Help me thicken my thin file~

[baller4life]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks, guys! Very helpful! Should I be doing this for my CLI requests too? I've been putting in 17000 for annual income for CapOne all this time ha ha.

Hmm, just decided to pull up a BOA and a Discover app to check it out myself and they don't list a household income option anywhere... Do I put that in as my main income? Seems strange to do that.

Does PenFed and Navy have a dedicated household income option on their apps? Thanks again, everyone.

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Just put it all in total income. That goes for clis too. All banks and CUs I have encountered accept HHI except Synchrony Bank. They are adamant about wanting NET individual incomr. Strange bunch they are! 😩

[Anonymous]

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@DeeBee78 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks, guys! Very helpful! Should I be doing this for my CLI requests too? I've been putting in 17000 for annual income for CapOne all this time ha ha.

Hmm, just decided to pull up a BOA and a Discover app to check it out myself and they don't list a household income option anywhere... Do I put that in as my main income? Seems strange to do that.

Does PenFed and Navy have a dedicated household income option on their apps? Thanks again, everyone.

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Don't worry about separating it out. If you have reasonable access to the income, put it all in there as one number. 

I would also advise you to consider Amex. With one low limit Capital One card, you're not likely to get a huge SL out of them no matter what you put for income. They love thin, clean files and can grow with up to 3x CLI's at 61 days, and every 181 days after that. 

Once you have Discover or Amex with their (almost guaranteed) SP CLI growth, you can app Chase down the road and get a decent SL out of them. You'll need a decent SL from them, because it's not likely to grow. 

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Thank you for your advice!  I have read that getting a Discover and Amex early on is a good idea for all the reasons you mention (esp the SP CLI!), but I've also seen that people get better SLs with both if they have a couple other lines reporting higher limits (like most lenders honestly), but still a relatively thin file aside from that. If I can have that edge, I don't mind waiting a little longer, since those two offer cards I will put a lot of spend once I graduate. You're right about Chase for sure.

I'm looking at PenFed and NFCU because they might grant me something a little more than the big issuers would currently and will grow very quickly as well (also with SP!). PenFed also likes thin files.

[Anonymous]

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@baller4life wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks, guys! Very helpful! Should I be doing this for my CLI requests too? I've been putting in 17000 for annual income for CapOne all this time ha ha.

Hmm, just decided to pull up a BOA and a Discover app to check it out myself and they don't list a household income option anywhere... Do I put that in as my main income? Seems strange to do that.

Does PenFed and Navy have a dedicated household income option on their apps? Thanks again, everyone.

---

Just put it all in total income. That goes for clis too. All banks and CUs I have encountered accept HHI except Synchrony Bank. They are adamant about wanting NET individual incomr. Strange bunch they are! 😩

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Thank you so much for answering! I had no idea until now ha ha, but that is incredibly useful to know.

I just got around to compiling all the income and it is 58,000 with family's income plus financial aid for school. Would that make me look good for PenFed? 

Also, should I still be putting in "College Student" for apps if I do this? 

[baller4life]

You are employed. So, put your occupation. I would only include your parents income and not your siblings. And yes with the additional income I don't forsee an issue with Penfed.

[Anonymous]

Well, an update to this thread and... I learned a lot from everyone, from PenFed and baller4life for sure! 

Looks like my file was still too thin to qualify for a better starting limit, because even with almost three years of on time payments and solid scores, I didn't have "enough use with a larger limit" to warrant me anything since I only had one card, which, in hindsight, is something I should have considered in the first place. Doh! But that's why this journey is a marathon and not a sprint, right? Ha ha.

I'm really grateful to PenFed though. They denied me first and in the end, surprisingly, still gave me a Power Cash Card at 500 even though many end up with the Promise. A rep even considered bumping me up to 1000 in three months of good usage. Really great customer service!

That being said, I decided to app for the Discover as per suggested and because I still wanted a larger limit out of the gate and crossed my fingers...! Got a 1500 SL whoohoo! They stuck me with the student card , but I heard they are generous once I graduate and I know they prefer thin files too and for that I am relieved.  

[Anonymous]

So, here is where I stand at the moment:

CapOne QS: 750

PenFed PC: 500

Discover It Student: 1500

Should I garden or should I add anything else? 

I've heard three is considered optimal for scoring purposes, but it's not all about scores, of course. I also feel like this is enough cards for me to handle and garden, but if I must add something to help my thin file, definitely chime in. 

[Aduke1122]

Hey congrats on the approvals , I would maybe give Navy fed or Amex a go . Esp Navy is known to be way more generous than others

[Anonymous]

Looking good Neve! I would second Aduke on adding Navy as well and then join those of us over in the gardening thread. Of course, you're welcome to join us there now as well)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Looking good Neve! I would second Aduke on adding Navy as well and then join those of us over in the gardening thread. Of course, you're welcome to join us there now as well)

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Thanks to both of you! I considered going for Navy as my third, but I wondered if I'd scare PenFed since they saw I was approved for Navy right away or be flat out denied because of my thin file/start off with 500, so, apped for Discover in the end.

I'm not sure if I should wait for all my accounts to show up first and age them before going for Navy or hop on them now.