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Help me roll with the big dogs!!

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credit_is_crack
Valued Contributor

Re: Help me roll with the big dogs!!


@Anonymous wrote:
I currently have a Fingehut credit account and a $200 secured Capital One card. Other than my current bank loan, that is all of the active/good standing credit lines that I have. I do have medical collections that I am working hard to pay off and a repo from 2 years ago when I was laid off from my job. I would love to be able to recieve and Amex or Chase card one day in the future. What can I work on now to get there? Get another secured card and garden for a while? Work on all of my other negatives? I don't think I will qualify for any other cards. I posted this here instead of in the rebuilding section because I know how to rebuild, per say. I need input from each of you that have earned the GOOD credit cards!! Any advice is appreciated!

This is a great question. I may not have the best answers and if mine is the worst then at least you'll learn what not to do Smiley Happy You mentioned a few topics so let's briefly touch on each one. 

 

CURRENT CARDS: Take care of your Fingerhut & Capital One cards - specifically ALWAYS pay the minimum, and if you can help it you should aim to pay in full. **paying ontime while leaving a high balance can be recovered from faster than a mark for missing/late payment** a helpful way to aheive this is only charge things on the cards that you ALREADY have cash to pay them off with. When you can't pay in full and a balance is rolling into your next billing cycle, try and pay enough to keep the remaining balance under 30%. Your Capital One is $200, so charge what you want but when your next bill is about to print try and get your balance down to $60 or less. Having to monitor balances on a lower limit can almost feel time consuming to in my rebuild I didnt carry it around at all. I stored it away, but to make sure it got use (to please the bank -- that i'll likely be asking for more money in the future) - i would charge montly bills. on a $200 card, i'd charge my $90 cell phone bill. as soon as it posted, i'd pay it off. That would be the only charge on the card. its low monthly usage, but it was used every month. banks are more inclined to give someone an increase with a more frequent pattern of charge and pay. as you stack up on cards using bills (carwash fees, power, cable, phone, cell, alarms, gas, etc) is an easy way to keep them alive without piling on debt. 

 

ANOTHER CARD: a 2nd secured card can help and you should look into it. you could use your capital one for your daily charges and this 2nd card for the reason mentioned above. this way they both get some love and grow together, sooner. Look for another bank that can grow with you as your profile thickens. Its easier to get more credit sometimes from those you alraedy do business with than new banks. start building "relationships" now. Bank of America, Discover and Citi all offer a secured card option. All 3 also offer some of the highly regarded and competitve cards you can grow into over time. You'll see your profile growing in action as you move from Secured, to Low-Limit Unsecured, to Unsecured Increases and slowly into thier "Prime" cards. 

 

MEDICAL COLLECTIONS: MANY MANY people have these types on their reports. Luckily for most the medical industry is extremely forgiving. If you're already working to pay them off, call them up and offer a "Pay for Delete" option. Essentialy you pay them off, but they agree to remove the negative item from your reports. Not "updated" to paid or "never late" but they actually remove them like they never happened. The best kind of collection is a disapperaing one. Many have tried the PFD option with all kinds of collections, but most seem to be most successful when trying it with medical collections. google "PFD medical collections" or "pay for delete" and you'll find tons of useful information that you can put to work in your favor

 

REPO: Debts of this nature have a very specific impact on your report. Most of these begin to weaken after 2 years...so hard parts over lol. Now it still has an impact today, but it wont have an impact any worse than it already has. As time passes it will be less noticeable. based on your states SOL it may fall off sooner than 7 years, but it will surely be noticed when applying for an auto loan. How to approach this one depends on a few other things - are you planning on any big purchases in the next 2-4 years (like a home, condo, expensive car). If so, ignoring and not paying these can stop you in your tracks in the future so aim to pay them off. if you don thave any big purchase plans, some folks have just let it ride out entirely and never look back, but it is a few years before you're "clean" again. 

 

From the little you shared you're actually in a position to increase your score more than most in a shorter time than most. Go for it! Count your Blessings!

 

Pay On Time - ALWAYS do you best to avoid being late 

Keep balances reasonable - under 30%, treat your cards like cash

Dont apply for a ton of new cards/loans in a short period - the inquiries can work against you. if you have to apply for a car loan/credit card, do research first. Come on this site and just type the name of the card/bank and you'll be amazed at what you can learn. you'll increase your chance of approval if you're applying for things that suit your profile. 

 

Avoid applying for a bunch of store cards because they can be easy to qualify for. they tend to give out low limits and if you google "low limit hell" you'll learn why you want to avoid this. it makes your journey less painful if you dont have to encounter this. sorry this was so long, but if i was wise enough to ask this question when i needed to i wouldn't have turned away any help lol Keep researching online, always seek to learn more and soon you'll understand how to play the game. Then, and only then will you be able to roll with the big dogs. 

 

Message 11 of 17
Credit_hawk
Established Contributor

Re: Help me roll with the big dogs!!


@Anonymous wrote:
I am ready but I want to do everything as smart as possible. I know my past blemishes and once they are fixed, I pray they will never be back. I have been working so hard and I envy you all! I'm working though Smiley Happy I don't want the big cards and high limits to blow. I want to be able to say I did it!! A sense of hard earned accomplishment if you will. Sounds so corny but this is a big deal for me to reach that point.

The fact you have a good sense of humor shows you've got what it takes to put the work in and realize your credit goals. First, you're doing good with the Cap One secured and small loan. I'd stop there for now as you don't want to clutter your credit at this early stage with subpar products. What you have is all you need to do the job for now.. Next, I'd attempt to go for a 'pay for delete' proposition which is deletion from your record upon payment in full. Unfortunately, it's a bit pointless to pay for just the satisfaction of a "paid" notation on the account. Sure, it's morally satisfying though. Derogatory marks do their damage at their mere listing so account notations of paid in full or in part makes little difference unfortunately. And when it's paid you've now lost your bargaining leverage.

 

As for the repossession, possibly good will letters are the best remedy. This forum has s wealth of info and successs regarding the employment of such letters. The good news is medical charge-offs are looked at a bit differently than standard charge-offs. Most important is time and patience. You have the proper accounts reporting good data. Now is the time to let them do their work and build up a good positive history. The good news is this: even though I personally am unfamiliar with charge-offs and bad accounts many on here including much of the forum leadership has had the same problems you're having and worse and they bounced back strong with all those cards you seek.

 

It's funny, I used to think those that listed all their cards and limits in their signature were just bragging but I remember some saying it wasn't so much about bragging as it was to give inspiration to others to show what's possible to accomplish; even when you find yourself in seemingly the worst credit situations; it's always possible to turn it around. There are no shortcuts but you will be able to acquire all you desire if you just put your mind to it, think positively and show persistence. The best advice I can give you is don't give up! Don't take no from creditors or anyone as final. You'll see many of us were denied or told no by a creditor and just came back and tried again. Sometimes trying as many as 3 times but ultimately got the result we sought. As long as it's a reasonable request/goal and you believe you have a good case to make on your side. Good luck and keep reading and trying.

FICO- Experian: 797, TransUnion: 781, Equifax: 804 (Updated Monthly)
Message 12 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me roll with the big dogs!!

You have probably already set it up, but if not, make sure to set-up autopay on both cards (and any future cards). Set it up to the pay the full statement balance every month. I know you can do it with the CapOne secured. Not familiar with Fingerhut or the card.

Message 13 of 17
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: Help me roll with the big dogs!!

Awesome advice so far. KISS rules the day, Keep It Simple Stupid, lol, method. Use the cards you have , make on time payments, garden a year, reevaluate where you are and proceed. Not glamorous but if you take your time you can have more than you think. Best of luck on your journeySmiley Happy
Message 14 of 17
Gggmen
Valued Member

Re: Help me roll with the big dogs!!

I suggest taking your time to pay off your baddies. Maybe try to get a discover secured and wait for it to graduate. It takes time. No need to be envious of anybody. Everything that glitters aint gold.

Chase FU 5k-Chase F 3k-Discover IT 3250- BofA 2k-Macys store card 3k.

No need for anymore cards. Garden and see where that takes me.
Message 15 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me roll with the big dogs!!

Is the repo reporting as charged off? With a balance? If so, I would concentrate on paying that down to zero so it doesn't keep updating monthly letting FICO know it's still delinquent. Your scores will not improve with a chargeoff reporting with a balance monthly.

Message 16 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me roll with the big dogs!!


@Anonymous wrote:
I am ready but I want to do everything as smart as possible. I know my past blemishes and once they are fixed, I pray they will never be back. I have been working so hard and I envy you all! I'm working though Smiley Happy I don't want the big cards and high limits to blow. I want to be able to say I did it!! A sense of hard earned accomplishment if you will. Sounds so corny but this is a big deal for me to reach that point.

Hitting rock bottom is painful but will definitely make you stronger.  Been in your shoes. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Patience, perseverance and empowered from what you learn on here, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Keep us posted with each of your progress. Huge step already on that 60 pt boost with the bank loan. We'll continue to enjoy watching you reach your goals. And you will.

 

My take:

1. NO store cards at this time.

2. Another secured or look at Discover It Chrome Secure. With your progress, you'll get it unsecured after the 7th statement.

3. I kept my UTI under 5% at the start.

4. Pick and choose very carefully what you get. If you have an eye with Chase, keep that 5/24 always on your head before you hit the SUBMIT button on that app page. Citi is getting tighter too. I'm sure there will be a couple 100K or even 200K BONUS points when you reach the end of that bumpy road.

5. I am very biased on this, I LOVE MY AMERICAN EXPRESS !!! They were the light on my path to rebuild, stayed with me, and continue to be very generous. Its true, treat someone the way you expect to be treated.

6. I paid off my collections and successfully disputed them for removal from all CRAs. Didn't work for everybody but it did for me. Wont hurt to try.

 

GOOD LUCK !!!!

Message 17 of 17
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