum.

 

Amex Simply Cash Plus seems to be the revolver Amex is pushing with some very nice limits for business and it will pull your EX for approval but then will not report.  I would test the waters with an app there.

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