@VAA616 wrote:What else can I do to improve my credit scores? I'm new to the forum so I apologize if you've answered this before. My story: I filed for Chapter 7 in Oct 2019. It was discharged Feb 2020. Since that time I've modified my mortgage, opened 4 cc's (Ollo - $2K, Credit One - $400, Mercury - $2.5K, Venmo - $1.4K), 1 active Self loan. I have checking/savings with BoA and a new savings account with PenFed just opened this week. All cc's are pif each month and my credit utilization is 6% or less. BoA, 2 Cap 1s, and Discover IT iib. Is there a way to improve CLs on active cc's? Is there a way to get a prime cc even with a small cl? I'm content to sit in the garden but I'd like to do it knowing that I've done all that I can do to improve my scores in the future. Also, I will need to find a loan for a medical procedure in the next few months. A bump in credit score will yield better terms. FICO 8: Exp 683, TU 651, EX 670. Many thanks for all advice/guidance.
I got my Chapter 13 discharge a month after you got yours last year, it seems you and I approached rebuilding our credit from different angles, however, I have no definitive knowledge my process made the difference in credit limits or FICO scores. Here is the chronology of what I did, some of which may work for you as well:
- March 2020 FICO 8 scores: 640/607/651; better than I'd hoped for post discharge.
- March - June 2020: After a few fits and starts, 7 HPs, 1 crappy credit card approval, which I closed after less than 7 weeks, I found this site in June and got serious about my rebuild.
- June 2020: I opened a secured TDCash credit card with a $5,000 limit.
- September 2020: I opened a PenFed savings account with about $100 in it.
- October 2020: I got a color glossy "Pre-Approval" mailer from Discover; I took the bait, DENIED!
- December 2020: I got a color glossy "Pre-Approval" mailer for a CapitalOne Quicksilver card; I took the bait, APPROVED $3,000!
- January 2021: TDBank graduated my TDCash card to unsecured and promoted the card to a Signature Visa.
- March 2021: I applied for the PenFed Platinum Rewards Signature Visa; approved for $6,000!
- July 2021 FICO 8 scores: 692/678/705; not great, but greatly improved.
I told you the above to suggest this:
- Apply for a CapOne Quicksilver card; lots of post discharge folks (even those who've burned CapOne) have reported approvals for at least $3,000.
- Apply for a PenFed credit card; they too have been widly reported as being post-BK friendly.
- Are you able to join Navy Federal? If so, they too are a good place to work with, both while rebuilding and in the long term.
@VAA616 wrote:Many thanks for your reply. I will follow your suggestions. Do I need to worry about HPs? I have 3 on Ex. My credit score is barely in the good range. A hit may take it down. Also, does getting denied impact the cs?
Any hits from a hard pull or two will be short term, and if you get approved, your scores will ultimately improve above where they are now. As I wrote above, I had more than a dozen HPs in my first year after my discharge; now four months later all 28 of my FICO scores are above what they were before my most recent application in March.
@Anonymous wrote:@Horseshoez Is PenFed BK friendly? even it's IIB?
I don't have first-hand experience with that as I'd never had a PenFed account prior to my Chapter 13. That said, I believe I've read some folks who included them in their bankruptcies have gotten back in, however, I don't know if that happened after they paid off any outstanding balances.