Can't stay away from forums. 
But it's easier to garden when you have sufficient credit, and a plan. Want guaranteed approvals, so no apping. However, like yesterday, sometimes need a bit of a break from the forums.
But it's easier to garden when you have sufficient credit, and a plan. Want guaranteed approvals, so no apping. However, like yesterday, sometimes need a bit of a break from the forums.
Some good advice herein so Im going to piggyback with a few addtl thoughts. First... dont let pre-quals, pre-screens, pre-approvals or PRE-anything-else for that matter factor n2 your equation. This is a common misconception I see being made here and elsewhere on a daily basis. Being PRE something has little impact on whether you'll ultimately be approved for a product with the exception perhaps being if you already hav a relationship with the lenderr in question (which in this case it seems U do). Besides its so easy to misled by other ppls approvals & cli's.
Nonetheless ppl often mistakenly conclude being prequal'ed for a card means they've essentially been approved. For the sake of brevity I wont break down the finite details but suffice to say its not true and essentially comes down to understanding exactly what being prequal'ed means. Once U understand that then it puts your app strategy n2 perspective.... which is the second point I want to make.
The reason gardening is so tough for most is bcuz they dont hav a strategy in place when it comes to credit management. Dont get me wrong its still challenging. But the difference between succumbing to temptation or not.... is having a strategy in place on how you intend to attain your goals. Most of us hav been there and I'd 'venture' say (notice the pun I just threw in) that many are STILL there.
One final caveat... I disagree philosophically with the manner in which I observe most ppl employ gardening (not saying this applies to U specifically just me generalizing). For example when ppl go on app spreees then use gardening as a means to lay low until their next app spree, to me this is basically a counterproductive measure. To me it signals undisciplined behavior (though Im sure some may disagree). I've seen quite a few examples of folks using gardening in a manner that I find to be questionable @ best. I realize thats getting n2 subjective territory but being able to attain many lines of credit doesnt necessarily equate responsible behavior bcuz many are simply addicted to amassing as much credit as they can (with some 'so-called' gardening in between). Some may counter that it works despite appearances - well I recall Wall Street making the same claim re: the markets managing themselves b4 the economy almost tanked n2 oblivion. Just sayin... appearances can be deceiving.
Not going to belabour that point here though... just trying to say ultimately your strategy is going to be your best friend when it comes down to it. Dont feel that U need to garden based on what others do. The whole point is making gardening work for U based on a strategy that you've developed on your own NOT on what someone else is doing. Cuz the beautiful thing about strategy (like chess or any other game) is that its unique and should be a reflection of how our individual mind preceives the goal we're trying to reach. Anyhoo... for the sake of argument Im going to assume U already know most of what I've stated herein so with that...
Best of luck 
