Started from the bottom! 4 Secured cards! Score 480!

[Anonymous]

Hey so I posted a thread recently but heres an update.

My scores:

Equifax: 462

Transunion: 486

FICO: 479

AAOA: 66 months

209% of available credit

7 accounts showing 30+ days late

6 collections totalling $9,000 , all of them are at least 2 years old.

Okay so heres what I've done so far:

Disputed all my collections , there all at least 2 years old , so hopefully some fall off!

I have 4 secured cards coming my way!

Capital  One Secured: $400

Open Sky Secured: $200

First Premier Secured: $200 (Just cancelled this application)

Merrick Secured: $200

I got denied for Bank of America and Discover , Waiting to see if US Bank and Citi will approve me , probably not though.

Hopefully I can reach 600's asap! I plan on using around 30% of each card every month , letting it report , and paying it off on time

Ill garden with these 4 cards I currently have.

Very new to the credit game.

Any suggestions will be appreciated!!!

[Anonymous]

By the way , besides the 4 secured cards I have coming , I had no credit history in the last year.  All accounts were closed, charged off, sent to collection.  I was only an authorized user but the person decided not to pay a $20k chase bill and now thats showing on my report!  Whatever , I havent had my own credit for awhile. 

[Aduke1122]

First welcome to the forums , Ok if you were only AU on the cards , call the card companies and tell them you want to be removed from AU and that you want this off your credit reports . Second what is the reasoning you disputed the collections ? Are the valid debts ? If so then you can not expect them to fall off until 7.5 years after the Date of First Delienquency DOFD , also you want only one of your cards to report a balance of less than 9% to maximize your fico scores the others should report at Zero balances

[Aduke1122]

Also I would take a break on applying for anything else for atleast 6-12 mths , all you need to maximize your scores are 3 revolving lines of credit and one open installment loan , you have the revolving lines you need to get you where you want to be so my advice would be to sit tight until you reach 650s

[Sandman771]

Sounds like you have a plan, but if you could afford it, I'd only use one card and keep the others at 0. And the one you use needs to report about 8-9% utilization. 

I know the collections are old, but if you can pay them it looks better on a manual review that they are paid collections. Sometimes they will even settle for less or you could try to PFD them also. I have a couple of mine I am working on for that route. 

Also there is a thread somewhere on here for Alliant that has a secured installment loan that helps diversify your credit and it reports as installment not rotating. I'm sure others with more experience here will chime in shortly. Good luck in your journey. I will say it takes time to grow your score. 

[Aduke1122]

Yes I would recommend the secured share loan from Alliant only if you don't have any open installment loans of any kind

[Anonymous]

Will they approve me? for the secured installment?

Oh and what is this secured loan? I have no idea how it works..

Also @Aduke1122 , your saying that I should activate all the cards , but only use 1 for 9% and dont touch the rest?

Isnt it a good thing to use the cards and pay off?

[Anonymous]

+1 on not applying for anything. Rebuilding only takes three cards. 

Activate the cards, only use one, let it report 9% each month, pay the card off in fill once the statement cuts. 

Work on the past issues now that you've got current credit. 

It's going to take time. 

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to graduate from a card if I dont use it? Sounds crazy lol

Also I'm just going to get an auto loan , I am going to pay a high interest rate but I do need a car and heard it will count as an installment loan so kill 2 birds with 1 stone i guess. Also was already approved , 25% apr

But I dont like the idea of a secured loan.

[Anonymous]

The secured loan is a pretty decent way to get an installment. You put $500 into it, pay most of it off, then let the rest ride for 5 years for a very minimal payment (I think I read in most cases it's around $5/month).

Also, good on you for not going with First Premiere. Terrible company to deal with, and the rates are brutal.