@Anonymous wrote:Lol @thornback looks like we are on the exact same page here!
haha.... I saw that 
And yes, OP, I agree with The Devil regarding Amex -- get your FICO scores first. Amex may approve you but start you with a $500 limit (their lowest) which could be stuck there a year before they approve a CLI. Recommend cleaning up your reports first. Closed accounts with balances and outstanding collections do you no favors.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Hey everyone!
I've been lurking around on the boards for a while now and finally decided to join and make my first post! *waves* I've been working on rebuilding my credit for a while now. I've gone from a 545 to a 744 (currently listed on CreditKarma TU- 744 EQ-745) and have been sitting on 740's for a while now, a least a few months. Although, I'm VERY proud of how far I've come, I feel like my "portfolio" can still use some work.
First thing is sign up for a seven day trial for $1 at www.creditchecktotal.com to get your FICO scores. CK is good for watching changes in your reports but the scores are a different algorithm and you can ignore them, as they're largely irrelevant to the lending world. Be sure to cancel after you get your scores or you'll be enrolled into an unneeded $30/month plan.
Just checked this!!! EQ - 691 (FICO 8) TU - 688 (FICO 8) EX - 686 (FICO 8)
I've been reading about the Discover and AMEX BCE cards and I've been deciding if it's a good idea to app for them. I'm very cautious about my credit and it means a lot to me, so I don't want to do anything that might hurt it. I live with DH and we split all the expenses down the middle, with the highest expenses being food and gas. With that being said, I definitely think something with cash back incentive for gas and/or groceries would be a good thing. We do a lot of shopping at Aldi, but there's also a Walmart, Target and Publix in our area as well. I also commute a 30 min drive to and from work 5 days a week so gas for me is rougly about $120 a month.
Both of these lenders offer prequalification - try that and see what they offer. They're both great lenders to have and many of us carry cards from both.
I've been approved for both the Discover It Cash Back & the Chrome. AMEX I've been approved for the Plat, BCE and the Delta Silver.
Anyways, I know this forum is full of smart and amazing people who are definitely more educated and informed than a mid 30-year old such as myself so any advice and criticism is welcomed and appreciated!
Thanks!
Here are some DPs:
Income ~ 30K
Sep 2018 Cap 1 QS ~ $741/$2000 (37% uti) already have plans to pay this down to 29% uti by the end of the month
Pay it a little farther, to 27% instead. The actual breakpoint for a scoring effect is 28.9%, and by paying to 27%, you'll stay below that threshold after interest is added.
I'll definitely do this!!
Aug 2014 Cap 1 QS one ~ $526/$3000 (18% uti) my oldest card atm
Nov 2018 Syncb/American Eagle Store Card ~ $78/$2,500 (3% uti) paying this one off too at the end of the month
Sep 2018 Comenity Express Store Card ~ $0/$500 (never used this card once since I got it...lol)
Feb 2015 Wells Fargo ~ $2,041/$9000 (this is DH's card and I'm an AU on it for the credit age - he's had it over 4 years)
Closed Accounts:
My oldest CC which was a Kohls/Cap 1 opened Oct 2008 fell off my CR this month since it was closed back in February of 2010
Comentiy/Ideal Image ~ Opened Oct 2015 and Closed Sep. 2017 $645 balance remaining on it
Is this in collections? If not, I would pay it off as soon as you can in order to avoid having it show up as a collection or a chargeoff, as that'll definitely damage your score.
This is NOT in collections. It was closed by the credit grantor and at the time of closing I did have a balance. I'm paying it off slowly but surely.
Cap 1/BB ~ No balance, opened Jan 2009 and closed May 2013 (I have a 120+ day late payment on it)
CapOne is a tough nut to crack but some have gotten negatives removed. Search this forum for "The Saturation Technique" to find out all about a Goodwill campaign to try and remove that late. It's a score killer!
I will!!!
2 Hard Inquires ~ 1 July 2019 & 1 Sep 2018
Zero worries here.
1 Collection opened in April 2014 from Midland Funding for $694 . not paying this as said from previous advice. waiting for it to fall off CR.
It will fall off naturally in April 2021. Or you could do one of two things - Early Exclusion (contact the bureaus to ask about having it removed early - for TU it's six months, for EX it's three months, and for EQ it's 30 days, but they'll screw it up so leave them alone), or you could pay it off and it'll be gone in 30-45 days as if it never existed. Midland's started policy is deletion upon payment in full or settled for less, as long as the debt is at least two years old. That would clear things 6-12 months early and with the age of the debt you could probably settle for 30-40% of the balance owed and have it gone forever.
I don't really have the extra cash at the moment to settle, but I'll definitely keep it in the back of my mind. April 2021 isn't that far off anyways. How bad is this collection really hurting my score??
@thornback wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Hey everyone!
I've been lurking around on the boards for a while now and finally decided to join and make my first post! *waves* I've been working on rebuilding my credit for a while now. I've gone from a 545 to a 744 (currently listed on CreditKarma TU- 744 EQ-745) and have been sitting on 740's for a while now, a least a few months.
First things first: What are your FICO scores?
Credit Karma offers scores of the Vantage 3 model which is different from FICO and used by very few, if any, lenders to make credit decisions. Vantage scores can differ from FICO scores but as much as +/- 100 points because it weighs various aspects of your credit profile differently. You can go to Experian.com and get all 3 FICO-8s as part of their 7 day trial. Just be sure to cancel before the trial ends if you do not want the monthly service. You can also opt for a free, monthly Experian FICO 8 by signing up for Experian's free service. You have a total of 28 different FICO versions (incl. mortgage, auto, bankcard, and FICO 9) and lenders may use any of the 28 they see fit. If you want to know all 28 of your scores, you'll have to sign up for the myFICO credit service, which is more costly. Credit Karma is great for monitoring activity on your reports -- but the scores provided are not very useful for obtaining credit. You need to be monitoring your FICO scores.
Thank you so much for coming back to help!!
EQ - 691 TU - 688 EX - 686
@Anonymous wrote:
I've been reading about the Discover and AMEX BCE cards and I've been deciding if it's a good idea to app for them.
Amex pulls Experian FICO 8 exclusively -- so it's a good idea to know where you stand with that score. Discover may pull either Experian or Equifax FICO 8 (occassionally, both). Both are excellent cards. Discover cash back are in quarterly categories - so you will not get year-round 5% on Gas, instead, it will be for only a single quarter.
Let me know if the Ex score of 691 is good enough to get approved. As mentioned, I have been preapproved for the Plat, BCE and Delta silver.
@Anonymous wrote:
Closed Accounts:
My oldest CC which was a Kohls/Cap 1 opened Oct 2008 fell off my CR this month since it was closed back in February of 2010
Comentiy/Ideal Image ~ Opened Oct 2015 and Closed Sep. 2017 $645 balance remaining on it
Cap 1/BB ~ No balance, opened Jan 2009 and closed May 2013 (I have a 120+ day late payment on it)
1 Collection opened in April 2014 from Midland Funding for $694 . not paying this as said from previous advice. waiting for it to fall off CR.
Comenity: Is this a charge-off? Why is a closed with a balance? This is hurting your scores as it factors into your overall utilization and a balance on a closed account usually has the effect of a maxed out card because the credit limit isn't considered. Try to pay that balance off asap.
This is NOT a charge off but an account closed by the credit grantor, just so happens to have been closed when I still have a balance. Paying it off though.
CapOne: What month/year did the 120-day late occur?
May 2013.
Midland: They will delete the tradeline after payment. It's old enough that you could probably settle for much less than the full amount -- it'd be worth it to have it taken off your reports. Collections hurt. You can look up your account on their website and see if any settlement offers exist:
I'll look into this!!
@thornback wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Lol @thornback looks like we are on the exact same page here!
haha.... I saw that
And yes, OP, I agree with The Devil regarding Amex -- get your FICO scores first. Amex may approve you but start you with a $500 limit (their lowest) which could be stuck there a year before they approve a CLI. Recommend cleaning up your reports first. Closed accounts with balances and outstanding collections do you no favors.
My Experian score came back at 686. Equifax is at 691. Transunion 688. Is this good enough for AMEX??
@Anonymous wrote:
My Experian score came back at 686. Equifax is at 691. Transunion 688. Is this good enough for AMEX??
Probably, but you'd be a borderline approval -- which means it may go under manual review and, if so, your reports will be scrutinized. And your moderate income will be a deciding factor for a starting limit --- especially since your reports reflect outstanding debt. Of course, the choice is yours -- but, personally, I'd wait till I got clean things up a bit more and scores over 700 at least. You also might luck out with an instant approval and high starting limit - coin toss. But my advice is to wait.
As for the closed account with a balance -- the faster you get that paid off, the better. It's digging into your overall util and holding your scores down. Very good thing it's not a charge-off!
The account with the 120-day late was brought to a current status and closed? If so, then when the 120-day late hits the 7 year reporting statute (May 2020), it will be removed -- just the late; the account itself will revert to closed and in good standing and will remain on your reports for another few years (accounts in good standing remain on reports for ~10 years after the close date).
And I highly recommend settling Midland so it can be removed if you can.
You might also want to check out the CardMatch pre-qual tool on creditcards.com...will show potential offers from Amex, BofA, Cap1, Chase and FPB
@thornback wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
My Experian score came back at 686. Equifax is at 691. Transunion 688. Is this good enough for AMEX??
Probably, but you'd be a borderline approval -- which means it may go under manual review and, if so, your reports will be scrutinized. And your moderate income will be a deciding factor for a starting limit --- especially since your reports reflect outstanding debt. Of course, the choice is yours -- but, personally, I'd wait till I got clean things up a bit more and scores over 700 at least. You also might luck out with an instant approval and high starting limit - coin toss. But my advice is to wait.
Thanks for the advice! With the feedback that I've gotten I don't think I'm going to be applying for any additional credit at this time. What I'm going to do is like you said, clean my reports up a bit more and get them over 700. I'm kind of sad that they are as low as they are. I really thought I was doing so well and I had a 740, but I guess I'll have to work at it some more.
As for the closed account with a balance -- the faster you get that paid off, the better. It's digging into your overall util and holding your scores down. Very good thing it's not a charge-off!
Gotcha!! I'm glad it's not a charge-off either, haha. I'll definitely put this as a priority and pay it off as soon as I can.
The account with the 120-day late was brought to a current status and closed? If so, then when the 120-day late hits the 7 year reporting statute (May 2020), it will be removed -- just the late; the account itself will revert to closed and in good standing and will remain on your reports for another few years (accounts in good standing remain on reports for ~10 years after the close date).
I don't know where to check if it was brought to a current status?? It just says purchased by another lender (Midland Funding - which is the $694 collections, I have) and closed. I checked again and it looks like I had late payments from May 2013- Aug 2013. If I'm understanding correctly, those will be removed this year (the lates) and the account will just stay closed but no derogs on it?
And I highly recommend settling Midland so it can be removed if you can.
They offered me 40% off the $694, if I settle with them. They've allowed me to pay in payments but I might just do a lump sum. What's the difference between paying the full balance of $694 or settling for the 40% off which I think she said came to around $400. Does it show up differently on my CR?