i've been able to slowly rebuild my credit with two CC that i've had for about 5 months (one is a BofA CC with $500 limit and the other is a Chase CC with $700 limit) but i'm unsure if i should be asking for CLI or to apply for CCs that have rewards or to not do anything and just keep building my credit.
my current scores are 673 TU, 683 Experian, and 703 Equifax (not really sure about Experian and Equifax though). i have 1 hard inqury from both Equifax and TU. but 4 from Experian.
a few weeks ago i called Chase to have my Slate card upgraded to the Chase Freedom Unlimited CC and was instantly upgraded. i really wanted the cash back rewards and since it was an upgrade i didn't generate another hard inqury but i lost the ability to monitor my Experian FICO score by switching cards which is a bummer.
i tried upgrading my platinum bankamericard CC from BofA but they tell me my CC is secured (i did not give a deposit either) and that they would have to do a hard inqury so i'm not going to waste my time with BofA anymore since chase is willing to accomodate me to keep my business. BofA also tells me that i have to wait 6-12 months before my CC is no longer secured before i can even attempt to upgrade it. which is another reason i don't plan to do business with BofA going forward.
anyway i drive alot for work (50-100 miles a day) and i would really like to have a CC for gas purchases that can give more rewards (preferably cash back) than the chase freedom unlimited and one that i would be able to qualify for aswell. i spend about $30 every two days for gas which is about $400-$450 a month on gas. i would like to be able to see my Equifax or Experian Fico Score aswell but it's not a big issue.
or should i just stick with the chase freedom unlimited for now and just continue to build my credit. i pay off the balance every 2-3 weeks so i don't even wait for the statement as i pay everything off long before the statement is generated.
Congrats on your success so far. What to do going forward depends a lot on your Ultimate credit goals.
What are you trying to accomplish? Home loan? Auto loan? Credit Card games? Ask yourself what you want your credit to do for you, and then you can formulate a game plan.
Best credit wishes to you!
right now i am just focused on building my credit as quickly as possible and getting reward cards. since i drive my car alot every day i need to ready for an auto loan in a few years since my 15 year old car has about 135k miles right now and it should last me a few more years. luckily i make $80k-$100k a year and have $10k+ in my checking accounts so i only need reward cards and to build up my credit for auto loans. honestly i don't even need an auto loan since i can just by a car outright by then but taking out the auto loan and then quickly paying it off just helps build my credit even faster.
@wilmer007 wrote:i've been able to slowly rebuild my credit with two CC that i've had for about 5 months (one is a BofA CC with $500 limit and the other is a Chase CC with $700 limit) but i'm unsure if i should be asking for CLI or to apply for CCs that have rewards or to not do anything and just keep building my credit.
my current scores are 673 TU, 683 Experian, and 703 Equifax (not really sure about Experian and Equifax though). i have 1 hard inqury from both Equifax and TU. but 4 from Experian.
a few weeks ago i called Chase to have my Slate card upgraded to the Chase Freedom Unlimited CC and was instantly upgraded. i really wanted the cash back rewards and since it was an upgrade i didn't generate another hard inqury but i lost the ability to monitor my Experian FICO score by switching cards which is a bummer.
i tried upgrading my platinum bankamericard CC from BofA but they tell me my CC is secured (i did not give a deposit either) and that they would have to do a hard inqury so i'm not going to waste my time with BofA anymore since chase is willing to accomodate me to keep my business. BofA also tells me that i have to wait 6-12 months before my CC is no longer secured before i can even attempt to upgrade it. which is another reason i don't plan to do business with BofA going forward.
anyway i drive alot for work (50-100 miles a day) and i would really like to have a CC for gas purchases that can give more rewards (preferably cash back) than the chase freedom unlimited and one that i would be able to qualify for aswell. i spend about $30 every two days for gas which is about $400-$450 a month on gas. i would like to be able to see my Equifax or Experian Fico Score aswell but it's not a big issue.
or should i just stick with the chase freedom unlimited for now and just continue to build my credit. i pay off the balance every 2-3 weeks so i don't even wait for the statement as i pay everything off long before the statement is generated.
If I were you I'd add a third card, such as Amex BCE or Barclay Rewards.
Then I'd maintain them this way: every month let 2 cards report a zero balance and 1 card report a small balance of $25 or so. That will perk up your scores a little.
If you want to pick them up a little more, take out a savings account at a credit union like Alliant, take out a $500 share secured loan secured by the savings account with a 48 or 60 month term, turn off autopay, and pay it down to about a $45 balance. That will give you some more points.
actually i forgot to mention that i have a third CC. its the meineke CC with a $700 CL that i got for any car repairs. but now looking back i regret even applying for it since i would put any car repairs on my rewards CCs anyway and quickly pay it off.
as for the secured loan wouldn't that generate a hard inqury? i'm trying to not generate so many inquiries as i have like 3-4 on experian in the last 6 months already so i'm trying to use them very carefully from now on. i only have 1 hard inquiry on TU and EQ but their really isn't any way to know which CC application will pull from which CB.
Make sure you understand how to manipulate your card usage to maximize your FICO score. You don't want to keep geting cards with toy limits. http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/How-do-I-play-the-1-9-Utilization-Game-Please-...
If you do not have any open credit lines other than credit cards, then you might consider the Alliant Share Secured loan to boost your scores. http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Adding-an-installment-loan-the-Share-Secu...
Check my cash back credit card charts, to see if one of the cards that offer 5% cash back on Gas purchases are available to you. http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725
Basically, your FICO is pretty low, and you don't have much credit history. So just keep what you have for now, work on any baddies on your credit reports, and work on optimizing how much usage reports to the credit bureaus to optimize FICO scoring.
