Need Suggestions

[rckstrscott]

Just closed on my mortgage, and it has been over 18 months since I applied for any credit...

My scores are betterish now, they were all over or near 700 but they took a dive with the INQS from my mortgage application, and a slight increase in util,so my FICOS are all around 660..

I have 2 accounts on my own, a secured Cap1 w/ 300 limit, and an unsecure with credit one w/ 500 a limit. Both are showing 0 balance right now.

I am a joint on a Chase freedom card, limit 500 also showing a 0 balance.

I am an AU on a Macys AMEX, 3900 limit with about 1200 on the card.

My idea is to get off the AU card in the future at some point. I have 10 INQs on TU, 4 on both EX and EQ. 7 of those on TU are from an autoloan denial, 2 are from the mortgage application process. EX and EQ show different ones, one for CAP1, One for CreditOne for example.

I have some baddies. 3 collections paid, 2 public records paid. Nothing newer than 3 years. No late payments at all.

Any suggestions on something I can apply for that isn't completely sucktastic? I figured Cap1 unsecured would be a no brainer since I have 2 years of usage and ontime with their secured card, but I am looking at other options.

I want two more cards, then I plan on gardening for 18 months THEN trying to go for some higher end cards. That gives me 18 months to age, work on those last baddies and build some limits. I have no store cards really, the Macys is an AMEX and I am not an AU reporting on the Macys store card part of it. I am open for store card suggestions too.

I await your suggestions and or flames for applying for more credit

-scott

[Crashem]

Well if the inquiries are more than 12 months, they are no longer affecting your credit score. If the Macy's Amex balance isn't going to be reported lower anytime soon, I would just dump it now and it get off your report. While a higher limit is nice to show on your cr, you mostly have lower limits and I doubt it will help getting you higher limits as au account. As it is your only util, it is likely hurting your score more than helping. I would dump that card and get ideal util to report and pull your fico then. Have more suggestions when I hear your fico after that. Worse case, you can be added back on if taking yourself off was mistake. I think you will be good on fico but be aware while score might be good, the thinish file makes you a weaker candidate than what the score indicates. Btw what banking relationships do you have (ie checking savings mortgage).

[crunching_numbers]

Is your mortgage reporting in that 660 FICO?  If you did not have a mortgage before you might also be rebucketed as a "has a mortgage" scorecard.  When are the non-mortgage inq's from?  Will any of them be falling off FICO reporting (over a year old) soon?  Your file looks thin.  What is your AAoA?   

So you have:

One joint CC, one secured CC and one unsecured CC  300-500 CL's. One AU CC with high util%. Brand new mortgage.  Five 3 year old baddies.

Do you have some cash that you could up the secured card?  That might help you out in getting a bigger line. You might need to wait and let the dust settle from the mortgage. Maybe get off of the high util % AU card.  Don't know, but those two things might raise you up in FICO enough to try for something.   

[rootpooty]

i dont know of anything you could apply for now that would give you a decent limit. sure you could app for another cap one but we all know its going to be just another 300/500 limit. other than that i would def remove myself as the au and just straight focus on those baddies if your able to do something about them ie gw's.

[rckstrscott]

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@crunching_numbers wrote:

Is your mortgage reporting in that 660 FICO?  If you did not have a mortgage before you might also be rebucketed as a "has a mortgage" scorecard.  When are the non-mortgage inq's from?  Will any of them be falling off FICO reporting (over a year old) soon?  Your file looks thin.  What is your AAoA?   

So you have:

One joint CC, one secured CC and one unsecured CC  300-500 CL's. One AU CC with high util%. Brand new mortgage.  Five 3 year old baddies.

Do you have some cash that you could up the secured card?  That might help you out in getting a bigger line. You might need to wait and let the dust settle from the mortgage. Maybe get off of the high util % AU card.  Don't know, but those two things might raise you up in FICO enough to try for something.   

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Well, I don't really intend on dumping the AU account, since I actually use this account as an authorized user and not just as a score booster, they just wouldn't add me as a joint when my scores were in the tank haha. It was showing a sub-10 percent util prior to mortgage application, when my scores were all over or near 700. That card will be paid down to below 9 percent after this next reporting period, so I will see my overall util cut to lower than 7 percent. I just used it for the appraisal. Plus this card is my second oldest reporting, opened April 2008. I know I probably won't rebound to 722 again after those mortgage inqs, but I hope near 700 after June 7th.

As far as thin, I don't know what constitutes as thin. I do have a paid auto loan, but that is way old, closed in 2005. Clearly I am thin in regards to a lot of people. But in the next couple months I will have the mortgage, albiet new, reporting.

My AAoA right now is 3 years. But this will go down with the mortgage, yeah? The mortgage is not reporting.

I have plenty of cash, that really isn't an issue. The Cap1 secured card will be 2 years old in November, so I could up that a little if ya'll think it is needed.

The Inqs showing... 2 from the mortgage application process (feb and may, for the close), Cap 1 from Nov 2010 (not factoring but showing), Credit One inq showing from March 2011, and then a messload of autoloan inq, which were scoring as one obviously, but also from Nov 2010.

So right now, it looks like I have essentially the mortgage inqs impacting my credit.

So it doesn't look like I will be getting any miracle cards anytime soon I am pretty profecient on the rebuilding part, as I removed 16 of 19 negative accounts.. I just don't know how much luck I will have on these last baddies. I don't need any credit, I was just thinking about a store card to improve my mix; the credit card part of this I know nothing about. I know a lot about FICO scoring, I know alot about mortgages and FICO/Credit reporting, I know alot about rebuilding... jack squat about cards haha

[crunching_numbers]

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@rckstrscott wrote:

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@crunching_numbers wrote:

Is your mortgage reporting in that 660 FICO?  If you did not have a mortgage before you might also be rebucketed as a "has a mortgage" scorecard.  When are the non-mortgage inq's from?  Will any of them be falling off FICO reporting (over a year old) soon?  Your file looks thin.  What is your AAoA?   

So you have:

One joint CC, one secured CC and one unsecured CC  300-500 CL's. One AU CC with high util%. Brand new mortgage.  Five 3 year old baddies.

Do you have some cash that you could up the secured card?  That might help you out in getting a bigger line. You might need to wait and let the dust settle from the mortgage. Maybe get off of the high util % AU card.  Don't know, but those two things might raise you up in FICO enough to try for something.   

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Well, I don't really intend on dumping the AU account, since I actually use this account as an authorized user and not just as a score booster, they just wouldn't add me as a joint when my scores were in the tank haha. It was showing a sub-10 percent util prior to mortgage application, when my scores were all over or near 700. That card will be paid down to below 9 percent after this next reporting period, so I will see my overall util cut to lower than 7 percent. I just used it for the appraisal. Plus this card is my second oldest reporting, opened April 2008. I know I probably won't rebound to 722 again after those mortgage inqs, but I hope near 700 after June 7th.

As far as thin, I don't know what constitutes as thin. I do have a paid auto loan, but that is way old, closed in 2005. Clearly I am thin in regards to a lot of people. But in the next couple months I will have the mortgage, albiet new, reporting.

My AAoA right now is 3 years. But this will go down with the mortgage, yeah? The mortgage is not reporting.

I have plenty of cash, that really isn't an issue. The Cap1 secured card will be 2 years old in November, so I could up that a little if ya'll think it is needed.

The Inqs showing... 2 from the mortgage application process (feb and may, for the close), Cap 1 from Nov 2010 (not factoring but showing), Credit One inq showing from March 2011, and then a messload of autoloan inq, which were scoring as one obviously, but also from Nov 2010.

So right now, it looks like I have essentially the mortgage inqs impacting my credit.

So it doesn't look like I will be getting any miracle cards anytime soon I am pretty profecient on the rebuilding part, as I removed 16 of 19 negative accounts.. I just don't know how much luck I will have on these last baddies. I don't need any credit, I was just thinking about a store card to improve my mix; the credit card part of this I know nothing about. I know a lot about FICO scoring, I know alot about mortgages and FICO/Credit reporting, I know alot about rebuilding... jack squat about cards haha

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The thing is, the CC companies look at your current CL's. They are going to pick your new CL based on your existing CLs.  They are going to say: 300, 500, 500 , AU acct (forgot your CL on this), ummm.. we will give him 500 too.  If you up the secured card to a higher amount, the new card might come in as a higher CL.

You might be surprised where the FICO rebounds to.  People out here tend to exaggerate the impact of one ore two inq's.  Might only net 10 point drop. Since you feel things might land at 700, then there are a lot of cards that you can get.  The baddies might become the problem.  When you removed all those baddies, were any from CC's?  For people here to advise you it would help if we knew if you had a bad past with a CC company.  Some blacklist. 

[rckstrscott]

Ok.. I seem to see what you are getting at.

I didn't really have many credit card issues. I never really had credit cards.I played in a band for 10 years, and didnt really start working alot until later 2000s. Most of my debt/collections were silly. Unpaid electric, bailing on cable bills, bouncing checks, unpaid cell phone,  all going to collections. I had an Imagine Mastercard that was charged off, but that charge off was removed and the collection account associated with it was PFDed, so there is no history at least on my credit report of those accounts. That is basically it. The judgment was from an eviction, and the other public record was a tax lien. The remaining collections on my report are from a late fee from one apartment complex, the collection tied to the judgment from my eviction from another, and an unpaid parking ticket. -- All are now paid, all are years old (my financial situation improved a lot when I secured a better job in 2007) -- I know it is probably irrelevant, but I have a savings account with Citi, and checking with both Citi and BOA. I don't THINK I should be on any blacklist.

So, I got antsy while waiting to respond. I applied for Cash Rewards Capital One (the lower end one, aka the $39 annual fee) and I was approved instantly for $1500. Probably based in part on my relationship with them and possibly based on my salary for the CL factoring? Who knows. I'll take it though.

So feeling cocky I followed that up with applying for a Home Depot card, which is Citi, and was approved for $500.

My plan of action at this stage is:

1. Keep all the cards at 0 except for one (probabaly the AMEX because I use it)
2. Keep the AmEX AU card under 9 percent (3900 limit)
3. Send Cap1 an additional 1200 dollars to bring that card up to a $1500 limit
4. Nurse the other cards along, MAYBEEEE try for a CLI on the Chase Freedom (its my oldest, 2005)
5. Spend the next 18 months letting those auto inqs fall, the original Cap1 and Credit One fall off
6. Spend the next 18 months working on baddies, as at least a couple will naturally age off based on DOFD

So at this point, I am probably about tapped out for what I can do aside from tackling those negative accounts? From what I can tell, most of the nicer rewards cards and travel cards really won't approve with negative information.. am I correct?

-scott

[rootpooty]

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1.  

So at this point, I am probably about tapped out for what I can do aside from tackling those negative accounts? From what I can tell, most of the nicer rewards cards and travel cards really won't approve with negative information.. am I correct?

-scott

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first off congrats on adding 2 new cards. you have a great plan stick with it. yes to be on the safe side and not burn any inquiries i would def focus on removing the last baddies prior to apping for any prime card of course ymmv but most like to play it safe

[LS2982]

I agree with another poster that you should increase your secured deposit and wait it out for 6 months to a year then get some prime cards.