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@jbishop1001 wrote:Just wanted to update. After 11 months, 4 orders and and almost only minimum payments.... I've just gotten a $1000 increase from Fingerhut bringing my total limit to $2200. I have a current balance of $357 and a high limit of $571. Still happy with Fingerhut! My overall utilization of credit is at 16%. This cli will bring it below 10%.
THANKS FINGERHUT!
Sweet, grats on the CLI
Update: Just received a letter from Fingerhut stating mt recent $1000 increase is temporary until July 31st unless I make a purchase of $1000 or more. Otherwise, my limit will decrease by $800 after July 31st but I get to keep the $200 permanently.
That's fine! I plan on applying for the cards I want in May and will be in the garden again by July. It's nice for my utilization right now, so no complaints!
@jbishop1001 wrote:Just wanted to update. After 11 months, 4 orders and and almost only minimum payments.... I've just gotten a $1000 increase from Fingerhut bringing my total limit to $2200. I have a current balance of $357 and a high limit of $571. Still happy with Fingerhut! My overall utilization of credit is at 16%. This cli will bring it below 10%.
THANKS FINGERHUT!
Congrats!
How did you get so many credit cards with high limits? I can't get approved for anything. Just wondering I see you have one with a 10,000 CL.
I'm at $2150 now....started with the Fresh Start exactly 2 years ago this month! Wow....I've come a long way....time flies when you're having fun on Myfico!
@toi34 wrote:I'm at $2150 now....started with the Fresh Start exactly 2 years ago this month! Wow....I've come a long way....time flies when you're having fun on Myfico!
Congrats on the progress!
My scores are in the 530-560's I have a CL of $200 with fingerhut. I notice some of you have 5k CL with other credit cards. If Fingerhut only approved you for $250-$500 Cl how are you getting approved for higher limit cards? Of I'm a newbie lol
@Anonymous wrote:My scores are in the 530-560's I have a CL of $200 with fingerhut. I notice some of you have 5k CL with other credit cards. If Fingerhut only approved you for $250-$500 Cl how are you getting approved for higher limit cards? Of I'm a newbie lol
Tonya your scores are too low right now. Most of us started rebuildeing in various 500 ranges, but over time we cleaned our credit up by asking creditors to delete 'bad' accounts if we agreed to pay them at a discount (PFD), or collections just aged off or we cut deals with collection agencies if they agreed to remove them, we challenfed outdated or wrongly reported accounts with the credit bureaus, the BBB and the CFPB, and finally we applied for 1-2 'secured' credit cards and bought one small thing every so often, them paid it off -- this shows FICO you can handle credit. You won't get opened-up to the world of higher limits until your scores improve, you'll need at least a 620-650 to get store cards, then after you have a few of those for a while then you'll start getting pre-approved offers in the mail for "real" credit cards (Citi, BofA, Discover, etc.), or soft pull 'shopping cart trick' cards. Whatever you do....DO NOT APPLY FOR CREDIT WITH YOUR CURRENT SCORES, it will bring your score down even further.
Good Luck...and be patient.
@Anonymous wrote:How did you get so many credit cards with high limits? I can't get approved for anything. Just wondering I see you have one with a 10,000 CL.
I'm not sure who you're asking, but I'll answer since I have several higher limit cards including a 10K CL.
I started out in Feb 2013 and could only get Fingerhut Fresh Start and two secured cards. When my scores got close to 600, I was able to get a few store cards using the shopping cart trick - I did not go crazy with this but got Victoria's Secret and Avenue, then Byrlane Home several months later. I did not apply for any unsecured cards until both secured cards had reported 1 year of perfect payment history and my utilization was perfect (all cards reporting $0 except one reporting less than 10%). My scores in March were higher than they are now (~ EQ 680, EX 650, TU 645) - they've taken a big hit with so many new accounts added at the same time.
While I was building a positive credit history, I also worked on my baddies. I removed a paid judgment and 10 collections, leaving 3 charge-offs on all 3 reports and 1 collection on EX and TU. At its highest point, my EQ score had gone up 200 points since I started the rebuilding process in Feb 2013.
When it came time to apply for cards, I read everything I could in the Credit Card forums in order to decide on the best cards and the ones I thought I could get. I wanted Barclays for cash back on groceries and gas, and I knew they were inquiry-sensitve, so that was my first application. I was pre-qualified for Chase Freedom, Capital One QS, and Capital One Venture, and I knew those pre-quals are pretty solid, so I got those next. I wanted a card with my credit union, so that was next. I wanted the Amazon store card because they had just added the 5% cash back from Prime customers, so I apped for that and got a low CL of 700. At that point I stopped - Discover came later in a moment of weakness and only because I knew they would pull EQ, which was my highest score. I was really surprised at the high CL they gave me.
Everyone else is right in saying not to apply for CCs with the scores you have now. Use Fingerhut, get secured cards if you don't already have them, get rid of whatever baddies you can. Be patient. CC companies respond well when they see a year or more of perfect payment history. Before you apply for prime cards, get your utilization down. When mine was about 27%, the only Capital One pre-quals I got were for Platinum and QS1. Immediately after getting it down under 10%, I was pre-approved for QS (no AF) and Venture. Low inquiries + low utilization + several months of positive payment history are, in my experience, the formula for success. Now I have to take my own advice and garden what I have so my scores bounce back to where I can get approved for Amex.
My credit line started at $ 600 about 3 months ago. I bought a DVD player and upon trying to use it, discovered it was defective. I returned the DVD player and in less than 2 weeks, they recredited the entire amount to my account. At this particular time, I received a statement, but knowing that I returned the DVD player, I was not paying anything. They sent me emails letting me know that they got the DVD player back and was reviewing it. Upon finding the same defect, they recredited me, no questions asked. Then the following month, I saw a nice iPod I liked, so I went ahead and bought it. The statement came and minimum due was $ 20.99. I paid $ 50. Now, my third statement arrived and my credit line has increased by $ 500. My credit line is at $ 1100. Even the Fingerhut site strongly suggests that you DON'T use your entire credit line. My high balance was at $ 348.00 and I had a $ 600 credit line. Now my balance is at $ 297 and I have a $1100 credit line. That places my present credit utilization at 27%, which is a good number. I am pretty confident that after a payment or two more, I will probably receive another increase. They seem rather generous with the increases and they are rather fast at granting them. I would not constantly look online though, it seems their credit limit increases occur when your statement drops and your next minimum payment is due.