Have you pulled all three of your credit reports to look at them? Regarding negatives and number of inquiries. You can pull them for free from www.annualcreditreport.com
I wonder how many cards will approve you with little credit card history and with the Capital One you have you were late on? I would kindly ask Cap1 to remove this? (Also, you didn't say what your credit limit on Cap1 was.. just the balance.)
With your score, your income, and travel needs.. You should consider applying for the Amex Platinum card especially since you don't have another travel CC -- the Platinum charge card would allow you to quickly get the spending power you would need while also providing many travel perks.
More info at:
http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/american-express-platinum-review/
https://www304.americanexpress.com/credit-card/platinum
You also seriously might want to consider giving the Cap1 a message on Facebook. They might be able to raise your CL exponentially and product change your card to what you would like. (They may want income verification, which I would think you absolutely wouldn't mind doing if it netted you the results that you would like.)
It's hard to predict how things will go.. I would think with an income that high, the CC company would be a fool not to take you on as a client.
@bluesman41 wrote:Sorry there was a typo in my initial post. My credit limit on the Cap One is $250 -- not the balance. The balance stays at $9.
You really think one 30 day late $9 payment is enough to deny me credit with FICO scores over 715? That seems crazy...
If that's the only thing, then no it shouldn't -- but it is fresh.
Why haven't you applied for a CC before, just curious.
@navigatethis12 wrote:
@bluesman41 wrote:Sorry there was a typo in my initial post. My credit limit on the Cap One is $250 -- not the balance. The balance stays at $9.
You really think one 30 day late $9 payment is enough to deny me credit with FICO scores over 715? That seems crazy...
I'm not sure if other lenders can see how much the late peyment was for or if they even care. Late is late and they don't like seeing that. Credit scores aren't the only thing to determine approval, so don't believe that that will get you many cards and high limits alone. How long has the Capital One card been open? You have a lot of history with loans, but that doesn't hold up as much as history with credit cards. You can try to apply for one or two cards that you actually want and see what happens. Don't apply to tons of cards if you keep getting declines, as that won't help.
I agree with all of this. That's why I mention, OP, to get in touch with the executive office of Capital One and see if you can get them to remove the late, increase your limit, and maybe product change to something else that would be beneficial to you -- maybe Venture or Quicksilver.
The only way to fix your dilemma of no credit is to apply, but you want to make sure that you're primed for the approving. That's why I would start with the Cap1 office first if you have the patience for it. 