First, I have to say that I never EVER could have done what I have done without all of the awesome people on this forum. The advice, and things that I have learned from reading posts has been invaluable!
Thank you everyone!
My rebuild story... Started in the gutter, score wise...It was ugly, and I knew it!
I have a good job, and make decent money. I thought I didnt need credit, because I have the cash to pay for whatever I want! (The car rental incident changed my mind)
April 2014 - somehow got an auto loan with a score of 483 (I don't know which bureau they pulled - I was stupid back then..lol).. Approved by Westlake on a new 2014 Honda Accord. $5500 down, $17300 financed at 17.9%.
March 2015 - After not being able to rent a car because the Budget Rent A Car location didn't take debit cards (and I had to have my GF put it on her card), I decided that I needed a Visa or Mastercard... Approved for a CapOne Secured MC, with a $500 SL/Deposit. This card later got a CLI from CapOne to $750, and I added another $1000 to my deposit for a $1750 card. Didn't give too much thought to anything else with my credit, or the multiple baddies on all 3 bureaus.
October 2015 - Decided that maybe I should look into cleaning up the baddies.. There were a bunch of medical bills, and collection odds and ends. An old tax lien, a BK.... etc... Somehow I stumbled onto Collectionshield360.com. It was free, what did I have to lose. My FAKOs were hovering around 510-525 ish.
November 2015 - Most of the baddies went away via CS360. No charge to me or anything. Scores up a little..
January 2016 - Decided I wanted to trade my car in and get a 2016 Civic. Approved via Ally for 14.5% - High, but better than the previous loan! EQ 08 pulled @555 by the dealer. Started reading MF forums. (Light goes off inside my head - I CAN do this!)
February 2016 - All baddies except for an old Target CO and Tax lien and BK gone. Scores 570-595.
March 2016 - CapOne will not give me an unsecured card. Despite a perfect payment history. Contacted the EO, they called me back and were MORE than helpful. Opened a QS1 for me with a $500 SL. (apparently they agreed with me when they did a manual review).. (That card now has a $2K CL - forever grateful to CapOne) Closed the secured card.
April 2016, scores in the 620 range, across all 3. Apped for a few cards - Firestone (700), Barclays Rewards(1000).. Amazon store card(1000), Kohls (500) all approved. Scores continuing to tick upwards...
June 2016 - A few more apps, and then a few more. Approved... I know - I probably overdid it, but, oh well, in retrospect, it all worked out well... Scores 640-650ish. BK gone from TU. Target CO paid off (never went to collection agency, it stayed in house). Approved for BofA 99/500 Visa. Got 2 collections from Midland deleted - thats another story in itself.
July 2016- Joined NFCU. BEST MOVE I HAVE EVER MADE FINANCIALLY PERIOD! Approved for $15K CLOC, and refi on my car to 4.75% !!!!!!! Denied for a CashRewards card.
August 2016- Tax Lien gone. BK gone from Ex (5 months before it was due to age off btw - disputed it) 8 days AFTER being denied for the cash rewards card, I get a preapproved mailer from NFCU for a cash rewards siggy Visa. I app yet again, and use the promo code. BAM! Approved for $5K. (STILL trying to figure that whole thing out). Apped for more cards.. approved, and I even got a pretty blue envelope from Synchrony 
(Closed all of my cards with them - I didnt feel like giving LN my personal info, even though my stated income matched my actual income). And, then for the big one - AMEX. Apped for a Delta Gold, and was approved after 8 days in review. Then I followed up with a SPG, and BCP - all approved. Scores now 650-670ish
October - Got a few CLI's... all 3 scores pretty much 670-675.. Got a preapproved Merrick offer with NO fees of any type, doubling CL after 6 months. I took the deal, after all, I did need something to put my Netflix on!
November - Barclays axes my CL by 50%, now my card is a whopping $500 card. On the same day, I do a CLI request for max on NFCU, and go from $5k to $17.3K. LOL!! CLI link apppears on my BofA home page for my 99/500 Visa.. Clicked it. Card unsecures 10 days later, with a $1K CL now. Feeling overly confident, Applied for a Chase Amazon Visa. Approved, $2K SL! Wow, I am moving up - actually got an approval from Chase (one of the 2 banks that I had on my list - the other was AMEX) Saw the 100,000 MR link for AMEX Platinum, and applied on 11/23. Pending. Says check back in 24 hours... I wait.. and I wait..
December 2016 - Today - I get a call at work from an unavailable #. It's AMEX. Verification. (previous cards have called my cell, this surprised me) Approved for the Platinum card. Verified that I was on the 100K MR deal! Wow. I got a Platinum Amex. I have wanted this card for all of my adult life (I am 50).. and I FINALLY got it, with an awesome offer too!
Scores as of today -Ex 705. TU 711 EQ 668 (BK still shows on EQ)
In the past few months, I have closed a few (well, more than a few) cards that I have little or no use for, with more to come..... However, CapOne will always have a place in my wallet, being the ONE bank that believed in me... They have been great to me overall!
In my opinion, both NFCU and CapOne are the two best avenues for anyone that is trying to rebuild ther credit...
@fltireguy wrote:First, I have to say that I never EVER could have done what I have done without all of the awesome people on this forum. The advice, and things that I have learned from reading posts has been invaluable!
Thank you everyone!
My rebuild story... Started in the gutter, score wise...It was ugly, and I knew it!
I have a good job, and make decent money. I thought I didnt need credit, because I have the cash to pay for whatever I want! (The car rental incident changed my mind)
April 2014 - somehow got an auto loan with a score of 483 (I don't know which bureau they pulled - I was stupid back then..lol).. Approved by Westlake on a new 2014 Honda Accord. $5500 down, $17300 financed at 17.9%.
March 2015 - After not being able to rent a car because the Budget Rent A Car location didn't take debit cards (and I had to have my GF put it on her card), I decided that I needed a Visa or Mastercard... Approved for a CapOne Secured MC, with a $500 SL/Deposit. This card later got a CLI from CapOne to $750, and I added another $1000 to my deposit for a $1750 card. Didn't give too much thought to anything else with my credit, or the multiple baddies on all 3 bureaus.
October 2015 - Decided that maybe I should look into cleaning up the baddies.. There were a bunch of medical bills, and collection odds and ends. An old tax lien, a BK.... etc... Somehow I stumbled onto Collectionshield360.com. It was free, what did I have to lose. My FAKOs were hovering around 510-525 ish.
November 2015 - Most of the baddies went away via CS360. No charge to me or anything. Scores up a little..
@January 2016 - Decided I wanted to trade my car in and get a 2016 Civic. Approved via Ally for 14.5% - High, but better than the previous loan! EQ 08 pulled @Anonymous by the dealer. Started reading MF forums. (Light goes off inside my head - I CAN do this!)
February 2016 - All baddies except for an old Target CO and Tax lien and BK gone. Scores 570-595.
March 2016 - CapOne will not give me an unsecured card. Despite a perfect payment history. Contacted the EO, they called me back and were MORE than helpful. Opened a QS1 for me with a $500 SL. (apparently they agreed with me when they did a manual review).. (That card now has a $2K CL - forever grateful to CapOne) Closed the secured card.
April 2016, scores in the 620 range, across all 3. Apped for a few cards - Firestone (700), Barclays Rewards(1000).. Amazon store card(1000), Kohls (500) all approved. Scores continuing to tick upwards...
June 2016 - A few more apps, and then a few more. Approved... I know - I probably overdid it, but, oh well, in retrospect, it all worked out well... Scores 640-650ish. BK gone from TU. Target CO paid off (never went to collection agency, it stayed in house). Approved for BofA 99/500 Visa. Got 2 collections from Midland deleted - thats another story in itself.
July 2016- Joined NFCU. BEST MOVE I HAVE EVER MADE FINANCIALLY PERIOD! Approved for $15K CLOC, and refi on my car to 4.75% !!!!!!! Denied for a CashRewards card.
August 2016- Tax Lien gone. BK gone from Ex (5 months before it was due to age off btw - disputed it) 8 days AFTER being denied for the cash rewards card, I get a preapproved mailer from NFCU for a cash rewards siggy Visa. I app yet again, and use the promo code. BAM! Approved for $5K. (STILL trying to figure that whole thing out). Apped for more cards.. approved, and I even got a pretty blue envelope from Synchrony
October - Got a few CLI's... all 3 scores pretty much 670-675.. Got a preapproved Merrick offer with NO fees of any type, doubling CL after 6 months. I took the deal, after all, I did need something to put my Netflix on!
November - Barclays axes my CL by 50%, now my card is a whopping $500 card. On the same day, I do a CLI request for max on NFCU, and go from $5k to $17.3K. LOL!! CLI link apppears on my BofA home page for my 99/500 Visa.. Clicked it. Card unsecures 10 days later, with a $1K CL now. Feeling overly confident, Applied for a Chase Amazon Visa. Approved, $2K SL! Wow, I am moving up - actually got an approval from Chase (one of the 2 banks that I had on my list - the other was AMEX) Saw the 100,000 MR link for AMEX Platinum, and applied on 11/23. Pending. Says check back in 24 hours... I wait.. and I wait..
December 2016 - Today - I get a call at work from an unavailable #. It's AMEX. Verification. (previous cards have called my cell, this surprised me) Approved for the Platinum card. Verified that I was on the 100K MR deal! Wow. I got a Platinum Amex. I have wanted this card for all of my adult life (I am 50).. and I FINALLY got it, with an awesome offer too!
Scores as of today -Ex 705. TU 711 EQ 668 (BK still shows on EQ)
In the past few months, I have closed a few (well, more than a few) cards that I have little or no use for, with more to come..... However, CapOne will always have a place in my wallet, being the ONE bank that believed in me... They have been great to me overall!
In my opinion, both NFCU and CapOne are the two best avenues for anyone that is trying to rebuild ther credit...
Thank you so much for sharing your story. It is an inspiration for all of us. It is always important not to give up, no matter what. Time, good luck, and good choices eventually heals all baddies.
Congrats on your Platinum card. I had an Amex card and when I messed up with them, never thought I would get back, but they gave me a second chance as did Cap 1. Discover on the other hand, liked me profile enough to give me a secured card, but after 18 months, I lost hope and closed it; I have no one to blame but myself. I was immature, impulse, and didn't stop to think that the economy would tank, but lessons learned.
Give your self a pat on the back, because your success is well deserved.