Need some advice on the next card

[Anonymous]

I have to make my next move my best one and who better to ask than you folks!

I ignored my credit in my 20s and started the rebuild in october. I have the good ole cap one unsecured card with a $300 limit. i know they print my bill 3 days after due date and that's what reports so i keep it at around $10 when it reports. on this card i'm just waiting for time and they will auto increase it.

I have a credit one bank at $300 limit and it first reported high as i thought it would take two cycles to report as i read and as my cap one did. I paid it in full after some advice i got from other members here and in the sock drawer it goes (thanks guys)

I applied for an amazon store card and got $700 and have not even used it as the limit is pretty low.

I got on CCT and it's showing utilization at 28% because my cap one reported like 50% (before i figured out how it worked) and credit one was like 70% but with the amazon card it brought it down to 28%

my next update in 7 days will show cap one at 4% or $10 bucks, credit one $0 and amazon $0 so i'm sure i'll get a few points there.

- I want to know what credit card is my best option? (i get pre approved for discover it but may want to wait until my report updates)

- I was told i have to wait until six months after opening the capital one unsecured to get another card.

CCT REPORTS
EX -669 EQ- 673 TU-690 at 28% utilization.

oldest account is 10 years ago a car loan for 33k that only reported for 6 months.

any help and all replies appeciated!

[Anonymous]

You should nurture and see if capital one will raise your current limit and use your amazon and pif each time, tjeyre good about handing out high limits after a few months, when i rebuilt my amazon store card started at $800 and 6-12 months later (cant remember exact time frame) it sits at 10k...IMO get rid of that Credit one card asap and run like the plague, another one i personally used to build up was a wal mart card as they're relatively easy to get. From what ive seen discover will probably be another low starter, id personally check amex for a pre-approval after your scores hit 700 at least especially EXP.

[Anonymous]

@Merlot55 you are on the right path. I'd tell you to pause for about 90 days and allow those fresh inquiries to age. Keep your utilaztion reported low, $10 on the Cap1 card should be all that reports each month. Keep the Credit One SD'd.  As you wait, getr your detailed/full reports from AnnualCreditReport Dot Com...and see if there is anything that is not 100% accurate, if it is not you should try to dispute and have any negatives removed.

Keep checking prequal sites. Chase, Disc, Citi, Amex, CardMatch Dot Com.

After those 90 days and if your scores are ALL above 680+ here's the mini-spree and order to use

1.) Chase Freedom Unlim (if you have a prequal offer online) *best to get in now bc you will be locked out of a lot of their cardst due to 5/24

2.) Discover 

3.) Amex PRG

4.) Amex BCE (if you are instantly approved for the PRG first)

5.) Barclay Cash Forward

6.) Walmart MC/StoreCard

Then garden for 12 months, close Credit One Card after 2 or 3 months.  SP increase will grow Disc, Amex BCE, Walmart, quickly. Keep checking Cap One prequal site, once you see a PreApproval with firm APR for a venture card. App for that, will be a hp on all 3 but should be a $5k-$10k line by that point, probably 6-9 months from now.

*hold cursor over cards in signature for limits and open dates*

[Anonymous]

1, 2, 3 or 4 but not both, def not 5 or 6.
JMHO

[Anonymous]

Should i still wait 90 days if they all post better than 680? i keep a pretty close eye on my accounts to make sure everything is reporting accurately. I want to maximize my resutls if i will be getting a HP. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous you are on the right path. I'd tell you to pause for about 90 days and allow those fresh inquiries to age. Keep your utilaztion reported low, $10 on the Cap1 card should be all that reports each month. Keep the Credit One SD'd.  As you wait, getr your detailed/full reports from AnnualCreditReport Dot Com...and see if there is anything that is not 100% accurate, if it is not you should try to dispute and have any negatives removed.

Keep checking prequal sites. Chase, Disc, Citi, Amex, CardMatch Dot Com.

After those 90 days and if your scores are ALL above 680+ here's the mini-spree and order to use

1.) Chase Freedom Unlim (if you have a prequal offer online) *best to get in now bc you will be locked out of a lot of their cardst due to 5/24

2.) Discover 

3.) Amex PRG

4.) Amex BCE (if you are instantly approved for the PRG first)

5.) Barclay Cash Forward

6.) Walmart MC/StoreCard

Then garden for 12 months, close Credit One Card after 2 or 3 months.  SP increase will grow Disc, Amex BCE, Walmart, quickly. Keep checking Cap One prequal site, once you see a PreApproval with firm APR for a venture card. App for that, will be a hp on all 3 but should be a $5k-$10k line by that point, probably 6-9 months from now.

*hold cursor over cards in signature for limits and open dates*

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That's a little ambitious and if I were the OP I wouldn't do much of this. You don't know their true spend nor if ANY of these would be beneficial. Walmart card... who offers that in the same breath as a PRG...

and discover doesn't have a good prequel site. Put mickey mouse in with 1234 as last 4 of social. 

OP you have limited credit so don't sit there and go on "sprees" right now. Sure people say that they all age the same (which they do) but it's not really beneficial unless you travel a lot or are getting free travel rewards bonuses or you find a solid cash bonus. Again, get what is beneficial to your true spend. 

[Anonymous]

@PWDT4R let's take the OP's first sentence "I have to make my next move my best one..." with that in mind lets break down what I suggested and the reasons behind it.

Op started rebuild in Oct 2016 with Cap One MC, Credit One Card, (Sync) Amazon Store Card...

1.) Likley HP Counts:

EX - 2 ( 1x Cap1 + 1x Credit One) | EQ - 1 (1x Cap1) | TU - 2 (1x Cap1 + 1x Sync/Amazon)

HP Aging/waiting 90days etc... Oct 2016 Hp's will be 6months old (no longer considered "recent" by Fico8 scoring) in April. Waiting 90days puts us in May...with 3 additional months of payment history, accounts are now roughly 7-8 months old....

2.) Likely HP's after App Spree

Chase Freedom Unlimited -> EX & EQ pull (probably) -> EX 3, EQ 2, TU 2

Discover -> EQ (prob) based on thinner file of OP -> EX 3, EQ 3, TU 2

Amex PRG -> EX pull, can get with 650+ score (usually) -> EX 4, EQ 3, TU 2

Amex BCE -> will use same pull as PRG/score 680 approvals common -> EX 4, EQ 3, TU 2

Barclay Cash Forward -> TU pull (99%) recent inq sensitive, so get this before another inq on TU -> EX 4, EQ 3, TU 3

Walmart MC/Store -> TU pull (99%) easy approval with 680 with big potential to grow. -> EX 4, EQ 3, TU 4

3.) The Cards I suggested:

Cards I suggested all have growth potential, Chase AUTO CLI's at 90days are common with good usage, Discover we all have seen the threads of consistent increase after 3rd or 4th statement, consistent 0% BT Offers. Barclay Card, can call in every 6 months and ask to speak with a specialist about a SP Credit Line Increase and typically 18mth 0% BT offers...AMEX BCE, 61 day 3X CLI and then every 181 days 3X CLI, could go...$2k -> $6k -> $18k in 15 months or less...good CB for groceries etc...PRG, all around useful if you PIF, MR points transfer 1 to 1 to Delta Skymiles (major carrier) that has flights from almost every regional/national airport in the US. Walmart Card, SP CLI's are frequent and not unusual to go from $500/$1000 to $5000/$7000 in six months (especially with good payments etc...) Useful card for the 99% of Americans who shop at Walmart 1x per month and it can be a good CB on Gas card...

What I suggested maximizes the OP's odds of approval for multiple cards from a variety of lenders and provides agressive credit line growth because most will SP CLI.  Minimizes the OP's HP count across all 3 Bureaus to minimize the impact (near term) and long term to the OP Scores. Making those SP increases easier.

PWDT4R wrote:

That's a little ambitious and if I were the OP I wouldn't do much of this. You don't know their true spend nor if ANY of these would be beneficial. Walmart card... who offers that in the same breath as a PRG...

and discover doesn't have a good prequel site. Put mickey mouse in with 1234 as last 4 of social. 

OP you have limited credit so don't sit there and go on "sprees" right now. Sure people say that they all age the same (which they do) but it's not really beneficial unless you travel a lot or are getting free travel rewards bonuses or you find a solid cash bonus. Again, get what is beneficial to your true spend. 

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[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Should i still wait 90 days if they all post better than 680? i keep a pretty close eye on my accounts to make sure everything is reporting accurately. I want to maximize my resutls if i will be getting a HP. 

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@Anonymous, yes you really should wait that 90 days and let those October inquiries age some, by May (90 days from now) they'll be over 6 months old, no longer "recent" from a scoring perspective although they still impact your score minimally.  See my reply @PWTD4R.  Now your mileage may vary and everyone's profiles are different, etc etc etc...but that post is the reasoning behind the suggestions/cards etc...

[Anonymous]

Ok. The PRG has a hefty AF and we don't even know if that will help OP. Walmart... who cares about growth on store cards? Only people who spend WAY too much time on here. The FU card is just 1.5% cash back for UR so, unless he has a CSP or something then what's a whole half a percent? Marginal. If you're getting a Barclay cash forward why get redundancy with the FU? Don't worry about pulls and get what you need for spend. 

[Anonymous]

Apparently we are justy seeing the OP's question from different perspectives. You seem more concerned with points/spend. Where I was looking at an overall credit file and rebuilding. Not just now but over the next 24 months and where would the OP be....

• PRG Annual Fee is typicallly waived the first year
• Walmart MC (Mastercard)? ...however if OP got the store card, still not a bad thing usually converted to the MasterCard later on anyways.
• Growing Credit Lines (store cards or otherwise) is important for rebuilding, certain credit products req experience with higher tradelines etc...
• Growing Credit Lines increase the overall avail credit, so OP can use cards without constantly paying down to zero before statements cut bc of UTIL%
• Freedom Unlimited - good cashback card, easiest way in with Chase and bc OP prob won't qualify for a CSP yet, however, 24mths from now, they should.
• Barclay CF - good cashback card with 5% redemption bonus (I agree redundant) but highest likely hood for approval on a card the OP will keep vs their "Rewards" card.
• "Get what you need for spend" for everyone this is different. So I'm not sure how this addresses the OP's post?
• Minimizing HP's is important for a rebuild, they weigh heavier on thin & rebuilding file scores so you definitely have to be concerned with them and you want as few as possible for the maximum number of tradelines to BUILD a strong credit profile.

!