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Hello,
Please bear with me.
I've been on a rebuilding journey for the past 15 months. In the past I've been quite reckless with my finances and thus I finally decided to take control. I had filed for bk back in 2007 and by 2017 the bk had fallen off. But like a kid who sometimes never learns I was still being a bit of a rebel with my finances.
My Fico 8 scores back in June 2016 were Equifax 484 / TransUnion 498 / Experian 496
My scores/profile was so horrible that even Credit One didn't want to touch me with a 10 foot credit card pole. First Premier?? They pretty much told me to take my credit profile and burn the thing! AMEX?? Yeah right...they simply took one look at my credit and gave me the most convincing denial they have in history, at least that is how it felt to me.
Fast forward to May of 2017 my Fico 8 Scores improved a little bit to Equifax 522 / TransUnion 496 / Experian 513
TransUnion was playing hard to get with me so instead of improving it got worse, albeit by only 2 points. By this point I've read quite alot of threads on this helpful forums on how to effectively fix my credit situation once and for all. So, instead of opting for Credit One / First Premier Card I got a secured Capital One Card with $1K deposit and subsequently got a $300 CLI within 90 days. I also financed a new vehicle through Regional Acceptance for $22K.
So far so good.
Fast forward to this year on January 2018 my scores were Equifax 565 / TransUnion 555 / Experian 542
Alright, so I'm making some headway so like a champ I decided to get the Discover Secured card with a $1.2K limit. By this point my credit profile was still horrible. I had an average of 8 collections and 8 charge offs accross all 3 bureaus, although some were quite old but still, I knew I had a long road ahead of me.
Months went by. I've been abusing the hell out of the Capital One secured card, sometimes going over the limit, not paying in full on some billing cycles, paying late here and there (but not 30 days lates). Same thing for the Discover secured, with the exception that I never paid them late. My scores were still in the toilet because of credit utiliazation always being at over 96% in conjunction with all the other baddies.
Which brings me to today October 2018 and the App Spree...
By this point I've already disputed and got rid of many baddies from my credit report, most of which were 6-7 years old. I also brought my Utilization down to 2% with an AZEO strategy. Annual income is $35K and length of employment is 2.5 years. Below are my stats before the app spree took place:
Equifax: Fico 8 Score 672 / Fico 8 Bankcard 677
-4 CO's over 2 years old (all paid and showing $0 balance and trying GW's). One of the charge offs is 6 years old.
-1 Collection of $64 dollars (disputing)
-0 Public Records
-3 Inquiries last 12 months
-Last late payment 2.10 years ago
TransUnion: Fico 8 Score 667 / Fico 8 Bankcard 682
-5 CO's over 2 years old (all paid and showing $0 balance and trying GW's)
-0 Collections
-0 Public Records
-1 Inquiry last 12 months
-Last late payment 2.10 years ago
Experian: Fico 8 Score 673 / Fico 8 Bankcard 680
-3 CO's over 2 years old (all paid and showing $0 balance and trying GW's)
-0 Collections
-0 Public Records
-1 Inquiry last 12 months
-Last late payment 2.9 years ago
American Express (Pulled Experian)
My first App Victim...AMEX BABY!!! I should have mentioned this before but I've always wanted an AMEX card. I've never, EVER had an account with AMEX, and looking on the bright side I'm SO glad I never did because more than likely I would have taken AMEX to the cleaners during my BK. For over 10 years post BK I've tried getting in the door with them to no avail until now!!!
Behold below my first ever AMEX approvals!!!
Delta Gold $2K Limit
AMEX Blue Cash Everyday $1K Limit
Finally they decided to open their blue hearts to me! Granted not the best APR/SL but beggars can't be choosers! By this point I was so excited that even if I got denied from the other banks it would have still been worth it because I finally got my first ever AMEX cards!
Navy Federal CU (Pulled Equifax and TransUnion)
Next App Victim Navy Federal CU. When they changed their policy to veterans being able to join I jumped at the chance. I opened a checking account with them back in December of 2017 and at the time they had denied me for a credit card...until now! I got a mailer for an invitation to their More Rewards American Express card and...
You gotta be kidding me?? Did they just instantly approve me for $7K?? I'll take it dammit!!
I decided to press my luck even further with them and I applied for a personal loan of $7K and what do you know??? INSTANT APPROVAL!!! I'm starting to think NFCU has a crush on me! They pulled Equifax for the personal loan and TransUnion for the credit card.
USAA Rewards Card American Express (Inquiry pulled Unknown)
Next App Victim was USAA...I got an invitation to apply for the USAA Rewards Card American Express and was DENIED! However, they did a counter offer for the below: Is it worth it?? Should I recon?? I have 90 days to accept. I don't know what they pulled yet.
PENFED (Pulled Equifax)
Finally, I got an invitation to apply for the PENFED Pathfinder. I had a bad feeling about this one and called it in instead and applied over the phone. However, I instead applied for the Power Cash Rewards and was outright DENIED! Reason for denial is Recent Charge Offs, too many inquiries, and low credit score?? They have me at 714 out of 850. Should I recon this one as well?? Should I have applied for the Pathfinder?
Final Thoughts
I'm really excited for the AMEX cards and just as equally excited for Navy Fed's generosity. My only question is should I close My capital One and Discover secured cards now since they still have not graduated yet? Or should I give them more time? It would be kinda nice to get my deposit back if they are going to keep me stuck in the secured basket.
Thank you for all the advice guys!
@Carlosjb3
First things first: From one veteran to another, Thank You for your service!
Super Congrats on your very successful app spree!
Wow. That's quite a credit journey you've been on. You're now in a much
better place, and you have a lot to be proud of. Very well done indeed!
Regarding Amex: Plan on apping for a 3x CLI after 61 days on one of your cards.
Just care and feed them properly and you shouldn't have any problem.
Regarding Navy Fed: Do a quick search on Navy Fed's 91/3 strategy.
Wait 3 statement cycles + 1 day and then request a CLI. Also at that
time, it's a great opportunity to apply for a 2nd Navy Fed card. You'd be
shocked at the starting limits on the 2nd card that myFICO members
have shared here in the forum. Many are 5-digit SLs, but the key is to
care and feed all of your tradelines properly, not just Navy Fed's.
Regarding USAA: USAA is a peculiar credit beast. They hard pull Experian FICO 3.
Experian is the only CRA that uses FICO 3. There are no EQ or TU FICO 3's.
In addition, while USAA Federal Savings Bank is located in San Antonio, TX,
all lending decisions are made at USAA Savings Bank in Las Vegas, NV.
So if you receive a denial/approval notice from USAA in Las Vegas, don't
let it throw you for a loop.
I would recommend accepting USAA's counter offer. Why? Because they have
proven to be very generous with CLIs, provided you care and feed properly.
Give it 6 months. The only down side is that the USAA CLI will be a hard pull.
Once again, congratulations on your success.
Thanks so much for taking time to share with us!
Congrats on your credit journey and successful app spree!
@Carlosjb3 wrote:
... My only question is should I close My capital One and Discover secured cards now since they still have not graduated yet?
Great story of redemption. Wow! Thanks for all of the details -- someone will surely come along months from now, years from now, and find your post very useful. Great job.
Before cancelling I would 1st try this link to see if eligible for a Cap1 product change; wait on Discover some more. There's many stories of Graduation Day coming with a CLI multiplier of 5 or 10 (doubftful on 1.2K, but still). Maybe research some Disco threads 1st, but I expect come 12 months your graduation chances are good.
Congrats and that is a credit journey for your ***. Your Discover card may un-secure soon. Call Capital One and see if they will un-secure it. Worth a shot to get your money back you put in. I would take the offer from USAA. Better to get in let it grow and then ask for a CLI later on. They already gave you a HP so might as well take it. For Pen FEd call them and say you made a mistake and applied for the wrong card and see if they can give you the Pathfinder card. Hopefully, they will not need to do another HP.
Suggestion... Skip Capital One... Go for Alliant or another Credit Union. Much lower APR's... Just a suggestion...
@Anonymous wrote:
Regarding Navy Fed: Do a quick search on Navy Fed's 91/3 strategy.
Wait 3 statement cycles + 1 day and then request a CLI. Also at that
time, it's a great opportunity to apply for a 2nd Navy Fed card. You'd be
shocked at the starting limits on the 2nd card that myFICO members
have shared here in the forum. Many are 5-digit SLs, but the key is to
care and feed all of your tradelines properly, not just Navy Fed's.
Thank you AllThingsInTime! Will Navy Federal do another hardpull for the CLI/2nd Card? Or use the same hard pull?
Regarding USAA: USAA is a peculiar credit beast. They hard pull Experian FICO 3. Experian is the only CRA that uses FICO 3. There are no EQ or TU FICO 3's. In addition, while USAA Federal Savings Bank is located in San Antonio, TX, all lending decisions are made at USAA Savings Bank in Las Vegas, NV. So if you receive a denial/approval notice from USAA in Las Vegas, don't let it throw you for a loop.
I would recommend accepting USAA's counter offer. Why? Because they have proven to be very generous with CLIs, provided you care and feed properly. Give it 6 months. The only down side is that the USAA CLI will be a hard pull.
I accepted their offer and will definately develop a relationship with them! Thank you for the advice!
@Carlosjb3
Everything at Navy Federal is a hard pull.
In fact, as a general rule you should expect hard pulls
no matter who the lender is. If you call in to Navy Fed
for a CLI/2nd card application, they will tell you
right over the phone that it's going to be a hard pull
and which file/credit score version they'll be using.
Glad to hear that you accepted USAA's counter offer.
They are very conservative and will definitely hard pull,
but their hard pulls are worth it provided you garden properly.
Please continue to keep us posted on your progress and success!