First post. I've been lurking and learning for a couple of months. First, let me say you all have been invaluable.
I kept getting these ads when I logged into my BofA checking account saying I was pre-approved for the card. I assumed it was just fishing for apps based upon my long-standing account (not a perfect account, mind you - gone in the red a few times) because they hadn't done a soft nor hard pull on my credit for as far back as it keeps track. I don't have a FICO score on any bureau because my oldest credit, Comenity Wayfare ($500), was opened in November.
Since, then, I've opened Capital One ($300), Credit One ($300), Comenity Overstock ($1500), Fingerhut ($500 SL, now $800), Comenity Brylane Home ($500), and Comenity Williams Sonoma ($500). I've been shopping for a good secured card with which I could buy a higher SL and figured since I bank at BofA anyway, I might as well keep it simple. Reading some advice here, I thought if I'm going to get a hard pull anyway, I might as well accept my "pre-approval" and fall back on the secured card with a same-day pull if necessary.
No instant approval. Tracked down a backdoor number and explained how my wife and I will be traveling for business and we really like Alaska Air. She was nice and said she couldn't approve it instantly but that there was a "recommendation to approve" on the account. I didn't push it, though I hadn't (and still haven't) heard of that before. Everything I've read about reconsideration calls is that they either approve you or not. I checked daily since then with their status checker. Still reviewing...
...until yesterday. Approved! Cards in the mail. Checked on my BofA account to see if it showed up in there to get the details. It hadn't. Checked again just now. SL $1500. Not the cool Alaska Air card I wanted with the 30K miles but I still get some miles on the this Alaska Air Signature Visa.
Went back here to check to see if maybe my FICO score had materialized. FAKO shows 642, but no real score. (By the way, I love the fact that myFICO doesn't charge you if they check your credit and it doesn't score. Very classy.)
My brief history:
Old collections and a repo made me stay away from credit for a decade. When I was about to start over with a clean slate, I was hit with three tax liens. Found out they were released when my wife signed me up for Wayfair on a whim. Since then. I've been reading everything I can, planning strategy, making mistakes (I wish I didn't load up 4 Comenity SCT accounts all at once), and paying everything in full right before my statement.
Needing a car by June (4th kid on the way so need 3rd row seat), a house next year (rented my whole life), and loans for medical. Again, I want to thank you all for the incredible advice. Never knew a credit community could be so much fun.
