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First of all, great forum you guys. I've learned so much already.
On to my dilemma. I recently applied for a Barclaycard Ring after living off cash/debit for the past 5 years and was rejected. Called the recon number, rejected. So I'm coming on this forum to get some advice before freaking out and getting a bunch of hard pulls on my report or getting a worse card than I can realistically get.
Some background is in order. About 5 years ago, I quit my dead-end job and was basically sitting at home depressed for 6 months. The result was 90 days late on 5 credit cards (all closed) and 2 student loans. But I got my act together and have not been late since, and as of July of last year, all my credit cards and one of my student loans were paid off. Right now, all I have is a 4K student loan. I currently make 42K a year, single, rent, with no car payment. My discretionary income (- rent & expenses) is 1K a month.
Currently, I'm at 714 Equifax and 680 TransUnion, but I've only personally seen the Equifax report.
My Barclaycard rejection letter (TransUnion) listed these reasons:
1. Too many accounts with balances
2. Lack of recent revolving account information
3. Number of accounts with delinquency
4. Serious delinquency
The only balance I have is 1 student loan (broken down as 3 installment loans on my Equifax report). All other accounts are closed with a 0 balance. Why is this my worst offence? Also, since these reasons are ranked from worst to least, what does that mean for me? Is this good or bad news?
What should be my next step? My 2nd choice was a Citi Simplicity card. Should I gamble and use my 2nd hard pull of the month for the Citi Simplicity or just not waste my time and go directly to secured apps?
As for secured cards, I bank at Wells Fargo, so the WF secured would be my 1st choice. 2nd is BoA secured. 3rd is either USAA or NFCU (ex-military so I qualify, but I don't like these since they don't graduate to unsecured cards).
Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.
You need to crawl just a bit before you walk. Unfortunately, you need credit to get credit. I'd start with a small secured card and garden it for a few months. Then a store card or two.
Also, the ones that are paid, the old baddies, have you tried to GW them?
@watch44 wrote:First of all, great forum you guys. I've learned so much already.
On to my dilemma. I recently applied for a Barclaycard Ring after living off cash/debit for the past 5 years and was rejected. Called the recon number, rejected. So I'm coming on this forum to get some advice before freaking out and getting a bunch of hard pulls on my report or getting a worse card than I can realistically get.
Some background is in order. About 5 years ago, I quit my dead-end job and was basically sitting at home depressed for 6 months. The result was 90 days late on 5 credit cards (all closed) and 2 student loans. But I got my act together and have not been late since, and as of July of last year, all my credit cards and one of my student loans were paid off. Right now, all I have is a 4K student loan. I currently make 42K a year, single, rent, with no car payment. My discretionary income (- rent & expenses) is 1K a month.
Currently, I'm at 714 Equifax and 680 TransUnion, but I've only personally seen the Equifax report.
My Barclaycard rejection letter (TransUnion) listed these reasons:
1. Too many accounts with balances
2. Lack of recent revolving account information
3. Number of accounts with delinquency
4. Serious delinquency
The only balance I have is 1 student loan (broken down as 3 installment loans on my Equifax report). All other accounts are closed with a 0 balance. Why is this my worst offence? Also, since these reasons are ranked from worst to least, what does that mean for me? Is this good or bad news?
What should be my next step? My 2nd choice was a Citi Simplicity card. Should I gamble and use my 2nd hard pull of the month for the Citi Simplicity or just not waste my time and go directly to secured apps?
As for secured cards, I bank at Wells Fargo, so the WF secured would be my 1st choice. 2nd is BoA secured. 3rd is either USAA or NFCU (ex-military so I qualify, but I don't like these since they don't graduate to unsecured cards).
Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.
Welcome to the forum
Smart move to join before making a bad move by continuing to apply for more cards and piling up the HP's Yay
At this point you need some reporting TL's and secured in this case is the way to go
I like your thoughts of which secured cards to get and would go with the 2 that graduate.
Use them for 6-9 months while you start a GW campaign to attempt to remove the lates from your CR's while building positive history
After that time you maybe in a position for cards like Discover and Freedom and Cap1
The order Barclay listed for denial reason means nothing it really all boils down to the negatives on your file and you made one critical mistake and that was you went for one of the best low int% cards on the market which is for excellent credit .........no harm no problem it was only one HP
@Shogun wrote:You need to crawl just a bit before you walk. Unfortunately, you need credit to get credit. I'd start with a small secured card and garden it for a few months. Then a store card or two.
Also, the ones that are paid, the old baddies, have you tried to GW them?
Ok you type faster than me Lol
Hi ya Shogun
@Shogun wrote:You need to crawl just a bit before you walk. Unfortunately, you need credit to get credit. I'd start with a small secured card and garden it for a few months. Then a store card or two.
Also, the ones that are paid, the old baddies, have you tried to GW them?
I was hoping to start off on a slow shuffle, but if I have to crawl, that's what I'm going to do.
Would a GW campaign be worthwhile when they'll come off my record in 2 years anyway? I guess that's why I listed the reasons for my rejection. I'm not quite sure what's hurting me more, not having credit right now or being delinquent in the past. But it behooves me to consider all options right now, so I'll definitely put that at the top of my list anyway. Also, I hadn't considered the store card route (are those easier to get?). Thank you for the quick response, Shogun.
@myjourney wrote:Welcome to the forum
Smart move to join before making a bad move by continuing to apply for more cards and piling up the HP's Yay
At this point you need some reporting TL's and secured in this case is the way to go
I like your thoughts of which secured cards to get and would go with the 2 that graduate.
Use them for 6-9 months while you start a GW campaign to attempt to remove the lates from your CR's while building positive history
After that time you maybe in a position for cards like Discover and Freedom and Cap1
The order Barclay listed for denial reason means nothing it really all boils down to the negatives on your file and you made one critical mistake and that was you went for one of the best low int% cards on the market which is for excellent credit .........no harm no problem it was only one HP
I'll definitely adjust my expectations going forward. And you may not have been as quick as Shogun, but you were more thorough. I respect that.
Nest step: secured cards and GW campaign. Thanks guys.
@watch44 wrote:
@myjourney wrote:Welcome to the forum
Smart move to join before making a bad move by continuing to apply for more cards and piling up the HP's Yay
At this point you need some reporting TL's and secured in this case is the way to go
I like your thoughts of which secured cards to get and would go with the 2 that graduate.
Use them for 6-9 months while you start a GW campaign to attempt to remove the lates from your CR's while building positive history
After that time you maybe in a position for cards like Discover and Freedom and Cap1
The order Barclay listed for denial reason means nothing it really all boils down to the negatives on your file and you made one critical mistake and that was you went for one of the best low int% cards on the market which is for excellent credit .........no harm no problem it was only one HP
I'll definitely adjust my expectations going forward. And you may not have been as quick as Shogun, but you were more thorough. I respect that.
Nest step: secured cards and GW campaign. Thanks guys.
Thanks...
It just takes a little time and you will be on your way to more approvals and better cards
We have a saying around here:
"good credit is a marathon not a sprint"