I will work hard to be brief, but let me first begin with my story.
When I joined the forum in March 2008 I had the following cc to my name:
Capital one $500 limit Capital one 750 limit Orchard $300 limit Summit FCU 500 limit Householdbank 1k Macy's $100 limit Target $400 limit Advantage FCU $1,000 limit
and my credit scores were barely at 550
Thanks to your WONDERFUL Advice:
I was able to get Capital one limits raised and eventually combined to one card with a total limit os $1750, then I apped to for a second card in june and got a new card no af 2500 limit raised in Sept to 3250 plus expecting step increase of plus $500 to equal $3750 my highest cl todate.
I have BOA 99/500 since June/July, Chase Freedom 2k, HSBC/Unionplus 1.5k (only great HBSC product out there in my opinion, reps are polite and very helpful) Children's place (Citi) 500limit, Lane Bryant (200) GEMB (Penny's 150, Old Navy 200, Walmart 300,) Kay's Jewelry $800, Macy's raised to $400, Hooter's 1.1K, and I fell for HSBC Direct Rewards Discover 300/19af ( I realized I need to slow down on apping when the reason reg discover denied me due to too many recent open accounts/and inqs) this was heartbreaking b/c my although I have seen the warning from Hauling, and others, I even tried to go into rehab, but feel to the addiction. The denial from discover was a wake up call though. When I called to recon, and the polite rep said, mame you have 10 new accounts open. Yikes, I didn't realize it was so many.
I have made great strides in my rebuilding process. I have my eye on a Citi gas card offered for .30 cash back per gallon, but I WONT app anytime soon. I have about 30 inqs that I don't want any one else to see. I will sit back and garden, take good care of my Chase and BOA and watch everything blossom. I was going to purchase a home, but later decided to wait until I finish grad school in May 2009, considering relocating. But it was nice to have a pre-approval in hand from a bank!!
My current scores are: EQ 654, TU 658 EX 649 I have some large balances to paid by the end of this month, from moving expenses, and school. I havent been late in over 2 years, even if I can't PIF, I am doing my best to stay away from the limits.
Thank you EVERYONE, I read this forum daily, and the advice and support is awesome. I can't wait to reach the 700 clun, and I know it won't happen if I continue to app. I am going to sit on my hands LOL