Inquiries question. Ready to apply.

[JackBeNimble1]

Building up credit takes a lot of patience, some strategy and a little bit of luck. The Great Recession's housing collapse forced me into Chapter 7 in 2011. Five months later, I applied and was approved for a Capital One Platinum, which has no real perks. But it doesn't have an annual fee and it's a good way to build credit. Three and a half years after the Chapter 7, I snagged a Capital One Quicksilver. The following year (2015), I landed the Capital One Venture One and Barclays Rewards cards. Then last year my confidence really soared when American Express granted me the EveryDay card. Five days later, Barclays hooked me with an Arrival card. All of those cards were easy to get and didn't require any reconsiderations. They were also useful as most of them had 0% interest introductory periods that allowed me to push off some of the expenses I accrued where I live in pricey San Francisco. The cash back and no foreign-transaction fees were nice too! In the meantime, I worked hard at my job and received meaningful annual raises and bonuses. This year I was approved for a Chase Freedom Unlimited, a Chase IHG, an Amex Hilton Surpass and an Amex Delta Gold. All of these cards required calls to their respective reconsideration lines. My only credit card fail is Chase denied my app for a Southwest Plus card very recently. But now that I have two solid Chase cards and three great Amex cards, I'm building miles and rewards like crazy and already have enough for some very cool free vacations. It's unlikely I'll use any of my Capital One or Barclays cards again but I'll keep them open to pad my total available credit since they have no fees. My plan is to tend the garden either until I'm clear of the 5/24 rule in July 2018 or until I see an unusually high bonus offered for a card I want like the Amex Premier Gold or Amex Starwood. I hope that helps!

[illcrew3]

Thanks for all the help!