How many cc's do you have now? The credit limits on each, and your balance on each?
Do you have any thing in public records on your CR? (bankruptcy, judgements, tax liens)
Do you have any collections on your CR?
Here's a great website where you can plug in your scores, and it displays what CCC's gave credit:
http://www.whogavemecredit.com/index.php?page=search.php
you can find out if you are pre-approved for any of BoA's CC's here:
https://preapproved.bankofamerica.com/cc/SelfInquiry.aspx
Score match will give you a list of CC's you can apply for, after you type in your score:
http://www.financeglobe.com/ScoreMatch/?gl&gclid=COiUr97s944CFRcbWAodswwy0w
Your scores are not that bad, so you should get some kind of card. Good luck!
Do you have any thing in public records on your CR? (bankruptcy, judgements, tax liens)
Do you have any collections on your CR?
Here's a great website where you can plug in your scores, and it displays what CCC's gave credit:
http://www.whogavemecredit.com/index.php?page=search.php
you can find out if you are pre-approved for any of BoA's CC's here:
https://preapproved.bankofamerica.com/cc/SelfInquiry.aspx
Score match will give you a list of CC's you can apply for, after you type in your score:
http://www.financeglobe.com/ScoreMatch/?gl&gclid=COiUr97s944CFRcbWAodswwy0w
Your scores are not that bad, so you should get some kind of card. Good luck!
@Anonymous wrote:2) I'm trying to build my credit which has been dwindling for no reason but my own carelessness. Any suggestions on any way to quickly establish my credit? I spend a decent amount on my American Express (~3k per month, have had my cards for 3 months now) and always PIF
A New Yawker saying "y'all"? --gotta love it!
Check your credit reports and see if they're showing the $0 PIFfed balance or the $3K current charges. If they're showing the $3K, then FICO thinks you have 60% utilization ($3K / $5K.) About 4-5 days before your CCC reports to the bureaus, check your balance on line and PIF it then. That way you'll have a $0 or very low balance showing.
As stpn2me said, GW those lates. Check on these boards for examples and how-to's--use the search box and type in GW late. It looks like you're coming up on 12-month "anniversaries" on the lates, and you'll get some score bumps then, and again at 18 months, and so forth. And obviously, no more lates, ever again.
How long ago were your inqs? They will display for 2 years, but they only count against you for 1 year. You'll get little score bumps when they age (over 6 months, etc), and again when they go over 1 year. I get the impression that EX obsesses a bit with inqs, and if so, since you have 5 with them, that would explain the lower EX FICO score. I wouldn't bother trying to get the inq's off your reports, if they're really yours. Apparently that can really blow up in your face. So in terms on the inqs, stpn2me is right--time will be the healer on them.
You'll read a lot of posts (including from me!) about having 0-9% report. You can do that, but it's pretty tedious, and it's mainly useful for a credit tune-up right before a mortgage or similar importatnt credit app. As long as you're using your card, and not sock-drawering it, it's fine to let the $0 report. Maybe let a small balance report occasionally.
Ummm, let's see, what else--if you have any non-mortgage installment loans, you might get some help by getting them down below 50%, but the loan category is not a huge driver of scores (as long as your payment history is clean, as yours seems to be.)
Learn to tune out your TrueCredit FAKO's. Yours are surprisingly close to your real scores, but they're still a distraction, and basically meaningless.
Take some time to play with the score simulators for EQ and TU. They're really cryptic, but if you have your TC report next to you (so handy showing all three reports together!!), you can get a real feel for how those little anniversaries (3 mo., 6 mo., etc.) affect your scores. And if you get the best option of pay down your bills over 24 months, a lot of us are beginning to believe that that really means, pay things down, keep them down, and most importantly, keep your nose clean for the next 2 years, which it sounds like you're starting to do.
I'll leave it for the credit card warriors as to which ones to aim for, but I would sure let your inq's cool off first. IMO, you're going to be able to get nice cards in 6 months to a year (unless there's something big and icky you didn't mention
), so I sure wouldn't waste time and inqs on junk cards. Sit back and make yourself attractive to the good cards. Good luck!