Recommend a CC for me: Building from 650 to 700

[Crashem]

I think you'll get zync with your reported util down without the hard cap. Btw lion, what is your Amex member date? Also what is you aaoa and age of oldest revolving credit line? The Amex might get you to your score goal once it hits.

[LionLaw]

Amex member date is 2006.  Oldest account is my Discover from early 2001.  AAoA is 5 years, so the backdating of the Amex would bring it up slightly.

The only derogs on my CR are multiple lates on my student loans; most recent was a 120+ in August 2011 (EX)/September 2011(EQ/TU).

I'm hoping you're right about my candidacy for the Zync.  The only thing that worries me is the "collection account" status of my old account.  From what the CSR could tell me, there isn't any additional data on my old account, other than that it went to collection on X date and was PIF on Y date.

Assuming I apply with an Experian score around 650, and assuming that my closed account with Amex drops my "score" with them another 35 or 40 points, I feel like I'd be lucky to get even the $500/Autopay Zync.  But, I appreciate your optimism, both on my chances for getting the card and the effect it will have on my score.

[LionLaw]

Update: I got a preapproval for the Citi Diamond Preferred, so I pulled the trigger on that a little early.  My CL might have been higher (it's only $1000) if I waited until the end of the month when my reported util % drops from ~50% to 1%, but that's not a huge concern for me at the moment.

Question: I still think I'll apply for the Zync; should I wait until the new Citi card reports on my CR?  Citi HPed EQ (as expected), and I know Amex will pull EX, so that won't make a difference.  Given everything else in my file, would my app be stronger with or without the new card showing?

[espnjunkie]

I would wait on applying for any additional cards for a bit. Let the new account start to report, work on getting your utilization down to 1-9% of your overall credit limit and then in about six months you can think about applying for another card. Getting approved is good, but when the limit is only $1,000.00 that should signal that it was borderline. You want to try and apply from a position of strength when you have multiple positive tradelines reporting, inquiries are low/none, and utilization is low.

Congrats on the approval!

[LionLaw]

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@LionLaw wrote:

I've seen a few threads pop up recently about an Amex Zync with a $500 limit and mandatory autopay.  I'm willing to bet that if I get approved for anything with Amex, it will probably be this.

Does anyone have any advice on how successful they've been building/re-building their relationship with Amex through maintaining one of these cards?

I think my app plan at the end of the month will be:

1. Apply for a Citi Forward card (or maybe a Diamond preferred; Citi has sent me two apps for that card now)--this will likely be an Equifax pull, from what I've read.

2. Apply for an Amex Zync--this will be an Experian pull, I think.

3a. If I'm approved for one or both of the previous two, I'll apply for a Chase Amazon Visa--this will be my last HP for the foreseeable future (at least a year), so I'm mostly just curious to see what chase would say after my 2010 Charge-off.

3b. If I'm approved for neither of the first two, it's back to the drawing board.  Like I said in my original post, my primary goal here is to get a third revolving TL reporting positively on my CR ASAP, to help me build credit long-term.  I'd like to start building a relationship with a prime lender like Amex or Citi at the same time, but if that's not in the cards right now, I'll have to broaden my horizons (Capital One, perhaps?).

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So, here's an update on how my plan went:

1. Apply for a Citi Diamond Preferred: Approved.  Like I mentioned above, I got impatient and responded to a mail offer a couple weeks before my CR updated to reflect reduced util., so I was only approved for $1,000 but that's fine with me.  This was an EQ pull, and an instant online approval.

2. Apply for an Amex Zync: Approved, with No Preset Spending Limit!  I applied online, and got the 7-10 days message.  Interestingly, though I applied on Friday 6/27, they didn't pull my CR until Monday 6/30.  Got the approval on Monday.  This was an EX pull.  Assuming this gets backdated to 2006, it will definitely help keep my AAoA strong.

3. Apply for a Chase Amazon Rewards Visa: Still Pending.  I applied on Monday, and got the 7-10 days message.  Chase pulled TU on Monday.  Just called the automated app status number listed in the backdoor numbers thread, and the app is still pending.  I think if I were blacklisted at Chase, I would have been turbo-rejected, right?  While I'd love to get back in with Chase, I won't be too bummed if I don't get this card; the real purpose of the app was to find out if I'm blacklisted, and it looks like I'm not.  I'll update this when I hear one way or another

And with that, I'm set with credit for the foreseeable future.  I've got four (possibly five) prime cards (Discover, Wells Fargo, Citi, Amex, and possibly Chase), which is more than enough.  Now, it's gardening time; as the late payments on my SLs get older and older, and as my new accounts age, and as the HPs from the past year start falling off, I should be able to FINALLY get my score back into the 700s by December 2013, which is my target date for buying a house.

[Repo-ed]

Grats!

[jamesdwi]

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@LionLaw wrote:

Hi all.  Right now, I've only got 2 CCs: a $500 Discover More that I've had since 2001, and a $3000 Wells Fargo Cash Back Visa that I opened in December.  For the sake of building a strong FICO score over time, I'm looking to open 1-2 more CCs in the next few months, so that I can start establishing some more positive TLs.  I'm looking for some advice on the best cards I can get right now.  A little more info:

Amex: I had a card with them in the past, but they closed it in early 2009 when I had a late payment.  I paid the balance very quickly (less than 30 days), and Amex still reports as a positive TL (no lates) on all my CRs.  I'd like to open another card with them, either now or in the future.  I will happily start with the Zync and go from there, but I don't know if my CR is strong enough, or if my prior history with them will work against me.

Chase: I had a charge-off/collection with them (around $7500)  in 2010.  I recently made a successful GW request to have the TL deleted from my CR (that gave my FICO a nice bump), but I don't know if Chase would give me another CC; that being said, they did give me an auto loan with a pretty decent rate just a couple months ago, so maybe they're the forgiving sort.10

My current utilization: my Discover shows a $0 balance on this month's CR; I'll make sure I have a tiny balance on my next statement, so it doesn't look like the card is sitting in my sock drawer.  My WF Visa has a balance of about $1700 on this month's CR, but I'll make sure that's down in the 1%-5% range when my next statement cuts; hopefully that will boost my FICO a few points from my current 648.

So, what do you recommend?  With a FICO hopefully a little over 660, what are the best cards I should expect to be approved for?

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deffinetely apply for Zync, should be easy approval, wait a couple months with it reporting, then apply for Chase I think having AMEX on your report is a big positive for chase, 2 months before I app'd for AMEX i app'd for chase instant denied even recon'd but still denied, got my UTL down from 50% to below 20% and app'd AMEX Blue and Zync, then a month later I app'd for chase or about 90days after chase instant denial I got instant approved for 3k CL did 3 months make that big of a difference? what was the effect of having AMEX reporting?  only chase  knows. ,