Hello all,
This is my first post so hopefully it's well recieved and that this thread is ok in this section 
I have been recently starting my journey to rebuilding, starting with a 520 credit score about a year ago.
Today my basic FICO 8 are...
EX 605, TU 613, EX 630 (goal is 740)
...which isn't bad but I've had a really bad habit of going on apping sprees which I think is hurting my score a LOT. I currently have 62 inquires!!! I know that's really bad. I plan to take a hiatus for a while as my credit repair guy (NOT Lexington Law) gets my credit going more.
The cards I have right now are...
Harley Davidson Secured - $300 (First ever card 16 months ago. They keep dodging me on converting it to Unsecured)
Capital One Platinum - $300 (about to auto increase!)
Meijer Store Card - $500 (Get 10 cents off/gallon)
Kohls - $300 (meh, I use it for clothes now and then)
Fingerhut - $300 (I'll never use it but keep open for history)
Indigo Platinum - $300 (New. Thinking about closing this before using it due to the AF)
CL = $2000. Close Indigo, keep CareCredit, CL will be $2700, balances are $1450 so UTL will be a little over 50%.
I have an auto loan as well as a few collections that are being disputed (medical, rent, school), one is a charge off. My credit guy says he can make it all go away... we'll see.
Now to the approval. I've done my last pull for a while tonight (which was synchrony car care lol after the rush of being approved, got denied) and was approved for Care Credit for $1000 since I need some major dental work done. That's awesome! My question is since they have been doing SP CLI's recently (according to other forum posts), should I ask for more when they open tomorrow as I need a lot more than that? Call or online chat? Also I wonder if it's worth a shot to make my UTL go way down.
Thanks everyone for such a great community. I have followed for a while and it's helped a ton. Any advice is welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Thank you for the warm welcome! I hope to get out of and put into this board as much as I can
Congratulations on your approval and the start of your rebuilding journey!
Congratulations on your approval. Care Credit is a great card for our family for medical and vet expenses. Now is the time to garden and let those inquiries fall off. Kudos on your progress for rebuilding.
Oh, and welcome! So happy you joined us.
Only thing with them is to make sure you make your payments on time. If you are late you won’t be eligible for a Cli within the next 6 months
You can request cli via link in you account page
You can request cli via link in you account page
@LionLawwrote:Welcome to rebuilding! It can be frustratingly slow sometimes, but as long as you stick with it, you'll keep moving in the right direction. Here is the best advice I can give you:
--First, and most importantly, there is nothing that your "credit repair guy" can do for you that you can't do yourself by applying the knowledge to be gained from this community. Ask lots of questions over in the Rebuilding Your Credit section of the board. They helped me a ton during my rebuild.
--Next, and almost as important, STOP APPING! 62 INQs is WAY off the charts. Your score will recover significantly over the next 12 months if you let those age off without adding new ones. Although INQs don't have much/any effect on your scores after 12 months, they stay on your CRs for 24 months.
--Pay down your balances. This is not a quick and easy fix, but getting those balances down to zero will help your score immensely.
--Ask for CLIs on your existing cards, but make sure they don't require HPs. You can get guidance from this community on how often different creditors will grant CLIs. Some only allow one every 6 months; some allow every 3. I don't have any experience with your creditors, so I can't help you, but I'm sure someone else will be able to. There's no harm in asking (but again, make very sure that the request won't result in new INQs reporting on your CR).
--I don't know anything about Indigo, but you should absolutely not be paying an AF for a $300 CL. Get rid of that thing!
Other than that, the best strategy at this point is patience. If you follow this plan, your scores will be significantly better in 6-12 months, and you will be in shape to get approved for some prime cards.
Welcome, and enjoy the journey!
Man that's some great schooling right there Thanks a ton for taking the time to write that out. Yes, it's really hard especially considering that riding season is coming and I'm itching to app for a motorcycle. However you're saying if I wait until next season, I should be able to get whatever bike I want IF I stop apping, pay down the balances and get some CLI's?
Would canceling Indigo hurt my score? I haven't even gotten it in the mail yet to activate.
Op, big welcome Thanks for taking a moment to post, if you become active in our community, only positive things can happen, or should lol
+1000 on LionLaw 's advice. Great advice LL. Time to take a step back, let your accounts age and breath, bring down your utilization, an youll see positive results. Id call Credit Solutions and try to get a cli for your dental procedures but please remember most Synchrony accounts are tied to your TU scores so the higher it gets, better opportunities for higher limits become more obtainable.
Spend some time over in Rebuild forum but dont be afraid to join us in our chaotic, but peaceful Garden club We celebrate different days like Tcbofade Taco Tuesdays, Whine Wednesdays where you can whine away , or Wine away, lol, and start celebrating early weekends on Friday Jr ( Thursdays) newbs bring the refreshments
Thanks for taking a moment to post, if you become active in our community, only positive things can happen, or should lol+1000 on LionLaw 's advice. Great advice LL
. Time to take a step back, let your accounts age and breath, bring down your utilization, an youll see positive results. Id call Credit Solutions and try to get a cli for your dental procedures but please remember most Synchrony accounts are tied to your TU scores so the higher it gets, better opportunities for higher limits become more obtainable.Spend some time over in Rebuild forum but dont be afraid to join us in our chaotic, but peaceful Garden club
We celebrate different days like Tcbofade Taco Tuesdays, Whine Wednesdays where you can whine away , or Wine away, lol, and start celebrating early weekends on Friday Jr ( Thursdays) newbs bring the refreshments
Thank you, I'm so happy to be here Watch me get that 850!