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So I have done a ton of searching and reading. I have found what I think would be my perfect card, that being the Amex Blue Cash Everyday. I am not certain I can get it and I want to see if there is anything I can do to improve my chances or advice for me before I apply.
My current scores are as follows from myfico of course..
EQ 713
EX 681
TU 689
I have one account that went delenquient and was maked as paid in full and closed in April 2013. The account was a overlooked medical bill for $75. Other than that I currently have 3 CC's and a Installment loan. The loan was taken out in Oct 2012 for $475, I plan to pay it off this month as I feel it has done it's duty in getting my credit up. I have a First Premier card (HORRIBLE), Credit One, and Capital One. The First Premier I plan to pay off in full and close ASAP, I didn't even know what I was getting myself into when I got it. I was just excited to get it as I wanted to build my credit. The Credit One is the next to go after First Premier, I feel I have grown past these sub-prime cards and want to move on. Capital One will be the last to go, I don't plan on letting it go for atleast another 3 months.
The only thing I see being an issue is the amount of inquiries I have. I will be closing on my house in 3 weeks and plan on appying for the card around that time. Between the mortgage company running my credit twice and one other company running it while I was looking for the best rates I have a couple hits.
So to sum it up my plan before applying is to only have ONE open credit card and my home will more than likely not have hit my credit yet.
Any advice? Should I not bother applying for that high end of a card yet?
Thanks
David
If these are your only credit cards, you might consider keeping them. If you are paying your card bills on time, you are benefiting by having these cards open. Until you get a prime card you will continue to build your credit with these cards. As far as you being approved for AMEX BCE, they will most likely pull your Experian report. I applied last week and they pulled EX only. As to whether you meet their criteria, I don't know. My EX has a 16 year history so, that might have helped me.
I think you may have a chance here. Does the Capital One card have an annual fee? I know that the other two do. If the Capital One does not have an annual fee, I would leave that card open as it can only help your credit by just charging something to it every now and then and immediately paying it off (even if it is a cup of coffee) and just keeping it open in general.
Your chances may be better, however, if you wait until your mortgage starts reporting on your credit as lenders like to see long-term debt (like a mortgage)...it shows structure.
Thanks for the reply. I want to keep them but at the same time they are just costing me money. First Premier charged me $200 for a partial secured card ($300 CL) they charge 25% for a CLI and $14 a month for the card. The Credit one is just about as bad super high rate with $90 or so yearly fee. I pay them way down but was told by family to carry a small balance. I have never carried more than $35 balance on any card, and never had a late payment.
I plan on applying right after close as I want to have a really good card for buying the misc stuff for the new house. I might also consider the True earnings card as I work for Costco so it might be nice to have.
Also, if/when you apply, consider instead the BCP. As stated by Open123 in a recent post, this almost always turns out to be the better choice. Whereas people focus on grocery spend to decide, the critical thing to remember is that many supermarkets sell giftcards to a whole range of things (stores, restaurants,gas) and you can get these, using the BCP, for 6% off for no extra charge in most cases, up to the $6K per year cap. This can be worth an extra $60-105 per year, depending how much you spend on gift cards at places you don't have another credit card reward for.
And then, you can get the extra savings on gas and department stores as well.
@longtimelurker wrote:Also, if/when you apply, consider instead the BCP. As stated by Open123 in a recent post, this almost always turns out to be the better choice. Whereas people focus on grocery spend to decide, the critical thing to remember is that many supermarkets sell giftcards to a whole range of things (stores, restaurants,gas) and you can get these, using the BCP, for 6% off for no extra charge in most cases, up to the $6K per year cap. This can be worth an extra $60-105 per year, depending how much you spend on gift cards at places you don't have another credit card reward for.
And then, you can get the extra savings on gas and department stores as well.
I agree with this, but I will add to be aware of what AMEX considers a dept. store. It's a really specific list. I'd read the list before deciding to get the BCP for 6% back at dept. stores.
Sorry for I am a bit of a noob, what is a "GW for the CA"?
@hutchj wrote:I agree with this, but I will add to be aware of what AMEX considers a dept. store. It's a really specific list. I'd read the list before deciding to get the BCP for 6% back at dept. stores.
I agree, it's also only 3% at those specific stores. My point was that this is an extra savings over and above the supermarket one, as BCP gives 1% more on gas and (the very limited) department stores.
@Db366 wrote:Sorry for I am a bit of a noob, what is a "GW for the CA"?
A goodwill letter, basically asking the reporting entity to delete or amend the info in the credit report. If the amount in question is small, like your $75, and it appears to be an honest mistake, this will sometimes work, but it is totally at the discretion of the creditor.