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I'm in too. I thought about not applying until December, but it was too tempting and I told myself, I might as well just pull the trigger anyways and I was fortunate enough to get approved. I'm here until May, and in May I'm going for the Freedom and maybe the BCE/Starwood/Delta Cards (one or two of the 3.) and see what happens.
I'm gardening since my apping spree in late August. I'm still new to this, but I've got this credit thing down to a science at this point so that I can maintain my score and have it grow. I have a lot of hard inquiries on my reports, but that's because I did them all at the same time, they should fall off at the same time so that helps me sleep at night. Lol! Just recently apped for the Cap One Cash Rewards (my first rewards card) and was super excited to see it come in the mail yesterday! Slowly building my portfolio so that I can start apping for the big dawgs in mid 2013 so that I can drop some of these store cards.
I'm just happy that I didn't have to start my credit building with secured cards and I went straight with cards that make sense for building. As much as everyone talk crap about Cap One in some threads, I've never had an issue with them and they're the one that gave me a chance with my new credit when the bigger cards wouldn't so I'm loyal to them. All of the other cards are just there for coupons because I actually did shop at these stores, the only difference now is that I have the card and more discounts with the coupons I get in the mail.
I wish everyone a successful December as this is the hardest time of the year to behave! I on the other hand told all adults in my family not to expect anything from me this year as I am experiencing a broke period in my life. (Wink wink!) I'm determined and determination never killed nobody! CAN SOMEONE PASS ME THE WATER HOSE, IM READY TO GARDEN MAN! Lol!
1 month app free.......its time to pay down my balances......I just got a boost of 16 yrs of AAoA from my amex accounts opened....this should help my gardening....
I'm back to Bronze, but come January, I'll be on my first "spree" of sorts. Will try to get (my local CU offered) CU CC with at least 10k CL. Will go for USAA (Full member) World MC, Amex PRG, Amex True Earnings, SWA Visa, and Marriott Rewards.
We'll see how I feel come time to hit the button - who knows, I may do nothing at all and just leave my butt planted right here.
It's the first of the month, so I just pulled my new reports from myFICO. I'm up 1 point from this time last month on EQ, but my jaw dropped when I saw TU... it went from 725 to 744, a 19 point jump!!!
I reviewed everything on myFICO's analysis of my reports. Last month, under the tab "Understanding Your Score" one of the factors listed as hurting my score was "You've recently opened too many new credit accounts," showing 4 accounts opened in the past year. This month, that factor doesn't appear at all. So I'm left wondering if some account aging has started to factor in??? My util hasn't changed much -- 5% last month, 4% this month.
Whatever the reason, I'm thrilled! I was hoping to break into the 740s next year, so I was excited to see one of my scores jump into that range already. Next year, I'm hoping to get all of my scores 740+. If I stay focused and on track, this should be doable. Gardening works!!!
Well, how fitting that I end the year in the garden – right where I started when I began this journey in January of this year. I did leave several times during this year (mostly planned, but some impulsive apps in there, too), but I will hit 90 days app-free the middle of this month and will pick up my first silver spade to celebrate.
This has been a great year for me, and I’ve learned so much from this forum. I started with nearly every CC maxed out and an overall utilization of around 70-75%. After aggressively paying down revolving debt, getting SP CLIs, and obtaining several new higher limit cards, my overall utilization is less than 10% and my scores have improved to what is noted in my signature line.
The primary goal for this month is to not go crazy with Christmas spending and keep myself on track to continue paying down revolving debt. No urges to app for anything at this point, and that’s a good thing.
Joining the club. Wake up call when Chase Freedom declined me because of too many inq and recent accounts - time to slow my roll.
Focused at keeping util % down, continue battling with my last blemish on my TU & EQ (Verizon), and refraining from any apping. December 1 good date to start...
Cheers everyone!
@TNTransplant wrote:Well, how fitting that I end the year in the garden – right where I started when I began this journey in January of this year. I did leave several times during this year (mostly planned, but some impulsive apps in there, too), but I will hit 90 days app-free the middle of this month and will pick up my first silver spade to celebrate.
This has been a great year for me, and I’ve learned so much from this forum. I started with every CC nearly maxed out and an overall utilization of around 70-75%. After aggressively paying down revolving debt, getting SP CLIs, and obtaining several new higher limit cards, my overall utilization is less than 10% and my scores have improved to what is noted in my signature line.
The primary goal for this month is to not go crazy with Christmas spending and keep myself on track to continue paying down revolving debt. No urges to app for anything at this point, and that’s a good thing.
You've done a fantastic job and have every reason to be pleased with yourself! Congratulations to you! I understand the discipline and effort that it takes to pay off debt and bring util down to an ideal level. I'm so happy that you've been able to reach your goals this year -- this is truly something to celebrate! May the coming year bring you much success as you continue on your credit journey.