Forming a Plan of Action

Anonymous · ‎02-19-2017

Hi all!

I'm looking to form a plan of action for tackling my credit score and potential cards over the next few months. Recently I've applied for 4 Chase (1 auto approved, 3 pending, 3 denied, 1 recon so far), 2 AMEX (2 declined), and 1 Citi (auto approved). My TU is 670, EQ 650, EX 646, with Chase FICO / FAKO at 677 and Wells FICO / FAKO at 674. I've got 7 inquiries freshly racked up on my Experian ONLY and a utilization of 26% (currently reported at 41% but hopefully it will update next report). My entire balance is sitting across 3 0% APR cards and I pay more than the minimum on all 3. All debt will be paid off come October. My total CL is $14,500 and I've just been paying off several large purchases. No dings or derogs. I have perfect payment history and my AAoA is 1 year, with longest 3 years & change.

i'm planning to recon at least another one of the Chase cards, since I'm not letting the HPs go to waste. My goal was to try and get a good points card for over the next few months (traveling and changing jobs so bigger expenses = more rewards). Right now my salary is $40k and I'll be making $70k come the fall. I've got only 2 reported inquiries on my TU and with my EX expected to rise with the next report, I wanted to understand how/if I should tackle the following two:

1. I have a targeted Delta Amex Gold 50k MR / $1k spend + $50 credit + annual fee waived, must apply by 2/28

2. Since my inquiries are low on TU, I wanted to possibly apply to Barclaycard Arrival Plus MC

For the veterans here, what are your thoughts? Is my course of action too rapid / too much in too little of a time? Is my score nowhere near approval standards? Appreciate any input - thanks!

Anonymous · ‎02-20-2017

You should slow down and strategize. Imagine you worked at chase and a new customer apped for 4 cards right off the bat, what would you think? From my experience at least, Barclay is the least friendly of the prime lenders when it comes to playing the game. They don't like new accounts, they don't like inquiries, they don't like much of anything and are known for random AA and being stingy.

Anonymous · ‎02-20-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi all!

I'm looking to form a plan of action for tackling my credit score and potential cards over the next few months. Recently I've applied for 4 Chase (1 auto approved, 3 pending, 3 denied, 1 recon so far), 2 AMEX (2 declined), and 1 Citi (auto approved). My TU is 670, EQ 650, EX 646, with Chase FICO / FAKO at 677 and Wells FICO / FAKO at 674. I've got 7 inquiries freshly racked up on my Experian ONLY and a utilization of 26% (currently reported at 41% but hopefully it will update next report). My entire balance is sitting across 3 0% APR cards and I pay more than the minimum on all 3. All debt will be paid off come October. My total CL is $14,500 and I've just been paying off several large purchases. No dings or derogs. I have perfect payment history and my AAoA is 1 year, with longest 3 years & change.

i'm planning to recon at least another one of the Chase cards, since I'm not letting the HPs go to waste. My goal was to try and get a good points card for over the next few months (traveling and changing jobs so bigger expenses = more rewards). Right now my salary is $40k and I'll be making $70k come the fall. I've got only 2 reported inquiries on my TU and with my EX expected to rise with the next report, I wanted to understand how/if I should tackle the following two:

1. I have a targeted Delta Amex Gold 50k MR / $1k spend + $50 credit + annual fee waived, must apply by 2/28
2. Since my inquiries are low on TU, I wanted to possibly apply to Barclaycard Arrival Plus MC

For the veterans here, what are your thoughts? Is my course of action too rapid / too much in too little of a time? Is my score nowhere near approval standards? Appreciate any input - thanks!

1. IMHO the AMEX offer is a great next step, *IF* you predominantly fly Delta - if you don't already favor Delta, I'd pass

2. Barclay should be the last card you apply for, if you bother to apply there at all. They're known for severely penalizing you if you try to continue building with any other lender after you get one of their cards. Their rewards are quite lackluster as well.

My best advice would be to garden for a few months. Since you have a few months before you'll be in your new job and needing a travel card, there you go. You'll definitely have better options once you have each bureau above at least 660

Anonymous · ‎02-20-2017

Thanks for warning on Barclay! As far as Delta, I'm a Delta guy for most business and international leisure. I'd get some fair use out of it at least for the next year. I'm fine with gardening, although my only concern is the fact that my Delta offer expires the 28th and my last Amex app was fairly recent.

Gmood1 · ‎02-20-2017

IMHO, I'd wait until you pay off your debt before adding another CC. Once you are in a position to pay in full monthly or atleast able to pay your CCs off instantly. Whether you take advantage of 0% offers or not. Train yourself to only incur reasonable debt that you could pay off the same day you incurred it.

This takes time and discipline. I realize life happens, but some of what we all incur comes from impatience. Wanting it now instead of saving for it and then buying it. That doesn't mean use cash. By all means, use the credit cards that you'll get most benefit from.

I'd hate to see you stack debt before you even get started. If possible use the same technique when buying a vehicle. What will happen over time is, you'll notice you have a lot more cash on hand to work with and a much lower stress level paying your bills. Especially when you know, you could pay it off anytime you want to.

I'm mainly referring to daily and small monthly bills not mortgages. Even though, it would be nice to be in a position to pay it off when you wanted to as well.☺️

By the time you pay off what you have. Your scores should look pretty darn good!
You'll get tons of offers in the near future. So don't worry about them expiring.

Anonymous · ‎02-20-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
You should slow down and strategize. Imagine you worked at chase and a new customer apped for 4 cards right off the bat, what would you think? From my experience at least, Barclay is the least friendly of the prime lenders when it comes to playing the game. They don't like new accounts, they don't like inquiries, they don't like much of anything and are known for random AA and being stingy.

I agree. Let time go by and see what you want to do then. I know how hard it is not to jump in and app. Believe me. lol Use your cards well and get your scores higher and you will have more chance of approval plus higher CL AND lower interest rates.

AverageJoesCredit · ‎02-20-2017

+100,000,000 to Gmood's post. Slow down and enjoy the ride. 4 Chase apps at about same time is very aggressive, for one ccc let alone Chase, that can signal red flags. I believe the best advice given here, and im still trying to do myself (2017 goal myself

) is to try not to spend whst you dont have. Using a cc for what you know you can pay at wnd of month is a great way to manage not getting into huge debt.Best of luck on getting your Amex though if you go for it now. One thing is if you got the offer now youll probably get it again so dont let the apply by so and so date fool you

Anonymous · ‎02-20-2017

I agree with all of the above, you only have a year of credit under your belt and your cards are reporting fairly high utliization combined with an app spree, these are not good signs for the CC companies. They read it as someone who needs credit and might overuse it and get in trouble. With building credit slow and easy is the way to go. For your upcoming job pay down the cards you have and use them for your travel and PIF when you get reimbursed, this will help you even further. Don't apply for anything for 9-12 months then apply strategically. I suggest asking for advice here before any applications because these folks tend to have good advice on which way to go.

I know you have talked about how many inquiries you have on TU and EXP as a way to apply for card that use that agency but remember they will see all of your new account activity and new accounts combined with high utlization are warning signs for them so don't assume because AMEX HP's EXP that they are not paying attention to the other new accounts you have established. Slow and steady and you will get everything you want.

Anonymous · ‎02-20-2017

All amazing points. I think my frustration comes from not having a strong rewards card that I can benefit from. I'll tread carefully and maybe take a stab at the delta, but overall won't apply for at least until the job kicks in the higher salary level, then see what's up after UTIL goes to zero.