@Anonymous wrote:if you wait to app til after the thing drops off you might have a better chance of approval or a higher limit. it's fine if you add 2 cards at once but it will look slightly more risky to fico. they expect you to add no more than 1 card every 6mo.
fico is a prediction of future behavior based on past behavior. everything you did for the past 2yrs is what decides your current score. the choices you make add up and can hurt your score. doing something that looks risky doesn't always mean your score will instantly drop, it just reduces the points you can gain and slows your progress. it's possible to become stuck and not able to get a higher score, since the score ranges are mapped to risk groups. they don't want a risky dude to have an 850 score.
That is a really good point and something I didn't know before. To be capped for future gain without knowing. I suppose certain changes in the file do not change the score immidiately but add a ceiling or remove a floor. Very interesting.
I am not too worried about credit limit but would like to get in first.
@spiritcraft1 wrote:I have a different take. I would get a couple cards in your name asap. Unless your AU cards are from a significant other or someone you know will not be carrying a big balance, even temporarily you are pretty much stuck. And when that Derog falls off next year, you want to have a couple cards of your own so that next card is not your first card ever.
Very true. Lucky for me the AU cards are from family members who are very trustworthy but still they are not my own. I read on Experian.com that having 5 cards is considered not having a thin file but I do not know if AU cards count. I am working towards that.
@Remedios wrote:
I've seen one or two isolated approvals by Amex based solely on AU accounts.
I really would not hold my breath there, especially because the only thing on your CR truly belonging to you is a collection.
Discover, even with prequal can go either way.
Start with them. If you get approved, great.
If not, even your own secured card is better than only AU accounts because those scores and payment history are really not yours.
AU accounts are great for artificially inflating AAoA and utilization padding (if algorithm takes them into consideration).
They are very iffy for everything else.
Good luck and I hope it works out for you
Thank you, @Remedios!
And you know exactly my concern. Right now the profile is entirely held up by AU cards. Without them, the FICO scores would plunge below 600 immediately. Other than a collection that reports monthly and 3 recently added AU cards my credit reports have not had any activities in 7 years.
It is unfortunate that Discover is starting to tighten lately and I have read on here quite a few people who have pre quals but still get denied. But still there does not seem to be a better starting point. I will try my luck next month and report back.
@Anonymous wrote:I mean either way is not going to make a huge difference, get a card, use it for a bit, get another card. If you're worried about HP's and don't want to waste one, go for the Disco as that seems like a slam dunk with the prequal. Use it for a few months and than try for the Amex. If you don't care about HP's than app for both.
If I may make a suggestion, if you have the ability to get in with NFCU, I would start with them. They're very generous to thin files and people who are rebuilding!
Thank you for the suggestion. I do not have a path to get in with NFCU. I have looked into other credit unions but have not found anything that stood out.
I think they mean your own cards. It would seem you could bet a couple decent cards right now. A local CU might work as well!
As suggested up thread, the recommendation would be to wait for the derogatory to be removed from your credit report before applying. You'll have a clean scorecard if no other derogatory or delinquency present. Hopefully, it'll improve your odds at approval.
Ask for EE Early Exclusion from these bureaus:
TU 6 months early
EX 3 months early
EQ 1 month early. I would not recommended EE. Let it fall off naturally.
Ask for EE Early Exclusion from these bureaus:
TU 6 months early
EX 3 months early
EQ 1 month early. I would not recommended EE. Let it fall off naturally.
