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Hi! My bankruptcy was discharged on January 15, 2025, and all accounts except for Affirm reported it. Affirm was reporting lates, amounts due and identifying my accounts as "charge offs" even though they were all current when I filed. I contacted them several times with no solution, I disputed their reporting with Experian with no success, all disputes came back as "remains." Eventually I filed a complaint with the CFPB and they were all updated yesterday to "discharged through bankruptcy, never late!!" I consider this a win because my score increased a little and I don't feel so stressed
My question to the experts out there - now that all my accounts are reporting correctly, what are the next steps to increase my credit score? Equifax is still really low, 562, TU is 624 and Experian is 579. I do have $60,000 in student loan debt that is reporting as "paid on time" but that's about it. When is a good time to apply for a credit card? I am really nervous about trying this again but know that a credit card could help increase my scores. Thanks!
Congratulations on the new start. Capone seems to be a good place to start. They seem to be bk friendly and they have preapproval. I would try to avoid fee cards. I'd probably go secure to avoid fees. You don't say who you burned, that can make a difference. If elgible, nfcu is very popular.
Congrats on the new start! I'm by no means an expert but I do have some experience with rebuilding my credit after a C7 in 2018. Immediately following my discharge, I was approved for Cap1 Platinum, Discover IT and CreditOne. I used those for my rebuild journey and added a few more over the subsequent years while paying off balances every month. Four years later, I was approved for HSBC (now Preferred Financial) - $9k sl, Cap 1 QS - $5k sl and Venture - $10k sl. In early 2023, I was approved for the Amex Delta Gold ($1k sl) and focused on using that card to build a track record with Amex. In Decmeber 2024, I went on an Amex app spree and was approved for several cards (Plat, Gold, Hilton Aspire and Bonvoy). Did a Lowes pre-qual and was approved for a $5k sl but made one phone call and was immediatley increased to $15k (last week went online and applied for a CLI and was bumped up another $2k, without even havng made a purchase, yet. Also, upgraded to Venture X, QS to Savor and Amex Delta Plat.
I suggest avoiding cards with annual fees and look at Capital One and Discover or any cards with soft pull/pre-qual. Just stay disciplined. My personal approach since my bk discharge has been to only make large purchases on cc's if I have disposal funds to pay off the balance immediately (if needed).
Wishing you much success in your rebuild journey!! It will take some time but you can do it.