cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

+76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

tag
mamatried
Contributor

+76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

1. I currently have an auto loan via Ally Financial $14,089 bal with this month being the 10th consecutive month of on time payments, no lates. 62 payments remaining (GULP). Model Year 2008 with aprox 80K miles. 13.81% APR (DOUBLE GULP). KBB Private Party is $12K (TRIPLE GULP)so I'm underwater on it. 

Will refinancing have a negative or positive effect? I'll have to bring a few thousand to the table to refi since it's under water, correct? Worth it? Wait? What should I do here? I'm not having trouble making the payment, but I don't have much extra to throw at it each month. 

2. I have a Student Loan with a $780 balance and 5% interest rate. $40/month minimum. It shows 26 on time payments, but there are 2 lates with the most recent late being 11 months ago.

Should I continue to pay $40 per month or should I try to pay this in full as soon as possible?

 

3. US Bank Secured Harley-Davidson Visa, $300 Limit, reporting as secured, 2.5 years of monthly on time payments reporting, I try to keep the balance low to zero but I charge at least one thing a month that I pay in full.

Should I try to contact US Bank to get unsecured or should I wait until my score is higher? Should I try to contact them to send them a check to get a secured CLI?

 

4. CapitalOne Secured, just opened in January of this year. $200 limit, paid on time and in full each month this year, trying to keep utilization low.

Should I try to do a secured CLI on this one?

 

5. I have another student loan that I paid in full (after ignoring for years) and it is showing up on my reports twice. Both with a $0 balance. One showing a full history of on time payments and the other showing 9 missed payments. Under remarks, the bad one says "Transfer."

What should I do with this? Call them? Contact credit bureaus for more info?

 

6. I have (4) Collections all showing a $0 balance. I paid 3 in full and 1 settled for less than owed. The oldest open date is 4 years and the newest, 1 year, although they are in actuality all much older than that. 
Do I do anything with these?

 

7. I have 11 inquiries, most of which from trying to get auto financing last year when one dealer ran me through a bunch of places without me realizing it, rental applications trying to find housing in Texas where they kept throwing WACKY terms on the lease at the last minute and properties were going FAST so I applied for a slew of places in one week and a few other misc credit cards / furniture stores,  when I was trying to get credit lines that would report before realizing they'd hit my credit report, bring my pts down and not approve me then when I moved and had to change cell and cable provider.. UGH! One will come off in September, the rest on on for a year or two. 
Any luck with getting these off or should I just avoid getting credit checks like crazy? Should I / Can I recon any of these once my score is higher?

 

Any other advice? Any other secured lines I should persue? Other ideas? 

I'm hoping to buy a home next Spring. 


12/23/14: 536 | 4/4/18 714
MAJORS: Chase Slate, Amex Blue, Citi American Airlines, Gap Visa, Cap1 QS, Southwest, AQHA BOA, Discover, Chase Freedom, Citi Best Buy, Cap1 Platinum, BuyPower GM, US Bank H-D STORE Macy's, VS, Home Depot, Old Navy, Kohl's, J Crew, Venus, Care Credit, PayPal Credit LOANS Ally Auto, Prosper, American Financial Resources Home Mortgage (USDA Rural Development)
Message 1 of 11
10 REPLIES 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?




@mamatried wrote:

1. I currently have an auto loan via Ally Financial $14,089 bal with this month being the 10th consecutive month of on time payments, no lates. 62 payments remaining (GULP). Model Year 2008 with aprox 80K miles. 13.81% APR (DOUBLE GULP). KBB Private Party is $12K (TRIPLE GULP)so I'm underwater on it. 

Will refinancing have a negative or positive effect? I'll have to bring a few thousand to the table to refi since it's under water, correct? Worth it? Wait? What should I do here? I'm not having trouble making the payment, but I don't have much extra to throw at it each month. If you refinance you will have a new loan, probably another HP and a loan that is back to 100% of its original balance. All factors that can lower your score, so leave alone if the payment is ok with you.

2. I have a Student Loan with a $780 balance and 5% interest rate. $40/month minimum. It shows 26 on time payments, but there are 2 lates with the most recent late being 11 months ago.

Should I continue to pay $40 per month or should I try to pay this in full as soon as possible? I would continue to pay on time, the interest rate is low so the cost to keep it financed is not a major issue considering the auto loan above. Plus a paid off loan is not a benefit to a score. Try to goodwill those lates as well. (edited to add)

 

3. US Bank Secured Harley-Davidson Visa, $300 Limit, reporting as secured, 2.5 years of monthly on time payments reporting, I try to keep the balance low to zero but I charge at least one thing a month that I pay in full.

Should I try to contact US Bank to get unsecured or should I wait until my score is higher? Should I try to contact them to send them a check to get a secured CLI? Secured or unsecurred will not effect score, Util will so if balance is reporting under 10% that should not be an issue. However with a manual review some say that having it unsecured is better.

 

4. CapitalOne Secured, just opened in January of this year. $200 limit, paid on time and in full each month this year, trying to keep utilization low.

Should I try to do a secured CLI on this one? Similar to above, if your Util is low the limit won't matter on score, but could help with manual review.

 

5. I have another student loan that I paid in full (after ignoring for years) and it is showing up on my reports twice. Both with a $0 balance. One showing a full history of on time payments and the other showing 9 missed payments. Under remarks, the bad one says "Transfer."

What should I do with this? Call them? Contact credit bureaus for more info? Could try to goodwill the negatives off, this would be a good thing for score, but with all the below negatives may not be as much as you want.

 

6. I have (4) Collections all showing a $0 balance. I paid 3 in full and 1 settled for less than owed. The oldest open date is 4 years and the newest, 1 year, although they are in actuality all much older than that. 
Do I do anything with these? This with the negatives above are probably having the most effect on your score. I would try to get these goodwilled off, if you can get all of them and the student loan above off it should have a really good effect assuming no other negatives.

 

7. I have 11 inquiries, most of which from trying to get auto financing last year when one dealer ran me through a bunch of places without me realizing it, rental applications trying to find housing in Texas where they kept throwing WACKY terms on the lease at the last minute and properties were going FAST so I applied for a slew of places in one week and a few other misc credit cards / furniture stores,  when I was trying to get credit lines that would report before realizing they'd hit my credit report, bring my pts down and not approve me then when I moved and had to change cell and cable provider.. UGH! One will come off in September, the rest on on for a year or two. 
Any luck with getting these off or should I just avoid getting credit checks like crazy? Should I / Can I recon any of these once my score is higher? Probably won't get these off, however with a manual review they are easy enough to explain, and you will have some time before you go for the mortgage so they will have a much smaller effect by that time.

 

Any other advice? Any other secured lines I should persue? Other ideas? 

I'm hoping to buy a home next Spring. If you are looking for next spring I would avoid any HP's, worth with what you have.


This is assuming you are just wanting a score increase and not to maximize your money. Personally that auto loan would bother me with being underwater and such a high interest rate. But as stated above refinancing would be a hit to your score and another HP that will be newer when you go for the mortgage. If you have the money it would take to get it out from underwater it might be worth just banking that towards the mortgage. Then in the spring you will be closer to value and can refinance after the mortgage. Long term the mortgage will be the highest cost of interest, so keeping that APR down is important and score will have a lot to do with that. So pay a bit now on the auto loan until the house purchase is down might be the smartest thing to do.

Message 2 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

1. I currently have an auto loan via Ally Financial $14,089 bal with this month being the 10th consecutive month of on time payments, no lates. 62 payments remaining (GULP). Model Year 2008 with aprox 80K miles. 13.81% APR (DOUBLE GULP). KBB Private Party is $12K (TRIPLE GULP)so I'm underwater on it. 

Will refinancing have a negative or positive effect? I'll have to bring a few thousand to the table to refi since it's under water, correct? Worth it? Wait? What should I do here? I'm not having trouble making the payment, but I don't have much extra to throw at it each month. 
Refinancing will not help your credit score and is it really worth the money you will save? You will get more hard inquiries that will hit your score. I would put the extra money towards bad debt or another secured card if you only have 2.


2. I have a Student Loan with a $780 balance and 5% interest rate. $40/month minimum. It shows 26 on time payments, but there are 2 lates with the most recent late being 11 months ago.

Should I continue to pay $40 per month or should I try to pay this in full as soon as possible?

 

I would continue to pay this as is. You can pay this off since you have a car loan but many people have seen a score drop after a loan has been paid. Plus showing in time payments can only help your score.

 

3. US Bank Secured Harley-Davidson Visa, $300 Limit, reporting as secured, 2.5 years of monthly on time payments reporting, I try to keep the balance low to zero but I charge at least one thing a month that I pay in full.

Should I try to contact US Bank to get unsecured or should I wait until my score is higher? Should I try to contact them to send them a check to get a secured CLI?

 

I wouldn't add more to any secured card to get a cli. I would just wait and see if they can upgrade it to a unsecured.

 

4. CapitalOne Secured, just opened in January of this year. $200 limit, paid on time and in full each month this year, trying to keep utilization low.

Should I try to do a secured CLI on this one?

 

5. I have another student loan that I paid in full (after ignoring for years) and it is showing up on my reports twice. Both with a $0 balance. One showing a full history of on time payments and the other showing 9 missed payments. Under remarks, the bad one says "Transfer."

What should I do with this? Call them? Contact credit bureaus for more info

 

GW letters for the lates. I would tread carefully because you don't want the positive one removed.

 

6. I have (4) Collections all showing a $0 balance. I paid 3 in full and 1 settled for less than owed. The oldest open date is 4 years and the newest, 1 year, although they are in actuality all much older than that. 
Do I do anything with these?

 GW LETTERS 

7. I have 11 inquiries, most of which from trying to get auto financing last year when one dealer ran me through a bunch of places without me realizing it, rental applications trying to find housing in Texas where they kept throwing WACKY terms on the lease at the last minute and properties were going FAST so I applied for a slew of places in one week and a few other misc credit cards / furniture stores,  when I was trying to get credit lines that would report before realizing they'd hit my credit report, bring my pts down and not approve me then when I moved and had to change cell and cable provider.. UGH! One will come off in September, the rest on on for a year or two. 
Any luck with getting these off or should I just avoid getting credit checks like crazy? Should I / Can I recon any of these once my score is higher?

 

You just have to wait for these to fall off. I wouldn't want to add more inquiries but focus on gw letters to remove old debt.

 

Any other advice? Any other secured lines I should persue? Other ideas? 

I'm hoping to buy a home next Spring. 

Message 3 of 11
mamatried
Contributor

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

Thank you, both! This is great information!! Time to learn about GW letters and get going on them!!! Thanks Smiley Happy  Any recommendations on a 3rd secured card? I currently have US Bank H-D and Capital One. I've read a lot about Fingerhut, but it sounds like they hit all 3 with an HP, stay away from them?


12/23/14: 536 | 4/4/18 714
MAJORS: Chase Slate, Amex Blue, Citi American Airlines, Gap Visa, Cap1 QS, Southwest, AQHA BOA, Discover, Chase Freedom, Citi Best Buy, Cap1 Platinum, BuyPower GM, US Bank H-D STORE Macy's, VS, Home Depot, Old Navy, Kohl's, J Crew, Venus, Care Credit, PayPal Credit LOANS Ally Auto, Prosper, American Financial Resources Home Mortgage (USDA Rural Development)
Message 4 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

Fingerhut didn't hit all 3 on me with a hard pull but I wouldn't go with them. They could just give uou an installment account and you need another revolver.

Have you tried the shopping cart trick?

Have you tried a secured with a local bank or credit union?
Message 5 of 11
mamatried
Contributor

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

I haven't tried the shopping cart trick or a local bank or credit union. 


12/23/14: 536 | 4/4/18 714
MAJORS: Chase Slate, Amex Blue, Citi American Airlines, Gap Visa, Cap1 QS, Southwest, AQHA BOA, Discover, Chase Freedom, Citi Best Buy, Cap1 Platinum, BuyPower GM, US Bank H-D STORE Macy's, VS, Home Depot, Old Navy, Kohl's, J Crew, Venus, Care Credit, PayPal Credit LOANS Ally Auto, Prosper, American Financial Resources Home Mortgage (USDA Rural Development)
Message 6 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

Sometimes the locals are the best ones to help you establish better credit.

But I mentioned the shopping cart trick because many have said they received a card without a hard pull for it.
Message 7 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

Don't bother putting more money into your current secured cards, you don't get anything from that.

 

I would suggest applying for an unsecured Cap One card. Your current scores are in line, and you've got 6 months of good payment history.

 

The US Bank secured cards do not "graduate", rather what they do is close the old account and open a new unsecured account in its place.

 

Inquiries are a temporary short term issue. They only affect scores for 12 months and they drop off after 24 months. Don't sweat the inquiries.

 

The late from 11 months back may hold you back, its hard to say, but in general they lose scoring impact at 24 months.

 

Whether you can get the points you need by next spring is anyones geuss. My feeling is that you may not see that magical 700 until all lates and other derogs are over 24 months old.

Message 8 of 11
mamatried
Contributor

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?

Thanks for the great advice so far, guys! 

 

I just checked Capital One's preauthorization site and it looked like I had a good chance of getting an unsecured Capital One Quicksilver cash back card. I took a chance, applied and got an instant approval! $1,000 unsecured line, 0% through March 2016.

 

- I'm not going to add any $$ to my US Bank Secured or Capital One Platinum Secured. I'm going to just charge and pay for one small thing on each, each month. I've had months where I've charged them past 30% and saw my score drop a few points so I'll stop doing that nonsense. 

- I'm going to let the auto loan and student loan sit and keep making on time payments 

- Research and start sending Goodwill letters on the paid collections and old late pays to see if I can get anything cleaned up 

 

Should I bother with Fingerhut or any "Shopping Cart Tricks" for store cards or is two secured and one unsecured and two installments enough? 

 

 


12/23/14: 536 | 4/4/18 714
MAJORS: Chase Slate, Amex Blue, Citi American Airlines, Gap Visa, Cap1 QS, Southwest, AQHA BOA, Discover, Chase Freedom, Citi Best Buy, Cap1 Platinum, BuyPower GM, US Bank H-D STORE Macy's, VS, Home Depot, Old Navy, Kohl's, J Crew, Venus, Care Credit, PayPal Credit LOANS Ally Auto, Prosper, American Financial Resources Home Mortgage (USDA Rural Development)
Message 9 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: +76 points in 6 mos, advice on getting +76 Points MORE in the next 6-8 mos?


@mamatried wrote:

Thanks for the great advice so far, guys! 

 

I just checked Capital One's preauthorization site and it looked like I had a good chance of getting an unsecured Capital One Quicksilver cash back card. I took a chance, applied and got an instant approval! $1,000 unsecured line, 0% through March 2016.

 

- I'm not going to add any $$ to my US Bank Secured or Capital One Platinum Secured. I'm going to just charge and pay for one small thing on each, each month. I've had months where I've charged them past 30% and saw my score drop a few points so I'll stop doing that nonsense. How much you charge is irrelevant, what matters is how much you allow to REPORT. You can charge all you want just pay it down before the statement close date.

- I'm going to let the auto loan and student loan sit and keep making on time payments 

- Research and start sending Goodwill letters on the paid collections and old late pays to see if I can get anything cleaned up 

 

Should I bother with Fingerhut or any "Shopping Cart Tricks" for store cards or is two secured and one unsecured and two installments enough? 

 

 



The three bank cards should be sufficient for rebuilding.

Message 10 of 11
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.