topic Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012 in Credit Cards

Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:17:11 GMT

Greetings, fellow credit gardeners! We’re starting a new month, so it’s time to start a new thread. I hereby convene the April meeting of the myFICO Garden Club.

For those who are new to the concept of gardening, it involves refraining from applying for new credit or seeking CLIs that require hard pulls. Soft pulls CLIs, however, are not only acceptable, but are encouraged. The idea is to allow one's current TLs to grow and mature, waiting for inqs to age or fall off, and possibly waiting for "baddies" to be removed or age off. During this time, one tends to one's current accounts and watches their AAoA grow and the new credit ding fade.

So, if you're at the stage of your credit journey where you're ready to enter the garden, please come and join us. You may pick up your complientary watering can and garden gloves by the front door -- you can even choose your favorite color! We're proud to offer a well appointed clubhouse. There is a snack table set up. This month, we have boneless honey BBQ wings, courtesy of LS (thank you!), and a selection mini-quiches to make Revelate happy. Please feel free to bring and add any items that you'd like. There's also a selection of cold beers and soft drinks. And, in the corner diagonally across from the front door, there is a fully stocked bar. If needed, there are some anti-itch medications stocked in our supply cabinet near the door -- Lanacaine, Benedryl, etc. And... we've just added a freezer, located next to the bar, so that you can place your reports in there, if needed.

Come on in and make yourself comfortable. Make a gardening plan and commit to sticking with it. Are you planning to wait six months before applying for additional credit? A year? Until the last of your baddies drop off? Whatever your goal, we're here to support you. If you feel the "app-itch" coming on, let us know and we'll try to help you through it.

Now, if you happen to leave the garden prematurely, that’s your decision and we respect that. You are always welcome to come back, pick up your gardening tools and start over again. But please, celebrate any approvals on another thread. While we are happy with members’ success stories, we really do want to keep this thread’s focus and tone to be consistent with gardening efforts. You are certainly welcome to celebrate soft CLIs on this thread, though, as they do not involve inqs or apps for new credit.

So, how's everyone's garden looking this month?

I’m happy to report that I received a $500 soft CLI on my JCP card last month, bringing my total CL up to $2300. So, this is the current view of my garden:

Cap1 Visa Platinum - 6400 CL

Cap1 NHCR MC - 750 CL

Dillard's Amex - 4200 CL

JC Penney - 2300 CL

Kay Jewelers - 5100 CL

Amex Green - NPSL

And, my two newest cards (not counting the backdated Amex that I got last May) will reach their one year anniversary on April 1, and I’m very excited at seeing that all of my accounts now have a minimum age of a year! I do have closed accounts on my reports that go back to the late 90s and early 2000s, I’ve had my Cap1 Visa active since 1999, and my Amex Green is backdated to 1987. So, my AAoA is pretty decent. But it feels so good to see the newer accounts gain age and history! It feels good for the new account “ding” to go away!

So, how's everyone else doing? Please feel free to share and mingle!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Sassy_Taurus — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:32:30 GMT

Hello, I'm new to the forums. On the long road of rebuilding my credit. I was just approved last week for 2 rebuilding cards, so I'll be tending to my garden for the next 9 months.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:44:47 GMT

@Sassy_Taurus wrote:
Hello, I'm new to the forums. On the long road of rebuilding my credit. I was just approved last week for 2 rebuilding cards, so I'll be tending to my garden for the next 9 months.

Welcome to both the forums and the club!

I've been rebuilding my credit, too, so I can relate. My Cap1 MC is a rebuilder, and I was just able to say goodbye to Orchard and First Premier last year. Rebuilder cards are very helpful, because they give you an opportunity for a fresh start. When used properly, you'll have accounts free of baddies reporting to the CRAs. Time heals all credit wounds, so with time past problems factor into your scores less and your new, clean history starts to become more significant. Take good care of your new seedlings, and they will pay off for you in the end. Good luck and best wishes on your journey!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Smug — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:47:39 GMT

Starting my 4th month......

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:48:39 GMT

@Smug wrote:
Starting my 4th month......

Woo, hoo!!! WTG!!!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

TNTransplant — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:30:26 GMT

Still here...

No apps since December, 2011, and score up about 20 points since January.

Working on decreasing my high utilization this year.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:46:37 GMT

I'm checking in and proud to report I've received a $2K cli with Discover and it was a SP! I've had the card for almost 6 years, and thus is the first increase! All my credit scores are I the 720's so I increased my goal to 760. At this point, only time can help me get there. So cheers to all of my neighbors in the garden!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:56:48 GMT

I now have a USAA World MC, AmEx BCP, BofA 123, Discover More, Target, and as of last month, Chase Freedom & Sapphire Preferred. That's pretty much everything I could ever use, with the possible exception of a 5% gas card. But I'm in no hurry for that, I'm waiting at least 6 months for the new account smell to wear off of my FICO so it can get back above 800. Heck, I might just wait another 2 years for all the inq's to fall off. The other reason I'm not in a hurry for anything anymore is because I'm military and I have been at my base for almost 4 years, which is when they start to think about moving people, so I might have a mortgage in the works before I know it.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:06:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I now have a USAA World MC, AmEx BCP, BofA 123, Discover More, Target, and as of last month, Chase Freedom & Sapphire Preferred. That's pretty much everything I could ever use, with the possible exception of a 5% gas card. But I'm in no hurry for that, I'm waiting at least 6 months for the new account smell to wear off of my FICO so it can get back above 800. Heck, I might just wait another 2 years for all the inq's to fall off. The other reason I'm not in a hurry for anything anymore is because I'm military and I have been at my base for almost 4 years, which is when they start to think about moving people, so I might have a mortgage in the works before I know it.

That's an awesome set of cards! Great score hopefully I can make it into the 800 club. Thanks for fighting for our country! Good luck on getting the mortgage.. I believe with those scores you'd have absolutely no problem

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:09:05 GMT

Btw I've been gardening for 6 whole days now .. Though I feel like I need to apply for a citi card and rid myself of my low 300 dollar cap one and Macy's lol the temptation!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

clocktick — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:11:07 GMT

smug - where is that screenshot from??

I am entering the Garden Club for, right now, for 2 months. Do CLIs count if they're a HP?

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

crunching_numbers — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:41:24 GMT

clocktick- that was a CreditKarma screenshot.

I just started gardening after an app spree. I needed some 0% cards to help get my debts down while I garden, and i needed Walmart for the FICO.

OK- I didn't need Walmart, I wanted Walmart for the FICO. I will be here for a while. Cards are in my sig below.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

adavis425 — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:48:52 GMT

Hi all. I'll put the baked beans beside the wings. Got the NFCU Visa and CSP in the past two months so I think I will garden for about 6 months. Hadn't planned on it, but can't hurt. No cards I want/need right now aside from the AMEX BCP and they've turned me down twice in two months.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:09:48 GMT

Hello All,

This is my ninth day of gardening after being denied for Amex Zync and freedom for limited history. I currently have BOA secured 123 at $1000.00 Cap one builder at $300, and Wells Fargo college card at $500.00 Mu utilization is 1%. My AAOA is at 4 months (Cap 1 and Wells Fargo are 7 months and BOA opened few days ago). My Fico TU is 715, How long do you guys think I should garden before apping for those cards again? I have about 5 HP.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Sassy_Taurus — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:53:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Sassy_Taurus wrote:
Hello, I'm new to the forums. On the long road of rebuilding my credit. I was just approved last week for 2 rebuilding cards, so I'll be tending to my garden for the next 9 months.

Welcome to both the forums and the club!

I've been rebuilding my credit, too, so I can relate. My Cap1 MC is a rebuilder, and I was just able to say goodbye to Orchard and First Premier last year. Rebuilder cards are very helpful, because they give you an opportunity for a fresh start. When used properly, you'll have accounts free of baddies reporting to the CRAs. Time heals all credit wounds, so with time past problems factor into your scores less and your new, clean history starts to become more significant. Take good care of your new seedlings, and they will pay off for you in the end. Good luck and best wishes on your journey!

Thank you, I'm definitely learning a lot here. My hands are firmly planted in the soil and Im ready for my journey.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:58:43 GMT

I've just moved into gardening phase. I'd like to just let everything sit for about 6 months and then maybe try for another card.

My cards are in my signature. I PIF the store cards as soon as the balance posts and my capital one card currently has a $500 balance. Only reason it has a balance is that I had to pay off a temporary loan from my college. I got a temporary loan as we didn't want to touch our cash until the house closed. Just my husband is on the mortgage application, so we're letting that balance stay until we know for sure what our closing costs are going to be. They keep saying 2 more weeks, but, I've heard that for a month now.. I hope it's soon as I would much prefer my balance under $100 at any given time. Utilization is around 28% at the moment. but, should be back around 6% or so as soon as we close on a house.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:07:10 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello All,

This is my ninth day of gardening after being denied for Amex Zync and freedom for limited history. I currently have BOA secured 123 at $1000.00 Cap one builder at $300, and Wells Fargo college card at $500.00 Mu utilization is 1%. My AAOA is at 4 months (Cap 1 and Wells Fargo are 7 months and BOA opened few days ago). My Fico TU is 715, How long do you guys think I should garden before apping for those cards again? I have about 5 HP.

I say in 5 months if you keep up the good payment history on your current cards you'd be set! My AAoA was 9 months and my oldest card was 1 yr and 2 months before Amex approved me and your TU Fico was about the same as mine! Good luck and keep up the good work!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Open123 — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:08:35 GMT

Will be gardening the next 3 months meeting the spend requirements on some new cards.

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:46:31 GMT

Just relaxing this month per the usual. Another collections popped up on my CR last month (comcast says I didn't make my last payment or return the cable box ). It's a $523 bill from like 3 years ago. Doesn't look like it's gonna be too painful. Already called them to arrange payment. Just waiting for confirmation that they are gonna remove the CA from my report after I pay the bill. Does put a kink into my goal plans of paying off my USAA closed account by Aug...looks like it'll probably be September now.

Also, I called a bank I had a loan with to pay off a charged off account before another CA popped up on my report. It's still in house it seems (after 2 years...I was surprised), so that's a good thing.

Racked up my utilization last month as I went to Japan for a few days for work. No big deal as I'll get reimbursed...just sucks I won't get reimbursed before the statements cut. No worries though...I'll get it empty before next month.

Good luck gardening everybody!

Re: Garden Club Meeting - April 2012

DrJim — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:12:06 GMT

My last app was nine months ago, although there is an inq for being the responsible party for my college-age daughters apartment next Fall.

My NFCU hit a year and they increased the CL to $18K

So, my cards are:

NFCU $18K

AMEX Delta Gold Skymiles $18K

WF $15.5K

Care Credit $3,500