Diving Headfirst into the Credit Card Game

[AirPodMax]

Hello! I've recently joined the community and spent a LOT of time reading just about everything I can, I feel like I've found my people!

I'm coming out of what this community refers to as "the garden", the last two years for me were all about digging myself out of debt and repairing my credit score. 

In the last 30 months, my wife and I (29 and 30) paid off the entirety of our ~$65,000 in debts, have watched our scores rocket from ~660 to ~780, and it feels like the world is finally opening up for us. 

We're now in hyper-budget mode (I've actually been working on an AWESOME budget-tracker that I plan to sell on Etsy very soon!) and saving for a down payment on our first home. 

I'd love to share my setup and get advice from any Credit Card juggernauts on what sort of credit card goals I should aim for. If you've read this far, I appreciate you, and if you choose to leave your two cents, thank you in advance!

Current Scores: ~760 FICO/ ~780 Vantage

Current Annual Income: ~$135,000

Hard Pulls: (1 in the last 24 months, AMEXBCP)

Current Cards + CL:

Apple Card - $12,950 (2% Catch all)

BofA Custom - $10,000 (3% Dining)

Amex BCP - $1,000 (6% Groceries) (New Card)

Prime Visa - $4,400(5% Amazon/Whole Foods)

Quicksilver - $5,550 (Oldest Card ~11yrs)

Costco Citi - $5,000 (5% Gas, 2% Costco)

Best Buy - $5,400 (Occasional tech buy)

Southwest Visa - $8,200 (Travel)

Venture One - $5,000 (Travel)

EXPRESS retail - $2,500 (clothes, 2nd oldest)

PayPal Credit $5,250 - (3rd oldest)

These are all used as debit cards now for their appropriate categories, with statement balances paid in full on autopay on their due dates. 

One of my goals is $100,000 in available credit, but I see a lot of you have cards wish listed, and I'm curious for advice on some I should be aiming for once we complete the homebuying process. 

In the meantime, we're just doing our regular CLI requests for our soft-pull cards. Thanks for reading!

[FicoMike0]

first, congratulations, getting out from under $65,000 is an accomplishment!

Keep all three bureaus frozen.

[AirPodMax]

I appreciate it! Budgeting was a tough but necesary adjustment, at first, but it quickly turned into a spreadsheet infatuation hahaha, I will share the template for that beast i created very soon! It will be available for Excel, Numbers, and Sheets.

[FlaDude]

Congrats from getting out from underneath that debt. It took my wife and I four years, but we got out from a 75k mountain and it certainly feels good!

As it appears you already know, don't apply for anything if you are planning on a mortgage within a year.

Beyond that, you have plenty of cards so unless a new card would provide particular value, I would stand pat with what you have. Getting SP CLIs is fine, but CL in and of itself is not a FICO score factor so getting more won't raise your score. If you still had balances, then more CL would help with utilization %, which could help your score, but if you are paid off it won't matter.

You don't mention AZEO, but if you want to maximize your scores for a mortgage, you can search on that here and use that method.

Also, mortgages don't use FICO 8 or 9, they use older models like 2, 4, and 5. You might consider a paid plan for a few months to see where those scores stand, they are often lower than the free FICO 8 or 9 scores.

[Varsity_Lu]

Congrats on taking the debt reduction seriously. Maybe you should go into politics. 😂

[NoMoreE46]

Welcome to my Fico @AirPodMax.

Congrats on getting that debt down.   Looks like your TCL is $65,250.  You are shooting for another $35,000.

Keep asking for CLI on all of the cards that don't require a HP.  

IIRC, all but Express Retail  do SP for CLI, but since you are mortgage shopping,  I would make sure your reports are frozen. 

Your BCP can grow fast from $1000 to $3000 to $9000  in a year.

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@AirPodMax wrote:

Hello! I've recently joined the community and spent a LOT of time reading just about everything I can, I feel like I've found my people!

I'm coming out of what this community refers to as "the garden", the last two years for me were all about digging myself out of debt and repairing my credit score. 

In the last 30 months, my wife and I (29 and 30) paid off the entirety of our ~$65,000 in debts, have watched our scores rocket from ~660 to ~780, and it feels like the world is finally opening up for us. 

We're now in hyper-budget mode (I've actually been working on an AWESOME budget-tracker that I plan to sell on Etsy very soon!) and saving for a down payment on our first home. 

I'd love to share my setup and get advice from any Credit Card juggernauts on what sort of credit card goals I should aim for. If you've read this far, I appreciate you, and if you choose to leave your two cents, thank you in advance!

Current Scores: ~760 FICO/ ~780 Vantage

Current Annual Income: ~$135,000

Hard Pulls: (1 in the last 24 months, AMEXBCP)

Current Cards + CL:

Apple Card - $12,950 (2% Catch all)

BofA Custom - $10,000 (3% Dining)

Amex BCP - $1,000 (6% Groceries) (New Card)

Prime Visa - $4,400(5% Amazon/Whole Foods)

Quicksilver - $5,550 (Oldest Card ~11yrs)

Costco Citi - $5,000 (5% Gas, 2% Costco)

Best Buy - $5,400 (Occasional tech buy)

Southwest Visa - $8,200 (Travel)

Venture One - $5,000 (Travel)

EXPRESS retail - $2,500 (clothes, 2nd oldest)

PayPal Credit $5,250 - (3rd oldest)

These are all used as debit cards now for their appropriate categories, with statement balances paid in full on autopay on their due dates. 

One of my goals is $100,000 in available credit, but I see a lot of you have cards wish listed, and I'm curious for advice on some I should be aiming for once we complete the homebuying process. 

In the meantime, we're just doing our regular CLI requests for our soft-pull cards. Thanks for reading!

---

[AirPodMax]

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@FicoMike0 wrote:

first, congratulations, getting out from under $65,000 is an accomplishment!

Keep all three bureaus frozen.

---

Just learned how to freeze them and got all three frozen this afternoon, thank you for the advice!

[FicoMike0]

You re welcome.

You've gotten good advice, I'll try not to repeat.

To check mortgage scores, credit.com has a free, seven day trial. Might do that now, go for paid subscription when closer to mortgage app.

You mentioned using cards like debit. If all accounts report zero balance, there's a score penalty. Search the term azeo. You want more than 50%, but not all, accounts to report zero. Keep total utilization under 9%

If you don't have an open installment loan, there are points to be had. There's a point boost for having an open installment loan paid to under 9%.  This can be achieved with a ssl, again, search the term. I got 30-40 points. If interested, read about it, then post questions, well explain it. It's a little tricky. It will quit working after you get a mortgage, or any other installment loan, but should boost scores before application, maybe get you a better rate.

[Realist]

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@AirPodMax wrote:

Hello! I've recently joined the community and spent a LOT of time reading just about everything I can, I feel like I've found my people!

I'm coming out of what this community refers to as "the garden", the last two years for me were all about digging myself out of debt and repairing my credit score. 

In the last 30 months, my wife and I (29 and 30) paid off the entirety of our ~$65,000 in debts, have watched our scores rocket from ~660 to ~780, and it feels like the world is finally opening up for us. 

We're now in hyper-budget mode (I've actually been working on an AWESOME budget-tracker that I plan to sell on Etsy very soon!) and saving for a down payment on our first home. 

I'd love to share my setup and get advice from any Credit Card juggernauts on what sort of credit card goals I should aim for. If you've read this far, I appreciate you, and if you choose to leave your two cents, thank you in advance!

Current Scores: ~760 FICO/ ~780 Vantage

Current Annual Income: ~$135,000

Hard Pulls: (1 in the last 24 months, AMEXBCP)

Current Cards + CL:

Apple Card - $12,950 (2% Catch all)

BofA Custom - $10,000 (3% Dining)

Amex BCP - $1,000 (6% Groceries) (New Card)

Prime Visa - $4,400(5% Amazon/Whole Foods)

Quicksilver - $5,550 (Oldest Card ~11yrs)

Costco Citi - $5,000 (5% Gas, 2% Costco)

Best Buy - $5,400 (Occasional tech buy)

Southwest Visa - $8,200 (Travel)

Venture One - $5,000 (Travel)

EXPRESS retail - $2,500 (clothes, 2nd oldest)

PayPal Credit $5,250 - (3rd oldest)

These are all used as debit cards now for their appropriate categories, with statement balances paid in full on autopay on their due dates. 

One of my goals is $100,000 in available credit, but I see a lot of you have cards wish listed, and I'm curious for advice on some I should be aiming for once we complete the homebuying process. 

In the meantime, we're just doing our regular CLI requests for our soft-pull cards. Thanks for reading!

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Some newer folks on the forum have a wish list, but it appears that you have a to-do list that is actually panning out.  We can work with that.

Congratuations on what you have achieved so far, and what you will propose and offer through Etsy.  People need direction, and helping is a good cause.  You've actually achieved a payoff, that most would have "settled in full", "settled for delete", or bankrupted themselves just to remove.  That's pretty powerful.  And in return, it's moved your score into the high 700's range.  Others may have gone a different path based upon desperation, but you did not.

First, your hard inquires and pulls are excellent.

Second, your FICO score is excellent, or very good at worst.  Other factors will now come in play.

Third, your credit lines need to be reviewed for optimization.  You are on your way, but it needs more work.

Ideally, you will want the balance owed, to be no more than 10% of any credit line.  If this can't be achieved, then no more than 30% of the line.  This effects your utilization ratio, and factors into upwards of 30% of your score.

Worst case, you want your overall "ALL accumulation of credit debt, to sit under a 10% ratio, and to not exceed 30% of available credit spanning all cards".  If you aren't there yet, this is a goal to achieve.  Under 30% on all cards.

Fourth, your debt to income ratio still appears to be out of reach for ideal home lending conditions and rates.  I think you can get this down without too much effort.  Just keep doing what you are doing.  Pay off what you can, as much as you can.  A lender will provide to you all options - as that's their livelihood to know this information.

Fifth, this is going to be conditional, but I've always, always, always, found an excellent mortgage broker to be the best person to work with when applying for a home loan.  Shop them around, they don't offer the same products or services.  Some brokers can do things that are optimal for your home entry purchase, into a mortgage on a home.  You may find that other brokers, offer optimal services when you want to refinance or cash out refi on your home.  I interview dozens before I make a selection depending on the stage I am in my home ownership.  I provide to them, the precise product I am looking for, and deal with the ones that are able to support it.  Emails are easy and simple.  Send dozens.

Lastly, I offer this since your FICO score is in good standing, attempt to free up a monthly debt.  Tackle the account that is easier to pay off, but frees up the most money each month.  Then if you achieve a payoff, snowball this payment into another card.  And then another.  This will amplify how fast you pay off debt, since it was always allocated towards payoff to begin with.

You have a lot of opportunity here.  It looks great so far, and I would keep going.  At the end of the day, in a few years timeframe, you'll look back on this and it will only be a blip on the path of success.  Most people, have that one huge financial disaster in their life - and then they learn.  If you can avoid being part of that, all the better.

[AirPodMax]

Hey man, thank you so much for the thoughtful response!

After reading your reply, I think I need to make one clarification. My wife and I are completely debt free now, and those numbers are simply my credit limits on each account. Not balances, thank God!

We basically use our cards with the best cashback benefits as debit cards for our daily spending, none of them reach even above 4-8%, and those balances are always paid in full each month. 

The rest of 2025 will be maximizing CL's, maximizing my FICO scores, and saving up a down payment, so that come January, we are in a very comfortable position to start the pre-qual and home shopping process.