Garden Club Meeting for July 2011

[tinuviel]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all, new to the Garden Club... but very, very happy to have become a member.

These are my current cards:

Orchard Platinum: $400 CL (opened 6/10). Unfortunately there is a $74 AF, but I was able to waive it a few days ago. However, not without putting up a fight for it!

Amazon Store Card: $800 CL (opened 6/11). Opened w/6 mo financing offer - had $680 TV in cart.

Priceline Visa: $1000 CL (opened 6/11). Obtained via recon (declined)

Current goals:

- Amazon Card: Pay off balance to 0 before 2nd statement cuts at the end of this month, CLI via luv button after 4th statement

- Priceline Visa: Use heavily but pay off and keep balance at 0 before statement hits, attempt CLI in 6 mos

In 6 mos:

- Obtain 2nd card with decent (at least $1000) CL so I can sockdrawer the Orchard card.

- Anyone have non-Cap1 suggestions to prepare for?

I'm thinking this is the best course of action... although I do need one more card.

Despite my knowledge of the horror that is Cap1, I have admittedly been tempted by the FLOOD of Cap1 preapprovals they've mailed me in the last 2 mos....

However, I'm refusing to app until I've cultivated my garden a bit more in hopes of getting offers with a realistically decent limit. Not keeping my hopes up for a prime card offer (have a couple baddies on my reports) so we'll see.

So, off to the garden until November... wish me luck!

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Welcome to the club! It sounds like you have a good plan in place, and I wish you the best of luck with it.

As for Orchard Bank, I have a card just lke yours -- same CL, same AF. I'm coming up on my annual renewal and am planning on calling them to see if they'll waive the AF. May I ask how you were able to get them to waive it? How did you approach it? And how did they respond? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

thanks! i appreciate it... it took a LOT of work to get here, as I'm sure you and many of the people on this board have gone through.

As for waiving the fee, I called the backdoor number and got someone that seemed to have been reading off a script... which meant instant denial, lol. I explained that the reason I'd opened the card to begin with was to rebuild my credit, and given that the AF raised my utilization to over 20% and caused my score to drop, that defeated the purpose of having it open.

Got denied again, so I kept pleading and continued to keep getting denied (claimed she was unable to waive the fee), until i asked if there was anyone else that had the power to do so. Kept politely asking, until I got fed up and threatened to cancel the card.

After being put on hold, BOOM! Fee waived! Only for this year, however.

Keep in mind I did have a small balance (about $16) in addition to the fee on my account. I don't know if that made a difference at all, as I've read from previous experiences that threatening to close the card had no effect, so YMMV.

good luck! definitely keep us posted with what happens.

[tinuviel]

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@Anonymous wrote:

thanks! i appreciate it... it took a LOT of work to get here, as I'm sure you and many of the people on this board have gone through.

As for waiving the fee, I called the backdoor number and got someone that seemed to have been reading off a script... which meant instant denial, lol. I explained that the reason I'd opened the card to begin with was to rebuild my credit, and given that the AF raised my utilization to over 20% and caused my score to drop, that defeated the purpose of having it open.

Got denied again, so I kept pleading and continued to keep getting denied (claimed she was unable to waive the fee), until i asked if there was anyone else that had the power to do so. Kept politely asking, until I got fed up and threatened to cancel the card.

After being put on hold, BOOM! Fee waived! Only for this year, however.

Keep in mind I did have a small balance (about $16) in addition to the fee on my account. I don't know if that made a difference at all, as I've read from previous experiences that threatening to close the card had no effect, so YMMV.

good luck! definitely keep us posted with what happens.

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I have no doubt that you worked very hard to rebuild. It's not an easy process, nor is it quick. You're right; many of us on this forum have gone through this, so we understand what it's like. It's so much easier to mess up one's credit than it is to rebuild it! Good for you; you should feel proud of your cccomplishments.

I'm planning on using the uncertainty of the buyout or closure of HSBC as a basis for waiving the AF -- "Gee, I'd keep the card for another year, but I don't even know if you guys are going to be around, and I'd hate to pay an AF if I don't know that you'll still be in business......."  Something along that line. I'll definitely report back with the results!

[Anonymous]

Also, I pulled my FICO scores this morning. After a couple of months of stalling due to having added two cards back in April, my scores are moving forward once more. I received a 9 point boost on EQ, and an 11 point boost on TU. My new scores are reflected in my sig.

I'm still waiting for my backdated (1987) Amex to appear on my reports; I'm sooooooo eager to see what that does for my scores. Keeping my fingers crossed...

The recent experience that I had with Cap1 has caused me to reevaluate my CC goals. I have been working towards getting rid of my subprime cards and replacing them with prime cards. The sole exception is Cap1; I intend to hang on to them for the long term. The Visa is my oldest active TL, and I do like the Cash Rewards MC. My original plan was to:

Dump FP (already dumped one back in April, will definitely dump the second one in September)

Dump Orchard

Eventually apply for: Bank of America Platinum Plus MC -- version that supports my alumni association

                                  Wells Fargo Platinum Visa -- I bank with Wachovia -> Wells Fargo

I'm thinking of modifying my plan as follows:

Hang onto Orchard for another year, just to see who might wind up buying them out. Call to see if they will reduce/waive AF.

Hey - if you don't mind me asking, what happened with the original Amex from 1987? How long did it take you to obtain another AmEx? How did you go about it?

Reason being, I've been desperate to get back into the AmEx family after defaulting several years ago. it was CO and eventually paid via the CA for less than the full balance (wasn't as well-informed as i am now...). Not sure but you may have seen my posts floating around about that... and I can tell I'm definitely on the blacklist seeing as my Zync app was denied without even a ding on my credit report.

[tinuviel]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Also, I pulled my FICO scores this morning. After a couple of months of stalling due to having added two cards back in April, my scores are moving forward once more. I received a 9 point boost on EQ, and an 11 point boost on TU. My new scores are reflected in my sig.

I'm still waiting for my backdated (1987) Amex to appear on my reports; I'm sooooooo eager to see what that does for my scores. Keeping my fingers crossed...

The recent experience that I had with Cap1 has caused me to reevaluate my CC goals. I have been working towards getting rid of my subprime cards and replacing them with prime cards. The sole exception is Cap1; I intend to hang on to them for the long term. The Visa is my oldest active TL, and I do like the Cash Rewards MC. My original plan was to:

Dump FP (already dumped one back in April, will definitely dump the second one in September)

Dump Orchard

Eventually apply for: Bank of America Platinum Plus MC -- version that supports my alumni association

                                  Wells Fargo Platinum Visa -- I bank with Wachovia -> Wells Fargo

I'm thinking of modifying my plan as follows:

Hang onto Orchard for another year, just to see who might wind up buying them out. Call to see if they will reduce/waive AF.

Hey - if you don't mind me asking, what happened with the original Amex from 1987? How long did it take you to obtain another AmEx? How did you go about it?

Reason being, I've been desperate to get back into the AmEx family after defaulting several years ago. it was CO and eventually paid via the CA for less than the full balance (wasn't as well-informed as i am now...). Not sure but you may have seen my posts floating around about that... and I can tell I'm definitely on the blacklist seeing as my Zync app was denied without even a ding on my credit report.

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Long story... have some popcorn...

In 1987, I was young and foolish. I defaulted on Amex and it went to a CO, which was never paid. Once it was past the SOL, I ceased to worry about it and they no longer bothered contacting me about it. In the early 2000s I attempted to apply again, but was turned down because of the old, CO'd account. I had some further credit bumps during 2004-2005 because of financial disruptions due to hurricanes. So, this is my second rebuild. I've spent the last year aggressively paying down cards that became maxed out due to the 2004-2005 financial problems, and had remained maxed out until this rebuild.

Then, as my scores started to improve, Amex noted and contacted me about paying the old CO. Since all of my available funds were going towards paying off my more recent debt -- cards that were not CO and were still withing SOL -- I informed Amex that I was past SOL and asked that they refrain from calling me. I was within my legal rights to do so and felt that this was the best move for my family from a financial point of view.

A couple of months later, my scores still continuing to improve, I received an invitation in the mail from Amex to apply for a Green card. I felt like this was a cruel irony, since I was convinced that I was blacklisted, but was nonetheless heartened to see that my credit scores must have improved enough to get on their mailing list. I believed that it was pointless to apply, as I was certain that I'd be turned down. I posted about this incident here on this forum, and a couple of posters pointed out that if I was, indeed, blacklisted, then Amex would most likely not even pull a CB report. So, I could try to apply without risking an inq if I was blacklisted. Since the benefits of backdating outweighed the disappointment of a possible rejection, I went ahead and applied. I went online and received the "We can't give you an instant decision, will let you know soon" message. This left me certain that I had been turned down, but then 10 minutes later I had a "Congratulations, you're approved!" message in my email box! Frankly, I was shocked!

Why did Amex approve me with an unpaid CO? I still don't know. Perhaps it was because the original amount owed was only a few hundred dollars (with 20 years worth of interest tacked on, the amount they contacted me about earlier this year was over $3000). It costs money to get a new customer -- look at all that's spent in slick promotional materials and signup bonuses -- and they felt that my steadily improving credit reports made me worth taking a risk, and therefore just decided to forgive the old debt; I know that they were softing my Experian report frequently for months leading up to this. All I can say is that I have every intention of using my new account responsibly and never, ever default on them again. I honestly want to prove worthy of having been given a second chance.

[Involus]

I am in garden mode myself. I have a lot of inquiries that are going to fall off. If I hold out until July 1st 2012 I'll have 0 inquiries then probably go on an app spree since my score will be mid 700's.

I guess my goal is to be inquiry free.

Pay off revolving balance in full on cap one - currently $500 give or take.

Continue to use cap one but PIF every month from now on. I've held a high balance to limit ratio for the past 3 or so months.

Try not to give into the temptation to apply for more credit until 0 inquiries.

Get score 700+

Yep, that about sums it up.

[tinuviel]

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@tinuviel wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

thanks! i appreciate it... it took a LOT of work to get here, as I'm sure you and many of the people on this board have gone through.

As for waiving the fee, I called the backdoor number and got someone that seemed to have been reading off a script... which meant instant denial, lol. I explained that the reason I'd opened the card to begin with was to rebuild my credit, and given that the AF raised my utilization to over 20% and caused my score to drop, that defeated the purpose of having it open.

Got denied again, so I kept pleading and continued to keep getting denied (claimed she was unable to waive the fee), until i asked if there was anyone else that had the power to do so. Kept politely asking, until I got fed up and threatened to cancel the card.

After being put on hold, BOOM! Fee waived! Only for this year, however.

Keep in mind I did have a small balance (about $16) in addition to the fee on my account. I don't know if that made a difference at all, as I've read from previous experiences that threatening to close the card had no effect, so YMMV.

good luck! definitely keep us posted with what happens.

---

I have no doubt that you worked very hard to rebuild. It's not an easy process, nor is it quick. You're right; many of us on this forum have gone through this, so we understand what it's like. It's so much easier to mess up one's credit than it is to rebuild it! Good for you; you should feel proud of your cccomplishments.

I'm planning on using the uncertainty of the buyout or closure of HSBC as a basis for waiving the AF -- "Gee, I'd keep the card for another year, but I don't even know if you guys are going to be around, and I'd hate to pay an AF if I don't know that you'll still be in business......."  Something along that line. I'll definitely report back with the results!

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Ok, I'm posting back with the results.

I explained my concerns to them and they offered to reduce the AF by half. I COULD have played hard ball and insisted on a full waiver, but I didn't; I really just wanted something offered in order for me to stay. My AF was $74, and I am willing to stick around for another year for $37 just to see who winds up buying them out.

So, FWIW, I'm happy with the outcome. Here's hoping that HSBC gets bought out by a decent bank and my card grows into something desireable.

[Anonymous]

Aww, nuts. Sorry to hear that the entire AF wasn't waived... half is better than nothing though

I was thinking... Although I wasn't offered an option to pay half the AF,  if your other cards have much higher limits, perhaps give it another shot? That was one of the reasons I cited when threatening to close the card. I was very polite and explained that all things considered, given that I opened the card to repair my credit and am now able to obtain much higher CLs, there didn't seem to be much point in keeping a card open with an AF that ate up most of the utilization on the card. YMMV though...

And re: your Amex story... wow. I'm just floored. Congratulations on getting back into the Amex family... that's got to be such a fantastic feeling! Treat that card like gold, lol. You have a far higher AAoA than I do, but we seem to have similar scores/CCs, so it's great to know it IS possible back into their doors.

I've been doing some relentless research for my own journey and although there's many exceptions I've seen of people slipping through the cracks, the Amex blacklist timeframe seems to be 20 years. The idea of waiting 15+ years is a daunting one for me, but we shall see.

I suppose I should add to my Garden Club goals... while in garden mode, I'm planning on taking care of the following baddies:

- HSBC Best Buy: $2k CO in 07, PIF to CA in 09. Still showing as an open CO. Working on GWing to have the TL removed.

- Amex: Was working with someone at the exec office on clarifying that an old Blue Sky account had been paid. Gathered the paperwork to prove the account was paid to the CA. Unfortunately at the time I did not realize I should've PIF, and settled for less than the full balance.

Going to try GWing and offering to pay the remaining balance (I think around $400) in hopes of getting my foot back in the Amex door. Planning on begging and pleading for an option for the Oasis program, if at all possible.

- Last but not least, BofA: $2k CC settled back in 09, and the worst derog (KD and 120+ flag). Attempting to have the entire TL removed.

From my research, it seems this is going to be the most difficult and possibly a lost cause, as I've read BofA does not budge with GW requests... but I figure hey, what have I got to lose?

[Guava]

I've been in garden mode since May but just couldn't refrain from applying for a Walmart CC (thanked to the thread about Walmart giving free TU FICO score -___-)

I was approved for $300 CL and probably sock-drawer the card hehe

[Anonymous]

Feels good to be in the garden, after my Amex Debacle (the didn't approve me), I figured just to throw my hands up in the air and say enough already.  I have a significant amount of pulls on my CR's so the garden is here to stay.  At this point I am working on my chase (using the hell out of it ), paying down the Best Buy card, and the Crap1 is sitting in the drawer at home collecting dust.  I really want that Amex card though, but I will wait 6 months before I try for it again.  I hope a CLI on the chase, while $2k is a nice starting point I would love to see that grow!