topic Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling in Rebuilding Your Credit

My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 01:19:39 GMT

In 08/2021 I entered a Debt Management Program in which I included Navy Federal, Discover, Synchrony, Wells Fargo, Citi. I paid off all accounts on 04/2024.

Navy Federal: CashRewards for $15,300 and a Platinum for $17,600. I was given 9.99% APR.
Discover: $8000. 5.99% APR
Synchrony: Old Navy Visa $4,200. 0% APR
Wells Fargo: The old student Visa $1500. 0.99% APR.
Citi: Best Buy Visa $4000. 9.99% APR

Consequences:

Navy Federal

While in the program I was not approved for any new credit products, no auto loans, pledge loans, credit cards, and even a mortgage. I was denied for all of those over the years citing "status of accounts w/ navy federal". On 06/2024 (two months after payoff) I applied and was approved for a cashrewards w/ SL $11,000 (I also got the sign up bonus again, first time was in 2018). Today I have the flagship and the cashrewards with $36K and $23K CL respectively.

Synchrony

I kept a Google Store Card during this period and applied for the Paypal Credit in 09/2023 and was approved for $1700 and then on 11/2023 I was approved for the Amazon Store Card w/ SL $1600. Today I have the Paypal Credit w/ $2600 CL, Amazon $10K CL, Verizon Visa $5K CL, Sam's Biz Mastercard $5K CL.

Citi

First Citi card I applied for was a Cotsco Biz Visa and was approved for $4K in 12/2025 and then approved for AAdvantage Platinum Select for $20.5K in 02/2026.

Wells Fargo

I applied for the Bilt 1.0 every 3 months since 04/2024 and was denied every time for various reasons. Maybe blacklisted?

Discover

I do the pre-approval religiously every 3 months and always get the same decision letter w/ only one reason listed "status or past performance of discover accounts." I think I am blacklisted since it's been two years.

American Express

While I did not include AmEx in the program and kept my card open and in good standing. My BCP that I opened in 03/2018 got stuck at the $5K CL. Every single CLI got the same response "delinquent performance and/or participation in credit counseling". I was approved for other cards such as Amazon Biz ($3K SL, 06/2024), Hilton Surpass ($1K SL, 06/2024), BBC ($2K, 09/2024), Hilton Aspire ($3.7K, 12/2024), Hilton ($1K 04/2025). Every single one of them ineligible for credit line increases. On 01/2026 I received an automatic 3X increase on my BCP (first CLI I have ever received from Amex) from $1.1K to $3.3K and when I applied for a BBP I was approved for $9K SL. I think credit counseling affects you negatively w/ Amex for about 2 years, even if you do not include them.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

sto0pyd — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 03:23:54 GMT

Thanks for sharing! I've only heard unsuccessful stories, so it's good to see successful ones! While in the program, how low did your credit score go?

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 05:14:34 GMT

Since all my cards but a couple cards were closed. My utilization went over 100%. It went from 650 to 596. As soon as I added credit lines it went up to 680. Today is 750s

to be clear this was not one of those debt settlement programs. I still paid every cent I ever used on the cards, just less total interest. (About $47K on interest saved)

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

JoeRockhead — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:04:24 GMT

@BankDealer wrote:
to be clear this was not one of those debt settlement programs. I still paid every cent I ever used on the cards, just less total interest. (About $47K on interest saved)

Thank you for clarifying for those looking into this path that this was a legit DMP and not a scamming "debt relief" program.

Congratulations on your success, and keep up the good work!

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

pizzadude — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:49:25 GMT

Congrats on completing your DMP and paying off around $50K of debt, that's great

Interesting that Navy only lowered your APR down to 9.9%, that's not too much lower than their advertised best rate.

It makes sense that you'd generally be denied by other creditors whilst in the DMP payback period, as noted they can see your other accounts marked as being included in a hardship / DMP plan which is viewed negatively.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

ibpnyc — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:42:22 GMT

I would be interested in knowing your approach / service used. I am in communication but not committed with MMI and looking for ways to get out of roughly $50k. That isn't my total debt but the cards that are drowing me at the moment.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:38:58 GMT

I used ACCC. Make sure whatever company you use is a non-profit. ACCC first did an interview with me for about an hour and made a budget. A requirement is that you are at least 1 dollar positive for you to be able to get into the program, if you are not positive then they refer you for BK. (Tip: you can say I receive x amount from x person for support). After that they pull your credit report and confirm with you your minimum payments. They charge a $30 enrollment fee + 5 dollars per account managed (enrollment fee can be waived and 5 dollars can drop to 1 if you ask).

After that they send a proposal to the creditors and then they receive payment from you on the 1st and distribute to the creditors by the 10th.

Two things I wish I would've known and done.

1) As part of the program all accounts enrolled will be closed. (I would recommend you reach out to the issuer of your best credit card and enroll that card in a hardship program yourself to avoid getting the account closed). I wish I would've called the banks and closed the cards myself instead of letting ACCC request closure. If you do it yourself your credit report will reflect "Closed at consumer's request" rather than "Closed by credit grantor".

2) Out of all the creditors only discover has given me issues. If you want to continue a relationship with discover do not enroll it in the program, even if you end up declining their offer they will close your account and ban you.

You can DIY this yourself but this is a nice way to have one monthly payment and all the agreements handled for you.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

ibpnyc — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 20:21:29 GMT

Thank you for sharing all of that...this is extremely helpful, especially the practical details people don’t usually talk about.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

E36 — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:54:54 GMT

Amazing story.

My journey started in 2022 and I am no where near where you are in your 4-5 year mark.

I wish I went through the Credit Counseling / DMP route.
Instead I went through a paid Debt Settlement Company. They tell you to burn everyone. They handle the communication and negotiation. They hold your money for negotiations. They take a significant cut.

After going through that and seeing all the fees the Debt Settlement Company charged, I realized I could've settled several accounts in full, rather than settle for less.

Because of this, I'm still on Citi's bad list and I could be a lot further ahead. Synchrony let me back in, but I have a charge off on my report for 7 years. And as you can see in my profile, my TCL is moderate and my scores are being held back from 5 charge offs despite having 4% or less utilization.

If people are deciding between Ch.7, Debt Management Program and Debt Settlement Companies. I recommend exploring Debt Management programs and Ch.7 first.

Hindsight is 20/20 and I was overwhelemd and not able to think. But if I were to recommend advice, it's to explore different options.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 19:39:12 GMT

@E36 those Debt Settlement companies are hounds. I realized that I was in deep trouble when I continue to receive letters and calls from these places, also seeing targeted ads for these companies as I desperately searched for a consolidation loan, as I "didn't have problems" meeting the minimums plus adding some to the payments. I used to tell myself that I just needed to have one monthly payment in order to have less stress. One night talking to one of the companies I tell the representative "is this one of those shady settlement companies? I am not looking to default on my creditors!", the person responded "for somebody that has over $50K on credit card debt at 21 is not like you have many options". Man, that was a BIG wake up call. $50,600 debt with an average 22.5% interest. My payments were about $1350 on a $4000/month salary.

Then I found about credit counseling from the good people of reddit and I saved $47K on interest payments and so many years of pain and suffering.

Credit Scores aren't that important as long as you are in a good and peaceful financial state. I see you have really good quality cards, so work on building those CLs. I didn't start getting high credit limits until this year, w/ citi surprising me with 22.5K followed by bofa with the same.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

E36 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 22:01:21 GMT

@BankDealer wrote:
@E36

Man, that was a BIG wake up call. $50,600 debt with an average 22.5% interest. My payments were about $1350 on a $4000/month salary.

Navy Federal: CashRewards for $15,300 and a Platinum for $17,600. I was given 9.99% APR.
Discover: $8000. 5.99% APR
Synchrony: Old Navy Visa $4,200. 0% APR
Wells Fargo: The old student Visa $1500. 0.99% APR.
Citi: Best Buy Visa $4000. 9.99% APR

What was your monthly payment? How did you tackle it?

We are similar. I had around $35K adding one card from P2.

Did you have credit cards and did you use them for those 2.5 years? I see that you kept an Amex in good standing during that time.

Do you have any derogs going on the program? What's your FICO like?

I like the cards in your signature.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 03:42:16 GMT

What was your monthly payment? How did you tackle it?
- Before going into the program I was paying about $1350, the program reduce the payments to $785. So the extra money that was no longer going to interest I put it to the cards with the highest interest. I paid them in this order: Best Buy, Navy Fed Plat, Navy Fed CashRewards, Wells Fargo, Discover, and then Old Navy.

Did you have credit cards and did you use them for those 2.5 years? I see that you kept an Amex in good standing during that time.
- I did, I got the Apple Card w/ my former P2 on 09/2021 and a PenFed Gold on 11/2021 + my Amex BCP. I enrolled the Amex BCP on a hardship program (5K balance, they set the min payment to $89 w/ a 5 year horizon) so I didn't have spending privilages until I paid it off on 07/2022. On 01/2022 I got a $700 limit Sable One Secured Card (RIP) and a CapOne Platinum Secured Card $200 limit. Once I paid of the CashRewards on 09/2023 I applied for the PayPal Credit and was approved.

Do you have any derogs going on the program? What's your FICO like?

- Because I suddenly had $50K balance with all my accounts close and no underlying line of credit my score went down from 09/2021 651, 09/2022 599, 09/2023 622 (202% Utilization), 04/2024 (accounts report as paid of) 683 (47% util), 09/2024 679 (46% util, $40,100 credit limit). 09/2025 692 (15% util $91,500 credit limit) and then 02/2025 742 (5% util $137,950 credit limit).

As soon as my util went down my score shot up. I didn't have any negative remarks or lates, some accounts were notated as "Account payments managed by a financial counseling program" but they are all paid as agreed/never late.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

E36 — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 07:43:00 GMT

@BankDealer wrote:
What was your monthly payment? How did you tackle it?
- Before going into the program I was paying about $1350, the program reduce the payments to $785. So the extra money that was no longer going to interest I put it to the cards with the highest interest. I paid them in this order: Best Buy, Navy Fed Plat, Navy Fed CashRewards, Wells Fargo, Discover, and then Old Navy.

Did you have credit cards and did you use them for those 2.5 years? I see that you kept an Amex in good standing during that time.
- I did, I got the Apple Card w/ my former P2 on 09/2021 and a PenFed Gold on 11/2021 + my Amex BCP. I enrolled the Amex BCP on a hardship program (5K balance, they set the min payment to $89 w/ a 5 year horizon) so I didn't have spending privilages until I paid it off on 07/2022. On 01/2022 I got a $700 limit Sable One Secured Card (RIP) and a CapOne Platinum Secured Card $200 limit. Once I paid of the CashRewards on 09/2023 I applied for the PayPal Credit and was approved.

Do you have any derogs going on the program? What's your FICO like?

- Because I suddenly had $50K balance with all my accounts close and no underlying line of credit my score went down from 09/2021 651, 09/2022 599, 09/2023 622 (202% Utilization), 04/2024 (accounts report as paid of) 683 (47% util), 09/2024 679 (46% util, $40,100 credit limit). 09/2025 692 (15% util $91,500 credit limit) and then 02/2025 742 (5% util $137,950 credit limit).

As soon as my util went down my score shot up. I didn't have any negative remarks or lates, some accounts were notated as "Account payments managed by a financial counseling program" but they are all paid as agreed/never late.

That's amazing. You really put in some extra to pay it of early!

I actually tracked the day you and I entered our respective programs:

Jul 2022	?		Sep 21	651
Jul 2023	508	$1.5K	Sep 22	599
Jul 2024	640	$5.6K	Sep 23	622
Feb 2025	683	$9.8K	Apr 24	683
Jul 2025	682	$18.8K	Sep 24	679	$40.1K
Feb 2026	692	$35.8K	Apr 25
Jul 2026			Sep 25	692	$91.5K
Dec 2026			Feb 26	742	$137.95K

Our FICO scores are very similar in our journey. But you CC aprovals and SL/CL are a lot higher.

Does the CL Include Business Cards? I don't think I'll hit 740s by December. My utilization has been less than 4%. I think I can bump up maybe another 10-20 points as my hard inquiries fade and fall off and maybe ont he 4 year anniversary of the derog.

Also do you make a lot more than $4K now? It probably would help if I had two NavyFed cards (but i'll apply for one after I garden and get my individual cards past the $10K and maybe $20K mark.

Your signature is giving me ideas:
- Amex Blue for Business (though I have an attachment to Prime, I'm a sucker for metal cards, also Blue has FTF)

- Id like Chase Ink Unlimited again one day. (although it has FTF, a big reason I'd want a Visa in the first place)

If you don't mind me asking, what is your CL on the US Bank Cash+? I heard they are conservative in CC.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 16:08:39 GMT

Period	Date	CS	TCL	Util	Date	CS	Total Debt	TCL	Utili
Start	Jul 2023	508	$1.5K		Sep 2021	651	$53,010	$39,724	129%
12-mo	Jul 2024	640	$5.6K		Sep 2022	599	$67,235	$39,724	211%
19-mo	Feb 2025	683	$9.8K		Apr 2023	600	$57,120	$30,210	189%
24-mo	Jul 2025	682	$18.8K		Sep 2023	626	$50,577	$26,910	188%
31-mo	Feb 2026	692	$35.8K		Apr 2024	683	$13,107	$26,660	49%
36-mo	Jul 2026				Sept 2024	722	$6,073	$40,100	15%
48-mo	Jul 2027				Sep 25	692	$13,567	$91,500	15%
53-mo	Dec 2027				Feb 26	742	$6,980	$137.95K	5%

I added more info to the table. CL does not include biz cards. My US Bank story is actually funny, I went to their website chasing a $400 bonus for their checking account, however my state is out of their footprint (I didn't know this) when I called to ask why was my application for a bank account denied they told me that. They also told me that if I got another product such as a credit card or CD I could then apply since I would have a relationship with them. When looking at their card offerings (and reading that they were very conservative) I saw the Cash+ secured card. I thought to myself "this has to be a glitch, this card is broken!", anyways I applied the secure route w/ a $500 security deposit and then increase it to $1K. They graduated me on November 2025 but kept me at the 1K CL. I get over $400 cashback a year from that card and the biz + personal checking bonus more than paid off for the $1K security deposit.

If you have a way to get the navy fed membership don't wait, get the secured card w/ a $200 deposit. At 3 months it will grow to $700 and then at 6 months it will grad at $2K and from there you can grow it. I have done it for at least 7 people around me and it has been like clockwork. Also they care more about relationship than credit score, putting your direct deposit there will get you approved for another card while you have the secure card. (One of my siblings had the secure card and we applied for the unsecured cashrewards and he got approved for $12K, that was his second credit card at 18 w/ $32K income, the first one being the secured card).

Also I see on your siggy that you are interested in the flagship, I suggest you go for the MoreRewards or the CashRewards. I got denied for the flagship SO. MANY. TIMES. They only approved me when I moved a significant amount of assets to a CD there that they relented. I tried product changing, suggesting to move credit limit from my cashrewards to help the approval and nothing, they wouldn't approve me (even when the prequal said I was prequald). I got so many inquiries on my transunion from Navy Fed chasing that dang card.

One last thing is that I don't know if you have heard of Skyla. They have a metal card and they are generous w/ their SL. They are not as baddie sensitive but they are recent account sensitive. I got denied for 4 cards in 6 months. My friend w/ a couple 2+ year old baddies got approved for $12K SL and he was 2/12 (cards). I don't have data points on CLI yet.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

E36 — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:27:06 GMT

Period	Date	CS	Balance	TCL	Util	Date	CS	Total Debt	TCL	Utili
Start	Jul 2023	508	$24,792	$0K	-	Sep 2021	651	$53,010	$39,724	129%
12-mo	Jul 2024	640	$15,082	$5.6K	269% 9%	Sep 2022	599	$67,235	$39,724	211%
19-mo	Feb 2025	683	$1,016	$9.8K	10%	Apr 2023	600	$57,120	$30,210	189%
24-mo	Jul 2025	682	$1,378	$12.8K	11%	Sep 2023	626	$50,577	$26,910	188%
31-mo	Feb 2026	692	$1,063	$35.8K	3%	Apr 2024	683	$13,107	$26,660	49%
36-mo	Jul 2026					Sept 2024	722	$6,073	$40,100	15%
48-mo	Jul 2027					Sep 25	692	$13,567	$91,500	15%
53-mo	Dec 2027					Feb 26	742	$6,980	$137.95K	5%

I updated with my Experian. Utilization (Experian calculates utilization on open lines on the website 9% on July 2024 despite having a total debt of $15K). I've also updated CL based on report. I had cards, but CL wasn't reported until later.

@BankDealer wrote:

My US Bank story... They graduated me on November 2025 but kept me at the 1K CL. I get over $400 cashback a year from that card and the biz + personal checking bonus more than paid off for the $1K security deposit.

How long did it take to graduate?

@BankDealer wrote:
If you have a way to get the navy fed membership don't wait, get the secured card w/ a $200 deposit. At 3 months it will grow to $700 and then at 6 months it will grad at $2K and from there you can grow it. I have done it for at least 7 people around me and it has been like clockwork. Also they care more about relationship than credit score, putting your direct deposit there will get you approved for another card while you have the secure card. (One of my siblings had the secure card and we applied for the unsecured cashrewards and he got approved for $12K, that was his second credit card at 18 w/ $32K income, the first one being the secured card).

Also I see on your siggy that you are interested in the flagship, I suggest you go for the MoreRewards or the CashRewards. I got denied for the flagship SO. MANY. TIMES. They only approved me when I moved a significant amount of assets to a CD there that they relented. I tried product changing, suggesting to move credit limit from my cashrewards to help the approval and nothing, they wouldn't approve me (even when the prequal said I was prequald). I got so many inquiries on my transunion from Navy Fed chasing that dang card.

One last thing is that I don't know if you have heard of Skyla. They have a metal card and they are generous w/ their SL. They are not as baddie sensitive but they are recent account sensitive. I got denied for 4 cards in 6 months. My friend w/ a couple 2+ year old baddies got approved for $12K SL and he was 2/12 (cards). I don't have data points on CLI yet.

I have a NavyFed membership and savings account. P2 has NavyFed CashRewards. You are right it went from $200 --> ? --> $2000 --> $3000. Trying to get it pass the $5K mark.

I've been getting preapproved offers in the mail for CashRewards or CashRewards Plus. Would they CLI with less than $100 a month spend? I do plan on getting it when CS and profile is better, hoping for a strong high SL. I want to get Amex, AAA Daily, and Atmos Rewards to over $10K before getting NavyFed. What do you think?
I plan on combining my Capitalone Cards, so that is an automatic $10K, I'm just waiting to see if Capital One will auto CLI next month, before I request to combine cards.

THANK YOU for the advice about Flagship and saving me from Hard Inquiries. I though It's be able to PC. I'm leaning towards Cash Rewards... or Maybe More Rewards. We will see when I cross that bridge. I think a 2%CB will help round me out.

One last thing is that I don't know if you have heard of Skyla. They have a metal card and they are generous w/ their SL. They are not as baddie sensitive but they are recent account sensitive. I got denied for 4 cards in 6 months. My friend w/ a couple 2+ year old baddies got approved for $12K SL and he was 2/12 (cards). I don't have data points on CLI yet.

I have heard of Skyla (on Reddit), I do love metal cards and I like how it looks (trivial, I know but it's the little things).So if it's a better alternative to the metal US Bank Smartly (Which it looks like it!), I may look into it. Looks like Skyla FTF is 1%. NavyFed is 0% FTF. How is Skyla UI? App?

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:13:22 GMT

@E36 wrote:
.....
How long did it take to graduate?

US Bank opened on October 2024 Graduated November 2025.

@E36 wrote:
Would they CLI with less than $100 a month spend? I do plan on getting it when CS and profile is better, hoping for a strong high SL. I want to get Amex, AAA Daily, and Atmos Rewards to over $10K before getting NavyFed. What do you think?

They do, they want so see some activity. My last CLI was from $28K to $36K on the Flagship that I only put $70 monthly spend (gym subscription, I hate waiting to 5000 points to redeem so I just sock-drawered the card). Anecdotally, two close people to me opened the secured card and didn't use it. The card did not get the 3 month CLI increase or the 6 month graduation. Once they used it for 2 months in a row (statements cutting w/ a balance) they graduated automatically to $2K.

Also, I wouldn't wait to grow your CLs with other lenders, start your relationship with Navy Fed today. If able, set a portion of your DD to your savings account and open an Easy Checking. Wait about a month and apply for the CashRewards. If they decline do the $200 Secured Card. Anecdotally, I don't think NF even looks at other CLs. My very first card was a CashRewards on 2018 with SL $15,600. After I opened a Discover w/ SL of $1K and the AmEx BCP w/ 5K SL. Later on November 2018 I opened the NFCU Platinum and they approved me for $17,600. Disregarding the other lenders. Two other individuals around me, one had a CashRewards stuck at $1K CL since he opened in 2021 and they would reject his CLI request. He had a couple 30s (6 to be exact) and we pulled the trigger and he got approved for the MoreRewards w/ 9K SL. Yet another loved one with a couple baddies less than a month old (2 30s, 1 60) I had him apply after he got the membership, got denied, did the Secured Card, and it unlocked like clockwork. 3 months $700 6 months $2000 and then got an auto cli to $3K. That's his largest Credit Line and mind you the baddies are not even 1 year old yet.

If it has been a while and P2's card is stuck at $3K just apply for another card (the MoreRewards). I have a feeling they'll approve for $9K based on my anecdata hahaha.

I have heard of Skyla (on Reddit), I do love metal cards and I like how it looks (trivial, I know but it's the little things).So if it's a better alternative to the metal US Bank Smartly (Which it looks like it!), I may look into it. Looks like Skyla FTF is 1%. NavyFed is 0% FTF. How is Skyla UI? App?

The app is very basic, I hadn't notice the FTF, I just use travel cards overseas (will be using the Atmos Summit since it has 3X on Foreign Spend). $200 SUB on $1K spend makes this card awesome.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

ibpnyc — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:59:42 GMT

So I still have a proposal from MMI but wondering if the DMP approach is better than the snowball method. My fear is I have never missed any payments regardless of my struggles and yes the debt is high and my interest and monthly is high but what do I consider when making this decision? Their proposal saves me about $500 a month on 5 cards only and would take about 5 years to complete.

**adding this edit

I just got off with Wells and they are telling me that my account cannot be in good standing for any hardship programs to happen so I would basically have to miss payments and default on the account. How is this any better than just using a DMP service in you opinion?

**new edit

Seems I was wrong. I called back after using ChatGPT for some information and it all came down to saying the right things. When I called back I basically said "I have never missed a payment but my balances have become unmanageable due to high interest. I want to avoid default and am asking about hardship or workout programs.” I was able to get 2 cards down to 1% for 12 months and the acct will be suspended during that time. I used the same approach for my Macy's which is down to 0%, closed by consumer status for 54 months. I wish Barclays would participate in something similar but they always refer me to MMI.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 16:41:21 GMT

@ibpnyc

I just checked out MMI and looks like a legit company. I'm glad you were able to work out the language with ChatGPT, you gotta be very specific so they enroll you in hardship relief. Saving $500 a month means you can put let's say $200 extra towards paying your debt instead of wasting away on interest. I would like to give you a more personalized personal (non professional) opinion of what I would do if I were in your shoes, would you mind sharing what cards, credit limit, balance, and interest rate?

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

E36 — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 01:34:09 GMT

@BankDealer wrote:
Also, I wouldn't wait to grow your CLs with other lenders, start your relationship with Navy Fed today. If able, set a portion of your DD to your savings account and open an Easy Checking. Wait about a month and apply for the CashRewards.

I opened a Navy Fed Savings account in April 2024. Starting a few months ago, they started sending me a nice big green promo offer for Cash Rewards with $200 SUB with $2,500 spend and 0% APR and 0% balance with promo code.

What do you think about my new accounts 3/6, 5/12, 7/24 affecting acceptance and SL?
Velocity ( I don't want to signal risk or seem to thirsty):
07/27 - Capital One QS
08/25 - Amex BCE
10/25 - Apple
12/25 - AAA Daily Rewards
02/26 - BofA Atmos Ascent

My personal CC spend is around $1K a month and right now I'm allocating it to get the Atmos Rewards SUB which will be done in May. I won't have enough spend for $200 SUB with NavyFed Cash Rewards.

Should I wait until July or August?

In August, I will be 0/6, 3/12, 7/24. TCL will be higher, Utilization should be same or lower.

Re: My Experience w/ DMP a.k.a Credit Counseling

BankDealer — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 01:57:49 GMT

@E36 Since you are currently working on a SUB I would wait then.