What's your definition of "not a sprint, but a marathon"?

[dang729]

I agree with it taking time to develop. I have noticed people here have huge changes in their scores in a matter of a year.

In my experience, I started only using about 10% utilization on my cc (small 300$ limit) as opposed to PIF for the past 6 months and have been making all student loan payments on time. I saw an increase from 595 to 635 in my ck score in those 6 months.

Now that I recently got approved for a Discover IT for $1100 and a cap1platinum for $1000. I plan on gardening for 6-12 months and seeing how much my score increases in that time period. I'm just wondering how long it will be before I break 700 or I am eligible for a subprime card such as a Chase Freedom or an AMEX.

[red259]

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@dang729 wrote:
I agree with it taking time to develop. I have noticed people here have huge changes in their scores in a matter of a year.

In my experience, I started only using about 10% utilization on my cc (small 300$ limit) as opposed to PIF for the past 6 months and have been making all student loan payments on time. I saw an increase from 595 to 635 in my ck score in those 6 months.

Now that I recently got approved for a Discover IT for $1100 and a cap1platinum for $1000. I plan on gardening for 6-12 months and seeing how much my score increases in that time period. I'm just wondering how long it will be before I break 700 or I am eligible for a subprime card such as a Chase Freedom or an AMEX.

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I don't think the freedom is a subprime card. Its actually quite a nice little card. Depending on your score I think you will be good both for freedom and amex after six months of revolver history reporting. When you get into the 700+ range you will be able to get most credit cards. There are some people who get Freedom and Amex with little history although I think their scores may be higher than yours. Besides I would not recommend going for the freedom prematurely as you may get toy limits and it will be a pain to get it to grow. The amex will grow much much quicker. 

[12njoy]

I say to each his/her own.  I started out rebuilding in March 2012 with two secured cards.  Applied for my first three unsecured cards (Barclays, Walmart, TiresPlus) in March 2013.  Focused on these five cards until July 2013.  This would be a "sprint" for me (everyone's might be different, but this is how I see my situation).  Then beginning in July 2013, I went into a full marathon whereas I added the rest of the cards in my siggy from July 2013 to March 2014.  I closed my two secured cards in December 2013 as they had served their purpose (again, for my situation).  I still have 3 paid CO's on EX and 1 on EQ and TU which all will fall off December 2014 through February 2015.  My thought is that these accounts can age (at least one year) by the time the remaining bad things fall off.  My score suffers now due to AAoA, but that is a small fraction of the score.  In the longrun (and that is my focus) it will be more beneficial for me.  I just bought a new car and do not plan on buying a home and even if I did want a house I have the VA loan to back me up.  I use very little of my available credit (balance carrying anyway).  I do use the cards to pay all bills using VR and PIF ni most cases before statements cut.  Every month though, I let 2-3 cards report a total balance of less than $1,000.  This is my story and I'm sticking with it

[eagle2013]

Great thread!

I'll also share my rebuilding journey on top of the amazing responses thus far.

Some many know, but I had a capital one CO 5 years ago when I was 18 and didn't know a thing about credit. I really didn't apply for credit for about 3 years after the CO since I was still in college and not terribly necessary. It wasn't until I met my DH - who has phenomenal credit - that I wanted to try to build a history of my own.

Two years ago I was starting to go off to graduate school and attempted to get a credit card. I started, very foolishly, applying for unsecured, prime credit cards (AMEX Delta, Chase, WF, etc.). Instant decline, obviously, due to the unpaid CO. I couldn't understand why this was still affecting my ability to get credit. Intuitivley, I knew that applying for a bunch of cards via the shopping cart trick probably wouldn't be to my advantage long-term. I decided to suck it up and get a secured card through WF for $400 in Nov 2012. A month after getting the secured card I applied for Old Navy in Jan 2013. Instant approval for $200. I'll admit - the instant approval was a good feeling. I then didn't apply for credit until July when I picked up Nordstrom store (now Visa) and Macys. 4 months later my secured card unsecured and I was able to get a huge CLI. Without letting that limit report, I decided to apply for CSP, BCP and BofA in Nov 2013. Instant denial for all three - was able to recon with Chase and BofA through the supervisors. Reason for denial was unpaid CO. Two months later tried for Discover and my local CU (which is really a corporate CU to be honest) - also instant denials for the unpaid CO. It was then I realized that my own stubbornness got in the way of getting my credit to the position where it needs to be. I decided in Feb of this year to settle my CO for less than full balance (~$500) two years before the fall off date. The minute $0 balance hit my report I applied for Chase Freedom, BCP, Discover and Citi - all instant approvals except for Citi who denied me initially for too many inqs. 

So if you want to classify my journey, I would say a half-marathon. When I knew my credit wasn't entirely great, I stopped apping and only apped for store cards I knew I would use. When my secured card unsecured and left me with a year of "unsecured" credit history on paper, I figured that maybe a good time to attempt some prime cards. And then, when my only derog was settled it was worth a shot at the prime cards I didn't otherwise get. Now, I am definitley gardening for a while and devoting my time to GW-ing this charge off and preparing my scores for an auto loan. 

[trzarocks]

It really depends on what your goals and your present situation look like.  I'll share my journey in hopes that the example helps.

I didn't do well managing my credit early on.  After I got all but 1 baddie removed, I started working on getting cards (previously just had installment loans).

Got a CapOne credit steps card, and gardened for 6 months.  Saw a small bump from Credit Steps program.

6 months later, did AMEX (wanted BCP, offered Green Card.  Didn't need it or want the fee so I declined but wasted a HP), Discover (prime lender), and Walmart (wanted the FICO).  Still had 1 baddie that almost cost me the Discover, too.  I had to recon and explained to the CSR why it was there.  She approved me, but no 0% offer and a small limit.

6 months later, the baddie aged off.  Saw a nice bump in score.  Had a track record.  Took the SP CLIs that I could (only WM and the standard CapOne Credit Steps increase).

2 months later, did Amazon store card for a financing deal.  Highest starting CL at the time.

This month - Scores now 700+ across all 3 bureaus. PC CapOne Platinum to QS and +150% CLI (EO, hope that PC gives me regular increases now), huge CLI response from Discover (had to call to get it), WM PC to Discover version (at this point that tiny $400 CL from WM turned into $2500).  Since I see that I'm in prime territory, I took a stab at Amex BCP again and was recently approved at their lowest 12.99%.  

At this point, I'm back in the garden until 2 more HPs get to the 1 year mark.  I also need to up my AAoOA again....it's right around 2 years.  But I'll take any CLIs that I can get without HPs.  Should be 2 on Amazon, 1 on WMD, hopefully 2 on Amex.

My next round, I'm going to see about negotiating lower APRs with CapOne and Discover.  I'm missing a Visa, so I may jump the hoops to join NFCU (eligible via family) for one.  I'm also considering a Sallie Mae MC for the 5% CB at Amazon, which I order from monthly.

For me, this has been a good strategy.  I'm still stuck in high interest profiles with CapOne and Discover, but that's only 2 accounts...I'll address them both again next round when my profile is even stronger.  I have enough credit to let balances report  on occassion and still be under 10% util.

I could have more accounts by this point, but would i be doing any better?  Probably not.  With that baddie, I would have more cards at higher interest rates and lower limits that I don't care to use.  Store cards aren't very valuable and relatively expensive to carry a balance on and when your score is in the 650's that's probably what you're going to get.  Secured cards would have tied up cash that helped me pay my car off early.  Subprime cards would have cost me an arm and a leg.  Likely would have lost out on future intro offers for points or 0% financing that issuers use to encourage new accounts if I applied early and took their 2nd or 3rd tier offers.  My AAoOA could well be 1.5y or less instead of 2.4y right now.  It would have probably taken me longer to build up a profile that prime lenders like Amex want to see.

The right path for you might not be the same as my path.  But you can probably follow these general rules...

• BE PATIENT.  Don't move on until you're ready.  Don't app for cards just for a rush - make them all mean something to you and put your credit report in the best possible position before you do app.
• Address the negatives on your CR (if any) first.  This is the most difficult part.  Sometimes you can get removals.  Sometimes you have to minimize their impact.  Sometimes they're just so old you might wait for them to fall off.  Sometimes you have to try many times working an issue before you see success.  
• Go for a couple easy to get cards to start.  Treat them right, and you're on the path to higher limits, higher scores, better products, and issuers competiting for your business.
• Define your ideal cards, figure out what those issuers like to see in applicants, and track your progress towards reaching those goals.
• ALWAYS ACTIVELY MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNTS (spend wisely, pay quickly, be mindful of carrying balances and your utilization, work on negotiating more favorable terms as your profile improves)

Hope the info helps, and good luck!

[Kenny]

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@red259 wrote:

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@dang729 wrote:
I have heard that phrase used on this site a few times and wanted to get a better understanding of what you mean by that.

What's your experience on how long it was from the time you began working on your credit to the time you saw some changes and achieved your goals?

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Depends on your goals. Keep in mind you can have many goals both short term and long term. This way you will feel like you are making progress. For example a longer term goal of mine is to break 800. A short term goal of mine was to obtain the CSP which I got this past Jan. I started my credit journey last may with a denial for the CSP. 7 to 8 months later I was instant approval for csp and multiple amex cards. This was a major accomplishment in my plans. My next short term goal is to obtain the chase ink card which I will have a decent shot at this summer. Not a sprint but a marathon means you should not expect overnight results. You will not get the best card starting out. Your score will not shoot up overnight. Some people rush out and apply for like 10 cards at once and do all sorts of damage to their credit report. Those are sprinters. People running the marathon will pickup maybe one or two cards to start and use those for six months and then pick up more. Slowly building up their credit report without risking AA and often having much more success in the long run with higher instant approvals etc. In a nutshell the saying means ber patient. 

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Very well said!!

[cgussio]

I actually do tell myself those words at times when I'm working on patience with my credit recovery journey. As someone who walked (as opposed to ran) a 1/2 marathon I then remind myself that my marathon will likely be even slower than some other people's marathon journey. The credit recovery plan that I have outlined for myself is about 2 1/2 years long. There will still be work that can be done after that time but that will should me to a comfortable spot. I started very small in July with 1 secured card and 1 store card. I added a secured loan in October and am gardening until April or later.

I would love to be able to up my score sooner but, for me, this is about so much more than just an improved credit score. I have 15 years of bad habits that I replacing with new, responsible spending habits. Rebuilding the trust and confidence in myself to adhere to financial discipline is probably my most important goal. While I am establishing those habits the improved credit score is slowly following.