I have one credit card (active, cl=5000, util<1%) and one store card (inactive, cl=124). My AAoA is 11 years.
I have one derogatory (fed tax lien, released) that I can't do much about. It was removed by EQ, will fall off TU in 11//2010 and EX in 04/2014.
I've app'd for some prime cards without much luck.
Discover More - denied, recon denied
Penfed Cash Rewards - denied, recon denied
I believe part of my problem is having a "thin file", so I app'd for a Home Depot charge card, originally app'd for 5000, recon for 1500 accepted.
So now I have 1 credit card and 2 charge cards. Ultimately, I want my active credit cards to be cashback cards, which is why I'm applying for them now. (My current credit card isn't a cashback card.)
Question
Should I apply for a 2nd credit card from a more favorable lender like my credit union to fix my "thin file"?
Hopefully, without a "thin file", I'll look better in the eyes of the prime card issuers so I can finally get approved for some cashback cards.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
OK, PenFed would have pulled an EQ inq, who did Discover and Citi pull? In other words, how many inqs do you now have from within the last 12 months, especially on EQ?
I'd go with a credit union if the EQ inqs aren't too many. Once you get that, give it six months for both the new bank (CU) card and the new store card, and then look around.
Do some researching here in the meantime though --rewards cards are great, but Discover and PenFed are both pretty (in)famous for disliking thin files and/or short history.
Discover pulled TU, Citi (Home Depot) pulled EX.
In the last 12 months, my inqs are EQ 4 (2 of those were PenFed), TU 2, EX 2.
I just app'd for my credit union's Visa, which is a 1% cashback card. I'll settle for that for now. I still want the PenFed cash rewards card, but I still want the Costco TrueEarnings card and the Schwab Invest First card.