topic Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest? in Credit Card Applications

REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 01:00:29 GMT

Hi myFICO sounding board,

So after several years of young negligence on my finances during my college years, I've been working to rebuild my credit since 2013. I NEED YOUR EXPERTISE ON THIS QUESTION: Do I keep slowly gardening or am I in decent shape to apply for a card to increase my credit limit & help my overall credit card utilization? Goal is to increase my revolving credit to help speed up my rebuilding so I can get my score up to 700+

This is what my credit history looks like:

Pre-2013 -

EXP was in low 500s, 15 accounts with negative remarts (student loans neglect lead to multiple accounts with past due), 1 account reported in collections, credit limit of $100 (after having to close other accounts that I neglected)

Gardening period -

Earning $65,000 annually, made good on all accounts (paid and closed necessary accounts, one charge-off), opened a secured credit card with Wells Fargo (whom I bank with), card was turned into an unsecured card with a $900 limit (ugh, so low..I know). My total revolving credit is a measly $1,000.

As of 11/23/2015 -

EXP is now 650, it's been 24 months since last late payment listed, I have 10 years of credit history, CC UTI is always under 30%, but I still have 15 accounts with negative remarks that are going to fall off my record in 2019 (SO LONG).

I'm currently contemplating this - DO I APPLY FOR A CREDIT CARD TO SEE IF I CAN GET MY OVERALL CL INCREASED? OR DO I OPT FOR ANOTHER SECURED CC AND WAIT FOR IT TO BECOME UNSECURED? I don't want to apply and get a hard inquiry for a declined app...but I also don't want to just garden forever if there's something else I can do to speed up the process of rebuilding my credit.

ANY ADVICE WOULD BE A LIFESAVER. THANK YOU!

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 01:35:46 GMT

Hi have you tried Capitol one? That's how I started out in 2014 my credit score was 515 when I applied and got the secured and then a couple months later I applied for the quicksilver one And was approved. Now my credit is a 656, 645, and 610..

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 02:10:37 GMT

Thanks for the rec! Only reason I haven't applied for Cap One was because when I was young and dumb, I had a Cap One credit card with a $500 CL and they closed it on me after I neglected the account. Anyone know if that kind of history would affect my approval odds with Cap One?

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 03:00:49 GMT

I also had one in 2009 for $600 and last payment was 2011. I was young and really didn't care about my credit and really didn't understand credit. But they gave me another chance. That's why I'm trying hard not to mess up again. Have you tried to see if you're pre-approved for a cap one card?

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 03:03:31 GMT

Give it a try. They may offer a secured card which they did with me. I had a deposit of $49 and my sl was $200 after 6 months they gave an increase to $500.

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 04:01:09 GMT

Congrats on your progress rebuilding! I think Capital One is your best bet right now. Cap1 is known to be VERY forgiving. It is not uncommon to see people burn them in a BK and get approved shortly after. Aside from that, time will heal all wounds with credit! Keep gardening away 😜

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 05:14:19 GMT

let's put it this way with cap1 - i got a $300 platinum and they wouldn't increase me due to a late payment and i closed it in june and this month got a QS for $3k and a venture for $10k the same day

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 14:06:02 GMT

I agree with everyone else, a CapOne card is your best bet - it will probably be a secured card, BUT 2 years ago, I had 500 scores and they gave me a secured card and now I have a QS and a Platinum Mastercard with around $10k combined limit.

So, I think you can do it with them.

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 02:34:36 GMT

Yes! I actually just applied for the Cap1 Platinum Mastercard and got approved for $3,000! I finally gave in to the mailer that I kept getting. Thanks for your insight!

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 03:45:50 GMT

Congrats! That's great news!

I started rebuilding my credit in the middle of last year. My score was in the 500's. My first credit card was the CapOne Platinum MC as well with $300 CL. So keep at it! You'll get your score up in no time.

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 09:54:17 GMT

Should apply for the QS1 from capital one too.

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 12:12:09 GMT

Great job!
I think it would be a good idea to add one more card right now. Check the pre-approval page for Chase, if they offer you the Freedom I would take it! Only apply if you are pre-approved.
If not, it may be a good idea to check for the Cap One QS pre-approval and apply for that!
Just make sure you have a pre-approval for one of those cards (or any other you choose to apply for) so you don't waste an HP. You don't need another card right now so it's not worth the risk, but with a pre-approved opportunity I think it would be worth it.
You could also consider getting a store card, but only apply for one if it belongs to a store you actually shop with enough to make it worth it!

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

elim — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 12:35:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Great job!
I think it would be a good idea to add one more card right now. Check the pre-approval page for Chase, if they offer you the Freedom I would take it! Only apply if you are pre-approved.
If not, it may be a good idea to check for the Cap One QS pre-approval and apply for that!
Just make sure you have a pre-approval for one of those cards (or any other you choose to apply for) so you don't waste an HP. You don't need another card right now so it's not worth the risk, but with a pre-approved opportunity I think it would be worth it.
You could also consider getting a store card, but only apply for one if it belongs to a store you actually shop with enough to make it worth it!

grab freedom or QS and garden 6 months while your scores climb.

congrats on the plat :]

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Dalmus — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 14:33:43 GMT

Since you made good on several of the accounts, you can make the effort to send out some goodwill letters. You may get some items dropped off your report, which would help out your score, too.

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 17:55:06 GMT

Amazing!! Thanks so much for all your insight! I went ahead and applied for the Chase Freedom so that I can at least get some better rewards. I got the pre-qual and got approved for $3,500 for the Freedom card with the 5% Cash Back in bonus categories. Does this mean that there's a chance that I will only get one hard inquiry if I got approved last night for the Cap1 Platinum and Chase Freedom this morning? Still learning the ropes... Thanks, all. Super happy about my baby steps to progress.

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

OmarGB9 — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 18:23:53 GMT

Sadly those are two separate banks, so no chance of those two inquiries being merged.

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 18:36:39 GMT

Got it. Great to know. Thank you!

Planning to garden now, unless the Southwest Chase card to come back with the 50k sign up bonus. I spend enough to get the Companion Pass and really want to start earning those points asap to maximize the Companion Pass duration. Would I have a better chance with getting approved for Southwest Chase card after the Chase Freedom card shows up on my credit report?

Re: REBUILDING - to garden or to harvest?

elim — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 19:33:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Got it. Great to know. Thank you!

Planning to garden now, unless the Southwest Chase card to come back with the 50k sign up bonus. I spend enough to get the Companion Pass and really want to start earning those points asap to maximize the Companion Pass duration. Would I have a better chance with getting approved for Southwest Chase card after the Chase Freedom card shows up on my credit report?

remember, Chase has a rule these days "no CSP or Freedom if 5 accounts in 24 months" so before grabbing any other cards a would suggest CSP next. then you can get SW as co-branded cards arent included in the 5/24 rule. (Freedom and CSP work well together in building UR's) Might want to lay low a few months first.

CSP will be a minimum 5k card (visa sig)