Congrats to you !!!
@Anonymous wrote:This is a LONG post so skip down to the last 3 paragraphs if you want the approval details!
The road to getting new credit lines wasn't as bad as it could have been thanks to this forum. I have lived outside the US for over 5 years. Returned, settled in a new state then I was originally from. Got back into the US workforce, in the software industry. It's been 2 years now that I have moved back and hadn't had the need for credit. However, I would like to get a home in the some what near future. So I pulled my credit reports for the first time ever. Boy was I surprised. 2 of my reports had no score because it had been so long since I had credit. There were a couple HP from renting an apartment and a cable company. Also a couple old closed student loans.
The real kicker was one of my credit reports (EX) had a TON of bad credit that was not mine. A lot of it from even when I was out of the country, like medical bills. I was shocked!! Come to find out I had what is called a mixed report where my report was mixed with someone else's. Come to find out it was two other people that lived in the state I was originally from. Both have the same name as me, or very similar. One was a lot older than me and the other was younger than me. Anyway, I had everything from medical bills, back child support, late mortgage payments, co-signed loans with my "wife", addresses and employers I never lived or worked at, it was pretty crazy. I read that I might have to hire a lawyer to help out as mixed reports are difficult to resolve. Although, EX got sued a few years ago for $18 million for not helping someone with a mixed report, so they are a little more likely to help now days, plus a new law (government agency) was put into action to over see the credit agencies.
I decided to try my luck myself and wrote dispute letters. It took a little over a month to hear back but evey single disputed wrong item on my report was removed the first time with no problems. There were a couple more online disputes to clean up minor things like addresses and employers. Then EX had no credit score because it was so clean like the other two reports. I was just happy they were clean and I could focus on building a credit history.
The first thing I did was apply to Alliant Credit Union and was approved for membership and started a savings account (this is not my primary banking institution). I then applied for a secure loan due to following the technique in this forum http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Adding-an-installment-loan-the-Share-Secure-technique/td-p/4506756. It worked beautifully bringing one of my scores from 0 to above 700 and another from 0 to high 600s. However, it has taken a while to be added to my EX report. (still waiting)
I was tired of waiting so I looked for CCs that pulled either TU and EQ. The one I wanted was Discover IT and I was happy to see that the majority of the time they pull EQ, which was my highest score. I nervously applied. They asked me to upload proof of address and identity as well. So I attached my latest bank statement with my current address and my social security card. I then got the dreaded 5-7 days message.
I was a little bummed but thought maybe since they asked for the supporting documents they just needed time to review them. Being so impatient I called Discover right then and asked the status. They checked my attached docs. Asked a lot more questions around identity then put me on hold. They came back and said I was APPROVED for a SL of $2500! Wow! What a great feeling!!
So now on my reports I have a Secured Loan that I have paid down to under 9% and now a new credit line with Discover for $2500. As soon as my EX report updates(ugh they are so slow for me) I will try for a couple more cards. I want to have a good credit mix and I see an installment loan and 3 revolving trade lines is what I need for optimal credit scoring. That is my goal. I think my next card will be the Citi Costco Card. I couldn't be happier that I am on the right track to building credit. This forum has been an amazing wealth of knowledge. Thanks everyone!
Congratulations!...Thanks For Sharing.
Congratulations on your new Discover card and welcome to the Discover family! 
Congrats on your awesome approval! Enjoy!