topic Re: Need advice... in Credit Cards

Need advice...

Anonymous — Fri, 11 May 2018 14:41:49 GMT

I'm new to this forum and learning every day! The abbreviations alone are taking me forever to learn lol. I am currently rebuilding. Scores were in the toilet at the beginning of the year (450 - 500 range) but I'm climbing. My current FICO scores are EQ 646/TU 635/EX668. Income is $93K. BK in 11/12. Several hard inquiries (spree). 1 or 2 collections depending on which report you pull. Utilizaiton is always less than 10%. Current balances are $0 on all cards.

Here are my current cards: Cap1 Platinum $800/Cap 1 Quicksilver $300/Cap 1 Quick Silver (AU) $550/Amex Blue Cash Everyday $500 (approved yesterday)/Discover IT Secured $300 (haven't receive yet)/Merrick Bank $750/Total Visa $300/Kohls $300/Lane Bryant $250/Fingerhut $300.

Lane Bryant, Kohls, Cap 1 Quicksilver, and Amex are so new they haven't hit my credit reports yet. I assume once they do, i'll get a bump (please tell me if my assumption is incorrect)

Recent denials: NFCU, BofA Cash Rewards & Travel Rewards (both were offers from their prequal site), NASA CU, PenFed, Amex Everyday (applied yesterday right after I was approved for the Blue Cash card) . I tried Chase and Citibank prequal but no offers. I received a 7-10 letter from Walmart the other day. I've tried the SCT but it never works for me.

My quesiton is should I keep applying for credit or is this sufficient? I haven't really been approved for any cards with big CLs and was hoping I would but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Let me know what you think, thanks!!!

Re: Need advice...

Anonymous — Fri, 11 May 2018 14:49:19 GMT

Don't apply for anything else for a while. At least 1 year. You're stuck in toy limit territory and that won't change unless you build up your AAOA and let your inquiries drop off.

Remember to let one card report a small balance (say $5 or something under 8.9% of that card's limit) and you'll gain a few points.

My guess is that the new cards aren't going to help your score and may even drop it a bit. I don't think it will be anything drastic in any direction, though.

Re: Need advice...

HeavenOhio — Fri, 11 May 2018 14:55:05 GMT

Because of the number of recently acquired cards, stop applying for now. Too many new accounts will hinder your chances for new credit. For scoring purposes, you have more than enough cards. Let everything age for a year. If you see a card or two at that point that you really want, go ahead and apply at that time. Apply only if a card is going to be beneficial to you.

If you're interested in Chase, you're going to need to wait longer. If one has opened five or more cards within the past 24 months (known as 5/24), automatic denial is likely. You might want to make it a goal to get under 5/24 and stay there so you'll be ready if you want Chase products.

My guess is that your score will likely go down once your new accounts report. But it'll recover and likely be better than where it is right now after a period of gardening (not applying for anything).

Re: Need advice...

Anonymous — Fri, 11 May 2018 15:11:21 GMT

You won't be approved for anything decent if you apply like a madman.

With collections and BK on your reports you probably need some serious gardening of at least a year to "show" them that you've changed.

Don't treat credit cards like a game.

Re: Need advice...

UncleB — Fri, 11 May 2018 15:28:37 GMT

Hi @Anonymous, and welcome to myFICO!

Here's a link to a thread that lists common abbreviations used on myFICO: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

Re: Need advice...

Anonymous — Fri, 11 May 2018 19:00:00 GMT

Thank you all for your advice. I'll start my garden today!

Re: Need advice...

K-in-Boston — Fri, 11 May 2018 19:15:52 GMT

Welcome to the forums and I look forward to seeing you in the garden. Great advice so far. One thing I would strongly suggest is dropping the Total Visa card as soon as you can. After the first year, that comes with $123 of combined annual fee and monthly servicing fees. Looks like it's helped to do its job of getting you started back on your credit journey and there's no reason to hang onto it. Use the cards responsibly and pay the full statement balance prior to the due date each month and you'll be ready for "prime time" before you know it, plus some of those cards will grow and/or unsecure. Wonderful score progress already, by the way!

Re: Need advice...

Anonymous — Fri, 11 May 2018 19:39:46 GMT

Thank you!!

Re: Need advice...

Bees18 — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 08:10:17 GMT

Did they give you a reason they denied you at NFCU? How new is your credit file?

Re: Need advice...

800who — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 11:15:35 GMT

Too many inquiries can definitely hurt... stick it out with what you do have and keep using and paying off and keep small UTIL and head for the light at the end of the tunnel

Re: Need advice...

SouthJamaica — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 11:18:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm new to this forum and learning every day! The abbreviations alone are taking me forever to learn lol. I am currently rebuilding. Scores were in the toilet at the beginning of the year (450 - 500 range) but I'm climbing. My current FICO scores are EQ 646/TU 635/EX668. Income is $93K. BK in 11/12. Several hard inquiries (spree). 1 or 2 collections depending on which report you pull. Utilizaiton is always less than 10%. Current balances are $0 on all cards.

Here are my current cards: Cap1 Platinum $800/Cap 1 Quicksilver $300/Cap 1 Quick Silver (AU) $550/Amex Blue Cash Everyday $500 (approved yesterday)/Discover IT Secured $300 (haven't receive yet)/Merrick Bank $750/Total Visa $300/Kohls $300/Lane Bryant $250/Fingerhut $300.

Lane Bryant, Kohls, Cap 1 Quicksilver, and Amex are so new they haven't hit my credit reports yet. I assume once they do, i'll get a bump (please tell me if my assumption is incorrect)

Recent denials: NFCU, BofA Cash Rewards & Travel Rewards (both were offers from their prequal site), NASA CU, PenFed, Amex Everyday (applied yesterday right after I was approved for the Blue Cash card) . I tried Chase and Citibank prequal but no offers. I received a 7-10 letter from Walmart the other day. I've tried the SCT but it never works for me.

My quesiton is should I keep applying for credit or is this sufficient? I haven't really been approved for any cards with big CLs and was hoping I would but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Let me know what you think, thanks!!!

The best thing you could do for your credit scores is to stop applying for new credit for a good long while. The longer the better.

Re: Need advice...

AverageJoesCredit — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 11:56:08 GMT

I'll just add when the time is right, your income will open lots of doors, so be patient. Those high limits will be there in time

Re: Need advice...

EAJuggalo — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 13:17:33 GMT

I would close anything with a fee. Of the cards you listed none of them even come close to giving you value for what they charge you. Use the Discover and that will grow in 6-12 months. Hit up Capital One every six months for an increase. I'm assuming that your new $300 Cap One is actually a Quicksilver One and not a regular Quicksilver, as soon as it hits a year combine it with your Platinum that you should have converted to a regular Quicksilver with no annual fee.

I would expect your score to go down with that many new accounts. Until they age and you can get better limits from your current lenders it's going to be difficult to get high limits elsewhere, except maybe at NFCU.

Re: Need advice...

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 13:27:50 GMT

^^^This

The Amex EveryDay can grow very quickly with responsible use. The $500 limit suggest you're in Amex's version of "Credit Steps." Did you receive an email from Amex outlining what you need to do to get a credit line increase in 6 months?