Garden Club Meeting for March 2011

[tinuviel]

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@MarineVietVet wrote:

I've been gardening my CC's for over 6 years. Am I allowed to join?

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

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Of course you are! With a gardening history that long, you're my hero!

[mberrytravis]

OOOps!  Sorry for the temptation.  I was just so thrilled because before this year I never had a card of any kind.  If it helps...I have like 20 Hard Inq this past year.  I heard more no than yes. After the approval this morning with CITI I stupidly decided to try for Discover.  Too many Inqu and not enough history.  Reality.

I pledge and promise to garden. 

My scores last week were TU 668 and EQ718.

In August of 2010 they were TU 526 and EQ518

[MarineVietVet]

I have to make a correction. I went over my reports again and it will be 6 years in September since I got my last CC.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[armymom]

After I app'd for Amex last July I told myself I was ready to garden.  But unfortunately my poor Orchard has stopped growing so I had to replace it with Slate two weeks ago.  Hope my replanting does prevent me from joinning. 

[imhotepng]

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@tinuviel wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just fell off the app wagon in a BIG way.  After a year and a half of good behavior I just went on an app bender.  Its like waking up in a sleazy vegas hotel with someone you dont remember and trying to figure out how much damage  I did at the party!

Anyway...applied and received

Am ex gold rewards

Am ex delta $2000

Am ex Blue cash (unknown limit) it hassnt arrived yet

Amazon visa $1700

Paypal Mastercard $3000

Discover $3000

BOA Rewards visa $3500

Barclay Apple visa $300

Walmart Discover $850

Chevron $900

Heck, it was like being on a hot streak on the slot machine.  Decided to ride it out till my hand was no longer hot.  quit when US bank  shut down the party with  a reality check!

Us Bank Rei visa (Turned down flat, too many new apps)

Nuked all AF  Rebuilder cards FP $275, Hooters $500 Crap one $500  Orchardbank $300

Never and I mean NEVER go online around bank credit app sites if you have been partying!    

I seem to have added TEN New Hard pulls

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!"......Famous last words!

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Well, now is DEFINITELY the time to go back into gardening mode. Sounds like you got some good cards out of it, though. So, sit tight and let them age. It sounds like you're set for a while... congrats!

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Must have been one heck of a party! And here I am smacking my "app hand" for last month's app spree. I ended up with 4 new CC but changed my Credit Union Visa Gold to a LOC for a better credit mix. No apping for two years here!

[tinuviel]

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@armymom wrote:

After I app'd for Amex last July I told myself I was ready to garden.  But unfortunately my poor Orchard has stopped growing so I had to replace it with Slate two weeks ago.  Hope my replanting does prevent me from joinning. 

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We'll just consider that to be a necessary pruning or weeding.

Congrats on the Slate! Now you have a nice seedling to tend to, one that should grow with you over time. Welcome to the club!

[FicoScore626]

Hello fellow gardeners!

Started rebuilding in July 2009 with a First Premier Mastercard ($250) being my first credit card in a long time, followed by Macy's ($300), Bloomingdale's ($100) and JCPenney ($150) store cards the following month.

Eventually got approved for Care Credit ($1500), Jareds ($1300) and an HSBC 2% Mastercard ($320) during the final few months of that same year.. Afterward I gardened and gardened for most of 2010 because I had my sights set on joining the NASA Federal Credit union and didn't think I'd stand a chance because of my credit profile at the time.. I had late payments that were two years late and more. All were in regards to student loan repayments. Some uglier than others..  Between the two accounts I have/had with EdFinancial I had a total of 5 90 day late payments in 2008.. Between the 2 accounts I had with Nelnet I had close to 40 late payments (30s, 60s, 90s, and 120s) that dated further back. I gardened until September 2010 when I finally bit the bullet and pulled the trigger with the NASA Federal credit union. Surprisingly, they approved me for a Share account and a checking account.. I then applied for their Visa classic and thought for sure it was going to be a guaranteed NO!  I waited for their loan rep to contact me and give me the many reasons why I wouldn't be allowed to touch one of their cool-looking credit cards and to my absolute SHOCK they friggin approved me! I asked for $1200 when I applied and got $1200. Of course more would have been nice but I didn't want to mess up my chances so I chose a nice, safe amount.

I've been gardening since receiving their card last year and have been slowly reaping the rewards of the work I've put into the rebuilding process. My JCPenneys limit went from $150 to $700 to $1200 to $1700. Macy's and Bloomingdale's went from their initial $300 and $100 limits up to $1500 each. Jareds went from $1300 to $1900. HSBC gave me a measly $100 increase on my 2% Mastercard but at least it was free, unlike First Premier's $100 increase that cost me $25 and a hard pull! Bastids! Lol.. Also, my TransUnion FICO score hit a milestone of 675. Inching me closer to the infamous 700 club that has alluded me for so bloody long.

Another cool thing is that now I'm getting pre-qualified/pre-approved offers from various places like Capital One, American Express, Discover and now Bank of America. Tempting offers but this is going to be a gardening year for me. I'd like to focus on paying down all of my balances, improving my scores and getting credit line increases across the board. Once I've done all three then I'll look into checking out one or two of those offers.

[tinuviel]

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@FicoScore626 wrote:

Hello fellow gardeners!

Started rebuilding in July 2009 with a First Premier Mastercard ($250) being my first credit card in a long time, followed by Macy's ($300), Bloomingdale's ($100) and JCPenney ($150) store cards the following month.

Eventually got approved for Care Credit ($1500), Jareds ($1300) and an HSBC 2% Mastercard ($320) during the final few months of that same year.. Afterward I gardened and gardened for most of 2010 because I had my sights set on joining the NASA Federal Credit union and didn't think I'd stand a chance because of my credit profile at the time.. I had late payments that were two years late and more. All were in regards to student loan repayments. Some uglier than others..  Between the two accounts I have/had with EdFinancial I had a total of 5 90 day late payments in 2008.. Between the 2 accounts I had with Nelnet I had close to 40 late payments (30s, 60s, 90s, and 120s) that dated further back. I gardened until September 2010 when I finally bit the bullet and pulled the trigger with the NASA Federal credit union. Surprisingly, they approved me for a Share account and a checking account.. I then applied for their Visa classic and thought for sure it was going to be a guaranteed NO!  I waited for their loan rep to contact me and give me the many reasons why I wouldn't be allowed to touch one of their cool-looking credit cards and to my absolute SHOCK they friggin approved me! I asked for $1200 when I applied and got $1200. Of course more would have been nice but I didn't want to mess up my chances so I chose a nice, safe amount.

I've been gardening since receiving their card last year and have been slowly reaping the rewards of the work I've put into the rebuilding process. My JCPenneys limit went from $150 to $700 to $1200 to $1700. Macy's and Bloomingdale's went from their initial $300 and $100 limits up to $1500 each. Jareds went from $1300 to $1900. HSBC gave me a measly $100 increase on my 2% Mastercard but at least it was free, unlike First Premier's $100 increase that cost me $25 and a hard pull! Bastids! Lol.. Also, my TransUnion FICO score hit a milestone of 675. Inching me closer to the infamous 700 club that has alluded me for so bloody long.

Another cool thing is that now I'm getting pre-qualified/pre-approved offers from various places like Capital One, American Express, Discover and now Bank of America. Tempting offers but this is going to be a gardening year for me. I'd like to focus on paying down all of my balances, improving my scores and getting credit line increases across the board. Once I've done all three then I'll look into checking out one or two of those offers.

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Welcome, and congrats on getting the NASA CU card! Nice going, and good job with the gardening. Keep it up, and hopefully you'll see a CLI from the NASA card before too long as well.

[Psylence]

In 2006, I started college and went on a limb to sign up for a Citi Card for a FREE PIZZA (yesss I know :-/).

My Accts:

12/2006 - Citi Student Card - +$4,000 closed by consumer

9/2006 - BoA Student Platinum ($1500 CL) -$395, closed by Credit Grantor - PAID IN FULL as of 3/1/2011

3/2008 - HSBC Best Buy Credit Card ($1400). -$1000 charged off, in Collections. CA is offering a settlement for $635, any ideas?

6/2008 - Barclays Juniper Card to purchase a Macbook ($750). -$745 due as of 3/2/11

8.2007 - Chase Auto Finance - Paid In Full, Paid Off. 1 day late due to not processing pymt on a Friday & they reported me as 31 days late.

11/2008 - VW Credit - Paying as agreed, current auto loan, never late

4/2010 - SEC Credit - Charge-Off (Collection for HSBC Acct)  -$1,130

3/2011 - Added as AU to Cap1 Card w/EXCELLENT payment history + 5years of aging to help push me in right direction

3/2011 - 10 Student Loans in Deferrment/Forbearance til graduation May/Dec 2011

App Spree Nov '10-Jan '11:

Discover

Chase

USAA

Cap1

Macy's

Hooters

Walmart

Target

Unv Credit Union

CoBCU

Latest FICO® Scores

TransUnion 617 Date: 3/1/11

Equifax 605 Date: 3/1/11

Ahhhh yes... Let the gardening start because I can't see above these weeds :-(

[climbinghigher]

Ok, it's time to garden. I pulled the trigger on a offer from BOA and was denied. I knew better, but it was too tempting. I have 2 hard pulls, 2 pr's that will fall off in a year. My score is 735 and I get to feeling like I can get approved after seeing some of you guys getting such great limits. I've decided after beamMeup's advice to wait to the pr's fall off to apply.