@starry1 wrote:I talked to a Discover underwriter about a month ago and she told me 24 months post ch7. I called up and pretended like I was thinking about applying and asked her what their requirements are. She wouldn't tell me what scores they want because its proprietary information.
I am almost at 4 years 3 months away and Discover declined me for bankruptcy after they told me all I had to do was clean 2 charge offs from Swiss Colony from my credit which I did and my highest Fico is 718 and the one they pulled was 661 equifax. I opened a new message on this earlier and I got all different answers over 4 years 6 years, etc.. Discover New accounts dept wouldn't tell me when the cut off time is...
Starting Score: TU:599 EXP: 596 EQ: 595 Starting Year 2009
The BK does not only have to be discharged but it has to be cleared from your credit report.
As long ANY derogatory information shows on your CR, it will be used against you.
I had to wait until my Chapter 13 fell off my records for me to be approved for prime cards.
As long ANY derogatory information shows on your CR, it will be used against you.
I had to wait until my Chapter 13 fell off my records for me to be approved for prime cards.
My EQ still shoes my dismissed Co 13 from 2005 and I have been approved for several prime cards. It's definitely a YMMV-
I filed BK twice:
Chapter 7 in 2003, will delete Aug 2013
Chapter 13 in 2005, has been discharged 1/2011 and deleted 10/2012
My first credit card after BK was Orchard Bank. Started at $300 and now it is $1100 CL, still open since 2009 so 4 years old now, perfect payment history, and I believe this trade line is what most of my approvals are based on. So I feel you may have had a chance with Discover if you had FP and Credit One still open as those were your oldest cards. I was approved for the Discover It on Friday with a $1000 CL. Not great but a shoe in. The CSR said that since the BK 7 is 9.5 years old, it didn't even factor into their decision. When did you file the 13 and when were you discharged?
I also have Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500), Chase Freedom ($1000), Best Buy ($2500), Barclays Rewards ($2500).
How many inquiries do you have now?
I think you have made GREAT progress and depending on when you filed BK 13, you may have to wait a little while longer to the point where the BK is close to being deleted off your reports. You will also need to build your revolving history as most of your trade lines aren't even a year old yet. Having a long revolving history can counter some of the negative effect due to BK. Chase, Citi, Discover, and AMEX are not BK friendly at all so you either need to wait until the BK deletes or mask it with as much positive history as you can.
You will get there so don't get discouraged. You are in a great position post discharge. I would try Barclays Rewards. They approved me on recon this Monday. I hope my card is here today. Just be ready to explain why you filed Ch 13 to the CSR when you call.
I think your biggest mistake was closing FP and Credit One. I agree that you want to shut them down but you need to use the history first to get in the door with prime lenders. But it is something that is easy to recover from...just keep paying everyone on time. You have a good amount of credit to garden to build history. So try Barclays and then head to the garden with me!
Chapter 7 in 2003, will delete Aug 2013
Chapter 13 in 2005, has been discharged 1/2011 and deleted 10/2012
My first credit card after BK was Orchard Bank. Started at $300 and now it is $1100 CL, still open since 2009 so 4 years old now, perfect payment history, and I believe this trade line is what most of my approvals are based on. So I feel you may have had a chance with Discover if you had FP and Credit One still open as those were your oldest cards. I was approved for the Discover It on Friday with a $1000 CL. Not great but a shoe in. The CSR said that since the BK 7 is 9.5 years old, it didn't even factor into their decision. When did you file the 13 and when were you discharged?
I also have Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500), Chase Freedom ($1000), Best Buy ($2500), Barclays Rewards ($2500).
How many inquiries do you have now?
I think you have made GREAT progress and depending on when you filed BK 13, you may have to wait a little while longer to the point where the BK is close to being deleted off your reports. You will also need to build your revolving history as most of your trade lines aren't even a year old yet. Having a long revolving history can counter some of the negative effect due to BK. Chase, Citi, Discover, and AMEX are not BK friendly at all so you either need to wait until the BK deletes or mask it with as much positive history as you can.
You will get there so don't get discouraged. You are in a great position post discharge. I would try Barclays Rewards. They approved me on recon this Monday. I hope my card is here today. Just be ready to explain why you filed Ch 13 to the CSR when you call.
I think your biggest mistake was closing FP and Credit One. I agree that you want to shut them down but you need to use the history first to get in the door with prime lenders. But it is something that is easy to recover from...just keep paying everyone on time. You have a good amount of credit to garden to build history. So try Barclays and then head to the garden with me!
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13!
@MovingForward_2012 wrote:
I filed BK twice:
Chapter 7 in 2003, will delete Aug 2013
Chapter 13 in 2005, has been discharged 1/2011 and deleted 10/2012
My first credit card after BK was Orchard Bank. Started at $300 and now it is $1100 CL, still open since 2009 so 4 years old now, perfect payment history, and I believe this trade line is what most of my approvals are based on. So I feel you may have had a chance with Discover if you had FP and Credit One still open as those were your oldest cards. I was approved for the Discover It on Friday with a $1000 CL. Not great but a shoe in. The CSR said that since the BK 7 is 9.5 years old, it didn't even factor into their decision. When did you file the 13 and when were you discharged?
I also have Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500), Chase Freedom ($1000), Best Buy ($2500), Barclays Rewards ($2500).
How many inquiries do you have now?
I think you have made GREAT progress and depending on when you filed BK 13, you may have to wait a little while longer to the point where the BK is close to being deleted off your reports. You will also need to build your revolving history as most of your trade lines aren't even a year old yet. Having a long revolving history can counter some of the negative effect due to BK. Chase, Citi, Discover, and AMEX are not BK friendly at all so you either need to wait until the BK deletes or mask it with as much positive history as you can.
You will get there so don't get discouraged. You are in a great position post discharge. I would try Barclays Rewards. They approved me on recon this Monday. I hope my card is here today. Just be ready to explain why you filed Ch 13 to the CSR when you call.
I think your biggest mistake was closing FP and Credit One. I agree that you want to shut them down but you need to use the history first to get in the door with prime lenders. But it is something that is easy to recover from...just keep paying everyone on time. You have a good amount of credit to garden to build history. So try Barclays and then head to the garden with me!
Barclays took my card away they drove me crazy for months to take out saying I was pre-selected and I applied 5 times for each offer declined and all them hard pulls. Then last Nov they approved me for a $500 card then I paid in full 5 payments in 2 months and they close it because of too many inquiries. They were on there when they opened the account no more was added except when I requested a credit limit increase of $250 they closed me down... Right afgter I was so mad at them I reported them into consumer finacial bureau and got no where just a letter from presidents office. Then in Jan 2013 I got a $4000 Sears Platinum MC not the best APR but best limit I got right now and cannot believe Citi handed it out with so many inquiries on my credit. It had a $250 cash line then they cut it to $50 lol... I don't use cash advances but that is a joke and they allow me no balance transfers.... Its really just a high APR store card that can be used anywhere. I'm getting reconsidered for a Citi Simplicity card after I found the email of theirs on their facebook page and left a comment some nice woman from president's office called me and assured me she could get my app approved even with all the inquiries and bk since I have a $4k sears account and paid 10 payments on it in 4 months since I got it.. She asked me about charge offs I had I said my wife opened them without my consent before bk and they are collecting bk debt and I was tricked into paying it and theres nothing I can do now I tried every legal avenue to get Swiss Colony... My last hope was my bk lawyer but she swept me under the rug she said she was checking into somethings and never got back to me.... But I also emailed cap 1 CEO and got my 3 cards reconsidered upgrades or which ones to close to upgrade the oldest cap 1 I got I hope they can do something they both called me today Citi and Cap 1 executive offices. I'm shocked Citi called.
Thanks for the info. Based on when you filed Ch 13 BK, I think you will have a better chance with prime lenders if you wait until the end of next year as it will be 6.5 years old and due to fall off in 6 months. But I'm not entirely sure as I know I would have not been approved 6-7 years out from filing a Chap 7. Prime lenders may prefer 8-10 years after BK, which means you will have to wait for the Chap 13 to delete as some others mentioned. Even though a Chap 13 only stays on your report for 7 years from filing if you successfully complete the plan versus 10 years from filing a 7, you are still just 4.5 years from bankruptcy. Regardless of the Chapter filed, I believe prime lenders look for BKs to be 8-10 years old. Even though you are 2.5 years from it being deleted versus 5.5 years from deletion in the case of a Chap 7, it is still only 4.5 years old. So prime lenders go off the absolute age of the bankruptcy and not the age relative to deletion. So you might not get what you want until the Chap 13 deleted as prime lenders desire 8-10 years since BK for the majority of people. I know you are closer to deletion than someone who filed a 7 but the BK is much younger than someone who is 2.5 years away from a Chap 7 deletion.
There is a misconception regarding BK discharge. I see it all of the time on the BK forum. There are numerous posts stating, "Discharge, woo hoo! Thinking of applying for the Freedom, etc." Discharge does not mean all the doors open up for approvals across the board. All Discharge means is that your debts are forgiven and you have a fresh start with zero credit related debt obligations from before the filing. A lender doesn't look at discharge as an automatic approval for credit. It definitely looks better than a dismissal as with a dismissal, those creditors that you filed on can restart collection activity even though that is unlikely. And a 13 discharge generally looks better than a 7 because creditors got paid back a portion of the monies owed. But discharge does not automatically mean you can get a mortgage and CSP. Many on the BK forum are using it as a pass to take them places and then they get discouraged when the denials start coming in. The real celebration comes when the BK is deleted. Once my Ch 13 was deleted and just the 9 year old Ch 7 was remaining , I applied with prime lenders and it felt good knowing my chances were way better as now the only one who knows I filed a second BK is you all here and me. The Reps no longer have a clue. They could look it up in Public Records but that is only done for mortgages...not credit cards and auto loans. All they can question is the Ch 7, but come August, when I apply for credit, no one will know that I filed BK except ME and all of you! Once the BK is gone, that is when you apply with AMEX and for CSP if you have successfully rebuilt.
I know it is a great feeling to not have to pay the trustee every month and that all of your debts are permanently wiped away but you are not there yet. BK is meant to hurt for a long time for failure to pay your debts. You just can't wipe all the negative history away with a discharge, and be back at point A again. You still have to find BK friendly lenders, rebuild with them, wait for the BK to get 8-10 years old and/or delete, then apply with prime lenders and build up your available credit, and then FINALLY once the BK deletes, you have paid the full price and are back at point A. It takes time...a long time. When I was approved for my first prime credit card, my stats were: 9.4 year old BK 7, BK 13 deleted, 3.5 years of revolving history with Orchard Bank, 6 months history with Cap1, paid off subprime auto loan with 4 years of perfect history, perfect payment history on student loans opened 13 years ago, perfect payment history on an auto lease opened 2 months ago.
There are always a few folks that get in sooner with prime lenders than others and that is because each individual credit report after BK is very different but for the majority, their reports are not reestablished enough yet post BK. So how quickly one fully rebuilds after BK is a YMMV thing. There is no wrong place to be after BK. Where each individual person stands after BK depends on many factors such as income, level of financial stability, how soon the rebuilding process began, whether or not a person put a big deposit on a secured card or not, whether or not derogs were placed on their credit reports after BK, etc. Some excelled in those areas quicker than others. There is no right or wrong way nor are there any "magical" dates. BK is very traumatic! Many people are afraid of credit or despise it after the BK process and because of that, the process takes longer. So just because X person got a Freedom 4 years after BK, doesn't mean that the same will apply for someone else. The best question to ask that person with a Freedom 4 years after BK is, what steps did you take after filing BK and what was the associated timeline?
I briefly provided the trade lines I obtained after BK. And for further clarification, I did not apply for any new credit until 3 years after filing the Chap 13 in Oct 2005. Here is my timeline:
Aug 2003 - Filed Chapter 7
Oct 2004 - obtained a subprime mortgage, 2/1 ARM
Oct 2005 - Filed Chapter 13
Jan 2006 - Foreclosure
May 2008 - obtained subprime auto loan
May 2009 - obtained Orchard Bank card
Jan 2011 - Chap 13 Discharged
July 2012 - obtained Cap1 Cash Rewards card for average credit, $2000 CL, current $2500 CL, tried for mortgage preapproval...denied due to BK 13 discharge less than 2 years ago.
Nov 2012 - paid off subprime auto loan, obtained tier 1 auto lease financing.
Dec 2012 - Applied for CSP...denied, Applied for Chase Freedom...approved on recon with $1000 CL, reapplied for mortgage preapproval...preapproved due to Ch 13 deleting before 2 year anniversary of discharge.
Jan 2013 - switched mortgage lenders...preapproved again.
Feb 2013 - obtained 30 year fixed FHA mortgage, obtained Best Buy store card with $2500 CL.
April 2013 - applied for CU CC...denied, applied for Barclays...approved on recon with $2500 CL, applied for Discover It...approved with $1000 CL.
History of total available credit since BKs:
2003 - $0 (cash only for 6 years)
2009 - $300 - $500
2010 - $500 - $700
2011 - $700 - $1100
2012 - $1100 - $3600
2013 - $3600 - $10600
I believe the info I provided is more helpful towards determining where you need to be for approval with one of the prime CC issuers.
I'm curious to see your timeline as a comparison. That way I can provide some tips to help you get to where you want to be versus answering with why you were denied the Discover It.
Post is long, I know! But I have been seeing these types of posts a lot and I want to help others understand the hurdles they are facing after BK and how to overcome them.
There is a misconception regarding BK discharge. I see it all of the time on the BK forum. There are numerous posts stating, "Discharge, woo hoo! Thinking of applying for the Freedom, etc." Discharge does not mean all the doors open up for approvals across the board. All Discharge means is that your debts are forgiven and you have a fresh start with zero credit related debt obligations from before the filing. A lender doesn't look at discharge as an automatic approval for credit. It definitely looks better than a dismissal as with a dismissal, those creditors that you filed on can restart collection activity even though that is unlikely. And a 13 discharge generally looks better than a 7 because creditors got paid back a portion of the monies owed. But discharge does not automatically mean you can get a mortgage and CSP. Many on the BK forum are using it as a pass to take them places and then they get discouraged when the denials start coming in. The real celebration comes when the BK is deleted. Once my Ch 13 was deleted and just the 9 year old Ch 7 was remaining , I applied with prime lenders and it felt good knowing my chances were way better as now the only one who knows I filed a second BK is you all here and me. The Reps no longer have a clue. They could look it up in Public Records but that is only done for mortgages...not credit cards and auto loans. All they can question is the Ch 7, but come August, when I apply for credit, no one will know that I filed BK except ME and all of you! Once the BK is gone, that is when you apply with AMEX and for CSP if you have successfully rebuilt.
I know it is a great feeling to not have to pay the trustee every month and that all of your debts are permanently wiped away but you are not there yet. BK is meant to hurt for a long time for failure to pay your debts. You just can't wipe all the negative history away with a discharge, and be back at point A again. You still have to find BK friendly lenders, rebuild with them, wait for the BK to get 8-10 years old and/or delete, then apply with prime lenders and build up your available credit, and then FINALLY once the BK deletes, you have paid the full price and are back at point A. It takes time...a long time. When I was approved for my first prime credit card, my stats were: 9.4 year old BK 7, BK 13 deleted, 3.5 years of revolving history with Orchard Bank, 6 months history with Cap1, paid off subprime auto loan with 4 years of perfect history, perfect payment history on student loans opened 13 years ago, perfect payment history on an auto lease opened 2 months ago.
There are always a few folks that get in sooner with prime lenders than others and that is because each individual credit report after BK is very different but for the majority, their reports are not reestablished enough yet post BK. So how quickly one fully rebuilds after BK is a YMMV thing. There is no wrong place to be after BK. Where each individual person stands after BK depends on many factors such as income, level of financial stability, how soon the rebuilding process began, whether or not a person put a big deposit on a secured card or not, whether or not derogs were placed on their credit reports after BK, etc. Some excelled in those areas quicker than others. There is no right or wrong way nor are there any "magical" dates. BK is very traumatic! Many people are afraid of credit or despise it after the BK process and because of that, the process takes longer. So just because X person got a Freedom 4 years after BK, doesn't mean that the same will apply for someone else. The best question to ask that person with a Freedom 4 years after BK is, what steps did you take after filing BK and what was the associated timeline?
I briefly provided the trade lines I obtained after BK. And for further clarification, I did not apply for any new credit until 3 years after filing the Chap 13 in Oct 2005. Here is my timeline:
Aug 2003 - Filed Chapter 7
Oct 2004 - obtained a subprime mortgage, 2/1 ARM
Oct 2005 - Filed Chapter 13
Jan 2006 - Foreclosure
May 2008 - obtained subprime auto loan
May 2009 - obtained Orchard Bank card
Jan 2011 - Chap 13 Discharged
July 2012 - obtained Cap1 Cash Rewards card for average credit, $2000 CL, current $2500 CL, tried for mortgage preapproval...denied due to BK 13 discharge less than 2 years ago.
Nov 2012 - paid off subprime auto loan, obtained tier 1 auto lease financing.
Dec 2012 - Applied for CSP...denied, Applied for Chase Freedom...approved on recon with $1000 CL, reapplied for mortgage preapproval...preapproved due to Ch 13 deleting before 2 year anniversary of discharge.
Jan 2013 - switched mortgage lenders...preapproved again.
Feb 2013 - obtained 30 year fixed FHA mortgage, obtained Best Buy store card with $2500 CL.
April 2013 - applied for CU CC...denied, applied for Barclays...approved on recon with $2500 CL, applied for Discover It...approved with $1000 CL.
History of total available credit since BKs:
2003 - $0 (cash only for 6 years)
2009 - $300 - $500
2010 - $500 - $700
2011 - $700 - $1100
2012 - $1100 - $3600
2013 - $3600 - $10600
I believe the info I provided is more helpful towards determining where you need to be for approval with one of the prime CC issuers.
I'm curious to see your timeline as a comparison. That way I can provide some tips to help you get to where you want to be versus answering with why you were denied the Discover It.
Post is long, I know! But I have been seeing these types of posts a lot and I want to help others understand the hurdles they are facing after BK and how to overcome them.
You're welcome. I'm glad it was helpful. You WILL get there! PROMISE! I look forward to seeing your approval post for the CSP one day! Sometimes it helps to not think about credit so hard for awhile. Shortly after BK and obtaining some post BK trade lines, I went into robotic mode of going to work, paying bills, sleep and repeat. I checked my credit twice a month at the most versus everyday now and eventually I saw my score soar into the 750's last July and started to get excited about credit again. I basically used 50 of my points for a new car, mortgage, and 5 more CCs. I'm still not where I want to be as no one seems to want to give me a limit of over $2500! I hope by fall I will get some meaningful CLIs after the BK falls off. But no more apping for me until July 2014. We will see if my credit is CSP material by then or not.
Sometimes it helps to not think about credit so hard for awhile. Shortly after BK and obtaining some post BK trade lines, I went into robotic mode of going to work, paying bills, sleep and repeat. I checked my credit twice a month at the most versus everyday now and eventually I saw my score soar into the 750's last July and started to get excited about credit again. I basically used 50 of my points for a new car, mortgage, and 5 more CCs. I'm still not where I want to be as no one seems to want to give me a limit of over $2500! I hope by fall I will get some meaningful CLIs after the BK falls off. But no more apping for me until July 2014. We will see if my credit is CSP material by then or not.
@MovingForward_2012 wrote:
You're welcome. I'm glad it was helpful. You WILL get there! PROMISE! I look forward to seeing your approval post for the CSP one day!
You want a limit above $2500? Give Sears Platinum MC a try. They gave me $4000. I couldn't believe it I have a BK and had 2 charge offs then I since paid them charge offs off. It is from Citi not the Cap 1 version which was a back up which they now got rid of. My mother went up there and got approved for that version Cap 1 $1800 now they made it a Orchard Bank Gold then later this year it will be a Reg Cap 1 Platinum MC. But anyways I don't know if you like sears they got sky high apr but not for stuff financed through their store but I just wanted it for the limit and pay in full and get kmart rewards points...That is the only downfall you have to apply in store...