I have lurked on this forum for almost two years and the advice has been invaluable! I experienced credit setbacks in 2008/2009 and have used the advice here to slowly rebuild. My scores are TU (713 - post-approval); EQX (708 - pre-approval) and EXP (698 - post-approval) and my annual income is $310K.
In recent months, I've been taking advantage of signup bonuses with mostly positive results. Below are the approvals, starting with the most recent:
- Chase Sapphire (App: 1/3/16) - $16K CL: I went to fraud verification on this app. They pulled EQX. Oddly, the Chase pre-approval tool yielded no offers.
- Chase Freedom (App 1/3/16) - $5.5K CL: I'm hoping they consolidate these EQX inquiries. Went to fraud verificaiton on this app too.
- Capital One QS, no annual fee (App 1/3/16) - $10K CL: I went through the pre-approval tool, which recommended I consider this and the Venture card. They pulled all 3 credit reports. I have an existing platinum card with a $4.6K CL which they refuse to product change.
- Discover It Cashback (App 11/21/16) - $1.4K: They pulled TU per my request as I had frozen my EQX for all of 2015.
- Amex Platinum (App: 11/20/16) - no preset limit, soft guideline of $12K: I received a $400 credit against the $495 annual fee, so I figured, what the heck. I applied for all of the Amex cards on the same day and Amex pulled EXP. They held the applications due to Amex rules re: account approvals.
- Amex Delta (App: 11/15/16) - $1K CL: I didn't argue the low credit line, as I'm hoping to get steady CLIs.
- Amex Starwood Preferred Guest (App: 11/20/16) - $1K: See above.
- Dupage FCU Visa Rewards (App 11/16/15) - $5K CL: They pulled TU. I have an existing platinum card with them with a $15.5K CL.
I also applied (and was declined) for a Fidleity Amex and a US Bank card. Both pulled TU.
Before this, I had the 2 old credit cards mentioned above and 6 store cards, most of which were opened in the last 2 years. I do not carry a balance.
I plan to garden for all of 2016 with an eye towards getting CLIs on my Amex and Discover cards. I'm tempted to close a few of the store accounts.
