@MountainHiker wrote:Is it difficult to get approval? I have one unpaid collection on my file.Is Fairwinds very conservative about giving credit to a person with only a single, 2 year old collection? The collection is really 6.5 years old but was resold.They will not agree to a pay and delete.Is Fairwinds hard on people in my situation?
im not too sure about the card but as far as the collection is concerned, have you posted in the Rebuilding section for advice? im pretty sure even if the debt was "re-sold" they CANNOT change the DOFD of the account, which in your case means it HAS to come off in another 6months or so. i would just wait for it to fall of before apping for anything to ensure good approvals
@MountainHiker wrote:
@Jlu wrote:
"Back to the garden with you"Six of the worse words ever said!!
I'm certain it was meant in a joking fashion; however, I would strongly encourage you to come up with a plan, and figure out what you want and then go for it. I've noticed what Jlu did as well, you are interested in collecting cards from pretty much anyone... when realistically for most people beyond 4ish rewards category cards, the rest just sit idle and are mostly irrelevant both to their financial lives and FICO score as well.
In any event, I'd recommend analyzing your current and expected future spending pattern (call it 2-3 years out) and then look at cards in the short and mid-term categories for acquisition based on that. I'd also suggest figuring out if you're planning on a car or a house anywhere during that timeline, and factoring that in: namely, no apps 6-12 months before either.
I know waiting rather sucks, but FICO and lending approvals are a part of the old guard that's highly resistant to our current instant-gratification culture. You won't do yourself any favors longer-term by accepting random unnecessary cards (there's plenty of examples to be found on this forum of that), and you may well wind up damaging your report for a non-trivial amount of time. Re-evaluate what you need vs. what you want, and then go from there. Brightly colored bits of plastic are far less important than many other things in life, and in today's world, FICO is one of those things.
@Revelate wrote:
@MountainHiker wrote:
@Jlu wrote:
"Back to the garden with you"Six of the worse words ever said!!
I'm certain it was meant in a joking fashion; however, I would strongly encourage you to come up with a plan, and figure out what you want and then go for it. I've noticed what Jlu did as well, you are interested in collecting cards from pretty much anyone... when realistically for most people beyond 4ish rewards category cards, the rest just sit idle and are mostly irrelevant both to their financial lives and FICO score as well.
In any event, I'd recommend analyzing your current and expected future spending pattern (call it 2-3 years out) and then look at cards in the short and mid-term categories for acquisition based on that. I'd also suggest figuring out if you're planning on a car or a house anywhere during that timeline, and factoring that in: namely, no apps 6-12 months before either.
I know waiting rather sucks, but FICO and lending approvals are a part of the old guard that's highly resistant to our current instant-gratification culture. You won't do yourself any favors longer-term by accepting random unnecessary cards (there's plenty of examples to be found on this forum of that), and you may well wind up damaging your report for a non-trivial amount of time. Re-evaluate what you need vs. what you want, and then go from there. Brightly colored bits of plastic are far less important than many other things in life, and in today's world, FICO is one of those things.
Excellent advice Revelate! I would strongly suggest that OP follow this ^^^^^ advice
@Revelate wrote:
@MountainHiker wrote:
@Jlu wrote:
"Back to the garden with you"Six of the worse words ever said!!
I'm certain it was meant in a joking fashion; however, I would strongly encourage you to come up with a plan, and figure out what you want and then go for it. I've noticed what Jlu did as well, you are interested in collecting cards from pretty much anyone... when realistically for most people beyond 4ish rewards category cards, the rest just sit idle and are mostly irrelevant both to their financial lives and FICO score as well.
In any event, I'd recommend analyzing your current and expected future spending pattern (call it 2-3 years out) and then look at cards in the short and mid-term categories for acquisition based on that. I'd also suggest figuring out if you're planning on a car or a house anywhere during that timeline, and factoring that in: namely, no apps 6-12 months before either.
I know waiting rather sucks, but FICO and lending approvals are a part of the old guard that's highly resistant to our current instant-gratification culture. You won't do yourself any favors longer-term by accepting random unnecessary cards (there's plenty of examples to be found on this forum of that), and you may well wind up damaging your report for a non-trivial amount of time. Re-evaluate what you need vs. what you want, and then go from there. Brightly colored bits of plastic are far less important than many other things in life, and in today's world, FICO is one of those things.
Thanks for your very thoughtful words.Yes,waiting does suck and by nature i'm not the most patient of people.I view myself as a problem solver and that probably explain why I haven't given up. Many of the things you touched on hold true in my eyes.I have lately been willing to opt for any card as long as it offers a certain levels of perks and gave my credit file a leg up compared to it's current state. That is the reason why I have been considering apping with a Credit Union such as Alliant. I agree with you at the end of the day the best thing to fix my credit report will be time. What motivates me to even try and add a Credit card before the six months when the collection falls off is the reality of how strange credit can work. Derogs in a credit file can be marginally weighed just like good history of payments can be seem as being not good enough. There is not allways a consistant formula for approvals. I have no doubt my situation would be enhanced greatly by waiting till march when the collection falls off.Will probably have to do just that.Maybe my probablem is i have far too much optimism for my own good
@MountainHiker wrote:Thanks for your very thoughtful words.Yes,waiting does suck and by nature i'm not the most patient of people.I view myself as a problem solver and that probably explain why I haven't given up. Many of the things you touched on hold true in my eyes.I have lately been willing to opt for any card as long as it offers a certain levels of perks and gave my credit file a leg up compared to it's current state. That is the reason why I have been considering apping with a Credit Union such as Alliant. I agree with you at the end of the day the best thing to fix my credit report will be time. What motivates me to even try and add a Credit card before the six months when the collection falls off is the reality of how strange credit can work. Derogs in a credit file can be marginally weighed just like good history of payments can be seem as being not good enough. There is not allways a consistant formula for approvals. I have no doubt my situation would be enhanced greatly by waiting till march when the collection falls off.Will probably have to do just that.Maybe my probablem is i have far too much optimism for my own good
My general theory on collections: if it's paid and that old, you can apply now. If it's unpaid, wait till it falls off. Think of it as building character . I think though you're also saddled with short history, and don't discount the benefits both to FICO and underwriting that another six months brings. The rational choice if you don't absolutely need the credit card (and by such I mean it'll save you non-trivial money right now or allow you to do something you can't currently) is absolutely to wait in this case; however, humans in general aren't the most rational creatures and I know personally I'm no exception to that.
Alliant CU has a good reputation to my knowledge on the forums, and I think it's worth cultivating relationships with a few CU's as they offer some things that larger banks often do not. I'm debating changing my plans now and including SDFCU as they might have a secured card with no-forex and I'd rather go with that than a Cap One secured. Our lives change, so any plan you make needs to be flexible, and having different lender options is always a bonus.
If I remember your threads, Alliant is probably your best bet out of the ones you've asked about.
Longer term you'll be OK, it's simply difficult to learn patience on these forums when we see approval after approval talked about, and even I sit back and think "if they can get it why can't I?" before once again realizing I'm nowhere close to FICO pretty. If I start getting really twitchy I simply take a break from the forum for a few days and I find that helps. This forum is a tremendous source of information, but it can also be one of temptation too even if wary.