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Strategy for the next 6 months

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giants1986
Valued Member

Strategy for the next 6 months

Hi All,

 

Now that I've been able to pay down most of my past mistakes and get some cards to rebuild, I'm trying to figure out a plan on the best way to move forward in the next 6-8 months.

 

I currently have: 

 

Cap One Secured - $800 - Open 13 Month

Open Sky Secured - $200  - Open about 10 Months

Credit One - $300 - Opened in August

Orchard Bank $300 - Open about 9 months

Barclay's NFL - $500 - Opened in November

 

Store Cards (Not planning to do anything with these except use them and pay in full and let them age):

Target - $200 - Opened in November

Express $250 - Opened in December

 

My first thoughts are to wait until the Open Sky card hits 12 months and close it before the Annual Fee kicks in and then move the deposit over to my Cap One secured card to make that a $1000 limit. Then I will close the Credit One card in August before the Annual Fee hits to have a year on that card.

 

When I opened the Barclay's card I reconned for a higher limit but was told to pay down some of the charge offs on my report and call back then. I should have one paid off when my tax return comes in and the other a few months down the road. I figure that should allow me to get a CLI as my scores should get a boost from those charge offs no longer effecting my util.

 

As long as I don't have any unexpected expenses I feel that by July I should have my old debts paid and my Util in a good spot to get that CLI and maybe apply for another card with my credit union.

 

Now I know maxing out my deposit on the Cap One secured card would give me a great boost but I'm going to be in the market for an engagement ring later in the year and I do not want to have that much tied up in a deposit. Would it be a good idea to max the deposit out on the card before applying for the CLI on my Barclay's and apply for a new card so they see the higher limit and hope they match or come close to it? That way I could then close the Cap One card and get my deposit back.

 

Any ideas on the best way to approach this would be appreciated.

 

 

Equifax - 682
Trans Union - 687
Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
Duncanrr
Valued Contributor

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months


@giants1986 wrote:

Hi All,

 

Now that I've been able to pay down most of my past mistakes and get some cards to rebuild, I'm trying to figure out a plan on the best way to move forward in the next 6-8 months.

 

I currently have: 

 

Cap One Secured - $800 - Open 13 Month

Open Sky Secured - $200  - Open about 10 Months

Credit One - $300 - Opened in August

Orchard Bank $300 - Open about 9 months

Barclay's NFL - $500 - Opened in November

 

Store Cards (Not planning to do anything with these except use them and pay in full and let them age):

Target - $200 - Opened in November

Express $250 - Opened in December

 

My first thoughts are to wait until the Open Sky card hits 12 months and close it before the Annual Fee kicks in and then move the deposit over to my Cap One secured card to make that a $1000 limit. Then I will close the Credit One card in August before the Annual Fee hits to have a year on that card.

 

When I opened the Barclay's card I reconned for a higher limit but was told to pay down some of the charge offs on my report and call back then. I should have one paid off when my tax return comes in and the other a few months down the road. I figure that should allow me to get a CLI as my scores should get a boost from those charge offs no longer effecting my util.

 

As long as I don't have any unexpected expenses I feel that by July I should have my old debts paid and my Util in a good spot to get that CLI and maybe apply for another card with my credit union.

 

Now I know maxing out my deposit on the Cap One secured card would give me a great boost but I'm going to be in the market for an engagement ring later in the year and I do not want to have that much tied up in a deposit. Would it be a good idea to max the deposit out on the card before applying for the CLI on my Barclay's and apply for a new card so they see the higher limit and hope they match or come close to it? That way I could then close the Cap One card and get my deposit back.

 

Any ideas on the best way to approach this would be appreciated.

 

 


Open Sky - I would deposit more into that account prior to closing it.  Let it report with the higher CL and then close it before the AF.  You can move the funds to Cap1 at that point if you don't need to pay off debt.  (My personal opinion, but having a $200 CL card reporting on your credit for the next 7 years doesn't sound too appealing.  At least get it up to $500/$1000 if you can swing it.)  NOTE: this isn't for FICO purposes but for future CL's on new cards.

 

I don't know anything about Orchard bank or Credit One.  If AF, you may want to close but keeping them open for another year might not hurt.  I would be apprehensive closing too many cards in a short period of time.

 

Store cards - I think the ones you have listed are GE cards.  If so, request CLI every 4 months and build with them.

 

Lastly, Barclays card will grow with ya.  Keep it open and use it then PIF and you should be in good shape.  Higher CL's tend to get you higher CL's.  If you can manage it, I would let the higher CL's report prior to requesting CLI with Barclays.  When I started my rebuild with secured cards and moved to regular cards my average starting CL was around 1.5k to 2k.  After having them report for 4 months and getting CLI's on Walmart Discover and AMEX, I was able to get much higher starting CL's on my last couple of cards (25k NFCU, 8.4k AMEX and 6k Discover It).

 

 

(Edited for spacing)

 



Starting Score: EQ 551 TU 548 CK 607on 6/8/12, EX 542(AMEX pull 3/4/12)
Current Score: EQ 808 TU --- EX --- CK 804(FAKO-EX 821, EQ 823, TU 803)
Goal Score: 750

Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 2 of 12
giants1986
Valued Member

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months

Thanks for the reply.

 

I should be able to swing throwing a deposit toward the open sky card before closing so I'll look into that. I can move it over to the Cap one card after.

 

I'm planning on keeping the Orchard Card open at least until they complete their switch to Cap One. I'm fine with the card as is now so this I will keep and let it age.

 

The store cards are not GE cards. I will let them age.

 

I'm not planning to request the CLI with Barclay's until I have this all in order so that's about 5 months away. Unless I receive the promotion I'm in line for which could accelerate my timeline a bit Smiley Happy

 

I'm happy with the progress I've made in a year. I started with a 515 score so getting up around 600 in a year with most of my baddies still reporting puts me in a good spot to make strides this year. My util should drop once my charge offs are paid off, and since I'm in New York, two of them are slated to drop off later this year.

Equifax - 682
Trans Union - 687
Message 3 of 12
Duncanrr
Valued Contributor

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months

When your scores get around 600-620 (Transunion) you may want to look into getting a Walmart card or one of the GE back jewelry store cards.  They will grow with you quickly.  My starting Walmart Discover card CL was 1,800 and after 2.5 months I requested 3x CLI on Black Friday and was approved for 5.4k CL.



Starting Score: EQ 551 TU 548 CK 607on 6/8/12, EX 542(AMEX pull 3/4/12)
Current Score: EQ 808 TU --- EX --- CK 804(FAKO-EX 821, EQ 823, TU 803)
Goal Score: 750

Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 4 of 12
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months

IMO, iincreasing the OpenSky deposit just to close it ,is not worth the trouble.   It can take 60 days to get your deposit back.    I don't think a closed $200 CL card will have any effect in the future.    If you were going to put a big deposit down $1000 or more and leave it open, then I would consider it.

 

I think maxing out your Capital One secured card ($3000) is the best plan.

 

Another thought, can you open a secured card with your credit union. that is were I would put the most money.

Message 5 of 12
giants1986
Valued Member

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months

If the score simulator on this site is accurate, once my charge offs are paid off that should put me at at least 600 for transunion. Combining that with lowering my overall Util and raising my Cap One limit I don't think I would need a secured card from my credit union, I should qualify for an unsecured card.

 

I think my course of action will be to close the Open Sky before the AF hits, and increase my Cap One secured limit. Once I see what the outcome is of that plus paying off my charge offs and lowering my overall util, I'll move forward. If I get an increase from Barclay's that I am satisfied with, I'll wait the extra time for the Charge offs to fall from my report and look at what I qualify for then.

 

I finally feel like I'm climbing out of the hole I put myself in which is a weight off my shoulders. Anything from here on out to me is gravy.

Equifax - 682
Trans Union - 687
Message 6 of 12
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months


@giants1986 wrote:

If the score simulator on this site is accurate, once my charge offs are paid off that should put me at at least 600 for transunion. Combining that with lowering my overall Util and raising my Cap One limit I don't think I would need a secured card from my credit union, I should qualify for an unsecured card.

 

I think my course of action will be to close the Open Sky before the AF hits, and increase my Cap One secured limit. Once I see what the outcome is of that plus paying off my charge offs and lowering my overall util, I'll move forward. If I get an increase from Barclay's that I am satisfied with, I'll wait the extra time for the Charge offs to fall from my report and look at what I qualify for then.

 

I finally feel like I'm climbing out of the hole I put myself in which is a weight off my shoulders. Anything from here on out to me is gravy.


Good plan.

Message 7 of 12
flashevo
Regular Contributor

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months

Sounds like you have a good plan written up there.

Good luck
NFCU Flagship Sig (24.5k); NFCU CashRewards (24.5k); NFCU NavCheck (15k); Chase Sapphire Preferred (15k) ;Chase Marriott Rewards (14k);US Bank Flex Perks (9k); Barclays Rewards (8k); Chase Freedom (14k); BOA Travel Rewards Sig (20k); BOA Privileges with Cash Rewards Sig (9k); Discover IT (6.5k); Walmart Discover (3k); Wells Fargo Platinum (9.5k); Wells Fargo LOC (10k); Bloomingdales Amex (5k); Macy's Amex (5k); Paypal Extras Mastercard (6k); Bananna Republic Visa (5.5k); Lowes (6k); Sams Club Discover (5k)....In the garden since 8/15/13



Message 8 of 12
zerobacan
Established Contributor

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months

Those store card.are GE.cards and they do grow with you.
Amex PRG NPSL, Amex Delta 2k (AU) Discover iT 5k, BOFA Siggy $5k, BOFA AlaskaAir Siggy 5k, BBVA Compass $5k! Macy's $4.5k, C1 $2.5, SFCU $2.5k, SFCU LOC $2k, Paypal SmartC $4k, Sam's 5.5k Victoria Secret $2k, Kay's $1.7k.,76/Citi $1.5k Amazon $5k, Walmart Disco $3k JC Penny $4k, C1 $2.5, BBRZ 700.
Starting:TU:536 EXP:561 : EQ:552 Current:TU:680 Walmart (2-15-14)EXP:712 FICO!! (12-4-13):EQ:622 (FICO 2-6-14) Uti 27% Goal: 720 By 12-13.
Message 9 of 12
Duncanrr
Valued Contributor

Re: Strategy for the next 6 months


@zerobacan wrote:
Those store card.are GE.cards and they do grow with you.

I thought they were as well Smiley Happy



Starting Score: EQ 551 TU 548 CK 607on 6/8/12, EX 542(AMEX pull 3/4/12)
Current Score: EQ 808 TU --- EX --- CK 804(FAKO-EX 821, EQ 823, TU 803)
Goal Score: 750

Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 10 of 12
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