What to do next now that scores are solidly in 600's?

[Anonymous]

So for the last year, my goal was to raise my scores from the low 500's to at least 620 across the board. My only one below that is TU at 618 (gaaaaah), the others are 644 and 638.

My positives are a CapOne Secured, CapOne Plat, Merrick and Victoria's Secret. I also have a college loan that's on hold due to being laid off in December.

My negatives are a ton of late payments on the college loan, late payments on utility bills, and three outstanding collections accounts. One collection is a small medical debt that will fall off in about a year. Another is a collection under $500 that falls off in two years. The last one is under $300 and falls off in two years, also. The last two are both utilities. I also have one other utility bill that was paid in full last year and should hit the NYS 5 year rule this fall.

I'm just wondering, now that I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks and I'm about at my goal, what should I be looking at next? My main credit concern is apartment hunting, which I need to do sometime next month.

I want to pay off the collections but can't afford to do it right yet. I think the medical one would fall off immediately, and the other two quite soon, so long as I pay in full. Any experience with this?

What's a good card to app for next? CapOne used to tell me I was pre-qualified for QuickSilver, now it says no cards, but they just gave me a big CLI. First National of Omaha sent me a pre-qual AMEX letter... should I pull the trigger? I would like a Barclay's card, but I think that I should still wait until my collections are paid off.

[fishbjc]

By paying the collections...it just means they are PAID.  They will not be removed from your reports until their fall off date.

Have you offered a 'pay-for-delete'? 

[fishbjc]

Honestly, Barclays is a stretch for you right now.  Your scores are still low and they just don't like collections.  Possibly ONE, but that's it.  By continuing to 'app', you're adding inquiries for cards you probably won't be approved for.  Scores are just 'one factor' in an approval.  If you get too many inquiries, some lenders won't like it.

[Anonymous]

I think you really misread my post. There is a different fall-off time for paid collections in New York state, and I'm asking about cards precisely because I don't want to app for anything too far out of my reach. Did you also miss the part where I said that I would LIKE a Barclay's card, but that I feel like I have too many collections? (Mod Cut-this isnt an FSR comment, please refrain from such comments in he future)

[Anonymous]

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@fishbjc wrote:

Honestly, Barclays is a stretch for you right now.  Your scores are still low and they just don't like collections.  Possibly ONE, but that's it.  By continuing to 'app', you're adding inquiries for cards you probably won't be approved for.  Scores are just 'one factor' in an approval.  If you get too many inquiries, some lenders won't like it.

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Nonsense. They approved me with a ton of collections, and about a 600 TU score. The key with Barclays is good RECENT HISTORY. If you're over 18 months of perfect payment history on a couple of cards, then Barclays is a viable choice. However I would not app with them without at least 18 months of history on a couple of cards.

[Studio90x]

I had applied to Barclay's last October and was denied due to my utilization which was 27% (mistake of not knowing my statement cut off one month) at the time and I had medical bills totaling close to $2000 still in collections when I applied.  Had a TU 626 at the time they pulled.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So for the last year, my goal was to raise my scores from the low 500's to at least 620 across the board. My only one below that is TU at 618 (gaaaaah), the others are 644 and 638.

My positives are a CapOne Secured, CapOne Plat, Merrick and Victoria's Secret. I also have a college loan that's on hold due to being laid off in December.

My negatives are a ton of late payments on the college loan, late payments on utility bills, and three outstanding collections accounts. One collection is a small medical debt that will fall off in about a year. Another is a collection under $500 that falls off in two years. The last one is under $300 and falls off in two years, also. The last two are both utilities. I also have one other utility bill that was paid in full last year and should hit the NYS 5 year rule this fall.

I'm just wondering, now that I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks and I'm about at my goal, what should I be looking at next? My main credit concern is apartment hunting, which I need to do sometime next month.

I want to pay off the collections but can't afford to do it right yet. I think the medical one would fall off immediately, and the other two quite soon, so long as I pay in full. Any experience with this?

What's a good card to app for next? CapOne used to tell me I was pre-qualified for QuickSilver, now it says no cards, but they just gave me a big CLI. First National of Omaha sent me a pre-qual AMEX letter... should I pull the trigger? I would like a Barclay's card, but I think that I should still wait until my collections are paid off.

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Try for a second Cap One QS1 unsecured card. If they deny with no hard pull, then close the secured card, wait a day or two, then apply again. You should be able to get the Platinum card upgraded to QS as well.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@fishbjc wrote:

Honestly, Barclays is a stretch for you right now.  Your scores are still low and they just don't like collections.  Possibly ONE, but that's it.  By continuing to 'app', you're adding inquiries for cards you probably won't be approved for.  Scores are just 'one factor' in an approval.  If you get too many inquiries, some lenders won't like it.

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Nonsense. They approved me with a ton of collections, and about a 600 TU score. The key with Barclays is good RECENT HISTORY. If you're over 18 months of perfect payment history on a couple of cards, then Barclays is a viable choice. However I would not app with them without at least 18 months of history on a couple of cards.

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Thanks. In light of that, I might just wait another 6 months. I'll have had a big salary increase and an 18 month, spotless card on file. I haven't made any screw ups in well over 18 months, but I was too hesitant to get a secured card and didn't start as early as I should have. Meh.

I did some research on my own and found that I might be screwed out of the NYS thing if I don't pay before officially changing my address! I'm moving to MA. It's going to hurt, but I guess that I need to try and pay them off somehow even though I barely have enough cash right now to move. I just don't know if I'll have time.

I finally found more info about the FNBO card offer, and it's an invitation, not a pre-qual. My scores aren't as high as I've seen others who got approved, and they're a hard bank to get. I'm dumping the offer as junk mail.

I don't suppose there's a card that would be good for me right now? I don't want to close my CapOne secured until the move is over, and I'm hoping they pre-qual me for QS again first. Otherwise I'll wait the 6 months and try Barclay's.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@fishbjc wrote:

Honestly, Barclays is a stretch for you right now.  Your scores are still low and they just don't like collections.  Possibly ONE, but that's it.  By continuing to 'app', you're adding inquiries for cards you probably won't be approved for.  Scores are just 'one factor' in an approval.  If you get too many inquiries, some lenders won't like it.

---

Nonsense. They approved me with a ton of collections, and about a 600 TU score. The key with Barclays is good RECENT HISTORY. If you're over 18 months of perfect payment history on a couple of cards, then Barclays is a viable choice. However I would not app with them without at least 18 months of history on a couple of cards.

---

Thanks. In light of that, I might just wait another 6 months. I'll have had a big salary increase and an 18 month, spotless card on file. I haven't made any screw ups in well over 18 months, but I was too hesitant to get a secured card and didn't start as early as I should have. Meh.

I did some research on my own and found that I might be screwed out of the NYS thing if I don't pay before officially changing my address! I'm moving to MA. It's going to hurt, but I guess that I need to try and pay them off somehow even though I barely have enough cash right now to move. I just don't know if I'll have time.

I finally found more info about the FNBO card offer, and it's an invitation, not a pre-qual. My scores aren't as high as I've seen others who got approved, and they're a hard bank to get. I'm dumping the offer as junk mail.

I don't suppose there's a card that would be good for me right now? I don't want to close my CapOne secured until the move is over, and I'm hoping they pre-qual me for QS again first. Otherwise I'll wait the 6 months and try Barclay's.

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If you qualified for the Platinum, then you're qualified for the QS1 as well. App first and if they deny you with no hard pull, then you need to close the secured card first.

[Anonymous]

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NormanFH wrote:

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truthyfalsey wrote:

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NormanFH wrote:

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fishbjc wrote:

Honestly, Barclays is a stretch for you right now.  Your scores are still low and they just don't like collections.  Possibly ONE, but that's it.  By continuing to 'app', you're adding inquiries for cards you probably won't be approved for.  Scores are just 'one factor' in an approval.  If you get too many inquiries, some lenders won't like it.

---

Nonsense. They approved me with a ton of collections, and about a 600 TU score. The key with Barclays is good RECENT HISTORY. If you're over 18 months of perfect payment history on a couple of cards, then Barclays is a viable choice. However I would not app with them without at least 18 months of history on a couple of cards.

---

Thanks. In light of that, I might just wait another 6 months. I'll have had a big salary increase and an 18 month, spotless card on file. I haven't made any screw ups in well over 18 months, but I was too hesitant to get a secured card and didn't start as early as I should have. Meh.

I did some research on my own and found that I might be screwed out of the NYS thing if I don't pay before officially changing my address! I'm moving to MA. It's going to hurt, but I guess that I need to try and pay them off somehow even though I barely have enough cash right now to move. I just don't know if I'll have time.

I finally found more info about the FNBO card offer, and it's an invitation, not a pre-qual. My scores aren't as high as I've seen others who got approved, and they're a hard bank to get. I'm dumping the offer as junk mail.

I don't suppose there's a card that would be good for me right now? I don't want to close my CapOne secured until the move is over, and I'm hoping they pre-qual me for QS again first. Otherwise I'll wait the 6 months and try Barclay's.

---

If you qualified for the Platinum, then you're qualified for the QS1 as well. App first and if they deny you with no hard pull, then you need to close the secured card first.

Barclays thing is they dont like to see too many recent open accounts. When I called the recon line what they said was I was declined due to the Capital One accounts I opened in 2015 and how new they still were. They told me to let them continue growing 6 more months before applying again and that unless something else changed on my credit report my chances would be good. My scores now are in the low 600's and I still have 2 defaulted student loans on my report and 2 medical bills falling off in April. For now if I was the OP I would just let the capital One cards grow. They seem to be really good thus far for me. I have heard some horror stories about Barclay closing accounts when they feel someone has had too many inquiries.