Out of the dog house --- now what?

[CEOriginal]

Hi all! I used to be a pretty active user on the board, but have been "in the garden" for about 2 years now. I was going to post this in General, but I think it belongs here.

I started my credit journey 3-4 years ago with 1 crappy Orchard Bank credit card with a $300 limit and a FICO of around 550.

Today, I have the following lineup:

AMEX BCE - $2000 limit (offered me a CLI, but I'm not eligible until July)

Capital One Quicksilver - $6300 limit

Capital One (converted from Orchard Bank) - $2000 limit

Barclays Bank Apple card - $5000 limit

WalMart card (non-Discover version) - $2000 limit

I just recently applied for CLIs on all of them and got accepted for all of them, so these are all new limits. I have a FICO of 698.

So with all of that information, what do I do now? I have removed collection accounts, but none open. I want a score of 750+ so that I can buy a house in the next 2 years. Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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@CEOriginal wrote:

Hi all! I used to be a pretty active user on the board, but have been "in the garden" for about 2 years now. I was going to post this in General, but I think it belongs here.

I started my credit journey 3-4 years ago with 1 crappy Orchard Bank credit card with a $300 limit and a FICO of around 550.

Today, I have the following lineup:

AMEX BCE - $2000 limit (offered me a CLI, but I'm not eligible until July)

Capital One Quicksilver - $6300 limit

Capital One (converted from Orchard Bank) - $2000 limit

Barclays Bank Apple card - $5000 limit

WalMart card (non-Discover version) - $2000 limit

I just recently applied for CLIs on all of them and got accepted for all of them, so these are all new limits. I have a FICO of 698.

So with all of that information, what do I do now? I have removed collection accounts, but none open. I want a score of 750+ so that I can buy a house in the next 2 years. Any ideas?

Thanks!

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I'm not sure what exactly you are asking.  In order for your scores to improve your accounts need to age, show use and payment.  The biggest factor in your scoring is the collections.  You really should visit the rebuilding forum and ask for ideas about how to handle those.

Why do you say that you're not eligible for a CLI on your BCE until July?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CEOriginal wrote:

Hi all! I used to be a pretty active user on the board, but have been "in the garden" for about 2 years now. I was going to post this in General, but I think it belongs here.

I started my credit journey 3-4 years ago with 1 crappy Orchard Bank credit card with a $300 limit and a FICO of around 550.

Today, I have the following lineup:

AMEX BCE - $2000 limit (offered me a CLI, but I'm not eligible until July)

Capital One Quicksilver - $6300 limit

Capital One (converted from Orchard Bank) - $2000 limit

Barclays Bank Apple card - $5000 limit

WalMart card (non-Discover version) - $2000 limit

I just recently applied for CLIs on all of them and got accepted for all of them, so these are all new limits. I have a FICO of 698.

So with all of that information, what do I do now? I have removed collection accounts, but none open. I want a score of 750+ so that I can buy a house in the next 2 years. Any ideas?

Thanks!

---

I'm not sure what exactly you are asking.  In order for your scores to improve your accounts need to age, show use and payment.  The biggest factor in your scoring is the collections.  You really should visit the rebuilding forum and ask for ideas about how to handle those.

Why do you say that you're not eligible for a CLI on your BCE until July?

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+1

[CEOriginal]

I got a CLI back in December. AMEX says I can get another one, but I have to wait 6 months from the last CLI.

I'm asking how to raise my score - sorry for the ambiguity. Do I go for another card? Do I just stay the course and wait for my accounts to age?

[Anonymous]

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@CEOriginal wrote:

I got a CLI back in December. AMEX says I can get another one, but I have to wait 6 months from the last CLI.

I'm asking how to raise my score - sorry for the ambiguity. Do I go for another card? Do I just stay the course and wait for my accounts to age?

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Ok about the Amex.  You don't need another card , the ones you have are fine.  However, depending on the number of collections you have, your scores may not reach 750 from just the use of credit cards.

[CEOriginal]

Okay. I don't have any open collection accounts; they're all handled. So I guess at this point, it's just time healing the wounds?

[Anonymous]

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@CEOriginal wrote:

Okay. I don't have any open collection accounts; they're all handled. So I guess at this point, it's just time healing the wounds?

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When you say handled do you mean that all of the negative accounts were removed from your reports or that they have been paid and are still listed on your reports?

[CEOriginal]

Most were removed. I have 1 that's closed and listed as closed. I've tried a few times to get them to remove it, and they pretty much say "tough luck, you should've negotiated that when you made the payment".

Funny thing is - it's Capital One, who I now have 2 healthy cards with. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

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@CEOriginal wrote:

Most were removed. I have 1 that's closed and listed as closed. I've tried a few times to get them to remove it, and they pretty much say "tough luck, you should've negotiated that when you made the payment".

Funny thing is - it's Capital One, who I now have 2 healthy cards with. Sigh.

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The ones that are removed, great. The one that is closed, what is the date on that collection account? For now, your best bet is to use your credit wisely. What is the utilization percentage showing on your reports? Keep this under 10% for best results.