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I'm very happy. I have been fixing my credit meticulously for a little over a month. Did some disputes, CLIs, and paid off a lot of balance.
Well, before these positive results of these actions have had a chance to reflect on my credit report, I managed to work myself into a Blue Cash Everyday by getting approved for a Delta Skymiles, which is a very easy card to get (got mine with an EX FAKO of 603) and then calling the same day I received and activated the card and asking nicely if it could be converted to the BCE. The lady on the phone was extremely nice and just a minute or two later she had it converted without any problems.
My credit limit is $1,000 which is low but perfectly fine as I only intend to use it for everyday purchases, and I'll apply for the 61 day CLI when its due. APR is 19% after the first year, I'll also work on getting that down even though I plan to PIF.
These forums have been invaluable in my quest for 750+ credit, and even though the BCE was my main goal, I will continue coming here and doing what I can to improve my credit.
Any tips on what other cards I should go for? Discover It, Chase Chase Freedom, and then the garden?
Congrats on the PC; the BCE is a great card. I love mine.
In regards to other cards to apply for, we would need a little for information about your history and what you want. Inquiries, baddies, current FICO scores would be helpful as would what you want in terms of rewards (cash back, travel, points, etc).
Assuming you want cash back, Discover has been a great card to have. Wonderful customer service, 5% cash back on rotating categories and a good BT option if you want to pay off some debt. Chase Freedom is another one I would recommend.
Its hard to answer for now. When I started all of this my utilization was about 70% with a total credit limit of $3,300. By increasing my credit limits to a total of $9,000 and making big payments I was able to bring utilization down to under 25%. There were some late payments older than two years ago, and I disputed them. The results on EX are that three of the five disputed accounts removed their late payments but the accounts are not showing their full credit history (missing years of payments) so I gotta call EX. TU dispute results are not in.
Anways, my TU credit score was at aroun 630 and its now at 670 but the increase in credit limit and utilization have not been reported yet, so I am hoping that will put me past 700. I think I will wait for that to happen before I apply for the Disover It and Chase Freedom, and then hit the garden.
I am not interested in travel cards as I am an airline pilot and thus fly for free, what I want is either cash back or nice rewards.
Congrats!! Keep up the good work!
Congrats! Thanks for sharing.
Chase Freedom is my favorite of my cashback cards, but it also is my highest (effective 1.1-5.5% CB) because I opened a bank account with them.
Amex and Citi see plenty of usage - I just wish Citi's categories would be useful to me!
@Mannymal wrote:I'm very happy. I have been fixing my credit meticulously for a little over a month. Did some disputes, CLIs, and paid off a lot of balance.
Well, before these positive results of these actions have had a chance to reflect on my credit report, I managed to work myself into a Blue Cash Everyday by getting approved for a Delta Skymiles, which is a very easy card to get (got mine with an EX FAKO of 603) and then calling the same day I received and activated the card and asking nicely if it could be converted to the BCE. The lady on the phone was extremely nice and just a minute or two later she had it converted without any problems.
My credit limit is $1,000 which is low but perfectly fine as I only intend to use it for everyday purchases, and I'll apply for the 61 day CLI when its due. APR is 19% after the first year, I'll also work on getting that down even though I plan to PIF.
These forums have been invaluable in my quest for 750+ credit, and even though the BCE was my main goal, I will continue coming here and doing what I can to improve my credit.
Any tips on what other cards I should go for? Discover It, Chase Chase Freedom, and then the garden?
I am just curious, what was your FICO score when you were approved for AMEX Delta?
congrats
I second the Discover recommendation. They've been great, and the Discover shopping portal is so much better than that of Barclaycard or Chase (which are all I have to compare with). This quarter that is now ending I've gotten 10-15% cash back on just about everything I ordered online, and that's beastly around Christmas when I'm ordering a lot.
Congrats OP! Your story is very similar to mine, except that I had to wait a bit longer before being able to PC to BCE. I tried a couple days after activating the Delta Gold Skymiles but the CSR I spoke with at the time said my card wasn't eligible yet since it was still so new. Then just yesterday, I contacted AmEx on another matter. Before ending our conversation, I inquired again about a PC and that CSR said my card now qualified (with the account now open for a couple of weeks). As you can see in my signature, the CL isn't very high, but I'm hoping for the 3xCLI some time in Feb. Just wondering now if this recent PC will affect that (?).
@Peaceonearth, my EX score (per AmEx) was in the low 660's when I was initially approved for the Delta Gold Skymiles. I'd read somewhere that applying through the Delta website for this card vs. through the actual AmEx website may optimize my chances, so that's what I did. Ironically, I tried for an AmEx charge card (the PRG) almost immediately after the Delta Gold Skymiles approval, got the 7-10 day message and within a couple of days, got the decline.
So, in my situation, I guess it was easier for me to get an AmEx revolver (albeit, one of the "easier" revolvers to qualify for).......
By the way, how long does it typically take to get the new card and for the BCE (vs. the Delta Gold) to show up online under my account after the PC change? Sorry, just a little excited.....