Where to go from here?

[Anonymous]

I have been in the process of trying to re establish my credit over te past 4 months. My reports are showing 3 Paid CO's, 4 CA's (all unpaid, 1 CC, 3 medical). My scores are currently in the 580-600 range. I had no revolving credit lines open since 2006. The past few months I have gone on an app spree (which I know I shouldn't have lol) and got 3 CC's. Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards $300 CL, BBRZMC $100, Victoria's Secret $250. I also recently took out $4500 in student loans, deferred until graduation in 2012. I am looking to do PFD's on all of the medical collections within 30 days. Any advice or suggestions on where to go from here? Ideally I would like to have scores approcahing 700 a year from now so that DF and I can buy an investment property with little to no money down, though we will put a down payment down if necessary.

[Creditaddict]

sounds like you have the right plan, 3 credit cards is perfect for rebuilding... work on your baddies and when your scores come up another 50 or so points maybe look at some more prime cards to start replacing BBMC etc.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response. My DF recently got an Amex offer in the mail and he was thinking of applying. Should he add me as an AU? I would love to have a foot in the door with Amex when the time is right

[Creditaddict]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the response. My DF recently got an Amex offer in the mail and he was thinking of applying. Should he add me as an AU? I would love to have a foot in the door with Amex when the time is right

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yes

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the response. My DF recently got an Amex offer in the mail and he was thinking of applying. Should he add me as an AU? I would love to have a foot in the door with Amex when the time is right

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There are several things needed before being added as an AU can help.

It can help IF the account is older than any of yours, IF the payment history is long and clean, IF the utilization is very low, and IF it will report to the CRA's. Not all cards will do this. You need to ask the company first. You will inherit the entire history of this account. One caveat however; if this account starts to go south your credit will be affected as well. Keep that in mind.

In your case being added as an AU on a new card might actually hurt because it would lower your AAoA (Average Age of Accounts) and credit length history.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802
EQ - 7/06-663, 3/10-800
TU - 8/10-772
You can do the same thing with hard work

[Anonymous]

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MONIQUE1005 wrote:  I would love to have a foot in the door with Amex when the time is right

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Hi Monique,

+1 to MVV's reply - do some figuring before you're overjoyed at being an AU on any card.  Don't let the AMEX stars in your eyes blind you to what the impact will be.

BTW, there's no evidence I've seen, at least so far, that being an AU correlates to having a foot in the door with a potential creditor.  I'm an AU on two of DH's cards - but so far is hasn't done a thing as far as being approved on my own.  There can be advantages (and disadvantages) to being an AU, but I haven't seen evidence that this is one of them.

Congrats on your hard work and good luck to you in your rebuilding.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I will just let these accounts age in the meantime and see if I get any "offers" on their site in the next year or so

I had a Nordstrom Store card with a $2k limit back in '06 that was charged off in '08 for less than owed. I recently applied for a new card and was denied due to the CO. Any chance I wll get a new account again?? I shop there often and I loved the rewards (private shopping events, $20 notes etc...)