I've been reading the many threads and guides on this board about recovering after a BK, how to build to a 700 post-BK, etc. I greatly appreciate everyone for the wealth of knowledge they have helped build here. However, it's all a little overwhelming for me. 
The date for creditors to object to my BK7 DC was Monday, 5/17. I spoke with my attorney today (5/18) and was told the DC should be issued very soon - any point between now and 30 days from today. So I'm gearing up to pull reports, verify accuracy, and then begin to rebuild my credit history -- and I am a little unsure of which path to take.
I haven't pulled FICO scores yet, but my Credit Karma FAKO is showing 697 TU and 648 EQ. I burned AMEX, Citi, NFCU (this still hurts), and Synchrony (PayPal Credit). I have GOOD (albeit closed, but still contributing to AAoA... if they factor in, that is) accounts from AMEX (AU), Barclays (AU), Cap One (ind. and AU), Citi (AU), Synchrony (ind.), and USAA (ind.). I have two student loans in good shape, a previous auto loan from PenFed, and my current auto loan thru Chase that is reaffirmed and never late -- will be PIF this autumn when I sell the car as part of moving to a big city.
I ran thru the CapOne pre-qualifer and I'm actually pre-approved for multiple products:
- Platinum MC, 0% intro APR for 9 mths (26.99% after), $0 AF
- QS1 Rewards MC, 26.99% APR, $39 AF
- Secured MC, 26.99% APR, does not clarify if $49/99/200 deposit unless I app
Discover pre-qualifer denied me, got the letter in the mail and the only reason listed was "BANKRUPTCY." Not even going to bother with Citi for obvious reasons. Unfortunately thanks to me, I'm on the NFCU blacklist now.
Should I go for the CapOne Platinum since that's unsecured and I have a pre-approval? Should I do secured? I was looking into SDFCU and their secured card but I'm confused on if you can be denied for that, or if so long as you put money in the account BEFORE applying you're golden...
I would ideally like to get something that is a VISA card, as I'll probably use the card once a month or so for my gas or my prescriptions at Costco, which is VISA-only. But if I can't get something thru VISA, not the end of the world. I'll just throw my Apple One membership on it or something like that in lieu of Costco charges.
Many thanks to everyone for helping.
EDIT: Just want to add I logged into my Experian account to take a look at that Experian Boost product they have, and my FICO8 thru them is showing as 525 -- yikes. My Discover denial letter says the same score, also thru EX. "Key factors" are listed as:
- Serious Delinquency and Public Record or Collection Filed
- Too Few Accounts Currently Paid as Agreed (????)
- Number of Accounts with Delinquency (also ????)
- Time Since Delinquency is Too Recent or Unknown (I filed BK in 2/2021)
@99BMWM3, your pre-discharge scores are irrelevant as are the scores from CreditKarma (and other sites of their ilk) as they are Vantage scores and not FICO, so you can pretty much ignore them. The only "free" FICO score available on a semi-regular basis is the score from Experian.
As for when to get back into the credit loop, most advice suggests waiting at least six weeks after your discharge (some even say twelve weeks), then pull your reports from all three credit bureaus, confirm all of your accounts are reporting properly, and only then applying for a credit card. I say this as someone who did not follow this recipe and I paid the price; I ended up with eight hard pulls and only one credit card to show for it; a credit card I didn't like and closed after only six weeks.
So, take it slow, plan your moves strategically, and apply for cards which can graduate into better cards you can keep for the long term.
@99BMWM3 wrote:I'm not actually apping for products - my lawyer said I could, but I'm not comfortable pushing my luck there. I'm just checking for pre-qualification to see if anything turns up.
I won't do anything immediately after DC either. I'd rather wait 30-45 days and review credit reports for accuracy.
As the natives up here in New Hampshire say, "Wicked smaaat!"
@99BMWM3 wrote:We are officially discharged as of yesterday! Woohoo!
My question is this: In addition to making sure accounts are in order on my CRs before apping, do I also need to wait for the bankruptcy itself to appear as discharged on my credit report? How long does that take?
I have some late payments on my report from after my lawyer advised me to stop paying. Is it worth sending a mea culpa letter to the creditors asking for them to not report? I know they either have to report accurately or not at all, so would the damage of them not reporting accounts period be less? I feel like it may hurt more because without those accounts I have basically no credit file except for AU cards and auto/student loans.
Congratulations on the discharge.
Regarding the derogs on your report, they should all drop off without you doing anything.