So after all the warnings here I scaled back my plans. I just applied for two cards. Capital One Venture...denied 
and PenFed Power Cash...approved! 
. $10k SL. I've heard of people asking for a Pen Fed Personal loan with the same pull, but not sure if I should push my luck. Any thoughts?
I thought CapOne Venture was an easy one, so I was surprised I was denied. I almost chickened out of applying for the PenFed after that, but glad I did. I've wanted to get in with PenFed for awhile.
I think I'm done (gardening) for at least three months. Thanks for all the input everyone.
Im of the opinion in the current credit space a couple of things...
1. Space out apps... lately iv tried to go to apping for one or two cards at most at one time, and at least 6 months between apps....
2. If you dont want to hit FRs or AAs or scrutiny, slow and steady gets the limits....
3. If you are doing an app spree.. a denial means STOP... Dont keep going and app for other cards...
4. Note cards that have usual SP cycles and work on them and actually mark the estimated eligibility date for a CLI..
5. Keep aware of your utilization and HPs... Using an HP is often needed but don't waste them frivolously..
Also im pretty sure your behavior (if it continues) might get you AA due to Bust out Fraud Algo ...
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Bust-Out-Score/td-p/5116259
Its hit some folks in these forums.. think @southjamaica got a denial due to it...
You dont want AA undoing your growth... yes slow and steady wins the race here...
Also i think folks should know whats going on with your 2 player mode to give better advice...
Good Luck
-J
It isn't like it used to be.. where you could get a pocket full of store cards and ride them out for a few years... Both Sync and Comenty have wised up on this practice ...
@joltdude wrote:Im of the opinion in the current credit space a couple of things...
1. Space out apps... lately iv tried to go to apping for one or two cards at most at one time, and at least 6 months between apps....
2. If you dont want to hit FRs or AAs or scrutiny, slow and steady gets the limits....
3. If you are doing an app spree.. a denial means STOP... Dont keep going and app for other cards...
4. Note cards that have usual SP cycles and work on them and actually mark the estimated eligibility date for a CLI..
5. Keep aware of your utilization and HPs... Using an HP is often needed but don't waste them frivolously..
Also im pretty sure your behavior (if it continues) might get you AA due to Bust out Fraud Algo ...
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Bust-Out-Score/td-p/5116259
@Anonymous hit some folks in these forums.. think @SouthJamaica got a denial due to it...
You dont want AA undoing your growth... yes slow and steady wins the race here...
Also i think folks should know whats going on with your 2 player mode to give better advice...
Good Luck
-J
It isn't like it used to be.. where you could get a pocket full of store cards and ride them out for a few years... Both Sync and Comenty have wised up on this practice ...
Thanks for the feedback Joltdude and Kdm31091.
I didn't know about the Bust Out score, and I can see a whole lot of ways my credit file could put up red flags. I have lots of Apps, & no mortgage or car (hubby has two cars and real estate prices in the Bay Area are through the roof...and overdue for a correction). I also was an Authorized User on DearHubby's cards and vice versa. We don't need to do AU anymore, so I'm going to remove those to be safe...plus it's confusing at times. I also just did a couple of balance transfers to take advantage of 0% that put me over 50% on a couple BofA cards....so yikes...I'm really nervous now. I might need to pay them down to 45%...but that might even look weird. Why would someone do a big balance transfer at 0% interest, pay a 3% fee, then pay it off a week later? On the good side I have some old accounts, a credit union account, & no weird check payments. I will definitely be mindful of how my future actions could be percieved and as I already mentioned, I'm staying in the garden for at least 3 months. Shoot sounds like 9 months would be better! I'm even wondering if I should do some pruning. I rarely use my store cards, so I'm not sure if they are helping or hurting my profile at this point. Also, I checked a box online that opened a stupid $1500 Gap Visa without thinking (it converted my Gap store card to a Gap Visa card without a credit pull but it counts as a new account now I think)....slaps forehead...
As far as "2player mode". As mentioned above, my hubby and I are definitely working together and the recent AA he got hit with has Bust Out Score written all over it. It totally makes sense now. BofA closed all three of his cards when his utilization went up and he did a cash advance. He's paying everything off now (Utilization will be back down <10%), so hopefully he can get back on track without getting balance chased.
Nothing fancy for me for awhile and I'll keep my fingers crossed. It's funny, you can only really use half of your credit or risk losing most of it!
Also fyi, I Apped for PenFed first and got a identification verification message so I then Apped on Cap One and got denied. I got verified on PenFed and figured I already got a HP for the membership, might as well try for the card. If I would have been denied on CapOne first, I probably wouldn't have tried PenFed.
TL;DR ?? Hopefully this long story helps someone else here. Hope I don't get AA'd!! :/