Tonight, I applied for the X1 Card as I am eager to add more cards to my credit profile (which only contains two cards), and I loved that I could pre-qualify with only a soft pull. Unfortunaly, I was denied and should receive a letter in a few days with more detail. My scores aren't currently the greatest but should be going up in the coming months due to time as well as plans I have.
To provide you with some data points, these are my open cards and scores. I have my HTML signature ready for when I have enough posts to use that feature (as of this post, I was able to add it, so I am editing to explain the redundancy), and I am sure I will be there soon as I enjoy posting here and am constantly learning from other users!
Chase Amazon Prime Visa Signature | $13,400
TJX Rewards Mastercard | $2,000
Scores as of 12/1/23: Experian - 682, TransUnion - 680, Equifax - 676.
If anyone has any perspectives on my situation, the X1 Card, and other moves I should make, I've love to get as much information as possible. I am new to building credit with a focused approach despite a long history with credit and really mean it when I say I appreacite any advice I can get, especially since I'm open to considering multiple strategies for raising my scores and have yet to take actions outside of requeting CLIs on a schedule for my current two cards in addition to always paying in full on time. Thank you for reading my post, and thank you extra in advance if you take the time to educate me!
if you're lower income X1 has an income requirement, the soft pull will kick back 'insufficent income' if you're under 50k?, maybe more now than the last time I've seen that
hopefully they'll give you a chance once your fico score improves so you can show income through bank connection to get yourself another higher limit card
As you mentioned in your previous post, you still have a CO on your reports (that's due to fall off in a few months). Also, you said you always pay on time and pay in full but, how much of a balance are you allowing to report on your cards when the statements cut @Larzipan? It's great that you're paying in full but, if you're allowing too much of a balance to report, that could be suppressing your scores and since utilization has no memory in scoring, making sure only a low balance reports on one of your two cards on your next statement cycle would likely help boost your scores.
Having a CO on your reports puts you on a dirty score card, which results in your utilization to be scored more harshly. I would shoot for 1% to no more than 4.8% reported utilization on any individual card, this will also lower your aggregate utilization.
Just my 2¢ but being you have a thin file (when it comes to active accounts), I would refrain from applying for anything until that CO is gone. As I mentioned in your other post you can request an EE on TU right now, and on EX in just a few months... You're on the right path, sometimes this whole thing takes something simple that many people really struggle with putting into practice (including myself at times).... patience.
@GZG wrote:if you're lower income X1 has an income requirement, the soft pull will kick back 'insufficent income' if you're under 50k?, maybe more now than the last time I've seen that
hopefully they'll give you a chance once your fico score improves so you can show income through bank connection to get yourself another higher limit card
I shouldn't fall in a low income range, so I would be surprised if that were the issue, but my salary falls under six figures, and having FICO scores under 700 is probably hurting me. I agree that applying for a higher limit card through my bank would be a good option because I can prove my income. I am considering doing so through PNC. Thank you for sharing your input!
@JoeRockhead wrote:As you mentioned in your previous post, you still have a CO on your reports (that's due to fall off in a few months). Also, you said you always pay on time and pay in full but, how much of a balance are you allowing to report on your cards when the statements cut @Larzipan? It's great that you're paying in full but, if you're allowing too much of a balance to report, that could be suppressing your scores and since utilization has no memory in scoring, making sure only a low balance reports on one of your two cards on your next statement cycle would likely help boost your scores.
Having a CO on your reports puts you on a dirty score card, which results in your utilization to be scored more harshly. I would shoot for 1% to no more than 4.8% reported utilization on any individual card, this will also lower your aggregate utilization.
Just my 2¢ but being you have a thin file (when it comes to active accounts), I would refrain from applying for anything until that CO is gone. As I mentioned in your other post you can request an EE on TU right now, and on EX in just a few months... You're on the right path, sometimes this whole thing takes something simple that many people really struggle with putting into practice (including myself at times).... patience.
My utilization is always very low, around 1%, because I make payments frequently in addition to having my cards on autopay. This month, I'm planning to only allow a small balance on one of my two cards to continue having low utilization. However, my CO is definitely an issue.
It is hard for me to be patient because I am eager to get more cards, but I definitely just need to continue on the path I'm on now that I am being more vigilant about my credit overall. I have gotten the advice to hold off on new cards until the CO is gone from a few people, so that may be wise! Thank you so much for the encouragement and taking the time to reply to my post!
@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:@Larzipan doesn't mean you can't ask for soft pull CLIs. Have you hit up credit solutions for the paypal card? ask for 25k. the numbers on here somewheres.
I actually only got approved for my PayPal Mastercard super recently on a whim! I am absolutely going to relax and not add any additional cards until I get my scores in the 700s, but I was happy with the $6500 CL I got from Paypal. I'll request an increase after 6 months and will definitely see if I can possibly get 25K. That seems like a really big jump but would be fantastic!
To share some additional information that may help others, here are the stated reasons in the denial letter I got days later:
Your application was processed by a credit scoring system that considers various factors in evaluating applications. The reasons for this adverse action are:
- Income insufficient
- Too many past or present delinquent credit obligations with others
- Unable to verify identity
Our decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained from the following consumer reporting agency:
Experian’s National Consumer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013
(888) 397-3742
I feel my income over 80K should be sufficent but have heard of people inflating their income (using something like $110K). Is that ever a good strategy? I had a recent address change that may have contributed to the identity issues, yet I have since taken more steps to change my address and have opened a new card with my new address, so I shouldn't have that particular issue moving forward. My "serious delinquency" should be gone from my report soon, and I know that more cards (and better cards) will be in my reach with 700+ scores!
@CreditCuriosity wrote:
80k is fine or should be fine for the x1, lying on income is never a good strategy. Never listen to youtubers or credit experts as lying with anything in life isn't a good thing and can lead to other consequences. X1 unless they changed their policies will also will want to connect to your bank account to verify stated income=bank account deposits; Most likely it is the baddies you have on your credit report impacting your scores as well. X1 isn't a great card IMHP and likely you are better off with the PP MC in you signature for most things. Credit is a marathon and not a race which is usually said on this forum quite a bit.
I appreciate the reassurance that I am better off with my PayPal card! Thank you for your insight.
I have always been honest about my income and will continue to do so, especially as I don't usually think my income is an issue with approvals...though I have never been asked to actually connect my bank to show deposits from my job during an approval process. I also have 20% of my paycheck going to my 401k, so I'm concerned my income wouldn't appear to be correct if that method were used for verification. Have you experienced this with cards other than the X1 card, and if so, which? I would be interested in any information on cards looking at deposits in your bank account to verify income as I am not familiar with this. In my experience, I would already be approved for a card and specific CL by the time I'm connecting my bank.
Anyway, I will continue to try to be patient and let my scores improve over time as I don't have long until the effects of my derogatory mark go away.