No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
Hey everyone,
Long story short in 2009 I was an irresponsible college student racking up CC debt and neglecting it. I had three chargeoffs, Discover, Citi, and BofA. I ended up settling on all three of these accounts. I found my local credit union willing to get a 24 month loan for me to pay these settlements off. That was about 1 year ago. Since I took the loan, I have been working for Wells Fargo for over a year, making good money, and trying to reestablish my credit that I neglected as a college student. I'm going to hit the "garden" as you guys say, at least for a while.
Cap One were the first ones willing to take the risk with me to rebuild my credit and that was with a $300 CL card. Since then (Sept 2011) this is what I have established:
Capital One $1,000 CL .....($0 Bal)
Wells Fargo Rewards $4,600 CL .....($220 Bal - PIF bi-weekly)
Barclays Apple Visa $2,000 CL .....($0 Bal)
Chase Amazon VISA $700 CL .....($105 Bal - PIF bi-weekly)
WalMart Store Card $500 CL .....($0 Bal)
Cabela's VISA (don't know limit yet, just applied and instant approval tonight)
Equifax - 655
Transunion - 707
Experian - 662
My scores may not be the best, but when I took out my loan last September the credit union pulled a 592, so they have jumped a good deal in 11 months.
If anybody has any recommendations for me on how to continue to improve my credit, they are greatly recommended!
Thanks everybody!
I am surprised you have scores that high with multiple charge-offs in 2009. Your on your way.
There's nothing really you can or should do FICO wise, except perhaps pickup an Amex for future backdating (except maybe get a car loan or a mortgage, and those are rather expensive options for FICO admittedly).
You're doing fine, you have plenty of cards, you don't "need" any others unless there's some rewards which fits your spending profile... most of the top tier cards are probably still long shots for you, but you have a nicely rounded set anyway. More inquiries / accounts are just going to continue to depress your score.
You have enough tradelines to build your credit. Only thing is if you can find use for Amex zync, I would recommend getting in with Amex early. Amex backdating is powerful for later in life. And Amex cli policy on revolvers is great for growing credit lines however you would have problems getting one right now. Also, are your scores real fico scores or fakos? Might want to get eq fico score from here if you have fakos.
I am comfortable with where I am at right now. I never put money on any of my cards unless I have the money in my checking account to pay it off in full. I make multiple payments a month to keep my utilization lower.
I am kind of stoked I got approved for Cabela's. I used to work for World's Foremost Bank in Lincoln, NE so I know the whole system as far as credit limit increases go. I can't remember exactly, but I do hear they start you off with pretty good credit limits.
Anyway, how long do inquiries and chargeoff accounts stay on your credit report?
@Crashem
I use Enhanced Identity Theft Protection where I can pull a full copy of all 3 of my credit reports monthly. It is a service through Wells Fargo. Is that considered a FAKO then?
As far as Amex Zync, I got declined about a week ago. Didn't do any recon for the sole purpose that I read they don't like chargeoffs especially. I'm still new to this forum and am gathering alot of good information. If you, or anyone, has any for me, please let me know.
Thanks.
Inquires= 2 years but only count against score for 1 year. Charge off stays on for up to 7 and half years after dofd (date of first delinquency).
@mum4519 wrote:
I use Enhanced Identity Theft Protection where I can pull a full copy of all 3 of my credit reports monthly. It is a service through Wells Fargo. Is that considered a FAKO then?
As far as Amex Zync, I got declined about a week ago. Didn't do any recon for the sole purpose that I read they don't like chargeoffs especially. I'm still new to this forum and am gathering alot of good information. If you, or anyone, has any for me, please let me know.
Thanks.
yes those are fakos. Get your eq fico here and post it. Amex can be sensitive about charge offs, but would like to get idea where your fico is. Don't buy tu fico. But the eq fico as it uses fico 04 scoring model
Oh go to your walmart account and get your monthly free tu fico score. That is using fico 08 scoring model. Post it here.
All those cards besides the Wells Fargo and Cap One are new within this past week. My inquiries are going to be higher but I was looking to improve my utilization and have the purchasing power available if needed.
Do you recommend the fico standard, score watch, or quarterly monitoring?