Starting fresh

[Anonymous]

My husband and I completed bankruptcy on 7/14/21. No asset case. Was quick and easy. We have begun the process of rebuilding. I applied for a few different cards and here is what I was given:

Mission Lane $1000

Cerulean $750

First Premier $700

Credit One $300

PayPal $1500

I have only accepted Mission Lane, Cerulean and PayPal at this time (although First Premier has reported to my credit report). I am looking for some advice on how to move forward. I don't have access to my credit reports except for what Credit Karma says and those are

TU 656

Equifax 642

what is the best way to move forward? Having done some heavy applying I will stop that for now. Looking for more advice for rebuilding. 

T

[Horseshoez]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My husband and I completed bankruptcy on 7/14/21. No asset case. Was quick and easy. We have begun the process of rebuilding. I applied for a few different cards and here is what I was given:

Mission Lane $1000

Cerulean $750

First Premier $700

Credit One $300

PayPal $1500

I have only accepted Mission Lane, Cerulean and PayPal at this time (although First Premier has reported to my credit report). I am looking for some advice on how to move forward. I don't have access to my credit reports except for what Credit Karma says and those are

TU 656

Equifax 642

what is the best way to move forward? Having done some heavy applying I will stop that for now. Looking for more advice for rebuilding. 

T

---

If $3,250 is enough to cover your monthly spend (assuming you can pay in full every month), then I'd sit tight for at least a year on the cards you have; the only thing I'd add to your cards is an SSL.  On the other hand, if your typical monthly spend is a few grand higher, then in addition to the SSL, I'd recommend a secured card with enough extra headoom to cover the difference.

[Anonymous]

Yes. That would more than cover expenses. My thought is to use them to buy little things here and there. Maybe put Netflix and Hulu on one. And then pay them off. I know utilization is a big factor so I don't want to be driving that up with carry over balances. 

T

[Red1Blue]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My husband and I completed bankruptcy on 7/14/21. No asset case. Was quick and easy. We have begun the process of rebuilding. I applied for a few different cards and here is what I was given:

Mission Lane $1000

Cerulean $750

First Premier $700

Credit One $300

PayPal $1500

I have only accepted Mission Lane, Cerulean and PayPal at this time (although First Premier has reported to my credit report). I am looking for some advice on how to move forward. I don't have access to my credit reports except for what Credit Karma says and those are

I am confused about the above statements. You say you are approved for 5 cards and accpeted only 3. How is that possible. Are you talking about Pre-Approval ? You say First Premier is reporting. How can it report if you did not accept it. You might be cautious. First premier has hefty monthly fees and startup fees. Make sure you do not miss the payments and they slap you with fees and 30,60,90 past dues and start damaging your credit go things downwards.

You should be able to your free  credit reports from Annual Free Credit Report website. Though it does not give scores you should be able to get more information on your reports. I would not worry too much about the scores for now. Let the accounts age. You might want to look into adding an installment account. I think FICO looks for 3 Credit Cards and 1 Installment Loan for optimal scoring.  Good Luck.

[Horseshoez]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Yes. That would more than cover expenses. My thought is to use them to buy little things here and there. Maybe put Netflix and Hulu on one. And then pay them off. I know utilization is a big factor so I don't want to be driving that up with carry over balances. 

T

---

Well yes and no, if you pay them off before the due date then there is no utilization except for a few dollars here and there which post between your payment and the statement date.  In theory at least, you could run tens of thousands of dollars through your cards every month and still show a utilization of near zero.

[Anonymous]

By accepting 3 I mean First Premier and Credit One have not arrived or been activated. But I am guessing FP must automatically be activated upon approval. I am aware of the annual fee. I did not see a monthly fee. I'll have to look for that. 

I will find a shared secured loan somewhere that I can add to the profile. We just really want to increase our scores to qualify for a mortgage in the summer or 23. 

T

---

@Red1Blue wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My husband and I completed bankruptcy on 7/14/21. No asset case. Was quick and easy. We have begun the process of rebuilding. I applied for a few different cards and here is what I was given:

Mission Lane $1000

Cerulean $750

First Premier $700

Credit One $300

PayPal $1500

I have only accepted Mission Lane, Cerulean and PayPal at this time (although First Premier has reported to my credit report). I am looking for some advice on how to move forward. I don't have access to my credit reports except for what Credit Karma says and those are

I am confused about the above statements. You say you are approved for 5 cards and accpeted only 3. How is that possible. Are you talking about Pre-Approval ? You say First Premier is reporting. How can it report if you did not accept it. You might be cautious. First premier has hefty monthly fees and startup fees. Make sure you do not miss the payments and they slap you with fees and 30,60,90 past dues and start damaging your credit go things downwards.

You should be able to your free  credit reports from Annual Free Credit Report website. Though it does not give scores you should be able to get more information on your reports. I would not worry too much about the scores for now. Let the accounts age. You might want to look into adding an installment account. I think FICO looks for 3 Credit Cards and 1 Installment Loan for optimal scoring.  Good Luck.

---

---

@Red1Blue wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My husband and I completed bankruptcy on 7/14/21. No asset case. Was quick and easy. We have begun the process of rebuilding. I applied for a few different cards and here is what I was given:

Mission Lane $1000

Cerulean $750

First Premier $700

Credit One $300

PayPal $1500

I have only accepted Mission Lane, Cerulean and PayPal at this time (although First Premier has reported to my credit report). I am looking for some advice on how to move forward. I don't have access to my credit reports except for what Credit Karma says and those are

I am confused about the above statements. You say you are approved for 5 cards and accpeted only 3. How is that possible. Are you talking about Pre-Approval ? You say First Premier is reporting. How can it report if you did not accept it. You might be cautious. First premier has hefty monthly fees and startup fees. Make sure you do not miss the payments and they slap you with fees and 30,60,90 past dues and start damaging your credit go things downwards.

You should be able to your free  credit reports from Annual Free Credit Report website. Though it does not give scores you should be able to get more information on your reports. I would not worry too much about the scores for now. Let the accounts age. You might want to look into adding an installment account. I think FICO looks for 3 Credit Cards and 1 Installment Loan for optimal scoring.  Good Luck.

---

[Red1Blue]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

By accepting 3 I mean First Premier and Credit One have not arrived or been activated. But I am guessing FP must automatically be activated upon approval. I am aware of the annual fee. I did not see a monthly fee. I'll have to look for that. 

I will find a shared secured loan somewhere that I can add to the profile. We just really want to increase our scores to qualify for a mortgage in the summer or 23. 

T

I am glad you are focusing on the details. You might want to look into some secured cards that would graduate after few months. You might want to check you local credit unions. Also they do not charge AF and other fees. SDFCU card graduates after 12 months. US Bank secured cards graduate after 12 months. US Bank Harley secured card does not have AF. Good Luck.