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Hello Community!
*This post is significantly longer than I initially intended, but I want to get my scores up to where I believe they should be, so I want to know what’s the best way to do that based on the experience of others. Of course, knowing that my MMV. I’m done with being passive and hoping it’ll all work out on it’s own. I’m ready to be aggressive.*
I just received two declines (BOA and NASA) and I’m wondering if it’s time for me to go gardening. I’m not sure because after those two declines, I applied and was approved for Discover IT.
A little about me, I had financial troubles that began back in 2008. I slowly started to get back on my feet financially beginning in early 2009. Silly me, I thought that as long as I started paying my bills on time, that my credit score would go up. I did this for a few years, and saw virtually NO improvement in my scores. To say this was disheartening is putting it mildly. In 2013, I joined this site with the express intent on re-building my credit. I thought by paying on time still, along with two new secured cards, that my credit score would then increase. I had one CL set to $1000 and another to $500. I used both cards quite often, but always paid off the balance by the due date (except once when I was paid the day after my bill was due, I then paid the minimum by the due date, and the balance the following day. I called to see if I could get my finance charges credited back, and was told they don’t do that.) Since I thought this process would take some time, I wasn’t checking my credit scores regularly. I also wasn’t getting a FICO score, but instead using different sites (Identity Guard or Credit Karma) which I thought would be close enough (I learned this was FAR from the truth the hard way).
on about July 2014, I received a call from my bank which I have my largest SC through. I was offered an option to upgrade to an unsecured. I was also informed that I should only have the SC for a year, and I was at a year and half at that point. I just knew I would be approved because I always paid my bill on time AND I used the card all the time. Needless to say, I was shocked when I was declined. This prompted me to check my “score” to which I went to Credit Karma. According to them, I had a fair “score,” so I wondered if the fact that I pay off my balance each month, was the reason for the declined. At that time, I hadn't received an official rejection letter, but since they didn't call me back in 2days as the promised they would, I assumed I was declined. I then thought that maybe I should go with a credit union. So I went to the one my Mom has belonged to for decades. I first asked if my score would be sufficient, and the rep said, maybe. So I went for it, and my FICO 8 score, was almost 50 points lower than my CK “score.” Meaning my score was in the top 500s. I was briefly showed my CR by the rep and they noted various reasons for my decline. I saw that there were things on my report that shouldn’t be, like a Cap1 debt that I won in court wasn’t mine. I didn’t know it was still showing on my CR several years after I won my case.
I had every intention of addressing these issues, but life happened and never got the chance (I also find it quite stressful to have to deal with issues on my CR, even though it shouldn’t be that way. So it’s easy to put these things off.) A few months ago, I realized that it was about time for a few “sly judgments” (I call them “sly judgments” because they’re default judgments that I was never notified about even though they supposedly served me) to fall off my CR. I checked my CK “score” and saw that my EQ “score” was in the 700 and my TU was above 650. CK indicated that one of the reasons for my lower score was because I didn’t have enough accounts open. At that time, I had under 10 (with only 4 showing as open). I took this as a good sign that I could be approved for a CC so I could decrease my Util % which I’ve learned is a huge part of your score. Since I was using my cards quite often, my Util % was pretty high.
Last month, I applied for two fair cards (Barclay and Rakuten Rewards) and was approved immediately. I took this as a good sign and when I signed up for the FICO score option for each card, I was shocked to see that my score was above 650 (still not great considering I’ve been paying my bills on time for over 6 ½ years). A few days later, I received a notification that there was a change to my FICO score. I assumed it would be a decrease since I had just had two HPs. Much to my surprised, it went up 8 points! From 666 (I know!) to 674 (I just checked to confirm and it’s now 687!). I’ve lost my train of thought, that’s more in the last 3wks than I’ve had in a whole year! WTH! I wonder if it has to do with the fact that after I pulled my CRs and saw that TU was listing one of my utilities as a derogatory account even though only 5 mths showed as late and since then it shows as paid (except for about a 1 ½ where it shows as NR). I filed a complaint asking how this account can be considered derogatory when out of 7 yrs, more than 6 ½ show as paid on time and in full, and the 5 months correspond to 11/2008-03/2009. This is why I don’t like dealing with my CRs. Stupid stuff that I have to fight to get corrected.
Okay, where was I, after the first increase, I assumed it was because I decreased my Util % and since I intended to use my new cards for the rewards, I thought it would be a good idea to get a couple more cards, that I could use off and on with the two that I have and still keep my Util % low. It’s not easy to keep a Util score of <6% and take full advantage of the rewards with low overall CL. So I applied to the above cards and was surprisingly declined. I don’t know why, but I thought I would try one more time, and went for the Discover IT card and was approved. So now I don’t know what to think of this. I plan on using two of the cards, but even though I have a decent income (over $100k) all my CL are low (IMO). Barclay at $1,300, Rakuten at $2,000 and Discover at $3,500. Since I plan to use the cards for all my bills to increase my rewards, my Util % will be extremely high.
So, I’m wondering if I should continue attempting to open accounts, or go gardening? If I should continue, should I also go for a car loan (for variety, I'm told you don't want only CCs and right now all I have are CCs and a student loan), or wait until I’ve received a decent overall CL (I’m currently at $8,300)? I have significant purchases in the coming months, and I would like to use my travel rewards card for such purchases since I also plan on traveling at least twice in the next twelve months. According to CK, my Rakuten credit card currently isn’t showing up on my CR (although it’s only been 3 wks, so there’s still time), but I’m somewhat worried that the CL won’t show up and when I start to use my Discover card, my Util % would increase significantly (without the additional $2000 CL). Right now I believe it is about 20-25% not including Discover since I haven’t even received it yet and it’s not currently reporting. That’s way too high, I know.
OP, you will get more responses if you can summarize your post and list the most important points. Meanwhile, let me get comfortable as I get something hot to read this book
.. Will respond shortly.
Hello jfriend,
Yes, I intend to make multiple payments to all cards to help keep my Util % as low as possible. I've updated my scores in my signature, the ones above corresponded to the myFICO challenge of 2013.
I'm unfamiliar with any prequalification sites. I found a post on AMEX's prequalification site, but it wasn't listed in the post and when I Googled it, I came across old links so they didn't work. Where can I find them? Is there a thread on here which lists the CR that each company pulls, I'm worried that my EX CR has too many pulls ATM. TU and EQ each have 2.
Reasons for decline don't really make sense to me, but I know it's their prerogative to decline.
BOA:
Derogatory public record/collection
Too few accounts currently paid as agreed
Length of time accounts have been established
Loan balances to loan amounts too high
Too many inquires last 12mths.
NASA:
Derogatory public record/collection
Length of time accounts have been established
Too many inquires last 12mths.
Lack of recent installment loan information
Time since derogatory public record/collection is too short.
According to my EX CR I have 1 account late (a disputed Comcast bill for $350) 2 public records (one due to fall off in April and a tax lien), AAoA is 4.4 yrs and my oldest account is 12.2yrs and inquiries are 4, but 1 was over 12mths ago, and NASA and BOA were the 3rd and 4th. So at the time of the pull it would’ve been 1 or 2 in the last 12 mths for them. I have 6/7 accounts are paid as agreed (the one corresponding to the Comcast bill). I’m not sure if I should even bother to call and inquire about the declines or not.
Side note: I just pulled my EX CR and my Ratuken card (which is through First Bankcard) is still not being reported, even though the inquiry is reported. So my CL for that card is NOT being included in my revolving CL. I'm concerned that this will show an inaccurate Util %. Has that happened to anyone before?
Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated!
Hello Yes-Its-Me,
I know, I didn't intend for it to be that long. I guess I'm just used to posting on sites asking a question(s) and then getting more questions before members can offer any advice to my initial question(s).
@LadyJEsq wrote:Hello jfriend,
Yes, I intend to make multiple payments to all cards to help keep my Util % as low as possible. I've updated my scores in my signature, the ones above corresponded to the myFICO challenge of 2013.
I'm unfamiliar with any prequalification sites. I found a post on AMEX's prequalification site, but it wasn't listed in the post and when I Googled it, I came across old links so they didn't work. Where can I find them? Is there a thread on here which lists the CR that each company pulls, I'm worried that my EX CR has too many pulls ATM. TU and EQ each have 2.
Reasons for decline don't really make sense to me, but I know it's their prerogative to decline.
BOA:
Derogatory public record/collection
Too few accounts currently paid as agreed
Length of time accounts have been established
Loan balances to loan amounts too high
Too many inquires last 12mths.
NASA:
Derogatory public record/collection
Length of time accounts have been established
Too many inquires last 12mths.
Lack of recent installment loan information
Time since derogatory public record/collection is too short.
According to my EX CR I have 1 account late (a disputed Comcast bill for $350) 2 public records (one due to fall off in April and a tax lien), AAoA is 4.4 yrs and my oldest account is 12.2yrs and inquiries are 4, but 1 was over 12mths ago, and NASA and BOA were the 3rd and 4th. So at the time of the pull it would’ve been 1 or 2 in the last 12 mths for them. I have 6/7 accounts are paid as agreed (the one corresponding to the Comcast bill). I’m not sure if I should even bother to call and inquire about the declines or not.
Side note: I just pulled my EX CR and my Ratuken card (which is through First Bankcard) is still not being reported, even though the inquiry is reported. So my CL for that card is NOT being included in my revolving CL. I'm concerned that this will show an inaccurate Util %. Has that happened to anyone before?
Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated!
Ok, so first off, my suggestion is, if you are serious about building your credit scores, and you make over $100k, you can save yourself a bunch of time, and get accurate information, by signing up for the 3B monitoring here at myFICO. Yes, it's a monthly fee. You can afford it. It sounds like you have a less-than-optimal view to your credit scores (almost random numbers pulled out of a hat if you ask me) and this will serve to baseline your understanding, with really useful information, as well as keep you motivated to improve. It also lets you know if any of these jokers try to add any derogatories to your files.
The lates, while they seem to you to be a "minor item"; in fact credit scores look at one single late as a very bad sign. It's not counted as a "75% on-time is OK" thing. It's a unit count of 1 late, even out of 1,000 payments, that will ding your score. If it's only the Comcast bill, perhaps there are suggestions in the Rebuilding Credit forum about how to get that paid for deletion or some other method to clear it up. As you are learning, it is critical to never be late on any credit product item. Ever. Set up each of your accounts to autopay the minimum payment a few days after the statement prints. That way, no matter what, you have something covering your accounts so they are never late again. Then, pay in full before the due date.
What is the tax lien for? How long does that have to go before it falls off, presuming it will fall off? How much is it for? Have you taken any steps to pay to settle this one? Since both NASA and BofA list "Public Record" as their top reason, that should be a focus for your efforts.
And while you are working on this? Enjoy your new Discover and the other new cards. With your file, three in a short time is a very good spree. Garden for a year, work on clearing up your file, because that is where your effort will pay off. Any new INQ to try to get cards will either result in denials (the INQ count is quickly building, and thus dragging down your score) or very low limits. Yes, it would be nice to have larger limits for your upcoming spend, but that isn't what your profile supports right now. You can try to get creative to use the available limit, pay immediately after the charge, then charge again.
Regarding the "Prequalification sites", they are not separate sites. Go to American Express dot com, or Citi dot com, or Chase dot com, or Capital One dot com, and when you go to their Credit Card links, each of them has a menu or flyout link that goes to "See if you are prequalified" for a credit card or some such page. Google is not the best way to get to these, the banks are trying to make it as easy as possible for you to get to it
Good luck!
Hello NRB,
“The lates, while they seem to you to be a "minor item"; in fact credit scores look at one single late as a very bad sign.”
First off, thanks for the information above. Just to clarify, I haven't been late on my bills since early 2009. And that was because the recession hit my clients pretty bad, and they couldn't afford to pay me any longer. Prior to that, I had a successful (but young) practice. And with an accounting degree, staying on top of my bills just comes naturally. One of the reasons I’m so disgusted that my score is so low. One brief period of financial troubles 6 ½ yrs ago should NOT still be dictating my credit worthiness.
As for Comcast, I was unaware that they were reporting this on my CRs. I have several emails that I’ve written to them telling them that I will not pay until I received all the credits promised to me when I was having issues with my service that went on for months. I will be disputing this item as well since I do have those email records.
The tax lien is a fedaral tax debt. I've tried twice to settle this debt, and as anyone can tell you that's had to deal with the IRS, they really make it difficult. I was going to hire a lawyer, but I've have a couple of friends who have tax lawyers and say they have the same issues that I had when I tried to handle the matter myself. I'm currently saving up to pay the debt off ($8k) in full. That seems to be the best option for me now. The debt has been on my CR since early 08, and I think it's either permanent or 10yrs.
I tried the Citi card and received 5 “offers,” the Simplicity, Double Cash, Thank You Preferred and Premier and the AADvantage. If I applied to more than one, would it count as more than one HP? Does anyone know which CR they pull? I would only be interested in any of the three which don’t have an annual fee (Simpicicty, DC or TY Preferred). Does anyone know which would make the best card(s)? Or should I just apply to all three? For now, I plan to only keep a minimal balance on the card(s), I’m just trying to help keep my Util % low and add to my number of accounts profile.
Thanks for all the help thusfar!
Yes, unfortunately the Credit Bureaus were created for the banks, not the consumers, so only regulations keep them from showing our entire life story.
Are the Citi prequals at one specific APR? If one APR is shown for those cards which otherwise have APR ranges, such as the Preferred or Premier, then that's a good sign. I waited until I saw the lowest APR for all the Citi cards recently, to get the AAdvantage card as the 50k miles was expiring, with 13.99% APR. The other card to consider is the Citi Prestige. It has a $450 AF, but $250 of that you can get back in a heartbeat with the airline ticket credit. Citi has been pushing the Prestige, and with your income, and what appear to be decent scores, you might get the card. Others in the same score range have gotten Prestige.
I do not know if Citi will stack two apps on a single HP. For me, they pulled both EX and EQ to get the AAdvantage card. I don't do the double app thing, because the bonus spend requirements scare me.
