Working on my credit....

[Anonymous]

OKay, So i'm 20 and messed up when I was 18. I got two credit cards and didn't pay them and had a vz account that just was crazy and couldn't pay it. 

I have paid off the two credit cards and am about to pay the vz account. 

I have gotten approved for two credit cards (Unsecured) from credit one @ $300 and first premier @300 and fingerhut approved me for a fresh start account and plan to do that as well. I'm also a AU on a Discover account for $2k and a Bank of america account at $1.5k. I just got approved for a secured mastercard from capital one with a $200 secured deposit and plan to make it asap. 

What I would like to know is, How can I continue to build my credit and is their anything else I can do? 

Also, I'm about to pay off my credit cards so that my credit utilization is better and have less debt. 

My current score from Experian is 586 and Transunion and Equifax are right there with it. My goal is to get to a 675 asap! Any tips or ideas? 

Thanks!!

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

OKay, So i'm 20 and messed up when I was 18. I got two credit cards and didn't pay them and had a vz account that just was crazy and couldn't pay it. 

I have paid off the two credit cards and am about to pay the vz account. 

@I have gotten approved for two credit cards (Unsecured) from credit one @ $300 and first premier @300 and fingerhut approved me for a fresh start account and plan to do that as well. I'm also a AU on a Discover account for $2k and a Bank of america account at $1.5k. I just got approved for a secured mastercard from capital one with a $200 secured deposit and plan to make it asap. 

What I would like to know is, How can I continue to build my credit and is their anything else I can do? 

Also, I'm about to pay off my credit cards so that my credit utilization is better and have less debt. 

My current score from Experian is 586 and Transunion and Equifax are right there with it. My goal is to get to a 675 asap! Any tips or ideas? 

Thanks!!

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For paid COs & CAs you want to write them GW letters asking for removal of the account, OCs are much tougher than CAs and it may take years. For any lates on good accounts you also send GW but ask that the lates be removed not the entire TL.  Paying off the CCs and not getting the PFD drops your Fico unless they had been updating monthly as the status date comes current and it looks like it just happened. Good thing is they can now age back in time and the longest they can remain on file is 7.5 years from the DoFD. Time is your best friend and I would garden the new accounts you just got for 6 months to a year before going for more. Good luck in your credit journey and welcome to My Fico

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/GW-letter-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-GW-Success-Stories/td-p/1573680

[cartwrna]

Take good care of that cap 1 card, don't carry a balance from month to month. Use it but make sure it is paid prior to statement cut and you very well may get an unsecured CLI or your deposit back. You also have a good shot at getting unsecured Cap1 cards this way. I also started with a secured Cap1 card but only required to put $49 deposit in spite of my scores being much lower than yours. I was at 400-410 across all bureaus in Sep13. I had actually gotten my secured Cap1 card in 2012 though so my score may have been higher as a few of my collections didn't appear until 2013. Since then I have managed to GW, PFD, and legitimately dispute nearly all negative accounts off of my files accounting for where my score currently stands. It takes time but is well worth it when you start reaching the end of that dark tunnel. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much! 
I actually called capital one and spoke to an agent and am going to make a larger deposit, I'm going to place a $1,500 deposit onto the account so that my credit utilization is better and try not to use the card but for gas and coffee and pay it a week prior to due date and in full. 

Thanks for the advice and response! 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks so much! 
I actually called capital one and spoke to an agent and am going to make a larger deposit, I'm going to place a $1,500 deposit onto the account so that my credit utilization is better and try not to use the card but for gas and coffee and pay it a week prior to due date and in full. 

Thanks for the advice and response! 

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No. You want to use the card. A LOT. The key is to PAY IT DOWN multiple times each month. Use it instead of cash or your debit card. Charge it all the way up and then pay the balance back down - do this as often as possible.

[jinmikesung]

Hello Norman,

What is a benefit of using CC a lot and pay multiple times in a month? 

Is it better just use small amount and leave like $2-3 before statment ends?

[Anonymous]

It encourages them to increase your credit limits and expand their business with you. Think about it - did they issue you the card so you can just sit on it? NO!, they WANT you to use it as much as possible, and they WANT you to pay it down as often as possible. That sort of usage generates a lot of income for them through vendor fees, and is low risk for them since there is no balance carried over each month. I started doing that in December, and in February they tripled my limits from 300/500 to 800/1500.

[jinmikesung]

Thank you for info Norman. 

I would start to use your method to increase my future limit.

Thank you again.