post Chapter 7: score WAY up, now for making smart rebuild move

[200years]

I am not yet discharged. I filed chapter 7 pro se on 6/29, meeting of creditors was smooth, reaffirmation on small car loan approved.

Cap One, Discover, Barclay, Synchrony, Comenity, Credit One, and U.S. Bank all burned :/

Score went from 580s to 690s on transunion, 680s on equifax.

Applied today for Cap One Quicksilver, approved for 1K credit line!

So, I want to be smart. I had no intention of getting into this mess in the first place. Had been paying everything, but cc balances were so high that my score kept going down and even with multiple cards with low credit lines, trying to make so many 25 dollar payments a month got to me. Mistake to take out so many cards! Some of them only had a hundred or two hundred dollar balances. It was soooo dumb on my part to take those store cards so lightly.

Anyway, I'm not sure how my score jumped so much, but I'm hoping to take advantage of it, since it may not last.

After applying for Cap One, I'm not interested in getting more frivolous lines of credit, and I couldn't get pre-qualified w/ Chase or Citi anyway, which tells me I'm only approved bc Cap One is so bk friendly.

I read about getting in at NFCU, and I went ahead and submitted the membership registration and payment to the Navy League.

From what I gather, I'll need to mail in my NFCU application.

So, my question is this: I'm still not discharged (even though Cap One approved me!). Should I wait to apply for any more credit cards? The only card I was really interested in getting was a NFCU card. But, I want to make sure I do everything right. Should I open a checking account with them? I opened a Chase checking account in May, so I don't know if that looks shady. I also really want to get my Amazon card back, though I don't know how easy another synchrony account would be, since I had multiple accounts with them, and all went on my chapter 7.

Could someone suggest a next step? I'm thinking hold off on everything until I get in (hopefully) with Navy Fed.

Thoughts?

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge on here! I had been royally screwed since I was 18 because of horrifically bad decisions, and I finally started to rebuild when I was around 28, thanks to an Amazon card that got my foot in the "good credit" door. I used this site and some other forums for help in deciding where to apply and how to apply, which helped me get some decent cards. Then, of course, it all went south about 2 years ago, and now I find myself back at square one, a little worse for the wear, but much wiser. 

[harleygirl1987]

I would hold off applying for anything else until you're DC. Your rates and credit limits should be better, plus most places won't lend to you with an open BK on your record so you'll just be wasting HPs. Comenity is also BK friendly. You can apply for membership with NavyFed, however they DO a credit inquiry, so you might as well wait to submit all your documentation to them after you DC so you can just do one HP and apply for a cc with them etc vs getting another HP later.

[Scupra]

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@harleygirl1987 wrote:

I would hold off applying for anything else until you're DC. Your rates and credit limits should be better, plus most places won't lend to you with an open BK on your record so you'll just be wasting HPs. Comenity is also BK friendly. You can apply for membership with NavyFed, however they DO a credit inquiry, so you might as well wait to submit all your documentation to them after you DC so you can just do one HP and apply for a cc with them etc vs getting another HP later.

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NFCU will HP for every product so no need to wait clarification: no need to wait on opening membership

This is another instance if Cap1 being burned and the person getting right back in.. I don't get it

[Pway]

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@Scupra wrote:

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@harleygirl1987 wrote:

I would hold off applying for anything else until you're DC. Your rates and credit limits should be better, plus most places won't lend to you with an open BK on your record so you'll just be wasting HPs. Comenity is also BK friendly. You can apply for membership with NavyFed, however they DO a credit inquiry, so you might as well wait to submit all your documentation to them after you DC so you can just do one HP and apply for a cc with them etc vs getting another HP later.

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NFCU will HP for every product so no need to wait

This is another instance if Cap1 being burned and the person getting right back in.. I don't get it

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Capital One is weird for sure on this.  I had to wait six months after discharge before they let me back in.  I just don't understand how some are able to get back in right away.  I am beginning to think Capital One and Discover are friends in a way.  I just don't get it, some it take forever to get approved while others they are right in the door with no problems.

[Scupra]

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@Pway wrote:

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@Scupra wrote:

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@harleygirl1987 wrote:

I would hold off applying for anything else until you're DC. Your rates and credit limits should be better, plus most places won't lend to you with an open BK on your record so you'll just be wasting HPs. Comenity is also BK friendly. You can apply for membership with NavyFed, however they DO a credit inquiry, so you might as well wait to submit all your documentation to them after you DC so you can just do one HP and apply for a cc with them etc vs getting another HP later.

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NFCU will HP for every product so no need to wait

This is another instance if Cap1 being burned and the person getting right back in.. I don't get it

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Capital One is weird for sure on this.  I had to wait six months after discharge before they let me back in.  I just don't understand how some are able to get back in right away.  I am beginning to think Capital One and Discover are friends in a way.  I just don't get it, some it take forever to get approved while others they are right in the door with no problems.

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Hahaha I think it's safe to say the 1 year thing is not a rule!

[GReed1911]

congrats.....definitely hold off til discharge just to be safe