3 month app spree approvals and TRASHED my Credit One!!

[Anonymous]

So I've done a lot of work paying off collections and actually giving a crap about my credit over the past 2 years. I guess turning 30 did it for me! Lol
My first card last year was a Credit One card with a $500 limit. It was a horrible card but I used it for its purpose and it really helped my credit over the year.

I guess the banks have seen my hard work and although I haven't broken the 700 mark yet I feel like I'm well on my way!

My current FICO scores as of today:
EQ: 644
TU: 691
EX: 669

In February I got a pre approval for the Chase FU and took a shot. Bam! $1500 limit
Then I noticed a Pre- approval for the CSP on CK. I didn't think I had a chance in hell but applied anyway in March. Bam! 5k approval! I couldn't believe it.
I was feeling frisky so decided to try AMEX ED. Bam! 5k approval!
Tried PENFED in March as well- Bam! Only $500 approval though and had to call them after 7-10 day message to get it.
Today I got a mailer from B of A (Americard cash rewards) and I really wanted a 3% card for gas so I held my breath and went to the site. Bam! 3.5k approval!

I also got a Cap one platinum card about 8 months ago and have since PC's it to the QS with no annual fee.

So that's my credit card journey. I let all my cards show a balance of 9% or under every statement and PIF every month. I hope to have a score in the mid 700's by next year.

Off to the garden for me!

Current card portfolio:
BofA Americard Cash Rewards: 3.5k
Chase FU- 1.5k
Chase Sapphire Preferred: 5k
CapOne QS- $750
Penfed- $500
Amex ED- $5k

I've learned a lot from this forum as well as CK so thank you all.

Also I'm debating taking advantage of the 0% APR for 15 months on my cash rewards Americard and purchasing a new laptop. What is the best way to go about this so it doesn't hurt my credit? Stop using my other cards and just pay cash until I pay off the balance is what I'm co side run doing. I will hit my 4K spending to get my bonus from the CSP in a couple weeks.

[HeavenOhio]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I let all my cards show a balance of 9% or under every statement and PIF every month. I hope to have a score in the mid 700's by next year.…

Also I'm debating taking advantage of the 0% APR for 15 months on my cash rewards Americard and purchasing a new laptop. What is the best way to go about this so it doesn't hurt my credit? Stop using my other cards and just pay cash until I pay off the balance is what I'm co side run doing. I will hit my 4K spending to get my bonus from the CSP in a couple weeks.

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Congrats on the approvals. That's a nice bunch of cards.

How much do you want to spend on your laptop? That might help people who want to offer advice.

You're likely to "hurt" your score a bit, but the damage can be minimized. As long as you keep the 0% card from being maxed and you keep your other balances low or at zero, you should be OK as far as spooking anyone out. At that point, the tradeoff would be a few points off your score to gain a financial advantage. As you pay down the laptop, your score would climb.

You can continue to use any or all of your other cards. But the safest route would be to pay them down to zero before the statement hits. Your statement balances would be zero, and zero would be the amount reporting to the credit bureaus.

Actually, for a fully optimized score, the best tack is to leave a small balance on one card while letting the rest report zero. In your case, you'll have a "sort of" high balance on one card for a while, but FICO will still like the rest reporting zero.

[Anonymous]

First, Welcome to MyFico!!! There are tons of information and helpful advice here. Although, looks like you're doing a really good job of rebuilding your credit!

Congratulations on the approvals with some great lenders!!! You've one well for yourself. And as you say, gardening now sounds like an excellent idea. 

Also, something that may help you get to 700s even quicker is to let only 1 or 2 cards (less than half of your reporting cars) report a 9% balance or less and pay the other cards to $0 before the statement cuts. Now, this is micromanaging. Some people only do this a month or two before making a big purchase - like a car. Others, like me, do it every month. I just want to always maximize my points every month (But then again, I only have three cards). 

As for the laptop question, what percentage will the laptop be of your CL on the Americard? How fast do you intend to pay it off? 

[Anonymous]

Thanks ItsPossible! I've been lurking here for a little while. Learned a lot!
Thanks for the reply!

The laptop is $1500 so maybe 40% of this card. I intend to pay it off in 3 months maybe 2. It really goes against my not carrying a balance philosophy but I need a new laptop as mine is having serious issues and is going on 5 years old!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks ItsPossible! I've been lurking here for a little while. Learned a lot!
Thanks for the reply!

The laptop is $1500 so maybe 40% of this card. I intend to pay it off in 3 months maybe 2. It really goes against my not carrying a balance philosophy but I need a new laptop as mine is having serious issues and is going on 5 years old!

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You're welcome CGuru!!! 

Now, I am not the expert that many of the folks on MyFico are. However, I would let my other cards report a $0 balance and then let the Americard report.(But I am also one that only lets one card report a balance anyway).  Overall, a $1500 laptop purchase is only 9% of your overall revolving credit limit. And the 40% of one card will go down significantly as you pay it off in 2 to 3 months! I really don't think your score will be affected that much and any affect will recover once you've paid down the Americard as  utilization has no memory.

That's my suggestion. But, others may chime in with their suggestions as well.

[austinguy907]

You want a new laptop and that's $1500 right?

You got approved for a 0% for 15 months right?

Do you plan on needing to micromanage your scores into 750+ for a mortgage or auto loan in the next 6-12 months?

If not then just get your new bling and don't worry about it!!!

When you're gearing up for something big is when you need to focus on dropping things down into the 9% club for a couple of months to make sure everything is updated and hits your reports for scoring.  Otherwise....... not really a priority other than for your personal ego.  As for keeping balances low or no.... being debt free is nice and carrying $1500 shouldn't be that big of a mental hurdle to deal with.

KILL Credit One!  You don't need them anymore

Picking up as many cards as you did.... Plan on gardening anyway for 12 months to let things age and not to spook any of them into a CLD or closure.  Just take your haul and baby them a bit for the next 12 months and work on CLI's instead of apps.

[HeavenOhio]

I posted something above that appears to have gotten caught in some kind of filter. But the upshot was that you can continue to use your other cards. While your one card has a higher than usual balance, pay the others down (or most of the others down) before the statement hits so they report a zero balance on your report.

[Anonymous]

You know that's a great point Austinguy- I have no mortgages or autos to finance coming up. I'm doin the **bleep** thing.
Credit one was killed once I got my Chase cards. They are 100% a predatory company. I played their game for a bit and am thankful for the credit boost but DEFINITELY happy so say goodbye!

I'm considering closing my Cap one now because 6 cards seems like a lot for me and my FU gives me the same 1.5% cashback but with a higher credit line. 🤔🤔

[Anonymous]

And I'm definitely in the garden for the next year at least. My goal after lurking these pages was to have a nice diverse profile and I think I've done that to my satisfaction

[joltdude]

hold onto that cap1 for a bit, even if you use it sparingly  or once a year, use it for utilization padding of your larger purchase....like that laptop...

and heck it is an option that can grow, but usually slowly.... its not one to one but 750 is a good slice to counteract some of the laptop purchase..