First somewhat successful app spree post BK7

[Beilin]

Been on this forum a while and just wanted to drop some info on my rebuild since filing.

Filed: May 2019
Discharged: Aug 2019
IIB: Discover, Citi, Sync, Comenity, Macy’s, Cap 1, Santander, Credit One and few other lenders.
Fico after discharge: 462 EX, 474, EQ, 495 TU

With scores this low I knew apping for cards would more than likely not benefit me so I became AU on a cap1 card with $1000 limit. Then began disputing inaccuracies. Around 2 months post discharge in October I decided to apply for 2 cards and an auto loan once my score were better (mid 500s). Cap1 declined without HP which was expected and Target denied me as well. I decided to put obtaining a CC on hold and focus on getting an auto loan as I needed a car. After a TON of research I applied for Carvana and got an approval for up to 22K at 15%. After this I tried to see if I could get a better offer with other dealers but could not so I accepted with the plan to refinance and purchased a car for 18k at same APR.

Between October and now I haven’t applied for anything. Several inquiries have since fell off all 3 bureaus and with the positive payments reporting from auto loan, CC, and never late $4539 student loan my scores are at 604 Ex, 589 TU and 595 EQ.

Each bureau only had 3 inquiries so I decided to pull the gun and after comparing my scores with similar scores and approvals from this site I decided to app for Target again, Mission Lane, and Barclays Uber.

Target: Instant Approval, 500 CL
Mission Lane Visa: Instant Approval, 1000 CL
Barclays: 7-10 day msg. Received denial due to BK. Called to Recon and rep advised to build more and app again in 6 months.

I have accounts with NFCU and PenFed so I will look into opening a secured card next so that I can drop Mission Lane before the annual fee hits and then I’ll be in the garden for a while. To all those that are just starting out in BK, there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel!

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your approvals!

[Guyatthebeach]

Beijing,

Congratulations on your approvals! You're definitely on the right track.

Since you were approved for a Target card and an unsecured Mission Lane Visa, I would avoid opening a secured card. It will hinder your rebuild efforts in the long run.  I would check regional banks and credit unions in your area, BB&T and Regions Bank for example, for preappoved offers.  I would also check for preapprovals on the CapitalOne and Discover once a month for a preappval. 

With the two cards, your student loan, and car loan, you have an excellent mix at this stage of your rebuild. You should see your FICO score have solid increases once everything reports correctly. Once your score, hits 650 and you have at least  6 months of positive payment history, I would apply for a Navy Federal card.  In my opinion they are getting conservative in their underwriting and approvals, so think smart when applying with them.  

You got this. It's been 8 years since my CH7 bankruptcy and my Fico score currently range from 725 to 755.

Guyatthebeach

[Beilin]

Hey Guyatthebeach,

My sister has a Navy Federal secured card that she started with $200 and it unsecured to $2000 after only 5 months and she has similar scores to mine. Un-securing to that amount and around that time frame seems pretty standard based off of what I’ve seen on the forums so I thought that would be a more sound option to getting a CC with them rather than apping for the unsecured and either getting a denial or a low starting limit. After obtaining this card I didn’t plan on acquiring any new credit until a year or so later because this card and target should grow. What are your thoughts?

[Guyatthebeach]

Beilin,

The fantastic thing is NFCU cards will graduate and grow over time.  If you apply now for the secured card, you will get approved in my opinion. I also believe that you should get approved for the unsecured card once your score hits the 650 barrier. You can't go wrong either way.  I'm a huge NFCU fan.  I actually use their savings account and CD to save money, the highest rates I can find. 

Guyatthebeach

[Beilin]

Thanks for the advice! I will actually look into their savings as well