579 to 665 - which credit card to apply for???

[Anonymous]

I have been on the boards since April of 2007 and my score has gone from 579 to 665 in that time period. I'm wondering what, if anything, should I do next? I currently have: 1 credit card with Web Bank - credit limit is $500 and balance is $39.00. Student Loans - $75,000 - I pay $400 per month and will do so forever. I paid off my auto loan in full in December and score dropped 19 points. I have 2 Collection accounts with AFNI - still fighting them and am preparing to sue them in January. What else can I do to improve my credit score? I have no other collection accounts and have written many goodwill letters to get rid of lates, with about 75 percent success. The credit card I have is pretty much a junk credit card that I obtained when my credit was poorer. I have had it now for two years and a couple of months. I make around $90,000 per year and have had the same job for a little over two years. Should I apply for a new credit card and if so, which one? Would I be denied based upon the two AFNI collection accounts? I want to have a real credit card with a higher balance. I am scared that eventually the junk credit card might be canceled and don't want to be stuck without one. I want to not be afraid to apply for credit.

[Red1Blue]

Try to check out the website www.financeglobe.com it will give you choice to select and apply for the cards based on your fico. You can also check www.whogavemecredit.com to find out who got approved for what credit based on their scores. Good Luck....

[llecs]

Figure out what your scores are on all 3 CRAs and selectively apply for cards you are nearly guaranteed to get. Check out whogavemecredit or CB and look at their databases. I bet if you were to add another card, like a store card, e.g., (assuming you don't have anything else on record other than the 1 CC),  then that alone would raise your score. Remember: if you'd be more selective, you'd be more effective.

[Anonymous]

Consider Hooters and a Juny,maybe...Citi seems hard to get with collections and Chase hates recent delinquents...BOA may offer you something too..and Cap One....good luck...

[fused]

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dooodooo wrote:
I have been on the boards since April of 2007 and my score has gone from 579 to 665 in that time period. I'm wondering what, if anything, should I do next? I currently have: 1 credit card with Web Bank - credit limit is $500 and balance is $39.00. Student Loans - $75,000 - I pay $400 per month and will do so forever. I paid off my auto loan in full in December and score dropped 19 points. I have 2 Collection accounts with AFNI - still fighting them and am preparing to sue them in January. What else can I do to improve my credit score? I have no other collection accounts and have written many goodwill letters to get rid of lates, with about 75 percent success. The credit card I have is pretty much a junk credit card that I obtained when my credit was poorer. I have had it now for two years and a couple of months. I make around $90,000 per year and have had the same job for a little over two years. Should I apply for a new credit card and if so, which one? Would I be denied based upon the two AFNI collection accounts? I want to have a real credit card with a higher balance. I am scared that eventually the junk credit card might be canceled and don't want to be stuck without one. I want to not be afraid to apply for credit.

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How old are these collections and lates?

[dallasjetfan]

I got Hooters, Juniper and Cap ONe with similar scores and income. If I were you, with that income I would have those loans paid in about 2 years before I would get into debt with more credit. Your scores have come up nicely!!

[Anonymous]

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dallasjetfan wrote:
I got Hooters, Juniper and Cap ONe with similar scores and income. If I were you, with that income I would have those loans paid in about 2 years before I would get into debt with more credit. Your scores have come up nicely!!

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Available credit is not the same as debt.

Also, student loan interest is tax deductible.  Whether OP should pay them off early depends entirely on the rates OP is paying on an after-tax basis.

For all but the highest SL rates, it is usally not beneficial to pay them off early.

[SanFranMatt]

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cheddar wrote:

Also, student loan interest is tax deductible.  Whether OP should pay them off early depends entirely on the rates OP is paying on an after-tax basis.

For all but the highest SL rates, it is usally not beneficial to pay them off early.

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I agree completely, too bad I didn't realize this right when I graduated though.  I paid off about $3-4K early (only had $16K total), but the interest rate is now 2.6% before the tax deduction!!!

[dallasjetfan]

I have to disagree because I would rather have available cash and not available credit!! Give me no debt and low CL's over high CL's with a chance to get into debt. The reason why I say this is because I have filed BK before and now I refuse to pay any interest on anything if I can avoid it. Just my opinion!

[Anonymous]

The collections are inaccurate. One is reporting from 2002 as the DOL and the other one is reporting that 2004 is the DOL. Thanks for all of the advice everyone is giving.