Trying to kick my rebuilding journey into high gear

[Anonymous]

Hi there everyone. I am pretty new to the community here. I have been reading the boards to get familiar and I really like to see all the comraderie and people really trying to help others out! I have been working hard to get my credit back on track after having a horrible year financially during 2013-2014 due to unemployment. I got a really great new job last summer and since then I've slowly but surely worked to raise my credit score. My score was around 490 when I started last August and today my scores are Eqifax 601/TU 609/EX 610 so I am encouraged. I have one major credit card, Discover, as well as a Macys card and a new card from Jareds jewelry store. I also just received a credit limit increase from Discover just this week, which of course hasn't been updated on my credit reports yet. So now that I've given a bit of background, my question is where can I go from here? I am getting married next spring and would really like to be able to buy a house by mid to late 2016 so I'd love to really get my credit score kicked up to high 600s low 700s by the end of this year. Will the Discover credit limit increase help my score? Should I apply for another card now or wait til I am more likely to be approved? Credit Karma says my chances of being approved for a Capital One Quicksilver One card are "very good". However I had a Capital One card that unfortunately charged off during my unemployment period in May of last year. Do they "blacklist" former charge off people? I also have late payments on the Discover and Macys cards from the same period last year. Any way I might be able to get those removed? The last derogatories on my credit file are a couple of medical collections.

So does anyone have any advice to offer? Thanks in advance!!

[Anonymous]

Go to the Cap 1 site and try the preapproval.  Cap 1 is very forgiving even if you've burned them in the past.  If you get preapproved for two Cap 1 cards get them both.  Send GW letters to Discover and Macys asking them to remove the lates.  Try to PDF the medical collections, or at least settle them so that they aren't reporting monthly.  If you can do those things and keep your UTL low you should be golden.

[Anonymous]

https://findmycard.capitalone.com/en/PageVersions/LandingPages/LP_UNS_QUICK_RWD_V01.aspx

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick replies and advice! I am super nervous to take the hit with a new inquiry on my reports if Capital one declines me but perhaps I'll bite the bullet and do as you suggest. Do you think I may have better chance for approval if I call them to apply and talk to a live person or is it just as well to apply online?

[Anonymous]

The Cap 1 prequal site is a SP.  Give it a shot.

[Anonymous]

The answer was "we couldn't match your records to a card offer..." Sound like a nice way of saying you probably won't be approved LOL. Sigh. I think they must have blacklisted me.

[tiger_uppercut]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The answer was "we couldn't match your records to a card offer..." Sound like a nice way of saying you probably won't be approved LOL. Sigh. I think they must have blacklisted me.

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They do blacklist but it's for a short amount of time - no chargeoffs in the last year. So just wait a bit longer and keep checking the prequal site. Once it finds a card for you, go for it.

[Anonymous]

So I have 4 medical collections accounts in total. Three are with Sequoia financial totaling about $700 and one is with a company called Medicredit for a measly $49. Does anyone know if I'd be likely to get them to delete these accounts completely if I pay the amounts in full? I am perfectly willing and ready to pay these collections but it doesn't seem like it will help my credit score unless they are removed completely. Anyone have experience with this?

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I have 4 medical collections accounts in total. Three are with Sequoia financial totaling about $700 and one is with a company called Medicredit for a measly $49. Does anyone know if I'd be likely to get them to delete these accounts completely if I pay the amounts in full? I am perfectly willing and ready to pay these collections but it doesn't seem like it will help my credit score unless they are removed completely. Anyone have experience with this?

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For medical debt:

1. Call the OC and ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
2. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
3. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help

Good luck and welcome to My Fico

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response! May I ask what PFD stands for? Sorry if I'm like the only on on here that doesn't know LOL :-)