Filed a discharge on 10/19 looking to rebuild

Anonymous · ‎06-20-2020

Hello,

I filed my D/C on 10/19 and I'm looking to bounce back. i burned the following companies:

Discover IT

NFCU

Care Credit

Sprint

Best Buy

currently, I have a capital one unsecured platinum MasterCard with a limit of 500. Should I be applying for more CCs I looked at the thread of BK friendly cards but, I don't want a bunch of hps and I'm intrigued at the amount of people are getting approved for. I'm interested in doing an IKEA card, and possibly amazon in the far future. Thank you.

FireMedic1 · ‎06-20-2020

Welcome @Anonymous

I think you meant you filed you BK 10/19. You dont file a DC. But anyway. You can upgrade your Plat to a QS and get some cash back for using it here.---> https://verified.capitalone.com/sic-ui/#/esignin?Product=Card&Action=ProductUpgrade

You want to build with bank cards. Not store cards. HP's come with a rebuild. No way around it. You can get the Open Sky with no HP. Then try TD Bank or Citi for their secured due to they graduate. Just stay away from the vulture cards.

720andBeyond · ‎06-21-2020

You're asking the right questions, which means your rebuild is off to a good start. My BK7 falls off in December of this year, so I know how immense the 10 year mountain must look to you at this point.

It has been a long process for me to near the end of this tunnel, but through the below method I was able to reach a mid 680's credit score within 24 months, and had hit the low 700's within 30 months. I furthered that by being approved for a Amex BCP at 5 years and 1 month post BK7. Through the MyFico scores I hover in the 750's now, and have been for many, many years. Many people think this is impossible to reach any of these goals, but if you are very proactive with your goals and push yourself you can get there also. The below is a portion of how I got there.

I would advise you to get as many Cap1 cards as you can for the moment, but spaced out over a few months each. The goal would be to get to 3 major credit cards as quickly as you can. Don't worry about the interest rates or the credit limits, as they will all be toy $300-$700 limits with stupid interest rates if your a recent BK filer. Cap1 is/has been very forgiving in the past to BK7, and I was approved for 3 cards in the first 8 months post BK7.

The next step would be to use no more than 3% of your credit limit on one card each month. After that month do the same on another card, and so on. Only use 1 of your cards, not all three each month, and if you never exceed the 3% you will boost you score with just toy limit 3 credit cards in this manner. At some point in the next 2-3 years your goal will be to close at least 2 of these cards by combining them all into one Cap1 card.

After a year or so has passed on your initial BK filing you also need to start looking at very small personal loans if you don't have an active house or car payment already on your reports. You will need an installment loan or some type to maximize your score. You will pay higher interest than you would like for an unsecured loan, but this is just the cost of having a BK on your record.

FireMedic1 · ‎06-21-2020

@720andBeyond wrote:
You're asking the right questions, which means your rebuild is off to a good start. My BK7 falls off in December of this year, so I know how immense the 10 year mountain must look to you at this point.

It has been a long process for me to near the end of this tunnel, but through the below method I was able to reach a mid 680's credit score within 24 months, and had hit the low 700's within 30 months. I furthered that by being approved for a Amex BCP at 5 years and 1 month post BK7. Through the MyFico scores I hover in the 750's now, and have been for many, many years. Many people think this is impossible to reach any of these goals, but if you are very proactive with your goals and push yourself you can get there also. The below is a portion of how I got there.

I would advise you to get as many Cap1 cards as you can for the moment, but spaced out over a few months each. The goal would be to get to 3 major credit cards as quickly as you can. Don't worry about the interest rates or the credit limits, as they will all be toy $300-$700 limits with stupid interest rates if your a recent BK filer. Cap1 is/has been very forgiving in the past to BK7, and I was approved for 3 cards in the first 8 months post BK7.

The next step would be to use no more than 3% of your credit limit on one card each month. After that month do the same on another card, and so on. Only use 1 of your cards, not all three each month, and if you never exceed the 3% you will boost you score with just toy limit 3 credit cards in this manner. At some point in the next 2-3 years your goal will be to close at least 2 of these cards by combining them all into one Cap1 card.

After a year or so has passed on your initial BK filing you also need to start looking at very small personal loans if you don't have an active house or car payment already on your reports. You will need an installment loan or some type to maximize your score. You will pay higher interest than you would like for an unsecured loan, but this is just the cost of having a BK on your record.

Yes spread out apps to get to 3 cards. But not quickly. Where did dont use more than 3% of the card come from? You can use all you want of a credit limit. Its whats reported come statement date. Yes use AZEO for best results. Have 1 card report <8.9% and then PIF before the due date. And the others PIF before the statement date. But switching cards each month isnt neccessary for AZEO. Pick a card and make it your AZEO card. And Cap1 hasnt combined cards for over a year now. It may come back but dont know when.

720andBeyond · ‎06-21-2020

I respect your opinion as we all travel different paths, but we will just have to agree to disagree based on my own experiences.

While I'm sure the 9% general rule does still apply, and is a great base, I have always seen the greatest score gains at 3%. To the OP I would say either percentage will not necessarily hurt your scoring, but I hit 700 at the 26 month mark and 720 at the 30 month mark using that knowledge base.

I also believe in keeping it as simple as is possible. While you can try to perfect cycling all your cards perfectly for the next few years, why not just make life simpler and rotate a card every month? I don't believe in over complicating the situation, and if you find yourself needing an extra $500-$1000 in credit that can't be PIF each month, then sadly you're already going back into a dark hole.

As for card inquiries, my goal was to get to 3 as fast as I could. In my view at least, a credit line during a rebuild, no matter how small, is better than no credit line at all. While Cap1 may have taken the credit combo link down for now, they still offer the most viable option to the OP for opening doors. Worst case scenario you only end up with 2 cards from them. In 24-36 months you'll get close to a QS card if you follow the course. That QS will get you Amex and Discover eventually.

I worked to get credit during my rebuild not to use the tiny limits, but to grow them. Tiny limits are a useless trap that will destroy your utilization and the credit card companies all understand this. The algorithms are nigh predatory in these scenarios. Take the emotion out of it and view the cards simply as tools. Use them like you would to build a home, because once you succeeded you'll look back on them like you do a hammer or saw. They helped complete your goals, but are purely trivial in the long game past that point. Treat them as such and you will go far.