topic Re: Approvals with a BK7 in Credit Card Applications

Approvals with a BK7

Swordfish20 — Sun, 10 May 2020 15:22:22 GMT

Looking for advice/recommendations. I had a BK7 in 2013. Since then my Fico8 went from 597 to 764. I had four credit cards - two Capital One, a USAA, and a Barclaycard. Recently the Barclaycard and one of the Capital One cards closed without notice due to inactivty. Never heard of that happening but it did and my scores immediately dropped around 20 points on all three CRs (Equifax 24 pts!). The two cards totalled $7k in credit. Both remaining cards have limit of $20k each. No other negatives on CRs except the BK. Only 1% credit utilization.

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred yesterday to increase credit availability, and because I heard it was a greaat card, only to discover that my BK automatically disqualified me. I called the recon number, no luck with the BK. It cost me a hard pull and 2 points.

First, will it help my score to get another card and increase my credit availability again? Second, any recommendations for cards for with higher credit limits that won't deny because of a BK?

Re: Approvals with a BK7

recoveringfrombk7 — Sun, 10 May 2020 15:43:19 GMT

Cards should get used once per 6 months to avoid closure. In the current economy/pandemic I'd probably aim for every 4 months to be safe.

Need to know who you burned in the BK to make recommendations. Are you a member of a credit union? They tend to be generous with limits even for post-BK.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Swordfish20 — Sun, 10 May 2020 16:27:14 GMT

I burned AmX Gold, AmX Delta Skymiles, Capital One, and BBT. Capital One gave me another card with $20k credit after three years. Got the USAA as an authorized user on my mother's account and at her death they switched it over to me.

I am a member of Pentagon Federal.

Strangely enough I show preapproved for an AmX card but I don't take that seriously since I am most likely black listed. AmX would not increase my credit availability anyway.

Thanks for your help.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Swordfish20 — Sun, 10 May 2020 16:37:19 GMT

FYI my Fico 9 scores are EQ825, TU820, EX809 if that helps. Just don't want to run into the auto BK denial again.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

recoveringfrombk7 — Sun, 10 May 2020 17:22:43 GMT

If you burned AMEX the word on the street is they'll never forget unless you repay in full. They sometimes offer a way back in with Optima, but it can be hit or miss and right now things are a bit weird all around with the pandemic.

Are you looking for specific rewards?

I think Discover, potentially Citi, PenFed are all good options.

Some of the prequal tools are down because lenders are using stricter criteria at the moment. I think Discover might still be up, but I'm not sure what you'll see for a SL. I think PenFed might be your best limit wise.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Guyatthebeach — Sun, 10 May 2020 18:31:40 GMT

Swordfish20,

I had my chapter 7 bankruptcy discharged in 2012, so I can relate. Chase will decline you due to the bankruptcy. I had got delined last year from Chase and the agent I spoke to said I'd be declined until my bankruptcy falls off my CR. There are others on the forum that have been declined from Chase with BK's.

I would look for local and regional banks that are offering preapprovals for cards, like BB&T and Regions bank. If your member of Sam's Club or Costco, take a look at their cards. I would also space out applications ever 6 moths to a year. I do believe you will get those points back just by letting the accounts age and keeping utilitization low.

Guyatthebeach

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Swordfish20 — Sun, 10 May 2020 18:47:24 GMT

Thanks for the advice. Just did the preapprovals for Discover and BBT (soft pulls). Discover only wants to give me a prepaid card (nope) and BBT preapproved all three of their cards. Also just joined NFCU since my father was retired Army. Are their cards a) worth it and b) difficult to get?

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Guyatthebeach — Sun, 10 May 2020 18:57:22 GMT

My Discover preapproval started with a SP but turned into a HP. I did get a Discover Card with $11k credit line.

The BB&T cards were all SP's.

Navy Federal is an excellent CU. I didn't join until 4 years after my bankruptcy. Their cards are very easy to get. I have the cash rewards and the Flagship Visa. I actually use Navy Federal to take advantage of their CD rates.

Guyatthebeach

Re: Approvals with a BK7

recoveringfrombk7 — Sun, 10 May 2020 19:07:28 GMT

@Swordfish20 wrote:
Thanks for the advice. Just did the preapprovals for Discover and BBT (soft pulls). Discover only wants to give me a prepaid card (nope) and BBT preapproved all three of their cards. Also just joined NFCU since my father was retired Army. Are their cards a) worth it and b) difficult to get?

Definitely go NFCU. Your first card may have a lowish limit, but your second at 91 days/3 statements will be quite high. Plus, they give good CLIs.

My BK is fresher than yours and my scores lower. My first card was $3900. At 91/3, I got approved for a second card at 12.5k and my first card went up to 9900. I would suggest not applying for Flagship first. There is no SUB this quarter (normally $500 value) and the minimum approval is for a 5k SL which is atypical for the first card with them.

They are awesome customer service wise and super about rebuilding post BK. I do all of my checking and DD with them and also some certificates. They don't have good savings rates, so I use other CUs for that.

Welcome to the Navy fam!!

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2020 03:56:56 GMT

Sorry to hear that. I have a Bk Chpt 13 6 1/2 year ago. 3 years after my BK i got 2 Cap 1 cards, Navy Fed cards, got my first AMEX last year and this year I picked up 4 Amex cards, 2 BB&T cards, card from BBVA and a card from DCU. Rooms to Go card if that counts for anything. Got approved for a Pen FED card but I didn't like the CL so i decided to not get it. Have you tried calling to see if you can get them reopened?

@Swordfish20 wrote:
Looking for advice/recommendations. I had a BK7 in 2013. Since then my Fico8 went from 597 to 764. I had four credit cards - two Capital One, a USAA, and a Barclaycard. Recently the Barclaycard and one of the Capital One cards closed without notice due to inactivty. Never heard of that happening but it did and my scores immediately dropped around 20 points on all three CRs (Equifax 24 pts!). The two cards totalled $7k in credit. Both remaining cards have limit of $20k each. No other negatives on CRs except the BK. Only 1% credit utilization.

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred yesterday to increase credit availability, and because I heard it was a greaat card, only to discover that my BK automatically disqualified me. I called the recon number, no luck with the BK. It cost me a hard pull and 2 points.

First, will it help my score to get another card and increase my credit availability again? Second, any recommendations for cards for with higher credit limits that won't deny because of a BK?

Re: Approvals with a BK7

JR_TX — Mon, 11 May 2020 18:17:38 GMT

Yeah your score tanked because the common knowledge is you need 3 open revolving tradelines to maximize FICO scoring. You're now left with only 2, hence, the score drop! Your aggregate util at only 1% is still optimum so the SL shouldn't bother you that much other than aesthetics.

I would recommend BoA as their cards are really easy to grow with their SP CLI. Even Disco will let you in (forget their not so accurate prequal) as they did only on my 4th year of dc even when they were IIB. Citi (SP CLI) also will let you back in with your profile regardless if they're IIB as long as you're 7 yr post dc.

Good Luck! Keep us posted!

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Swordfish20 — Mon, 11 May 2020 22:55:03 GMT

I never knew that you need 3 revolving tradelines to maximize FICO scoring. Based on that, should I apply for another card soon? Chase hit both EQ and EX and it cost me 5 and 2 points. I've been working hard to rebuild my score since my '13 BK and am hyper sensitive about score changes. Is it worth an additional HP to get another line of credit? FYI I just made the last payment on an auto loan with PenFed so that loan will close. All advice is very welcome. Thanks.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

JR_TX — Mon, 11 May 2020 23:30:06 GMT

@Swordfish20 wrote:
I never knew that you need 3 revolving tradelines to maximize FICO scoring. Based on that, should I apply for another card soon? Chase hit both EQ and EX and it cost me 5 and 2 points. I've been working hard to rebuild my score since my '13 BK and am hyper sensitive about score changes. Is it worth an additional HP to get another line of credit? FYI I just made the last payment on an auto loan with PenFed so that loan will close. All advice is very welcome. Thanks.

Are you sure it's EX & EQ that Chase hit instead of EX & TU? If so then I suggest app'ing for PP MC. It's a an everyday 2% rewards card issued by Sync bank and they're almost always pulling TU. They might not give you an eye popping SL but they're really easy to grow with SP CLI especially from 6th month onwards. A 750+ TU with an SL of $5K can hit $25K in one phone call to Credit Solutions on the 6th month provided income and profile supports it.

Lastly, expect your score to drop a few points when your auto loan moves from an active TL to a closed one. Just a tid bit of info you should know so you don't get surprised when the time comes.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Phoenixupward — Tue, 12 May 2020 20:16:23 GMT

NFCU is awesome. My Bk was discharged in July 2018. I have 2 cards. I started out with the secured card- 5 mos unsecured 2k SL. Apped for their Amex rewards in Feb approved for 7.5k SL. You made a great move to join.
You should also look into FNBO. They will approve with a bk reporting. They have some good co-brand cards.
- M Life Rewards

- Best Western Rewards

- speedy Rewards

Good Luck

Re: Approvals with a BK7

soxfaininfl — Thu, 14 May 2020 04:49:19 GMT

@Swordfish20 wrote:
Looking for advice/recommendations. I had a BK7 in 2013. Since then my Fico8 went from 597 to 764. I had four credit cards - two Capital One, a USAA, and a Barclaycard. Recently the Barclaycard and one of the Capital One cards closed without notice due to inactivty. Never heard of that happening but it did and my scores immediately dropped around 20 points on all three CRs (Equifax 24 pts!). The two cards totalled $7k in credit. Both remaining cards have limit of $20k each. No other negatives on CRs except the BK. Only 1% credit utilization.

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred yesterday to increase credit availability, and because I heard it was a greaat card, only to discover that my BK automatically disqualified me. I called the recon number, no luck with the BK. It cost me a hard pull and 2 points.

First, will it help my score to get another card and increase my credit availability again? Second, any recommendations for cards for with higher credit limits that won't deny because of a BK?

Wow, your Fico 8 score is that high width a BK7? That's is great. Yeah any Chase products are a no go if you have a BK on your CR's. You can also get the PayPal MasterCard. It's a 2% flat cash back card. Synchrony Bank is very generous with their CLI's which are always soft pulls.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Swordfish20 — Thu, 14 May 2020 11:25:22 GMT

@soxfaininfl wrote:
@Swordfish20 wrote:
Looking for advice/recommendations. I had a BK7 in 2013. Since then my Fico8 went from 597 to 764. I had four credit cards - two Capital One, a USAA, and a Barclaycard. Recently the Barclaycard and one of the Capital One cards closed without notice due to inactivty. Never heard of that happening but it did and my scores immediately dropped around 20 points on all three CRs (Equifax 24 pts!). The two cards totalled $7k in credit. Both remaining cards have limit of $20k each. No other negatives on CRs except the BK. Only 1% credit utilization.

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred yesterday to increase credit availability, and because I heard it was a greaat card, only to discover that my BK automatically disqualified me. I called the recon number, no luck with the BK. It cost me a hard pull and 2 points.

First, will it help my score to get another card and increase my credit availability again? Second, any recommendations for cards for with higher credit limits that won't deny because of a BK?
Wow, your Fico 8 score is that high width a BK7? That's is great. Yeah any Chase products are a no go if you have a BK on your CR's. You can also get the PayPal MasterCard. It's a 2% flat cash back card. Synchrony Bank is very generous with their CLI's which are always soft pulls.

Thanks! So to confirm, Synchrony is only a soft pull for approval? Would I apply through Synchrony or PP?

Re: Approvals with a BK7

soxfaininfl — Thu, 14 May 2020 13:30:46 GMT

@Swordfish20 wrote:
@soxfaininfl wrote:
@Swordfish20 wrote:
Looking for advice/recommendations. I had a BK7 in 2013. Since then my Fico8 went from 597 to 764. I had four credit cards - two Capital One, a USAA, and a Barclaycard. Recently the Barclaycard and one of the Capital One cards closed without notice due to inactivty. Never heard of that happening but it did and my scores immediately dropped around 20 points on all three CRs (Equifax 24 pts!). The two cards totalled $7k in credit. Both remaining cards have limit of $20k each. No other negatives on CRs except the BK. Only 1% credit utilization.

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred yesterday to increase credit availability, and because I heard it was a greaat card, only to discover that my BK automatically disqualified me. I called the recon number, no luck with the BK. It cost me a hard pull and 2 points.

First, will it help my score to get another card and increase my credit availability again? Second, any recommendations for cards for with higher credit limits that won't deny because of a BK?
Wow, your Fico 8 score is that high width a BK7? That's is great. Yeah any Chase products are a no go if you have a BK on your CR's. You can also get the PayPal MasterCard. It's a 2% flat cash back card. Synchrony Bank is very generous with their CLI's which are always soft pulls.
Thanks! So to confirm, Synchrony is only a soft pull for approval? Would I apply through Synchrony or PP?

No, the application is a hard pull. Their CLI's are SP, and you can request one every 3 to 4 months (not sure how generous they will be with the pandemic). I started out with an Amazon card (Burned them too in BK7 for 4k) at 1K credit limit (had a 500 dollar balance when I request the CLI), and it grew to 5K four months later. Same with my Rooms to Go account, started at 2,500 and it grew to 7,500 four months later. You need to have a Paypal account that is all to apply. Here is the link: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/credit-card/2-percent-cash-back-mastercard?gclid=Cj0KCQjw2PP1BRCiARIsAEqv-pROk0aUW9052CvMz9HQGYN_kgU1uFseCcTr9jmg5QDInpVk6ENHHdkaAhzBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I applied back in December and got declined (burned them also in BK for 1,300) and never got a HP. I guess they haven't forgiven me for that burn even though I burned them for more on my Amazon account.

The only creditor that I know that doesn't HP for additional applications (95% of the time) is American Express once you have atleast one open credit card account with them (or on their blacklist). I applied to test this theory, and got a decline with no HP. I'm on their blacklist (burned them for 2,300 in my BK7), but I plan to pay them back in full once my BK is 5 years old.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

Anonymous — Thu, 14 May 2020 13:47:31 GMT

@JR_TX wrote:
Yeah your score tanked because the common knowledge is you need 3 open revolving tradelines to maximize FICO scoring. You're now left with only 2, hence, the score drop! Your aggregate util at only 1% is still optimum so the SL shouldn't bother you that much other than aesthetics.

I would recommend BoA as their cards are really easy to grow with their SP CLI. Even Disco will let you in (forget their not so accurate prequal) as they did only on my 4th year of dc even when they were IIB. Citi (SP CLI) also will let you back in with your profile regardless if they're IIB as long as you're 7 yr post dc.

Good Luck! Keep us posted!

@JR_TX You do not need 3 revolving accounts to "maximize FICO scoring." There are lots of people with one or two credit cards and scores of 800 and above. The reason why 3 credit cards is "common knowledge" in the forums is to enable you to implement the AZEO (All Zero Except One) technique and avoid the "too many accounts with balances" reason code on your credit report.

Some credit profiles are penalized when half of credit cards report balances, and others when one-third or more of revolving accounts report balances. Given that, if you have two or less credit cards and one or both report balances you will always be hit with the negative reason code. With three cards, you can allow one to report a balance (AZEO) and not exceed the one-third of accounts reporting balances threshold. But that's not the same as "maximizng" your FICO score and you can't conclude that the OP's score dropped because of only two credit cards.

The OP did not explain how the 1% utilization is distributed between his two revolving accounts. If both had balances he would be penalized for all his accounts reporting balances, if only one had a balance he would still be at the 50% of accounts with balances threshold.

Re: Approvals with a BK7

recoveringfrombk7 — Thu, 14 May 2020 14:26:02 GMT

@soxfaininfl wrote:
@Swordfish20 wrote:
Looking for advice/recommendations. I had a BK7 in 2013. Since then my Fico8 went from 597 to 764. I had four credit cards - two Capital One, a USAA, and a Barclaycard. Recently the Barclaycard and one of the Capital One cards closed without notice due to inactivty. Never heard of that happening but it did and my scores immediately dropped around 20 points on all three CRs (Equifax 24 pts!). The two cards totalled $7k in credit. Both remaining cards have limit of $20k each. No other negatives on CRs except the BK. Only 1% credit utilization.

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred yesterday to increase credit availability, and because I heard it was a greaat card, only to discover that my BK automatically disqualified me. I called the recon number, no luck with the BK. It cost me a hard pull and 2 points.

First, will it help my score to get another card and increase my credit availability again? Second, any recommendations for cards for with higher credit limits that won't deny because of a BK?
Wow, your Fico 8 score is that high width a BK7? That's is great. Yeah any Chase products are a no go if you have a BK on your CR's. You can also get the PayPal MasterCard. It's a 2% flat cash back card. Synchrony Bank is very generous with their CLI's which are always soft pulls.

@soxfaininfl scores after 7 years tend to see a bump because lates are deleted and only the bk remains

Re: Approvals with a BK7

soxfaininfl — Thu, 14 May 2020 14:37:38 GMT

@recoveringfrombk7 wrote:
@soxfaininfl wrote:
@Swordfish20 wrote:
Looking for advice/recommendations. I had a BK7 in 2013. Since then my Fico8 went from 597 to 764. I had four credit cards - two Capital One, a USAA, and a Barclaycard. Recently the Barclaycard and one of the Capital One cards closed without notice due to inactivty. Never heard of that happening but it did and my scores immediately dropped around 20 points on all three CRs (Equifax 24 pts!). The two cards totalled $7k in credit. Both remaining cards have limit of $20k each. No other negatives on CRs except the BK. Only 1% credit utilization.

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred yesterday to increase credit availability, and because I heard it was a greaat card, only to discover that my BK automatically disqualified me. I called the recon number, no luck with the BK. It cost me a hard pull and 2 points.

First, will it help my score to get another card and increase my credit availability again? Second, any recommendations for cards for with higher credit limits that won't deny because of a BK?
Wow, your Fico 8 score is that high width a BK7? That's is great. Yeah any Chase products are a no go if you have a BK on your CR's. You can also get the PayPal MasterCard. It's a 2% flat cash back card. Synchrony Bank is very generous with their CLI's which are always soft pulls.
@soxfaininfl scores after 7 years tend to see a bump because lates are deleted and only the bk remains

I know that you can't attain an 800 or higher credit score with a BK on file, but that's the highest I've seen with someone with a BK on their CR's in myFico. Have your heard of anyone with a score higher than the OP with a BK?