I went crazy today and I think I messed up.....

[FinStar]

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
Sorry to hear this-
But in this case, you should have done with the
"Better safe than sorry" method.
Never close an account just to try to get another!!

GE tricks ppl like this. I wasted a HP to try and get a Dilllard's Amex and was denied :-/

Chase is good with recons, however.
Good luck and remember this lesson!!!!:-)

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Sometimes it works.  I have witnessed two scenarios for a couple folks with GECRB whenever the option to upgrade to either a Discover or AMEX version was not offered for their respective store accounts. 

Over a period of 2+ years, they chose to apply in-store to determine whether each of their store versions qualified for the Discover (Walmart) and AMEX (Dillards) and were very successful.  Noticeable differences/changes were: FICOs were slightly higher than their first store apps, low utilization, moderate credit limits, no recent inquiries/new accounts and their specific store accounts were left open until their new accounts were set-up (eventually closed).

Now in your case, you may already be tapped out with GECRB (unless you decide to lower some of your CLs) and determine whether this is feasible to get your Dillards AMEX.  Perhaps your initial limit will be low - but your southern TX charm may get it to where you have your current store limit.

[FinStar]

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@Swapmeet wrote:

Oh. It will be hard to get approved for credit with a maxed out card. Banks and ccc like to offer credit to those that don't need it. Maxing out a card shows desperation. They don't like desperation.

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+1

You do not want to appear to any lender as an overextended individual or credit-hungry.

[navigatethis12]

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@linux007969 wrote:

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@navigatethis12 wrote:

How high are the balances on the cards? With high utilisation you most likely won't get approved for anything. The whole Paypal thing seems kind of silly and I would maybe try to see if the old account could be reopened.

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I just sent an email to the GE Capital Cares team for help to see if the would reconsider re instate my orgional Smart Connect account with the $2,400 limit, so we'll see.

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Good luck.

[youngandcreditwrthy]

My stupid $10k Dillard's is the only GE acct that hasn't gotten the upgrade, and Ive had 'er since 2007! when I apped in July 2012 for the Amex version, I didn't even know about the GE Cred Solutions number...
Reason for denial was: account already approved, which is silly considering I was wanting the Amex version. I assume I didn't qualify FICO wise. Meh

I got the BR Visa and Wmt Discover upgrades! Lol :-)

[linux007969]

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@FinStar wrote:

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@Swapmeet wrote:

Oh. It will be hard to get approved for credit with a maxed out card. Banks and ccc like to offer credit to those that don't need it. Maxing out a card shows desperation. They don't like desperation.

---

+1

You do not want to appear to any lender as an overextended individual or credit-hungry.

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I'm more credit hungry than anything cuz I want to build my credit up so well that I can have a good life. By that I mean that some day I will need to get my driver's license and get a car, and i need credit to get a nice car loan. Next if i want to move out and get a place of my own either buy or rent, either way i need credit. I need more credit to buy of course. Also then I would need credit to keep living a modest lifestyle. (Don't need to be rich, but don't need to be broke either... LOL)

Basically I need all the credit i can get so I can "fill the gap" without going broke. I admit i use credit to fill the gap but I'm not in debt. I mean I owe about $912 to credit cards yet but it's not debt cuz The bills haven't come in, havent really overspent, and fully intend to pay it off well before any 0% interest offers expire. It's just I am using my credit to delay having to pay for a few weeks while the money comes in so i still have enough money to keep things going and just incase i get badly sick or have some sort of big emergancy. That's actually the way credit cards should be used, to delay paying for a few weeks or days while money comes in instead of streatching it out for years to come.  I could afford to pay off Discover in full right now but like i said I have a 0% interest on it and I need to be causes with my finances to be able to keep things going if anything should happen.

Of cource I don't wanna go all crazy and have big limits and be tempted to spend all of it and go into debt. That shouldnt happen as long as i keep using Quicken to stick to my financial reality picture.

[FinStar]

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
My stupid $10k Dillard's is the only GE acct that hasn't gotten the upgrade, and Ive had 'er since 2007! when I apped in July 2012 for the Amex version, I didn't even know about the GE Cred Solutions number...
Reason for denial was: account already approved, which is silly considering I was wanting the Amex version. I assume I didn't qualify FICO wise. Meh

I got the BR Visa and Wmt Discover upgrades! Lol :-)

---

Do you even use the Dillards card at all?  If it's sitting collecting dust, then this may not help much with getting the AMEX.  GECRB has very interesting algorithms for extending credit sometimes.  I got mine as the AMEX version in 2011 (current CL $9000).  A friend of mine got the store version in 2006, current CL $13,000 and uses it like crazy and PIF... never any upgrade, reapplied last year and got the AMEX - CL $4,000 (limits can't be combined - decided to keep both).

[Swapmeet]

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@linux007969 wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

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@Swapmeet wrote:

Oh. It will be hard to get approved for credit with a maxed out card. Banks and ccc like to offer credit to those that don't need it. Maxing out a card shows desperation. They don't like desperation.

---

+1

You do not want to appear to any lender as an overextended individual or Credit-hungry.

---

I'm more credit hungry than anything cuz I want to build my credit up so well that I can have a good life. By that I mean that some day I will need to get my driver's license and get a car, and I need credit to get a nice car loan. Next if I want to move out and get a place of my own either buy or rent, either way I need credit. I need more credit to buy of course. Also then I would need credit to keep living a modest lifestyle. (Don't need to be rich, but don't need to be broke either... LOL)

Basically I need all the credit I can get so I can "fill the gap" without going broke. I admit I use credit to fill the gap but I'm not in debt. I mean I owe about $912 to credit cards yet but it's not debt because The bills haven't come in, haven't really overspent, and fully intend to pay it off well before any 0% interest offers expire. It's just I am using my credit to delay having to pay for a few weeks while the money comes in so I still have enough money to keep things going and just incase I get badly sick or have some sort of big emergency. That's actually the way credit cards should be used, to delay paying for a few weeks or days while money comes in instead of streatching it out for years to come.  I could afford to pay off Discover in full right now but like I said I have a 0% interest on it and I need to be causes with my finances to be able to keep things going if anything should happen.

Of cource I don't wanna go all crazy and have big limits and be tempted to spend all of it and go into debt. That shouldnt happen as long as I keep using Quicken to stick to my financial reality picture.

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First, if you owe it, it's debt.

Second, This is exactly how credit cards should NOT be used. Credit cards are not to free up cash by putting off expenses -- preserving cash for emergencies. Credit cards are for situations where you run into emergencies, or just to spend money that you already have more efficiently. For example, getting rewards or cash back by putting some expense on the card, then immediately paying it off with the cash. You think that credit cards should be used to put off paying for things while money comes in, so that you have cash just in case some emergency comes up? This is a silly proposition, and this is why: I know it is hard to imagine, but stay with me here. Imagine that the emergency costs more than the cash you have -- to prove my point let's say you have 1,000 cash and in order to save it for emergencies, you have put your other expenses on a 0% interest card "while you wait for money to come in" to the tune of around $4,000. BAM! emergency strikes for 3500 bucks. your 1,000 can't cover it and your cards are almost maxed out, so you can't use them. No one will extend you anymore credit cause your util is so high. Now you have to get a juice loan from Whitey Bulger, or some like-minded fellow. Now if this emergency keeps you out of work, you can't pay Whitey back and you have another "emergency" to the tune of a broken leg.... And the cycle continues.....

I know that this scenario is mildly amusing, and you can switch out the mafia guy with a cash advance or payday loan, or the like. Your "this is how credit is supposed to be used" is the way that people dig themselves too deep into debt such that BK is the only way out. If you were using your credit responsibly, then people would have no problem extending you more, which is obviously not the case in light of your recent struggles. Does this make sense?

[Gunnar419]

+1 to what swapmeet said.

I agree with your own initial analysis that you "went crazy." I read your thread-starting post several times and I just couldn't understand why you did what you did. It made no sense to me. The more I read, the less I understood.

Then I read your explanation of your credit philosophy.

Ouch.

The term is "being in denial." And it applies to you. The good credit you long to have isn't built by maxing out cards, apping like crazy, and having zillions of credit lines. It's absolutely not built by using credit to fill gaps when you don't have cash. It's built by starting slow and deliberately, keeping util low, being responsible, and gardening what you've got.

Take a deep breath. Go into the garden. And spend your non-apping time re-thinking your goals. Seriously, bro. Seriously.

[thom02099]

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@Swapmeet wrote:

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@linux007969 wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

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@Swapmeet wrote:

Oh. It will be hard to get approved for credit with a maxed out card. Banks and ccc like to offer credit to those that don't need it. Maxing out a card shows desperation. They don't like desperation.

---

+1

You do not want to appear to any lender as an overextended individual or Credit-hungry.

---

I'm more credit hungry than anything cuz I want to build my credit up so well that I can have a good life. By that I mean that some day I will need to get my driver's license and get a car, and I need credit to get a nice car loan. Next if I want to move out and get a place of my own either buy or rent, either way I need credit. I need more credit to buy of course. Also then I would need credit to keep living a modest lifestyle. (Don't need to be rich, but don't need to be broke either... LOL)

Basically I need all the credit I can get so I can "fill the gap" without going broke. I admit I use credit to fill the gap but I'm not in debt. I mean I owe about $912 to credit cards yet but it's not debt because The bills haven't come in, haven't really overspent, and fully intend to pay it off well before any 0% interest offers expire. It's just I am using my credit to delay having to pay for a few weeks while the money comes in so I still have enough money to keep things going and just incase I get badly sick or have some sort of big emergency. That's actually the way credit cards should be used, to delay paying for a few weeks or days while money comes in instead of streatching it out for years to come.  I could afford to pay off Discover in full right now but like I said I have a 0% interest on it and I need to be causes with my finances to be able to keep things going if anything should happen.

Of cource I don't wanna go all crazy and have big limits and be tempted to spend all of it and go into debt. That shouldnt happen as long as I keep using Quicken to stick to my financial reality picture.

---

First, if you owe it, it's debt.

Second, This is exactly how credit cards should NOT be used. Credit cards are not to free up cash by putting off expenses -- preserving cash for emergencies. Credit cards are for situations where you run into emergencies, or just to spend money that you already have more efficiently. For example, getting rewards or cash back by putting some expense on the card, then immediately paying it off with the cash. You think that credit cards should be used to put off paying for things while money comes in, so that you have cash just in case some emergency comes up? This is a silly proposition, and this is why: I know it is hard to imagine, but stay with me here. Imagine that the emergency costs more than the cash you have -- to prove my point let's say you have 1,000 cash and in order to save it for emergencies, you have put your other expenses on a 0% interest card "while you wait for money to come in" to the tune of around $4,000. BAM! emergency strikes for 3500 bucks. your 1,000 can't cover it and your cards are almost maxed out, so you can't use them. No one will extend you anymore credit cause your util is so high. Now you have to get a juice loan from Whitey Bulger, or some like-minded fellow. Now if this emergency keeps you out of work, you can't pay Whitey back and you have another "emergency" to the tune of a broken leg.... And the cycle continues.....

I know that this scenario is mildly amusing, and you can switch out the mafia guy with a cash advance or payday loan, or the like. Your "this is how credit is supposed to be used" is the way that people dig themselves too deep into debt such that BK is the only way out. If you were using your credit responsibly, then people would have no problem extending you more, which is obviously not the case in light of your recent struggles. Does this make sense?

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I'm more credit hungry than anything cuz I want to build my credit up so well that I can have a good life.

+1 What Swapmeet is saying.  Read it again...and again. 

This statement above is very telling.  Being credit hungry can be dangerous IF you don't learn from what you read here.  Some good advice has been given.  Heed it!   You really should  take a step back and really, critically evaluate your situation.  There are folks here who can help and give sound advice, but first and foremost you need to help yourself by taking a deep breath and walking away from further apps until you get your situation under control. 

[MountainHiker]

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@linux007969 wrote:

As to my "high balances" my Discover reported $989 out of $1,000 which i know is a big no no if i want to app for something

It's like i was out of my body when i was doing this.

It's also like i tried to comit credit suscide. 

But I shouldn't keep beating myself up, What's done is done.

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Do not DO NOT beat your self up.There is not one person that has attempted an action for the first time without some type of mistake. You will recover! Very important to recon recon recon.It took me 4 attempts before I found the right rep that was willing to give me a foot in the door and open my Chase Freedom card. It was a low limit but once in the house you can create your own opportunities. Don't give up and you'll be ok.