@UpUpUpwards wrote:
I've been working to aggressively raise my score since my CH 7 discharge in 2/2022. It's been six months and my FICO 8s are 625(TU), 666(EX), and 680 (EQ). They were all in the low to mid 500s after discharge.
I received pre-approvals and was ultimately approved for a Merrick Card ($600 limit) and Mercury Card ($2500), both in June. I have a Sezzle+ account ($250 limit) that reports each month, a KiKOff credit building loan of $120, and another credit building loan of $600 that I started in June. I pay all the cards in full and let about $20 a month report from Sezzle. BUT, this month 900 is reporting on my Mercury account from last month's statement (it's since been paid in full). Despite the usage being reported, this week, I was approved for a $5000k Gold Card through PenFed (they pulled my FICO 9 which was 699). I've been lucky to not have to deal with a secured card. Merrick has a $72 annual fee, but I find it worth it since I don't plan to have it longer than a year. The credit line is set to automatically double in November.
I'm good to go on new accounts for a bit. My plan is to garden until December or January and apply for the JetBlue Plus card. I've never had a Barclays card and think I should be approvable by the end of the year. Then, next year when my secured loan is paid off, I'd like to take a personal loan from PenFed just for the tradeline (I'll put the cash in savings).
The goal is to reach 700 on all FICO 8 scores by the end of 2023. As long as there's no funny business that seems achieveable.
You are doing an amazing job. I would caution you on that Barclay's Jet Blue idea. They are very ornery with BK's. I managed to get an American Airlines card with them around 3 years post discharge, but I had to app over and over. They wouldn't pull my credit due to black list but they limited apps to one a month, so I kept going and I knew they were pushing that card. If you did not burn Barclay's, then you wil get the HP. Be prepared to call them for a recon and have your reasons set out. They like to see a rebuild but not too much new credit. Somebody once described Barclay's as that girlfriend/boyfriend, who really, really loves you, but they still check all the messages on your phone. It's such a wonderful description of Barclay's. I never forgot it. They are fickle AF. But recons are the way in.
You are golden with that $5K Penfed card. You don't need any sub prime or secured cards. But secured cards are far preferable to sub prime cards. Don't poo poo them. I hear people say "I don't want to tie up my money" when they are talking about a crappy little $200 secured card. Really??? A nice dinner at a nice restaurant for two (pretend it's an anniversary) with a couple of cocktails and a decent bottle of wine costs more than $200. You are not "tying up" your money with secured cards. You get 100% of it back, there are no games like sub prime unsecured cards play, and you establish value relationships for a year or two down the road.
But that Penfed card is a great start. Good for you.
