Approved At Helzberg Diamonds!

[Anonymous]

I read this forum all the time, for probably about two years and am now ready to start sharing what I've learned. I went from a score of about 430 with major debt and collections to NEARLY 700 last year. However because of higher than normal credit usage and over 17 inquiries from buying a car last year, my score is currently around 600. My Credit Karma shows my TU at 578 and EQ at 573, and when I log in to Experian it shows 645... so I dont know who to really believe.

BUT, after waiting and working on my utilization getting it down from 90% to 52%, I applied for a Helzberg card and was APPROVED for $2101 through Capital One and $3,000 through their private account. They pulled a report from Transunion. So hopefully this helps someone looking for a Helzberg card. 

I have two collections accounts, and am sitting at the scores I posted above. Good luck to you!!

[Anonymous]

Congrats on your approval! 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Jag!

[Anonymous]

Congrats on your approval! You should believe in your Experian score, not your Credit Karma. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much. The only thing that still confuses me is which score is accurate. I just did the creditchecktotal trial though and it does show all three scores closer to that Experian score. I'll go updat emy signature now. Thakn you for the confidence boost! 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you so much. The only thing that still confuses me is which score is accurate. I just did the creditchecktotal trial though and it does show all three scores closer to that Experian score. I'll go updat emy signature now. Thakn you for the confidence boost! 

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Only use Credit Karma for the payment update and info, but don't rellied on its scoring. Your FICO scores should continue to go back up to near 700 again as you pay down your utilization. Start applying for prime cards and slowly weed out your subprime cards like Credit One, First Premier and Milestone. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you Steve! I appreciate the advice, the reason I added my cards below was in hopes people would offer suggestions such as this. Good thing for me is that all teh lower limit cards were opened most recently, so hopefully closing them when time comes wont affect my credit length too much. 

I am planning on waiting a month or so since I just applied and was approved for the Helzeberg cards, but when I do go for a more prime card... what would you recommend? 

A side note... I am also looking to join a credit union, will that help at all with prime CCs? 

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@Anonymous wrote:Only use Credit Karma for the payment update and info, but don't rellied on its scoring. You FICO scores should continue to go back up to near 700 again as you pay down your utilization. Start applying for prime cards and slowly weed out your subprime cards like Credit One, First Premier and Milestone. 

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[Anonymous]

Once your score goes back up, start checking pre-qualify links with American Express, Chase, Citi monthly. Start to look for cards that benefit your spending pattern like grocery, restaurants, or travel.

Joining a credit union should help. Most big credit unions have a good rewards card with no fees.

[Anonymous]

Awesome, thank you so much for the tip Steve!

[Anonymous]

No problem. And good luck!