Critique my Plan?

[TwistedAngel]

The Problems:

High Utilization: 65% on Discover (which is down from 100% so yay) and 95% on the Visa

AFNI Paid Collections account that is still reporting as open

30 Day late payment from Discover

Low AAOC

Extremely thin file with only two open lines of credit

The Plan

1) Paydown my Utilization to less than 10% and spam AFNI with GW letters

2) Spam AFNI with more GW letters

3) Get added as AU on an 18 year old Chase account with a high limit and virtually no UTIL

4) Set up auto-pay on all cards so that I will never have another late

If my score goes up sufficiently,

5) Apply for Barclays Rewards average credit Mastercard, and recon if needed

6) If I can't get in with Barclays, app for Capital One Quicksilver One, and recon if needed.

7) Apply for a signature or secured loan and stick it in my savings account.

8) Pay off half of the loan the first month and set up auto-pay for the loan

9) Get back into the garden

10) Stay there indefinitely. 

I am working on #s 1 and 2 right now. I have not seen a single success thread for GWing Discover, and I don't want to draw attention to myself from them, so I am trying to ignore the 30 day late, but I will try to GW that too, if someone thinks it is a good idea. The Barclays/Quicksilver is because I was told that I really need another tradeline, and I need a MC. The loan is because I don't have an installment loan on my CRs, but I am not set on getting one if I don't need it.

[Shogun]

Personally, I think it's a very good plan.. except for one more item.

11.   Spam AFNI with even more GW letters

[growing123]

Depending on how long it's been since you paid afni, they should be reporting as closed and paid/settled. They're supposed to do this fairly quickly so you might want to send them a letter stating such, and if they don't, you can dispute with CRAs or CFPB.

Good luck with everything!

[snugglebug]

---

@TwistedAngel wrote:

The Problems:

High Utilization: 65% on Discover (which is down from 100% so yay) and 95% on the Visa

AFNI Paid Collections account that is still reporting as open

30 Day late payment from Discover

Low AAOC

Extremely thin file with only two open lines of credit

The Plan

1) Paydown my Utilization to less than 10% and spam AFNI with GW letters

2) Spam AFNI with more GW letters

3) Get added as AU on an 18 year old Chase account with a high limit and virtually no UTIL

4) Set up auto-pay on all cards so that I will never have another late

If my score goes up sufficiently,

5) Apply for Barclays Rewards average credit Mastercard, and recon if needed

6) If I can't get in with Barclays, app for Capital One Quicksilver One, and recon if needed.

7) Apply for a signature or secured loan and stick it in my savings account.

8) Pay off half of the loan the first month and set up auto-pay for the rest

9) Get back into the garden

10) Stay there indefinitely. 

I am working on #s 1 and 2 right now. I have not seen a single success thread for GWing Discover, and I don't want to draw attention to myself from them, so I am trying to ignore the 30 day late, but I will try to GW that too, if someone thinks it is a good idea. The Barclays/Quicksilver is because I was told that I really need another tradeline, and I need a MC. The loan is because I don't have an installment loan on my CRs, but I am not set on getting one if I don't need it.

---

Hey there!!  Your plan sounds good...especially the auto draft! From what I've read here, having 3 CCs minimum is ideal with only 1 reporting a balance of less than 9% utilization. Cap One is pretty easy to get, and great for rebuilding. My husband and I both got one when our credit scores were in the high 500s.  As far as AFNI...I remember you posting in another thread about them.  What was their response when you emailed them?  When I was dealing with them, their response time was merely a few hours. After it was paid, they quickly emailed the deletion letter.  If you need another email address, please let me know, and I can PM you.  Keep up the good work! You're on the right path! 

[TwistedAngel]

I haven't gotten a response from AFNI yet, and would greatly appreciate a pm of the mail address you used.

Thanks everyone.

[snugglebug]

---

@TwistedAngel wrote:

I haven't gotten a response from AFNI yet, and would greatly appreciate a pm of the mail address you used.

Thanks everyone.

---

Done! Good luck, and keep us posted! 

[TwistedAngel]

Welp, they denied me.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/AFNI-GW-Denied-now-what/td-p/3128188

[snugglebug]

---

@TwistedAngel wrote:

Welp, they denied me.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/AFNI-GW-Denied-now-what/td-p/3128188

---

Ugh! Sorry! Definitely keep GWing, and check for the update to your CRs like gdale said.  With my GW to them, what worked for me was to acknowledge the collection was my fault.  I briefly stated why/how I was going through a difficult period at the time, but paid this as soon as I possibly could. Then, kindly asked them to remove this account. Hope that helps some when you try again.  What I've noticed about CAs, and this is just my own personal experience, is that sometimes they like to have the account listed/updated to "paid" first before they remove the account.  So try try again! It can be frustrating, and instant gratification would be great, but this whole credit rebuilding thing is as "slow as molasses"... Keep persevering!! You'll get there!! 

[TwistedAngel]

Thanks. I did acknowledge that it was my own fault and gave a limited explanation of the circumstances. I will try again after I pull my report in a month or so.

I do have good news. I have officially been accepted for that second job I was hoping for, which means I should have utility in order shortly.

[Revelate]

One tweak to your plan 7/8: definitely do the secured loan, $500, but instead of paying it off quickly, take as long as possible to pay it off.

Personally I recommend Alliant for this, $500, no HP of any sort for membership or for the loan in my case (did verify they SP'd my EQ), easy autopay, and at a 4 year term it's 2% APR.  5 year term it's 3%, and I would suggest the total interest is trivial when we're talking amortization over the few years vs. benefit to one's credit report: you want the tradeline to be as long as possible, and even a 4 year one looks a lot better from a FICO perspective than a six month or one year one.  

In short, because the interest rate is so absurdly low (less than the single year AF of a BOFA or Cap One secured card when I ran the numbers) don't pay it early, take your time and let autopay do all the work.

Accelerating the amortization curve makes TREMENDOUS sense when we're talking subprime unsecured personal loans vis a vis Cashcall, Springleaf, et al; however, if you can swing the $500 security deposit, do that instead and don't accelerate it in the slightest since the APR and the principal are both small... better for your FICO, and cheaper than the unsecured route too.