Okay - so I have quite a haul from this year, and I'm officially calling it quits so I can work on improving my CL, AAoA, and payment history with no new inquiries (I think this is what you folks call "gardening"). This is my first year really getting into credit. Prior to these applications, I only had the one Chase Slate and one Macy's store card going back to 2012. I had really no clue about rewards, but I did at least leave a solid trail of payments made on time. Anyway, here we go, in chronological order:
Chase Freedom Unlimited: $3000, high APR
Capital One Venture One: $10,000, high APR
Barclaycard Apple Rewards: $2000, ?? APR (free financing period for MacBook Pro purchase)
JP Morgan Chase Ritz Carlton Rewards: $10,000, high APR
Capital One Venture: DECLINED (this is where I learned about C1's 6-month rule) they didn't do a hard pull
Amex PRG: NPSL, tested spending power, $10k approved, didn't try anything further - 25k points over $2k spend - I found out AFTER applying from the site that I had already been pre-approved for 50k over $2k spend, but it was too late to get this offer since it had recently expired, and you only get one offer per card per lifetime. D'oh! Always check for preapproved offers before you apply! Don't make the same dumb mistake I did.
RBFCU Cashback Rewards MC: $5000, 14.9% APR - I have asked for a CLI to $10k for this, which is currently under review
Discover It: $1200, 24.99% APR - Wow, these are some truly awful numbers. I knew my Experian was bad because it's the only one that still shows late payments (on an AU account that went to collections which I have disputed - haven't heard back yet). I attempted to call today to have this reconsidered, but Disco drew a hard line. They want to see activity for 3 months. Lesson learned is always try to know (or approximate) which bureau a lender is going to pull. Just because you have a prequal letter doesn't mean you'll get approved. I considered cancelling this one, but changed my mind. I don't want to waste that inquiry. I do have a question for other Disco users - I have read briefly in another thread some suggestions on getting them to like you - is Discover pretty good about Auto CLIs? They seem pretty tough just based on the phone conversation.
EX - 646, TU - 690, EQ - 688. As I get my balances under control in the coming 2 or 3 months, I expect TU and EQ to get over 700. Now about the EX...I really hope the dispute works.
