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Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

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Guyatthebeach
Valued Contributor

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

My chapter 7 bankruptcy was discharged in February 2012 and now my up to about $10,000 in credit with a few credit cards and store cards in about 18 months. If I can do it, so can you.

 

Hang in there!

Message 201 of 690
Scupra
Super Contributor

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards


@Guyatthebeach wrote:

My chapter 7 bankruptcy was discharged in February 2012 and now my up to about $10,000 in credit with a few credit cards and store cards in about 18 months. If I can do it, so can you.

 

Hang in there!


Congrats! How are your scores coming along? If you dont mind me asking..

Filed BK7: 7/2012 (start score EQ 560 / TU 529) Discharge 10/2012
801 EQ FICO 06/2022
797 TU FICO 04/2022
793 EX FICO 04/2022
$30k NFCU Platinum | $30.7k NFCU cashRewards Sig | $15k NavChek | $7.1k Cap1 Quicksilver | $10k Amazon Store | $19k Cap1 VentureOne | $16k Barclay Aviator | $5k Chase Freedom | $5k Chase Sapphire Preferred | $9k Costco Visa | $20k AMEX BCE | AMEX Gold | NFCU Platinum #2 $19.3k | Apple $8.5k
Message 202 of 690
Guyatthebeach
Valued Contributor

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

Scupra,

 

Here are my scores as of July 1st:

 

Experian 684

Equifax 643

TransUnion 672

 

My scores will probably drop a little bit because I closed my secured PNC Visa. PNC would not approve me for an unsecured card. I spoke with 2 dfferent analysts and a loan department offer. I am replacing it with a CapitalOne QuickSilver card. I no longer have any secured cards. I have enough accounts in my opinion so I am off to the garden. These accounts need to age.

 

I plan on buying a new car hopefully at the end of 2014 when I hit the 2.5 year mark of my discharge.  I will update my gameplan this weekend when I can sit down and draft it.

 

One thing I have learned from my rebuilding project is everyone needs to educated about credit and you and only you have to be responsible for your actions. Yes I lost my job when my contract was not renewed, but I am the one who over $100,000 in unsecured debt. Now I make a lot less and make sure I pay my credit cards and bills in full long before they are due. If I can do this, so can everyone.

Message 203 of 690
Scupra
Super Contributor

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards


@Guyatthebeach wrote:

Scupra,

 

Here are my scores as of July 1st:

 

Experian 684

Equifax 643

TransUnion 672

 

My scores will probably drop a little bit because I closed my secured PNC Visa. PNC would not approve me for an unsecured card. I spoke with 2 dfferent analysts and a loan department offer. I am replacing it with a CapitalOne QuickSilver card. I no longer have any secured cards. I have enough accounts in my opinion so I am off to the garden. These accounts need to age.

 

I plan on buying a new car hopefully at the end of 2014 when I hit the 2.5 year mark of my discharge.  I will update my gameplan this weekend when I can sit down and draft it.

 

One thing I have learned from my rebuilding project is everyone needs to educated about credit and you and only you have to be responsible for your actions. Yes I lost my job when my contract was not renewed, but I am the one who over $100,000 in unsecured debt. Now I make a lot less and make sure I pay my credit cards and bills in full long before they are due. If I can do this, so can everyone.


Awesome!!! That TU score is pretty nice! You seem on the way to the wanted 700 at 24 months post bk. Congrats! Good luck on the car loan, maybe open up a $1k credit builder loan to help with installment history and credit mix. Smiley Happy

Filed BK7: 7/2012 (start score EQ 560 / TU 529) Discharge 10/2012
801 EQ FICO 06/2022
797 TU FICO 04/2022
793 EX FICO 04/2022
$30k NFCU Platinum | $30.7k NFCU cashRewards Sig | $15k NavChek | $7.1k Cap1 Quicksilver | $10k Amazon Store | $19k Cap1 VentureOne | $16k Barclay Aviator | $5k Chase Freedom | $5k Chase Sapphire Preferred | $9k Costco Visa | $20k AMEX BCE | AMEX Gold | NFCU Platinum #2 $19.3k | Apple $8.5k
Message 204 of 690
whitehat
Member

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

I'm at 23 months from my BK7 discharge and my FICO scores are as follows:

Transunion 751
Experian 728
Equifax 712

I've also achieved to obtain just a couple hundred dollars under $100k of credit with just 4 credit cards. On top of that I've got two car loans for a Porsche and a brand new VW I just got with a 0.9% interest rate.

Even though I have achieved tier one credit, I notice I still get declined by some banks, which is annoying but, I suppose I don't really need them, it's more of a "nice to have".

What has kept my scores so high, on top of the usual paying on time etc, is keeping my debt to credit ratio under 7% and not using more than 40% of credit limits; those two are major factors. Although, they mostly make a difference when you're about to apply for new credit. You really have to coordinate your balances quite well before applying for anything. I watched my scores like a hawk the first 18 months but, now I have so much credit that I don't need to as I am no longer looking to apply for anything else.

At this point, my next goal is to buy a home when I hit my 4 year post BK mark.
Message 205 of 690
Guyatthebeach
Valued Contributor

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

I already did the starter loans. I had two secured loans from different credit unions. I have one that is unsecured that will be paid off in  full in October. 

 

My goal is to have a FICO of 720 by February 2014 and be at 750 by August 2014. That way I will be able to get some 0 %APR car loans and be in a better position to get better rates for for my credit cards(even though I PIF!)

Message 206 of 690
shols44
Frequent Contributor

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards


@whitehat wrote:
I'm at 23 months from my BK7 discharge and my FICO scores are as follows:

Transunion 751
Experian 728
Equifax 712

I've also achieved to obtain just a couple hundred dollars under $100k of credit with just 4 credit cards. On top of that I've got two car loans for a Porsche and a brand new VW I just got with a 0.9% interest rate.

Even though I have achieved tier one credit, I notice I still get declined by some banks, which is annoying but, I suppose I don't really need them, it's more of a "nice to have".

What has kept my scores so high, on top of the usual paying on time etc, is keeping my debt to credit ratio under 7% and not using more than 40% of credit limits; those two are major factors. Although, they mostly make a difference when you're about to apply for new credit. You really have to coordinate your balances quite well before applying for anything. I watched my scores like a hawk the first 18 months but, now I have so much credit that I don't need to as I am no longer looking to apply for anything else.

At this point, my next goal is to buy a home when I hit my 4 year post BK mark.

Now those are some sexy scores now! Congrats whitehat, thats absolutely remarkable. Mind sharing your TLs with us? 


Starting Score: 501
Current Score: 754 EQ,TU 745,EX 750
Goal Score: 800

Message 207 of 690
grassfeeder
Frequent Contributor

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards


@whitehat wrote:
I'm at 23 months from my BK7 discharge and my FICO scores are as follows:

Transunion 751
Experian 728
Equifax 712

I've also achieved to obtain just a couple hundred dollars under $100k of credit with just 4 credit cards. On top of that I've got two car loans for a Porsche and a brand new VW I just got with a 0.9% interest rate.

Even though I have achieved tier one credit, I notice I still get declined by some banks, which is annoying but, I suppose I don't really need them, it's more of a "nice to have".

What has kept my scores so high, on top of the usual paying on time etc, is keeping my debt to credit ratio under 7% and not using more than 40% of credit limits; those two are major factors. Although, they mostly make a difference when you're about to apply for new credit. You really have to coordinate your balances quite well before applying for anything. I watched my scores like a hawk the first 18 months but, now I have so much credit that I don't need to as I am no longer looking to apply for anything else.

At this point, my next goal is to buy a home when I hit my 4 year post BK mark.

wow, seriously impressive scoring!  I too would be very curious to see wat tradelines you've got!

Fico 8 Scores 5/1/22 :
799 EQ | 793 TU | 809 EX
Message 208 of 690
whitehat
Member

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

Of course.

 

A few days after my discharge I started out with the following:

1. $300 Capital One unsecured card

2. $400 Household bank unsecured card

3. $4,000 Navy FCU secured card

4. $2,000 schoolsfirst FCU secured card

5. $3,000 Wells Fargo secured card

 

One year later:

1. Both of my CU secured cards were graduated. 

2. Capital One and Household bank were closed at the 1 year mark to avoid the annual fee. I know people suggest otherwise but, I didn't feel like paying those banks fees I didn't need to pay. After all, we seek superior credit cards to save money; I decided to take the risk.

 

Fast forward to today, I've got the following TLs:

1. Navy FCU is now a $45,000 unsecured card

2. SchoolsFirst FCU is now $25,000 (The maximum credit line they offer)

3. Wells fargo remains secured at $5,000 (scheduled to graduate in October)

4. I also now have a Barclays card with $5,000 (2 month old account and was offered their best rate!!!)

5. Two revolving personal lines of credit with a combined total credit limit of $12,000

6. I've had a total of 5 car loans ranging from $10,000 to $70,000 within the last 23 months.

 

Another thing that has really helped me (which at many times I hated and considered cancelling) was a credit repair service.  I managed to remove ALL the discharged accounts (roughly 15) off of all three of my credit reports, leaving me with the BK as the only negative item on my credit reports.  Yes, this service ended up costing me roughly $700.00 BUT, it is quite worth it considering I went from $14% car loan rates to 0.9% -- that's a heck of a savings especially on higher loan amounts.

 

I was pretty aggressive with rebuilding, I won't lie. At some point I ended up with 20+ inquiries but, if you do your research, that has a minimal effect (10%) on your score compared to having a debt/credit ratio of over 7% which can make your score drop up to 30-35% (depending on your ratio.) At that point, banks won't touch you when they see this regardless of your scores. If your credit reports even give the slightest appearance that you are "over extended", forget about it... even if in reality your income supports it. That was my goal behind gaining higher credit lines.  Now I have the ability to spend $7k-$8k without having any sort of impact on my scores.

 

Lastly, I'll mention that I did have several closed pre-BK accounts on my reports that I know have helped.  These accounts range from a few mortgage loans, several car loans and credit cards.

 

I hope this helps!

Message 209 of 690
ulanjac
Established Member

Re: Bankruptcy friendly credit cards

Hello everyone!

 

I am new to the forums and I have read all the pages regarding after BK credit cards. The information here is a great start. I am looking to rebuild my credit after filing BK. I have a lot of student loan debt which I know may not be discharged in my chapter 7. I included all debts and the credit union that I belong to doesn't offer any credit cards only loans. I am wondering how my student loan debt will affect my scores and what is the best path to start back building my credit? Should I apply for one of the pre-approved auto loans that I have recieved or should I wait for atleast 1 year before attempting to purchase a car? I don't technically need a car, but wanted the quickest and best method to jump starting my scores.

 

Thanks

Message 210 of 690
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