They pulled Experian only on 3/4/20. I can say that on 2/28/20 my EX FICO 8 was 655 and that on 3/31/20 (through to and including today) it's 679. Amex's FICO score that they provide in the app was at 638 on 3/16/20. I'm not sure why the dip in the middle of March, but we all know how FICO scores are. So, to answer the question of what it was when approved for the Gold card, I believe it was close to or at 655. Some other DP for everyone's use: when I applied I did the prequalify thing and they offered me Green, Gold, and Platinum. I only went with Gold and not Platinum because I couldn't quite justify the extra $300 AF. My income is $155,500.00. I have been actively rebuilding my credit after a while of just not paying attention to it, and a past of a combination of bad decision making and financial stress from caring for an out of work parent. After I decided I'd like to go back to being a homeowner, I thought it important to care for my credit. My EX FICO 8 in August 2019 was 569, so I've made quite a lot of progress in the last few months. I had all collections removed from all three bureaus (there were 4). I had a few very old things age off. I had some subprime credit cards, but I went on an app spree so I could increase my available credit and have lower utilization. In doing so, though, I started to realize how much better it was for my family to carry no credit card debt aside from practicing the AZEO method, so that's good. Before the rebuild started I had: Cap 1 Quicksilver One ($1100 CL), Cap 1 Platinum ($500 CL), First Premier ($400 CL), Fortiva ($500 CL), and Fingerhut ($800 CL). I also have student loans and I have old closed credit cards and installment loans that are all good. I had some late payments on student loans from before consolidation circa 2013-2014 (including 90 and 120 day lates). These are particularly aggravating because it is across 8 different loans since they weren't consolidated so in sum they constitute close to 40 late pays on my credit report some of which are the kind that still impact me today (90+). Also, and more importantly, these were not actually late payments. When I look on the records at the old servicer, they are late payments of like 7 cents and 42 cents, etc. This was about the time I consolidated the loans and what appears to have happened was a discrepancy in the payoff. I've been disputing it now that I realize what happened. So TBD. They will age off between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. Still, it stinks. Otherwise, I have 4 CO accounts all at zero balances from around 2016 or so that are all my fault. And I have several late payments from 2017 and one or two in 2018 on my two Cap 1 cards that I've been GW lettering so far to no avail. Since the rebuild started in earnest in January, here are my current revolvers: Cap 1 Venture One (upgraded from the Quicksilver One)($3100 CL); Cap 1 Quicksilver One (upgraded from the Platinum)($1000 CL), Fortiva CANCELED AND CLOSED, First Premier ($500 CL and they charged me a $25 fee and did a HP for the $100 CLI); another First Premier ($700 CL - I wish I hadn't signed up for this); Discover It Cash Back ($750 CL), Ollo ($300 - seems like a good card with no AF and good cash back, just has low limit); Amex Gold (NPSL, $1750 POT); NFCU Cash Rewards ($500 CL); and Wells Fargo VISA Signature ($6500 CL). I also needed a new couch and was able to get approved for Wayfair through the SCT for $3500 starting limit. I love NFCU so far. I'm going to expand my relationship with them by having my pay direct deposited there. And I await the 91/3 to apply for the second card. I see myself being a long term customer there and I really appreciate these forums for introducing me to this FI. I want to get my mortgage through them. And when I go to buy a new car, I expect I'll go to them too. I also really appreciate WF being the first card to give me a real CL (for me anyway). I have a long term banking relationship with them too and I expect I'll keep that going as well. I'll just split my allegiance between Navy and Wells. In any event, as of 4/4/20 my FICO 8 is: EQ 701, EX 679, and TU 680. This is at least 100 point increase in less than a year. I am firmly in the garden now as I have 24 reported inquiries over the three bureaus, of which all 24 are "scoreable" (i.e. still within a 12 month window). Most of these inquiries were either approvals or were related to dipping my toe into the mortgage waters, which is what spurred me to start this rebuild in the first place. I have been declined, though, for Citi Double Cash, Bank of America, and Marvel Mastercard (which I still kick myself for even applying for since I only did it because Captain America and Iron Man are awesome!). The only thing I intend to apply for over the next 12 months is my second NFCU card. And, in the fall, I'm going to try to be approved for a mortgage so my wife and I can stop throwing money away on rent. I'm at 4% utilization and close to mastering reporting using the AZEO method. Across the three bureaus, my average age of accounts is 10 years 3 months, my oldest account is 26 years 2 months, and my newest account is 1 month. Some of my app spree described above has not yet reported, so I expect these averages to go down a bit. I apologize for the long post. I hope these DP provide some assistance to others on this forum. Also, while my credit is still average, I hope my modicum of success in rebuilding can give others hope that their efforts are worthwhile.
