I joined this board a couple of years ago with major blemishes on my credit (Judgment, write-offs, late payments etc.) Reading through many pages and learning 'tricks', I was slowly on the path of re-building. Toy limits glory and a high interest auto loan -- but hey -- better than nothing. I used them wisely and try to grow as many as possible (some stubborn staying at 500 or 800 limits).
Fast forward a few years later...I was able to obtain a mortgage (FHA 6% loan), trade in old vehicle and get a new one with a better interest rate. Baby steps and it felt like it was taking forever, but I used this forum for encouragement and strength to keep plugging along.
After buying the house ended we ended up in 'debt' and maxed out cards (really easy to do when you only have a 500 limit) so we carried balances and paid minimums which got us nowhere real fast. Score did not drop, but it was not going up either. We were not looking good with lenders so if we were approved for any new cards limits were 500 at best - I did manage to obtain:
Discover More for $1500.00
Zync - this card has been somewhat of a nightmare since the beginning. Started as NPSL -- we were of course on the lucky ones to be FR -- no issue sent in what was needed and Amex put a $5000 hard limit (OK still beats all other cards, and its AMEX). Christmas rolls around and I receive an email that they reviewed my account and was CLD to $3700 (2 weeks before the holidays) -- I called and again they wanted to review my tax returns -- sent it in again and received a letter they were sticking by their decision and will review my account at a later time -- this cards still sits at $3700. I have tried for other AMEX products since it only results as SP unless approved a 'no-go'. At this point I am over them but keep it since its 'rare breed' now and only $25 a year...
New plan -- time to PAY OFF CC 
Took all tax refund, any Christmas bonus money and paid down majority of cards!! Great feeling and major bump in scores (715+ across the board)!!!
Now lets work with what we have:
Refi Mortgage (FHA streamline) -- I actually had a lender that did not have any overlays and stuck with 'No credit check' and 'No appraisal' -- new rate 3.5%
Refi both vehicles -- Used local credit union shaved off a few months and dropped %
Start trying for CLI with cards I already have:
Cap One (old HSBC Sears MC) -- $750 since 08 ----> CLI button ----> new limit $5750 (amazed tried so many times even EO and always denied)
Cap One (platinum converted to QS) -- $750 ----> CLI button -----> new limit $3750 (same as above, was only able to convert to no fee rewards structure no CLI)
Discover -- $1500 -- this one took some time, never had the option online (always gave me the same message), then one day it came up where I could put information in -- then I got the screen that said HP needed --cancelled and called. The lady I spoke to said they needed to pull another report or to wait a month and try again. Waited a month tried online (now I get the message CLI in progress) -- decided to call and use 'autobot'...approved ----> new limit $3000
BofA 1-2-3 card -- $500 ----> did request on line and took the HP and requested $5000 --- came back with counter ---->new limit $3700 -- tried to call in to see if they would up the limit to $5000 and upgrade the card to the Signature version -- they wanted to do another HP so I declined
Comenity bank always liked me and I have multiple store cards (HSN, VS, PierOne and NY&Co) and always hit the LUV button every 4th statement and they all have grown nicely...HSN - $4000, VS - $1900, PierOne $3000 and Ny&Co $1790
Walmart started at $200 and after years of hitting the LUV button as of today its up to $2000 -- have not seen the famous pop up for upgrade -- maybe one day
Lowes $500 -- pulled the trigger after 4th statement and it went up to $3700. After reading numerous threads on GE solutions and the success -- I called (used my knowledge from here and asked for 10K to remodel kitchen) -- put me on hold and came back with counter ---> new limit $6000 I will try again when 4th statement cuts
Chase Freedom (Old Wamu/Providien) $500 --->emailed for CLI they want to do a hard pull - didn't want to waste in fear of low/denied increase
Now that is done I waited 2 months for some of these nice limits to post and wanted to try for 2 more cards and researched the approvals and starting CL and decided on:
BofA - Royal Caribbean Visa (really wanted a signature for the extra perks) and we are loyal RCCL cruisers -- applied and got the dreaded 7-10 message. I googled to see if BofA had an application status site and they do...entered my information and was shocked to see 'Congraulations you are approved...'; however it did not give a limit or confirm it was the signature version...Called the next day and they confirmed Signature with $5000 revolving limit
Next I knew I wanted a Comentiy backed Visa/Mastercard since they have been so good with CLI -- I just wanted one that made sense. Sportsman Visa and VitaCost made no sense since I never shopped their (yet the approvals have been great on here)...I have NEVER been able to get any 'pop up preapproved' offers no matter what I did so I knew I would be taking a HP.... decided on Total Rewards Visa (we love to gamble so made sense)....Submitted application ----> instant approval $6000 (regular card -- not signature, don't know why, but I am ok with only one siggy card)....immediately created account and saw that LUV button staring at me....Myfico has not steered me wrong (as long as you know which threads are helpful and which are bulls***) -- can it be true, I can hit this and get an increase without even having the card in hand lets see ---> approved new limit $6800....should I try again -----> approved new limit $7600....come on is this real (LOL) tried again hands shaking (gambler coming out in me) ----> approved new limit $8400 WHAT!!! I should stop...but my fingers kept going -----> approved $9200...ok now I see a trend of $800 increments...the OCD in me tells me to try one more time for that magic $10,000 credit limit (at one point I could only dream of).....went for it and....7-10 day message....so close
I will try again in a few months and happy knowing I am soooo close to a six figure limit.
I know this was a long thread (and hope this is the right section to post--moderators please move if needed)...but I owe so much to this forum. Before I do anythign credit related I ALWAYS come here first! When you are young you don't realize the impact credit has (and based on your age...this type of help/guide was not easily available back in the day -- I'm not that old (almost 40)-- but the way technology changed I feel like a dinosaur sometimes).
To all on your own credit journey I wish you much success and hope you can take some of this and apply it to your situation!
To all of you 'younger' folks on here who handle your credit wisely and seek out guidance -- I applaud you!!
@OneDay800 wrote:I joined this board a couple of years ago with major blemishes on my credit (Judgment, write-offs, late payments etc.) Reading through many pages and learning 'tricks', I was slowly on the path of re-building. Toy limits glory and a high interest auto loan -- but hey -- better than nothing. I used them wisely and try to grow as many as possible (some stubborn staying at 500 or 800 limits).
Fast forward a few years later...I was able to obtain a mortgage (FHA 6% loan), trade in old vehicle and get a new one with a better interest rate. Baby steps and it felt like it was taking forever, but I used this forum for encouragement and strength to keep plugging along.
After buying the house ended we ended up in 'debt' and maxed out cards (really easy to do when you only have a 500 limit) so we carried balances and paid minimums which got us nowhere real fast. Score did not drop, but it was not going up either. We were not looking good with lenders so if we were approved for any new cards limits were 500 at best - I did manage to obtain:
Discover More for $1500.00
Zync - this card has been somewhat of a nightmare since the beginning. Started as NPSL -- we were of course on the lucky ones to be FR -- no issue sent in what was needed and Amex put a $5000 hard limit (OK still beats all other cards, and its AMEX). Christmas rolls around and I receive an email that they reviewed my account and was CLD to $3700 (2 weeks before the holidays) -- I called and again they wanted to review my tax returns -- sent it in again and received a letter they were sticking by their decision and will review my account at a later time -- this cards still sits at $3700. I have tried for other AMEX products since it only results as SP unless approved a 'no-go'. At this point I am over them but keep it since its 'rare breed' now and only $25 a year...
New plan -- time to PAY OFF CC
Now lets work with what we have:
Refi Mortgage (FHA streamline) -- I actually had a lender that did not have any overlays and stuck with 'No credit check' and 'No appraisal' -- new rate 3.5%
Refi both vehicles -- Used local credit union shaved off a few months and dropped %
Start trying for CLI with cards I already have:
Cap One (old HSBC Sears MC) -- $750 since 08 ----> CLI button ----> new limit $5750 (amazed tried so many times even EO and always denied)
Cap One (platinum converted to QS) -- $750 ----> CLI button -----> new limit $3750 (same as above, was only able to convert to no fee rewards structure no CLI)
Discover -- $1500 -- this one took some time, never had the option online (always gave me the same message), then one day it came up where I could put information in -- then I got the screen that said HP needed --cancelled and called. The lady I spoke to said they needed to pull another report or to wait a month and try again. Waited a month tried online (now I get the message CLI in progress) -- decided to call and use 'autobot'...approved ----> new limit $3000
BofA 1-2-3 card -- $500 ----> did request on line and took the HP and requested $5000 --- came back with counter ---->new limit $3700 -- tried to call in to see if they would up the limit to $5000 and upgrade the card to the Signature version -- they wanted to do another HP so I declined
Comenity bank always liked me and I have multiple store cards (HSN, VS, PierOne and NY&Co) and always hit the LUV button every 4th statement and they all have grown nicely...HSN - $4000, VS - $1900, PierOne $3000 and Ny&Co $1790
Walmart started at $200 and after years of hitting the LUV button as of today its up to $2000 -- have not seen the famous pop up for upgrade -- maybe one day
Lowes $500 -- pulled the trigger after 4th statement and it went up to $3700. After reading numerous threads on GE solutions and the success -- I called (used my knowledge from here and asked for 10K to remodel kitchen) -- put me on hold and came back with counter ---> new limit $6000 I will try again when 4th statement cuts
Chase Freedom (Old Wamu/Providien) $500 --->emailed for CLI they want to do a hard pull - didn't want to waste in fear of low/denied increase
Now that is done I waited 2 months for some of these nice limits to post and wanted to try for 2 more cards and researched the approvals and starting CL and decided on:
BofA - Royal Caribbean Visa (really wanted a signature for the extra perks) and we are loyal RCCL cruisers -- applied and got the dreaded 7-10 message. I googled to see if BofA had an application status site and they do...entered my information and was shocked to see 'Congraulations you are approved...'; however it did not give a limit or confirm it was the signature version...Called the next day and they confirmed Signature with $5000 revolving limit
Next I knew I wanted a Comentiy backed Visa/Mastercard since they have been so good with CLI -- I just wanted one that made sense. Sportsman Visa and VitaCost made no sense since I never shopped their (yet the approvals have been great on here)...I have NEVER been able to get any 'pop up preapproved' offers no matter what I did so I knew I would be taking a HP.... decided on Total Rewards Visa (we love to gamble so made sense)....Submitted application ----> instant approval $6000 (regular card -- not signature, don't know why, but I am ok with only one siggy card)....immediately created account and saw that LUV button staring at me....Myfico has not steered me wrong (as long as you know which threads are helpful and which are bulls***) -- can it be true, I can hit this and get an increase without even having the card in hand lets see ---> approved new limit $6800....should I try again -----> approved new limit $7600....come on is this real (LOL) tried again hands shaking (gambler coming out in me) ----> approved new limit $8400 WHAT!!! I should stop...but my fingers kept going -----> approved $9200...ok now I see a trend of $800 increments...the OCD in me tells me to try one more time for that magic $10,000 credit limit (at one point I could only dream of).....went for it and....7-10 day message....so close
I know this was a long thread (and hope this is the right section to post--moderators please move if needed)...but I owe so much to this forum. Before I do anythign credit related I ALWAYS come here first! When you are young you don't realize the impact credit has (and based on your age...this type of help/guide was not easily available back in the day -- I'm not that old (almost 40)-- but the way technology changed I feel like a dinosaur sometimes).
To all on your own credit journey I wish you much success and hope you can take some of this and apply it to your situation!
To all of you 'younger' folks on here who handle your credit wisely and seek out guidance -- I applaud you!!
Congrats on your success
Great journey! Thanks for sharing.
Discover IT $17k / US Bank Ace (VSig) $13.5K / US Bank Cash+ (VSig) $13.5k
Congrats for all the success so far!
Congrats!!! Well done!!!
Great story, grats to your continued success
