@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?
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 be patient.
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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?
I started about 2 years ago with low 600's. I didn't try super hard with goodwill letters or anything, I just treated the credit that I did have (a $500 secured card to start) very well...and it's gotten me to where I am now (info in sig)
I haven't reached my goals yet, but I'd say I am at mile 20 (of 26.2) in the marathon.
@red259 wrote:
@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?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.
To elaborate a little more on red's awesome response, some people on the forums see what others have accomplished, and feel the need to run to get those 10 cards through shopping cart trick, preapproval sites, and recons, when their profile isn't at the best it could be, whether it be for limited history or baddies. They do this to "get in the door", begin their credit repair journey sooner, and hope down the road creditors will see their positive history and in turn increase their limits, give them more favorable APRs, and PC/obtain better cards through that creditor.
Some also are in the camp that if they apply now for all those cards, down the road those inquiries will fall off and in 2+ years their credit will look better than if they spread it out. Which, yes, that is true, but I also tend to see more often than not those people in that camp wanting to apply for another nice new shiny within those two years anyways 
But hey, to each their own, and good for them for using their credit to their advantage!
I am part of the marathon group. I obtained all the cards you see below within approx 3 years, and the limits/offers got better as time went on. Started out with an Orchard secured at $200 and a JCP at $500, and you can see they changed drastically since then! I acquired a Shell gas card a little over a year later (that's still stuck, but seems to be the norm unless I want a hard pull to increase), and after a year and a half of overall credit history, I applied for my first prime lender and got $7k out the gate 
huzzah, the slow and study worked, even with limits much less than $5k on my other cards!
Some people like instant gratification and will work hard to get what they want right away. Others are very content on letting it build to achieve hassle-free results. I, personally, find the slow and steady a better method for me. I haven't applied for new credit since August, and don't plan on taking any hard pulls for credit cards for a little while with a graduate PLUS loan and potentially a car loan expected in the near future (summer). I have 7 cards I'm very happy with (errr...well, that Shell card I wouldn't mind simply sitting unactive until it closes, but my family likes buying from Shell every once in a while, so it keeps it alive), and I'm proud of my accomplishments thus far as a result of the marathon method!
Daybreak raises a good point about the people who start off with a major spree using the shopping cart trick etc, especially when just starting out on their credit jounrneys. They really do in their score and sure they can wait two years for all those inqs to disappear (after a year they don't impact the score), but I find building a history with 2-3 cards will accomplish the same results and allow you to apply for more substantial cards in six months or a year. My fear with a large app spree to start with is that people would get declined for too many inqs and would end up having to wait longer for those better cards. I believe quality of cards is much more important than quantity.
@longtimelurker wrote:I have said before that basically my definition of this is "an (almost) meaningless cliche substituting for thought" which is maybe a *little* harsh, but that phrase is parrotted here way too much.
You can get acceptable credit starting out fairly quickly by having say two cards, always paying on time, and not apping for other things. That is NOT a marathon. Now recovering from bad credit can take much longer, so I would be more OK with "Recovering good credit is more like a marathon than a sprint" but that's not particularly interesting, in many fields recovering from a bad situation takes a long time!
For some people working on credit for six months to a year can feel like a marathon! Of course, fully recovering from a bankruptcy or other severe financial situations will take much much longer than a year or two so I can understand the two categories of people (rebuilders vs just starting outs) not being comparable when we talk about timelines.
