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First, I want to thank everyone for all of their advice on my first post. You provided me with very valuable information that helped me tremendously and I'm incredibly grateful!
For those who didn't see my post, I was trying to get a credit card as quickly as possible. With all of the advice provided here, I decided to start at the local credit union and I asked around and the neighbors pointed me to a good one. I was approved for an account there (interest bearing checking at 2.5%!!!) and I applied for a credit card and was approved - it's through Elan and I got a $7k credit limit at 19.99% interest (which I didn't think was horrible). There were two hard inquiries to get this - one for the checking account and the other for the cc.
Because of these 2 hard hits, I want to apply for others today before they post and affect my score. So here's the lowdown:
1. When I posted in a panic last week, Transunion showed me having a score of 650 with some baddies. I was declined an Amex blue cash card as a result.
2. Today my score with Transunion was 714 with the same baddies. Now I'm not sure what changed, but it's possible that it's this: I'm an authorized user on my husband's amex card. When I applied for the amex, he'd put a cap on my card at $725/mo. This morning, he removed that cap so I now have acces to the full $20k limit.(I have no idea why he's doing things, we aren't speaking).
3. I do not have any credit cards in my name. I am trying to reestablish/rebuild my credit. I now have one card under my belt and am not sure how many I should have to help my situation and which ones I should apply for.
4. The reason I want to do this today is so that the only hard inquiry that shows up is for the amex I applied for a few days ago. If I understand correctly, the hard inquiries from today won't show up until tomorrow.
I hope all of this makes sense so far. So it boils down to 2 questions:
1. How many cards should I have to help my situation and/or how many should I apply for today?
2. Which ones might I qualify for if I get them (because I don't want to waste any hard inquiries), since it seems my score buoyed 64 points?
Thanks again for all of the advice!!!
@MoreRewards wrote:
I heard they were instant also but they didn't show up on my TU report until the next day on the last 2 apps Idid
A Monitoring service will not alert and update until next day but if you applied and then pulled a report from here at Myfico... it would show instantly.
You are authorized on his amex and what card did you get on your own?
Thanks - I did not realize that HPs are instant, so that's good to know - just goes to show how much crap advice there is out there and once again, I was misinformed.
As for needs - until today, I did not have a single credit card in my name and after having been denied the Amex feel that I need to beef up my credit score. Here's the timeline so far:
10/1 - ran my credit and fico here at myfico - said Equifax at 677
10/1 - applied for Amex Blue Cash - denied. They ran Transunion and got a 650 score
10/9 - started to panic and got lots of advice
10/15 - went to credit union today - they ran Transunion and got a score of 714 - got a cc through Elan @ $7k limit, cash back rewards. 2 inquiries today - 1 for cc, 1 for checking account
I have NO IDEA why my score changed so much in 13 days - none. I reviewed my credit report and it was identical.
I am a contractor - income can range from $10k a year to $200k a year - at this moment, I am not working and have earned $15k ytd (roughly, probably more).
I'm divorcing and will want to buy my own home when we're through, so the ultimate goal is to qualify for a mortgage on my own.
Credit history:
No open accounts in my name - authorized user on husband's amex
Chase: 1 delinquency from 2011 - 30 days late - only one time ever on that account
Chase: 2 delinquencies: 2009 and 2011 - both 30 days late
Capital One: showing 4 delinquencies - over 4 subsequent months - when I opened the card, there was no annual fee - we argued over it for months until they closed the card.
Two public records, both PAID - one in 2010 and the other in 2011 (although, this report doesn't show that, but I do have the release of lien from both).
Both HP's show balances to credit too high
Hope that helps explain better.
@09Lexie wrote:
HPs are instant. Depending on your needs for another card as opposed to random applying would be helpful.
Some cc's also come with sign up bonuses and usually spend requirements. I know you posted earlier about your history but giving a brief summary of your needs, income and history would give you a better response.
+1
Inquiries post as soon as the specific CR is retrieved. The only lag time in viewing them is if you are using a CMS. However, other lenders can see them. They don't play hide and seek.