topic Re: Advice, what should I do? in Credit Cards

Advice, what should I do?

bluesnowman — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:00:25 GMT

Hi Guys,

As you guys have known for the last few months my credit goals have included getting the Chase Freedom and the Amex BCE and some other cards. My question is, should I apply now, or should I resist my temptation and wait it until June, or just go ahead and apply in the upcoming month.

These are the cards I want to try for but I don't know if I would get approved 1. American Express Blue Cash Everyday, 2. Chase Freedom, 3. Chevron Gas card 4. Southwest card (I have heard of people getting approved for lower limits like 2-3k here on the forums but I doubt I would get approved for it. )

5. I am planning to open an IRA soon, and maybe with either Fidelity or T.Rowe Price, If I open with Fidelity, could I possibly go for their card?

6. If I do not get approved for the BCE, I plan to apply for the Delta Gold since I have heard it is the easiest of revolvers to be approved for. The question is, do I qualify for any of the cards I mentioned or at least have a chance at going for them?

I have a total of 3 inquires on EX (Amex, Chase, Citi) 2 on EQ (Amex and AT&T) and 2 on TU (Amex and Discover) and yes Amex did triple pull me.

My EQ as of today is: 723 and my TU scores as of today is: 724. I'm not sure of my Average Age of my accounts, but my BOFA card is my oldest card at 11 months (will be a year on the 25th of next month). I also have no baddies, no PR's, everything's clean. I did try for the Chase Freedom back in November but they told me I did not have accounts open long enough to establish a credit history and I was denied. My Citi and Discover cards were opened in October of last year, while my PRG was opened last November. Credit Seasme also has me at 715. (Fako).

I am a student with about 12,000 income and I have a total of 4 cards all listed in my signature. I want to go for a travel card or a different type of card, but I think It would be doubtful that I would be approved due to my income. I still live at home and all that, but I pay for my tuition, books, gas, phone, and other things that I can pay for, but I am just trying to gauage my chances and see where I would stand. I am also planning to close my PRG before the annual fee hits in November (basically I applied for it becuase I wanted to get my foot in the door with them.)

So that leaves me the key question, what should I do? Should I apply, wait, or just take my chances and see what happens?

Thank you again,

-Snowman

Re: Advice, what should I do?

LS2982 — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:09:36 GMT

I would wait until November when your recent new accounts are a year old and for it.

At least with AMEX its a SP If denied so I would go for that first on the spree.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

bluesnowman — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:20:49 GMT

Ls- Id rather just get all my Apping done in the next few months or so and then garden...lol. I did hear the rule of thumb is to wait for six months and then apply again. do you think my chances are good if I apply or is it looking kind of doubtful?

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:58:31 GMT

The thing is your revolvers aren't even a year old yet. That is going to hurt you. I agree that you should garden for at least another 6 months if not more. My oldest revolver is almost 4 years old and Chase was barking over my short history. I still got approved but with only 10 months of history, you're going to be a hard sell. Good luck whichever route you decide to take.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Rhaeny — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 17:08:31 GMT

@bluesnowman wrote:
Ls- Id rather just get all my Apping done in the next few months or so and then garden...lol. I did hear the rule of thumb is to wait for six months and then apply again. do you think my chances are good if I apply or is it looking kind of doubtful?

Yea we know what want, but do you want the best advice or only what you want to hear? You asked for advice and LS told you...LOL!!

The best thing you can do is wait to increase your odds of getting exactly what you want. We all understand that app temptation, but let it alone for now and just wait.

Trust me, I've been there staring at the submit button for what seemed like eternity contemplating the anticipation of an approval. But its best to keep in mind your ultimate goal and you have defined it, right? So hold on and sit tight.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

bluesnowman — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 01:43:22 GMT

MovingForward-I want to keep myself in the garden, but I would rather want to know and not agonize of going through with it or not. Did you have any baddies or anything like that, that affected your chances of becoming approved for a Chase card? I think you are right it is best to wait, I think maybe until June.

Rhaeny-LOL! It is a tempation because everytime I come back to the forums I see people getting approved for all these cards, and I think to myself I should go for it too, but then again I'd rather keep it clean and apply when it's right, but it really is tempting instead of waiting it out. I do have it defined, but I'd rather not agaonize and to me it is best to know now, rather then not go through with it at all. If it increases of my chances of getting approved in June, then I'm all for waiting it out, but I'd rather not get denied even though everything is clean and I have not opened any accounts in the last 6 months or so. I can be rather impatient..lol....but if it helps me get to my goal cards then I'll gladly wait it out, but if my chances are the same now, then I'd rather apply now and stop the itch..lol.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

LS2982 — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 01:47:08 GMT

Take it from someone who has multiple INQs for the same card......patience is key!!!

Good luck!!!

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 01:49:37 GMT

Are you an AU on a parent's card? What is your oldest reporting tradeline? The 11 month card? Anything that ups your AAoA above a year?

Re: Advice, what should I do?

webhopper — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 02:05:23 GMT

I think you should wait until June. That's my opinion...

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 02:08:41 GMT

I am +1 with LS
Your AAoA is going to be hard for a lender like Chase or Amex just yet.
I should also wait and not apply for anything else. In November start with Chase because they are inq sensitive then turn back for Amex.
Amex will be SP if denied but HP if approved. They are tight about their revolvers.
You are definitely on the right track but AAoA and income are going to make it harder.

Good luck

Re: Advice, what should I do?

09Lexie — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 02:07:23 GMT

Patience is the key. Too many inq's on a thin file will not benefit you. If you manage an approval, chances are the limit will be low.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 02:48:33 GMT

I did. I had a 9.4 year old Ch 7 BK still reporting and that played a significant role. My 4 year revolving history was just barely enough reestablishment. If you have no baddies, it is really a minimum of 1 year revolving history with Chase.

Trying to rush and get things over with is a recipe for disaster. Slow and steady is the way to build your score for the approvals you want. Trust me, the bank is in no rush to approve you. You have to start thinking how the banks think and not go off of what you're telling yourself.

As I have gotten older, I have learned to wait. I want a Discover It but I know my reports aren't in good enough shape yet so I'm waiting until at least Sept. I have a new car, new house, and 4 CCs I am happily gardening. The approvals on here don't push me to apply unless I was already planning to apply soon. I look at the approvals as an accomplishment of another person that I haven't accomplished yet and I think about where my credit needs to be to get the same result and I work on it. This is a marathon not a race.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

09Lexie — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 02:52:20 GMT

Well said Moving! And worth repeating ...'This is a marathon not a race'

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 03:21:15 GMT

Thanks Lexie. It is so true. You live and you learn. What I'm saying and what Lexie agrees with me on is patience comes with experience. Some folks will heed the advice and others will learn the hard way. I was one of those folks that learned the hard way. I got denied so many times that it strapped me in my chair once I realized building and having credit doesn't happen overnight and that I have to be proactive and aware of my credit situation before applying. After I figured that out, I began realizing what the right times to apply are and waiting for those times and it paid off as I got every single approval I wanted. There is a season to app but also there is a season to garden for everyone even if your score is 800. All your newly grown up plants will die if you stop taking time out to garden. Right now I am happily in gardening season. I have a BK that will delete in August and I have 6 INQs on my EQ report that won't begin to fall off until July 2014 but by July 2013 they won't affect my score as much. In Sept., I plan to evaluate whether or not apping for the Discover It is the right thing to do. Whether or not I app will depend on the fruits of my gardening. If it turns out I need to garden a little more, I will. No hurry.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

bluesnowman — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 05:34:48 GMT

Thank you guys for all the responses in this thread so far.

LS- Thank you, I appreciate the advice you have given me in this thread so far

b_seeker- No I am not an AU on my parents card. They both have excellent credit though and they are joint on one card that has a 28k limit, but my dad says it is best to establish credit myself has opposed to being an AU on their cards...they have their reasons i guess...lol. My oldest line is my BOFA card (smallest limit as well.) and I opened that in April of last year. Unfortunately, I cannot think of anything that will bump up my AAOA either..lol.

webhopper- Do you think it will increase my chances if I wait in June. I was orignially planning to apply in the first week of June, but I figured if I have the same chance now that I will in June, I might as well pull the trigger now. But I will definitely keep it in mind.

Pilot- But I did get approved for thir charge cards, so I would think I have a shot at their revolvers as well, which is the reason why I would go for the Delta Gold, because it is the easiest revolver to be approved for. The BCE, I realize, is a pretty hard card to obtain, but I think with my profile, I think I have a reasonable chance now, if I try in June I'd assume I have a better chance of getting approved right? or will it be the same if I go for it now. And yes, I have heard that Chase is pretty inquiry sensitive but I do hope that my 3 inquires on EX and 2 on the other bureau's won't scare them off too much..lol. And yeah I do realize income is going to make it harder, but I'd just being honest and posting my situation as it is right now and if I have a chance at being approved or not.

09Lexie- I agree that it will hurt me. Out of the list of my cards I really want, I really do want the BCE and the Freedom, and then I really don't want any other for a while unless I get denied those two, then I would I apply for the other cards mentioned. And your right, If I do managed to get approved, it probably will be a low CL. My thinking is just If I have the same chance I will in 2 months from now, then why wait. If I get denied in June, I probably would have gotten denied in March/April. That's the only thing, and I other then that I think I have more credit then I need...lol.

Movingforward- I don't have any baddies, my reports are really clean and all the information in first post is as accurate as it can be. The only other reason I was thinking to apply now (other then to find out if it would have been the same chance in June.) is because I have seen cases on the forum here that there have been people getting approved for the Freedom card or a Slate card with 6-12 months of history. I am in no rush, believe me. I just want to see if I would be approved or not, I have read to many stories of people here and on the other boards saying they racked up so many inquires and or ruined their credit early in their lives and it took them many years to make it as good as they have it now. I think it would be best if I heeded your advice, but do you think June would be a reasonable time to apply for the 2 cards I mentioned? cause I really don't want to wait until November..lol. I've been in the garden for four months and my original goal was to go for it in June, I'm not to crazy about going another 5 months in the garden...lol.

But all in all I agree. My goal is to have cards that I have always wanted to attain since I first started building my credit and I am 4/6 of the way there. I just wanted to gauge my chances and see where I stand.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:06:14 GMT

I think you should wait until at least one of your cards is at least a year old. If that puts you in Nov, then that is when you should app. Denials and Recons don't feel good. So not sure why you want to see. I should have waited to app for the Chase Freedom in Sept as well because my starting limit might have been higher but I convinced myself I needed it in support of the new home purchase. $1000 limit was not what I was looking for. Luckily Best Buy came through with $2500 CL so we were able to get the electronics we needed.

Now I'm waiting because I found out through apping that the BK is still a hindrance plus I have lots of new accounts to manage and build good history with. I didn't get denied anything but the 3 week long Chase approval process was not what I wanted to go through. So once my reports are BK free, it will be smooth sailing.

You are your own person. All we can do is tell you what we think is best given your credit profile. Sometimes you have to go through the apping until denied phase in order to be patient until you truly feel optimistic of the outcome. Not saying you will app until denied but you seem very unconvinced of our advice. If you end up apping and get approved, we will be there congratulating you of course.

Starting from the beginning is slow because there is nothing you can do to build history but wait. I didn't app at all from 5/2009 through 10/2010 and from 10/2010 to 7/2012 (no apps) and now from 2/2013 to 9/2013 (no apps). So as you can see, 4 months of no apping really isn't that long. During the times I wasn't apping I was monitoring my reports and scores frequently, paying on time and watching my balances drop and AAOA increase, and just focusing on other life goals other than credit and then one day, my scores soared and I knew it was time for a new car, a mortgage, and 3 more credit cards. I had just one card from 5/2009 through 7/2012. Before 2009, I was a cash only person after filing BK on all the credit cards I had in college. I know next year is going to be my best year ever credit wise.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

bluesnowman — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:56:32 GMT

Movingforward- My oldest cards is going to be a year old on the 25th of next month. And I know the feeling of a denial...I don't like the feeling either. I just wanted to see if there is any difference if I apply now or then. And yeah, I can imagine how the BK is still hurting your reports but you should be good once it is gone. I do seem convinced of your advice and I have decided that I'm going to wait it out until the 25th or should I wait until the first week of June? And then apply. Do you think my chances will be good if I wait until then? And you have done really well since the BK, so congrats to you on your new home and car!

Re: Advice, what should I do?

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:23:28 GMT

Thank you so much...long road...very long road. I'm shocked at how so many folks on the BK forum can be so optimistic right after discharge and they start apping all over the place. I was very humble, and took my dear time as I knew I ended up bankrupt for a reason and I had to work on answering all the whys so I don't end up there again.

I think you will have a slightly better chance in June when your reports show at least one year of revolving history.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

WarJar101 — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:09:36 GMT

@bluesnowman - I got approved for the Delta Skymiles with 7 month credit history, I believe you're in slightly better position than I am as well. I would wait until the 25th of next month and app for the Delta Skymiles. I believe you could obtain it, but they might "triple pull" you like they did me. I hate INQs, but I'm not afraid of them because I'm not planning on getting a mortgage and/or car loan. I live in NYC, with parents while attending school. I know they won't affect me after a yr, and 2yrs time they'll be gone. Maybe then I'll be ready for a car loan or mortgage or something, but right now I'm chillin".

As for the Chase Freedom, I'd leave them alone for right now. They might approve you but with a low limit, like 500 bucks which is infuriating, well at least to me it is. My Strategy advice for you: Get Amex Delta Skymiles, 3x CLI it on the 61st day (from activation), and then 6 months from the last CLI do another 3x CLI. Then apply for the Chase Freedom, they'd see your high limit AMEX and would more than likely give a higher starting limit, it's not guaranteed but it would definitely help your chances there and elsewhere. I'm gardening myself right now after getting a plethora of INQs within 7 months time, lol. I got alot of denials, but I chose to learn the hard way, it's all good though.

Re: Advice, what should I do?

bluesnowman — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 05:44:18 GMT

Movingforward- I do hope I will never have to be in a position where I will have to declare bankruptcy. I have friends whose parents have and it has taken them a long time to reestablish themselves in order to get a mortgage or take out loans, so congrats on your journey, and yes the folks on that forum are rather optimistic..lol. If it increases my chances of getting approved then I am more then happy to wait!

Warjar- I was also triple-pulled when I applied for the PRG back in November (I was not expecting it, but when I found out, I was wondering why they did so, but nevertheless I am happy to be an Amex member.) I do care about the number of inquiries I do get like you and I do my best to plan, but I do my best to apply for cards I want, not cards that I have no need or use for. I also live with my parents, as well as going to school too. And same here, once I am out of school, that will be the next time I will apply after getting any cards in the upcoming few months or so. However, I really do not want the Skymiles card, I really want the BCE. The Delta Skymiles would be my backup card if I didn't get approved for the BCE, and it is the easiest of the Amex revolvers to be approved for. And I'm fine with a small limit, I just care that I am able to be approved for it, I have cards with nicer limits for my income (Citi and Discover, 1,500 is honestly too genereous, my max on both cards that I've charged is like 800-900 on them.) so I would be glad with whatever Chase gives me as a limit, and I'll let it grow. And would Amex really give me a higher limit with my income? and yeah it does look like some of us do learn the hard way....lol. I just really want those two cards and my credit goals are pretty much complete for the next couple of years.