Approvals

[Anonymous]

Hello, this is my first time posting here but I’m on my re-building journey. Feb 2018, my scores where in the 460’s and had 120+days late payments on my report. To now, 12/2018 my scores are in the low 600’s now. What credit cards would approve me? I don’t want to apply for one, get denied and then lose points due to the inquiry. Should I wait?


12/2018: EX-614
EQ-613
TU-633

Capital one platinum
Fingerhut
Kohl’s
American eagle federal credit union secured card
Credit one

[Anonymous]

Cap 1 platium seems okay, quicksilverOne may be risky.

[HeavenOhio]

Welcome, @Anonymous.

How old are your current cards? What are their balances and limits?

With the information at hand, I'd wait. It's probable that your scores will increase if you let things age.

[Anonymous]

Current cards: 

• Capital one platinum since 12/2015 Bal:199 Limit 600
• Cap one platinum (auth user) 2/2016 Bal 508 Limit 600
• Kohls 6/2015 charged off 2/2018, then reapplied and approved 6/2018 Bal:161 Limit 300
• Credit one 9/2018 Bal 333 Limit 400
• American Eagle fed credit union(secured) 6/2018 Bal 215 Limit 250
• Fingerhut 4/2018 Bal 623 Limit 1300

[Anonymous]

That's enough number of accounts open. Please try to bring down utilization on all cards and maintain positive payment history, do not apply for anything more at the moment, then let time fix things up.

You can consider closing Credit One when your file improves. As of the store cards you may also consider closing them if you don't use.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
 Should I wait?

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Yes. That's more than enough accounts to start the rebuild. 

Any new accounts that you'd be approved for right now would be sub-prime or starter level. You already have those, so applying for new cards wouldn't be of benefit. You'd want to garden/wait for 12+ months. Let the old bad items fall off and the new accounts age a bit.

I'd look at closing the Credit One account in about six months or so, as well as the Fingerhut account. Those aren't going to be helpful long term.

Wait until you're in the 650- 675 range before worrying about new accounts. Try to keep all accounts below 30% utilization, individual and aggregate, in the mean time.

[Bees18]

I would not apply for anything eles right now. Otherwise, you might get stuck with low limit starter cards. If your goal is to get decent cards with decent limits, just wait about 6-12 months and concentrate on improving your current profile and scores. Like others mentioned, get the ultization down to ( ideally under 8.9% ). What is the age of your oldest card and newest card? Is the card that you are an AU on with that high balance able to pay it down soon? Are there any other negatives still on your report?

[Anonymous]

You’re using $2049/$3450 or ~60% of your aggregate limits with your American Eagle at a whopping 86% utilization, I would pay down all of your cards to <30% utilization - you’ll get a big boost in your scores and probably score some CLIs along the way. 

I would actually pay down your Capital One Plat and try for a CLI. 

[RonM21]

As others said, I think you have plenty right now, and several were opened not all that long ago. If anything you may want to eliminate Credit One when it is feasible to do so. That Lender tends to have predatory practices associated with them. Build on what you have and try to get you utilization numbers down.

[HeavenOhio]

@Anonymous, you can close Credit One at pretty much any time. You'll still have the three revolvers that FICO likes. And Credit One will still "thicken" your file, even if closed.

Don't apply for anything until six months have passed since your last approval. That'll also make your charge off a year old.

When it's time to apply, bring your balances down as you're leaving scoring points on the table. Leave a small balance on your 2015 Capital One card ($5, but not much more). The rest of the cards, including the AU, should report balances of zero.