Credit card suggestions, what should I try to get?

[masscredit]

BK discharged in Feb of '10. Had a score of 520 in Sept of that year.  Currently at 661 TU and 684 EQ. 5 tax liens that aren't going anywhere.  16 inquiries show on my report (Credit Karma).  I'm going to estimate that 6 of them are from cc apps last Aug/Sept, maybe 4 from trying to refi my car loan in July/Aug last year, 2-3 from credit card apps before that and maybe the other 3 from close to 2 years ago. I guess they would still show up if they aren't counting against my score?  

Current cards are -

Barclay's - $3700. (CLI last month from $2k) 22.9% (3.9% special offer through Jan '14 - $2100.)

Target - $3000. (not even going to try for an increase) 22.9% (carrying a balance of about $2500)

Cap 1 - $2500. (increased from $1500. this week) 19.9% (rotated use, gets PIF before due date)

Merrick - $1000. (I've read it's difficult to get an increase) - 22.9 or 24.9% (rotated used, PIF before due date)

Orchard - $950. (tried today, hard pull so I'm going to hold off) - 14.9% (no bal)

Walmart - $700. (tried this week, denied. card gets used and is paid off. Waiting for letter) 22.9%? (no bal)

JCP - $200. (don't know if I should try after I got denied for a Walmart CLI) $26.9% (no bal)

I'm gradually paying my balances down by about $100. - $400. per month. 

Barclays and Cap 1 are growing with time. I believe Cap 1 started at $500. in 2010. Went to $750., then $1500 and now $2500.  Barclay's started at $1300. last Aug, reconed to $2k then the increase to $2500. I thought the GE cards would grow nicely but something is blocking me there. 

The first thing that I see when I look at this list is, I need some cards with lower interest rates. I think I'm starting to see Primeville on the horizen.  One or two low interest cards with $5k limits and maybe no fee balance transfers would probably work out really good. Plus I'd keep the above cards open which would really lower utilization. The earliest that I'll do anything is towards the end of Aug. Most of those inquiries will stop affecting my score by then. 

What cards do you think I should look at if my scores stay in the 660-685 range?  I'm hoping they will be 670-690 by then.

[FinStar]

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@masscredit wrote:

BK discharged in Feb of '10. Had a score of 520 in Sept of that year.  Currently at 661 TU and 684 EQ. 5 tax liens that aren't going anywhere.  16 inquiries show on my report (Credit Karma).  I'm going to estimate that 6 of them are from cc apps last Aug/Sept, maybe 4 from trying to refi my car loan in July/Aug last year, 2-3 from credit card apps before that and maybe the other 3 from close to 2 years ago. I guess they would still show up if they aren't counting against my score?  

Current cards are -

Barclay's - $3700. (CLI last month from $2k) 22.9% (3.9% special offer through Jan '14 - $2100.)

Target - $3000. (not even going to try for an increase) 22.9% (carrying a balance of about $2500)

Cap 1 - $2500. (increased from $1500. this week) 19.9% (rotated use, gets PIF before due date)

Merrick - $1000. (I've read it's difficult to get an increase) - 22.9 or 24.9% (rotated used, PIF before due date)

Orchard - $950. (tried today, hard pull so I'm going to hold off) - 14.9% (no bal)

Walmart - $700. (tried this week, denied. card gets used and is paid off. Waiting for letter) 22.9%? (no bal)

JCP - $200. (don't know if I should try after I got denied for a Walmart CLI) $26.9% (no bal)

I'm gradually paying my balances down by about $100. - $400. per month. 

Barclays and Cap 1 are growing with time. I believe Cap 1 started at $500. in 2010. Went to $750., then $1500 and now $2500.  Barclay's started at $1300. last Aug, reconed to $2k then the increase to $2500. I thought the GE cards would grow nicely but something is blocking me there. 

The first thing that I see when I look at this list is, I need some cards with lower interest rates. I think I'm starting to see Primeville on the horizen.  One or two low interest cards with $5k limits and maybe no fee balance transfers would probably work out really good. Plus I'd keep the above cards open which would really lower utilization. The earliest that I'll do anything is towards the end of Aug. Most of those inquiries will stop affecting my score by then. 

What cards do you think I should look at if my scores stay in the 660-685 range?  I'm hoping they will be 670-690 by then.

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This one is kind of a trivial.  For one, the balances appear to show very high utilization when compared to your aggregate CLs (roughly 42%).  What's counting in your favor is the payment history and the age of those accounts plus any inquires that may fall off in the process (or not count past the 12 month period).  What's hurting your score and chances would be: high utilization, especially since two of those cards would reflect near the CLs as well as the negative items on file.  Lenders would be hesitant to grant any additional unsecured credit if any current balances appear to be high (when compared to income and overall credit picture) and the presence of any negative/unresolved items on file.

Perhaps others may chime in and provide some options that may work for you on the horizon when your situation improves.

[myjourney]

Just being honest but you truly need to get those balances down before applying for any cards. Sorry

[masscredit]

The Barclay's balance was about $600. when I received the increase. I did a few transfers to take advantage of the lower rate. I'm going to concentrate on paying down the Target card first.

[myjourney]

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@masscredit wrote:
The Barclay's balance was about $600. when I received the increase. I did a few transfers to take advantage of the lower rate. I'm going to concentrate on paying down the Target card first.

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are tax liens paid?

[09Lexie]

Are the tax liens unpaid? Federal or state? How long have they been on your cr?

[masscredit]

Nope. Those are marked as "currently non-collectible" (state and fed). 5 liens totaling about $25k. Mostly due to various taxes from when I owned my owe business and the economy went downhill.

[myjourney]

Double edged sword tax liens and high UTL 

I recommend you hit the garden and pay down debts 

[09Lexie]

Are any of the federal liens eligible for the Fresh Start Program?

[myjourney]

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@09Lexie wrote:
Are any of the federal liens eligible for the Fresh Start Program?

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Nope unpaid GOV wrote off for now...still may attempt to collect at a later date tho