topic Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Rebuilding Your Credit

Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 09:19:27 GMT

Looking for a good store card to try for after Chapter 7. I discharged in February. I have a Fingerhut account, but the prices are so high, they have ungodly interest, and high shipping prices. So we pay 2x as much as we could get the same product elsewhere. Anyway. I'm thinking of the Amazon Secured card but not sure if Synchrony (the bank that backs the card) is bankruptcy friendly. Anyone got this after bankruptcy? I got a self lender, discover, and Fingerhut right after. I recently got an Ollo cc and an auto loan. Looking to close Fingerhut for a better card. Walmart and JC penny are also backed by synchrony. Kohl's is backed by capital one who denied me even for a secured card so I don't think I could get that one. And Kroger is backed by US bank who apparently has a hard 5 year rule when it comes to bankruptcy.

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Shooting-For-800 — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 10:45:03 GMT

I would not open a bunch of store cards.

Look at prequals for Cap One and Discover.

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 11:09:35 GMT

I would just stay the course as you are now. Wait until you hit the one-year post discharge date and then try the prequals at Citi and CapOne. You have enough accounts for now. I don’t know where your balances stand but use the time between now and February 2020 to get into what we call AZEO, all zero except one (tons of info if you search the forum). Then, after the anniversary of discharge, pick up a new card from a major bank and close Fingerhut.

You already have a good card in Discover - tend it well. I’m assuming it’s secured, and if so, proper maintenance will allow it to graduate to unsecured, often with a CLI. Keep that and get one of the two I mentioned. Six months later you can try for another, which by then likely could be an unsecured good card, and you can get rid of Ollo. After that, maintain properly and sky’s the limit!

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 11:11:10 GMT

BTW, Walmart has now transitioned to CapOne, no longer with Synchrony, and they’re doing their typical triple hard pulls even for the store card, so I’d think long and hard whether that’s really worth it. My opinion is you’re much better using your HPs for legit bank cards.

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 11:28:02 GMT

To be clear I am not trying for a bunch of store cards. I only want one, that I will use with everyday purchases, and close Fingerhut. The ones I mentioned are places I shop regularly. I only want one though. I don't think I'll qualify for anything backed by capital one since they won't even give me a secured card. I don't think I'll qualify for one backed by US bank. I mentioned them because they are popular places I DONT think I'll get approved, so I won't even try for those.

Also I keep my utilization very low. My FICO when I applied for Ollo a few weeks ago was 667.

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 11:24:57 GMT

Replace Fingerhut with ONE different store card* cancel Fingerhut

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

FireMedic1 — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 22:34:35 GMT

Honestly I'd hold off on any new accounts. Let them age some. Reason why is..."I got a self lender, discover, and Fingerhut right after. I recently got an Ollo cc and an auto loan." Thats 5 accounts since Feb and should do for a while. If recently was in the past couple months or less. Wait at least 6 months before any more moves. You have plenty for now. Since you have a car loan now. The self lender will help with payment history and thats about it. FICO rebuild stages you only need 1 installment loan. Now the auto loan is your main loan for the next how many months you got it for. Each new account hits your reports and drops your scores a bit. It takes time to get back that was taken away from you each time a new account is opened. Let these age and let time do its thing. JMO I'd wait until next year for that store card and let your rebuild work in your favor. Good Luck!

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 03:21:24 GMT

Sigh, that makes me sad. Yeah, I had no intention of getting an auto loan. That's why I initially got self lender. I bought an older car outright but had total engine failure within 2 months. Fingerhut kills me. Like the bake ware set I want on Fingerhut is $159.99 + $12.99 shipping. Plus interest if I don't pay the card all the way up. Meanwhile, on Amazon the same set is $69.99 no shipping. That's a 100% mark up. It's ridiculous. I have a high CL with them so $170 is less than 10%, they have given me 4 automatic raises already but I just hate them so much. I pay all my cards off every month except this one because I HATE to keep buying things that are marked up 100%+. I'm almost down to a $0 balence so I'll need to get something to keep it open and active. I can pay off my self lender and I'm thinking of doing so since I have the auto loan. Just haven't.

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

FireMedic1 — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 08:07:34 GMT

You dont have to kep buying overpriced stuff to keep Fingerhut open. Let you in on a little secret. In the past over 4 yrs since my DC I havent paid 1 red cent in interest. If you see something you like that would cause you to pay interest. Throw the $ in a savings account. Once you hit what you need to get what you wanted. Then charge it knowing you got the funds to pay for it. You get cash back. And as I say on here. You make a profit from the cash back. You dont lose your profit paying interest. Let the banks pay you for using their card. Dont pay them for using the card. Why have a cash back card and what you earn goes back to pay interest? Make sense? Profit gone. Fingerhut can be closed since you got Disco and Ollo. It will still report as a positive account for the next 10yrs. Then say happy new year. And get the store card that you'll get rewarded for using. Good Luck!

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 09:04:55 GMT

You can just keep Fingerhut open and buy some socks every 4 months or something. That should be enough. You have a Discover It and a Ollo card—they can be used anywhere.

I hesitate to recommend this because I don't think you need to get it, but an Overstock card would be better than Fingerhut. Overstock was my first unsecured card after my credit meltdown. (Which was bad, but not bankruptcy.) I bought the aforementioned socks through Overstock for a good price. To keep the card active I use it once in a while on some small thing that I actually can use and isn't overpriced. Not everything at Overstock is to my liking, but it's no Fingerhut, that's for sure. Overstock (from Comenity bank) also can be generous with CLIs. Not sure how Comenity feels about bankruptcy, though. I don't think they're picky, however—they took me!

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

RehabbingANDBlabbing — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 10:04:39 GMT

I agree with the other posters, you don't really need any more credit right now. The thing that is hurting you is the recency of your bankruptcy. Many lenders will simply deny you because it was so recent. I think your best bet is to just manage your current cards responsbily for at least another year, and then look into applying for some other cards. You really only need 3 credit cards to get an excellent credit score. In my opinion, I think your best bets to try down the road would be a Target credit card, Capital One Platinum or Quicksilver One, BBVA (they have a prequalifier), or maybe your local credit union. I would wait until that bankruptcy hits 2 years before trying for AmEx, Chase, BofA, or Citi. Remember, the prestigiousness of a bank doesn't matter to FICO.

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 10:20:21 GMT

Not sure on Citi or BoA, but for Amex it’s 5 years plus one month post BK before you’ll be considered, and Chase won’t touch you as long as the BK is on your files.

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

FireMedic1 — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 00:33:37 GMT

You may not been around yet. But the SCT died for a while and all apps were HP's. Then there was a tiny spark of it coming back with no HP. Overstock is now a YMMV HP or SP. But again. The OP doesnt need anymore new accounts hit her credit files for a while. Its not the card. Its the non stop hits of new lines of credit that havent even rebounded yet. So with all due respect. No accounts until next year when the OP will be in much better posotion to apply then.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/The-SP-SCT-Alive-Again-DP-Please/td-p/5655276

Re: Store Card after Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 14:44:44 GMT

I was wanting to get one revolving retail account that I want, like, will use. Then nothing else for 2 years. I'd like to spend the next 2 years making good credit history and apply for a mortgage with no new accounts or inquiries.