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Please Help Me

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Anonymous
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Please Help Me


Hi all,

I really need some great advice on growing my credit score. Background: $23,000 student loans (federal), still at university, $3,000 personal loan opened April, 2014, never late. 1st Cap one: $2,700 Bal: $750. 2nd Cap card $2,000 Bal $260. No late payment in 3 yrs. Transunion score: 666 & Experian 685.

Within 24 hrs this weekend, applied for 11 credit cards. I know, bad move, but I haven't applied for credit card in over 5 years. It was my Cap one cards actually.

Approved for: Discover It (reg card) $2,200, Macys $600 (verify by phone) Khols $600, New York & Comp $500, Amazon store $400, Toys r Us $200.

Denied: AMEX, Best Buy, Citi AAdvantage (sent offer in mail), Nordstrom, Victoria secret msg 7-10 days.

Almost done!

I would like to boost my score to 800 or more. I know this will take time. Lots of time. I graduate next year from undergrad & plan on buying a home in 3-4 years. Can someone tell me how to use my new cards? I use my debit/credit card for purchases. Income $23,000 from job.

Brittany
Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please Help Me

Charge within your means and pif.  I find using the cards a lot will yield the best results as far as cli's go. Work on getting some major cards and hitting that luv button on the others when you can.  Especially Discover! Smiley Wink  I would garden for awhile & get your score up a bit more, then go back after some of those denials & turn them into approvals.

Message 2 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please Help Me

Hi, does pif mean pay in full? I was thinking of paying of cap one by end of year, use my Discover only instead of debit. I won't apply for credit for 2 years so that the inquires fall off.

Second question:

If I pay my balance of in full every month, how will the credit card bureaus know that I'm using the card? Should there be a small balance on a few accounts, but keeping my utilization low?
Message 3 of 9
Rebuilding69
Established Contributor

Re: Please Help Me


@Anonymous wrote:
Hi, does pif mean pay in full? I was thinking of paying of cap one by end of year, use my Discover only instead of debit. I won't apply for credit for 2 years so that the inquires fall off.

Second question:

If I pay my balance of in full every month, how will the credit card bureaus know that I'm using the card? Should there be a small balance on a few accounts, but keeping my utilization low?

The credit card companies tell the bureaus what's happening with the cards. Many people say to keep all card balances at 0, except one & util at 9% or lower. However, I believe certain card companies like to see their cards used a certain way(I believe Cap One likes to see lots of usage with Paid In Fulls each month; I don't know about Discover). I'm sure more knowledgeable people will chime in to let you know how to use these cards. I'll be interested in knowing myself since I want to get a Discover hopefully soonish.




Message 4 of 9
Anonymous
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Re: Please Help Me

 

Oh okay. That's the trick. I look forward to hearing more replies as well.

 

Thanks!

Message 5 of 9
Anonymous
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Re: Please Help Me

Without a more diverse credit picture, IE mortgage, car loan, etc, it will be extremely hard to achieve an 800 score.  Also, with that amount of debt, what's your DTI ratio? Are you wanting to improve your score for a home purchse? Your DTI is almost as important as your credit score, if so. 

Message 6 of 9
Anonymous
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Re: Please Help Me

I only owe on my cap one cards, a personal loan for $3000 that's now down to $2000, and my student loans that are in deferment due to still being in school. I make $23,000 a year working part time. My car is paid for. I would like to buy a home in the next 3-4 years.
Message 7 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please Help Me


@Anonymous wrote:
Hi, does pif mean pay in full? I was thinking of paying of cap one by end of year, use my Discover only instead of debit. I won't apply for credit for 2 years so that the inquires fall off.

Second question:

If I pay my balance of in full every month, how will the credit card bureaus know that I'm using the card? Should there be a small balance on a few accounts, but keeping my utilization low?

For scoring purposes, PIF before the statement dates on all but ONE card. Allow one card to report a small balance of less than 10% of its limit.

 

To get good CLI's use the card A LOT. Charge it all the way to its limit and then pay it down as the charges post. Since youre income is limited, you may find it difficult to get near their limits on a monthly basis by putting your normal monthly spending through them. That's OK. Just use them for all your normal spending and pay them down frequently.

 

Also if those are Cap One Platinum accounts, you can call and upgrade them to QS reward cards. 1.5% cash back on all purchases...

Message 8 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please Help Me

One of the cap one cards is a platinum account. I'll give them a call & see what happens. Thanks!
Message 9 of 9
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