Hi guys, just started looking into my fico and decided to join.

[Anonymous]

Some background.

Although I've been a long time credit watcher  (with notepads then xl sheets, and constantly checking balances, and making payments 2 weeks early), I just started looking into my fico score.  Kinda late you might say being that I've bought a house and a car already.

Although my credit history has always been perfect, I hit several speed bumps within a close time frame which included being hospitalized, a co-sign I did for a family member gone bad and a roommate skipping out on me.  I racked up a substantial debt and have been chipping away over the years.

I'm now using only 55% of my credit line and am 2 points from being in Very Good standing. Just went up 3 points today when I paid off another credit card.  

What I've done over the years.

Aside from not using my credit cards for every day items, I've started playing the transferring game.  Every year I transfer a balance to a 0 apr card and pay down as much as I can, then do it again the next year.

It is now that time of the year and need advice on how to proceed, but first a little info that might help.

First the negatives.

All I have negative on my account is $200 phone bill I paid off after 60 days because I was trying to dispute.  I don't recall the details now as it was almost 5 years ago!! I never thought a cell phone bill would be so damaging to a credit score.  

Now the positives

I'm currently at 698 equifax score

My average age of accounts is 7 years  

Last late payment was my cell phone bill over 4 years ago

I have 9 accounts in good standing (none in bad)

Last credit app was exactly a year ago.

Where do I go from here?

So first and foremost, how can I get rid off that only negative item on my history?  If I can't, how long before it falls off?

I could possibly pay off another card but that cuts into my "Emergency" fund.  Would the extra 3 points to get into Very Good bracket make a difference?

Is it possible to get a soft pull done by a credit card and what exactly is an app spree?  Read several threads but I still can't decide whether it's good or bad.

Once I do get the new card, do I move the highest apr balance over or spread out so they're all under 50%, some close to 30%.  Again, read several threads and articles online and it was almost 50/50 over individual balances don't matter vs. they do.

Read threads of soft pull cards like Victorians Secret and Department Stores, would these cards help increase score by increasing Line to debt ration even if I don't use them?

I get headaches after reading threads so sorry for the long intro post.   I hope someone has the time to go over it and provide some advice. 

Thanks in advance!

[Simply827]

Hi there and welcome to the forums.

First of all using 55% of your CL is hurting your score. I understand you want to do a balance transfer but you may want to pay down your debt a bit more to increase your chances of getting approved. It might be beneficial to take a little bit from your emergency fund to do this. I recommend Chase Slate for BTs right now since theres no fee. 

You should send a GW letter to the phone company to get them to remove the negative account.

If you apply for a new card it will more than likely be a HP with the exception of using the shopping cart trick for Commenity Bank cards (eg, VS, Express, etc). I don't think the CL you get on a store account will really be enough to bring down your utilization, so you should focus on applying for regular cards. An app spree is when you apply for a few cards within a short time frame. It's mostly a good thing if you prepare properly so that you can get approved for all/most of the cards you apply for. Low utilization is very important for a successful app spree.

When you do get a new card, you should try to get some cards to zero balance. Individual balances on a card do matter, but if you don't plan to apply for any other credit in the near future, don't worry too much. Don't open up a whole bunch of store cards you don't plan to use because that will affect your ability to get approved for the cards you actually do want.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for taking the time and advice.

I could probaly bring it down to 49% by next month but will that really help or will it not help much?  I'd rather hold on to the cash unless it would make a significant difference.  I'll look into that card and any that may be offering 0% fee, I thought 3% was great so it's good to know that some cards do offer that.

I'll look around but if anyone has any suggestions for a letter to the phone company I'd greatly appreciate it.  I found a template online on how to try to lower apr's and I've built on it according to my situations and it helped alot.  Hoping to find something like that.

Ok, I won't focus on any of those store cards.  Thanks.

I only apply for a new card once a year.  I thought multiple apps would drastically lower your score but it's good to know it could work in my favor when the time is right.  

Thanks for all the info so far!