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What would you recommend?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

What would you recommend?

Hi Everyone!

First off I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend. And hello to the members on this board. I've spent most of my time on the rebuilding forum and I owe them a huge thank you for the tips for getting my credit back on track.

 

I was wondering if you all could help me with suggesting what cards (if you feel it's appropriate to apply for any) would be beneficial for my situation.

 

Here are my stats:

 

3 inq. 1 will fall off next year and the other 2 will be a year old.

 

About 5 store cards (Macy's JCPenny, Sears, Best Buy, Firestone) ranging from $800-2200--Balance on the best Buy is $400 with a CL of $2200

 

Student loan $22K

 

Cap1 $2000--No balance

 

Chase Freedom $4500 (just got an automatic CLI a couple of weeks ago and I got the card in Jan '12 from $3K) Balance--$1100 ( but will have that paid off by the end of Jan '13)

 

I have an old Cap1 card with 2 baddies (30 day late and a 60 day late) and those are both scheduled to fall off late next year (I want to believe that these are not affecting my credit score too much).

 

I do travel for work and I was using the corp card but I can use my own personal card (but my credit was terrible when I first got the job so I asked for a corp card because I didn't qualify for a better credit card) so maybe a Chase Slate for that? I don't know if I could get an American Express.

 

I also need to get some expensive dental work done (jaw surgery so maybe it's medical and it's a no go on my medical insurance) and would like to get some rewards for that. I saved up for most of it so I would have to charge about $3K on a card for the remainder. Would prefer to go the route of a no interest card with some rewards. (CareCredit has some horror stories so I would rather avoid that card) Then I have to make another large purchase later on in the year and would probably charge about $6K.

 

Don't know what my real Fico score is. I use freecreditreport.com as I just needed something to help me with tracking what was happening on my report while rebuilding and I've done as much as I can. But the score on that site says I'm at 732. Since I know it's a FAKO I take it with a grain of salt. I figured until I got ready to buy a house is when I will get my real one since right now, the only thing I can do is pay down more balances as Cap1 ain't budging with my GW's for those lates.

 

Income is $66K

 

So I know I don't have any high limit cards I dunno if I have a chance to get approved for one. But I'd be grateful if you have any suggestions for cards or even what next steps I should take.

 

Thank you all again and have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
chnceit
Valued Contributor

Re: What would you recommend?

Profile seems good, if you have no baddies then I would suggest a Discover card, More or IT. They tend to pull TU and the card grows with you.

 

 


Last Pulled EQ: 809
Last Credit Card App: 02/05/2016
Last CLI: 02/06/2016
Find Me: Gardening
Message 2 of 13
visorboy1974
Valued Contributor

Re: What would you recommend?

Is there any particular airline or hotel chain you stay with mainly for this job?  Perhaps a co-branded card?  

FICO Scores Updated 07/15 EQ08 748 EX08 748 TU08 818
Message 3 of 13
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: What would you recommend?

If your work requires travel... look at an American express charge card My fakos was like 719 when I was approved for my charge card. For next year I'm getting the PR gold because of the 25k bonus MR points after 30k annual spend. Also discover is nice if you use shop discover to book travel you get 5% cash back. You can also qualify for a no interest promote period with discover which would help with that jaw surgery. Both of these companies offer great customer service and you would be happy with them as a long term relationship... they aren't fancy but they are good wallet cards. Citi also has some good low interest cards but I'm not sure of their criteria.
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 4 of 13
MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

Re: What would you recommend?

Well for one thing, I would cancel freecreditreport.com and start with myfico. The scores are very accurate. I am also a member there and I am canceling very soon as I just signed up for myfico yesterday. My experian Fako is way off by 50 pts. MyFico is also cheaper, $14.95 vs $17.95 per month. To review changes on your report, you can just use Credit Karma. It is free and has a very nice user friendly App.

I would definitely pay down your Chase Freedom first as well as your Best Buy card. Get your Util around 9%.

Your score is very good. I would think your fico is even higher so I would find out your score there. After you get your Util down, you might qualify for an American Express BCP or you could see about upgrading your Freedom card to a Chase Sapphire. The baddies you have on your revolving accounts are your biggest hindrance. You can check pre approval for a Discover as well, which would be a soft pull. Others will have other suggestions for you so stick around to get the full picture. Smiley Happy

If you get declined, always recon as many here can testify that it works sometimes.
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 5 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What would you recommend?

Thank you thank you thank you all for the great replies!

 

I usually fly delta because of the skymiles, but at one point I couldn't really afford the annual fee. I've got some wiggle room now because of the raise. The hotel is usually whatever is closest to our client, which has been Marriott lately.

 

I did look at Discover. Would you recommend that to use for travel and for the surgery? I am trying to be careful about charging too much on one card so I was thinking maybe I should look at getting 2 different ones but wasn't sure if that was smart?

 

And yes, next month I plan on getting those balances down. They are just up for the holidays but they will be gone soon enough. I plan on applying next month anyway but wanted to make sure I knew which cards to look at. Game Plan baby!

 

Question about my baddies. Are they really that bad since they are 6 years old? I was hoping since they weren't major lates it wasn't too bad. But I guess any late is a bad late.

 

The Sapphire is attractive but I do like the freedom as my fun card. Do you think it's ok to just get another one?

 

Also, do you think I have a chance for a larger CL? I don't really have use for a lot of credit except for these upcoming events (and then I will have enough credit for any other emergencies).

 

I read these threads like crazy and thank you all for taking the time to give advice. Truly grateful to you all.

 

 

Message 6 of 13
MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

Re: What would you recommend?

You're welcome. Given that you have a Freedom with a $4500 CL, I do think you are in a position for a higher limit card. There are folks here that have both a Freedom and a Sapphire so having two is indeed possible. The Sapphire has great rewards on hotel and travel too.

Since the baddies are 6 years old and you didn't get any charge offs or closures, I don't think they will have a big impact.

You could get two more cards or split the balances between your new card and your Freedom. How many inquiries do you have?

Smiley Happy
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 7 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What would you recommend?

3 inq's. One will fall off next year and the other 2 will be a year old.

 

I do like the Discover card. It looks like it will be what I need for some international travel I'm going to do next year.

 

As far as AMEX, that's a grown up card! haha. I don't know if I would be approved for that. I've always had a question about those products. Like what the difference between an AMEX for Delta and what a BCE is versus the other cards. And why some have no credit limit? I never wanted to apply because I didn't understand it.

 

 

Message 8 of 13
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: What would you recommend?


@Anonymous wrote:

3 inq's. One will fall off next year and the other 2 will be a year old.

 

I do like the Discover card. It looks like it will be what I need for some international travel I'm going to do next year.

 

As far as AMEX, that's a grown up card! haha. I don't know if I would be approved for that. I've always had a question about those products. Like what the difference between an AMEX for Delta and what a BCE is versus the other cards. And why some have no credit limit? I never wanted to apply because I didn't understand it.

 

 


American express charge cards are great because they have no pre set limit... also no interest. Amex likes you to charge a lot and then pay the bill in full every month. I wouldn't apply for the delta or BCE at this time... I'm not sure you would be approved without prior amex history. The tiers of charge cards are green; gold; pr gold; and platinum. The platinum has some high level perks such as dedicated service reps and 24 hour concierge with lounge passes. The pr gold is good for business travlers because you earn 3x points on all travel expenses and 2x points on gas. I started with the zync because I didn't know if I would like the concept of a charge card but I found that I enjoy it. Charge cards have a much more lenient approval criteria than American express credit cards. They also like high incomes... you would have a 95% chance of being approved for a charge card with amex.

Also; one neat feature of a charge card is that you could have a 3k balance report and your utilization would not be affected... this is great for folks who use their personal credit for reimbursed expenses. Your utilization % would not swing up and down... also your charge card has an internal limit that grows like crazy. Ive charged up to $5174 with no issues and it didn't affect my utilization. My zync is the bottom tier charge card that is no longer available...
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 9 of 13
MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

Re: What would you recommend?

I still don't understand the difference between charge cards and credit cards. Does the charge cards not come with a preset limit?
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 10 of 13
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