Currently have a TU Fico of 713 pulled 10/2011. 9 years and 6 months ago I claimed bankruptcy which has ruled me out for a few cards (ie Chase). I make just over $100K a year. I have the following loans and cards:
JCPenney 0/$1000 opened May 1994
Capital One 0/$5000 opened May 2002
Line of Credit 0/$11000 opened June 2010
Car Loan $13053/$16599 opened June 2010
Mortgage Refinanced in July 2011, $1500/$185k (original mortgage was opened in May 2007)
My question is, will I qualify for a good rewards card now, or should I wait until the bankruptcy falls off? I spend approximatley $2500 a month on my Capital One card (with no rewards), and pay in full at the end of each month. I know this shows a high utilization, and was looking for something with a higher credit limit to make my utilization seem lower and give me some rewards. Should I call the backdoor Capital One number and see if they will switch me to a rewards account? I have seen in some previous posts that this occasionally works. Thanks in advance!
Starting Score 5/1/2002: 553
IMHO wait the 6 months with your score and no bankruptcy on your record. Your score, quality and CL of a new rewards card will be worth the wait. You should qualify for a Citi, Discover or Chase that will grow and get CLI if you treat them right.
Discover IT $17k / US Bank Ace (VSig) $13.5K / US Bank Cash+ (VSig) $13.5k
When I filed bankruptcy in 2002, I included debt with Discover and Citibank. Citibank has since given me two corporate cards and I had to fill out applications with my social security number.
Does Discover or Citibank hold a grudge and refuse to issue new credit to anyone that has filed bankruptcy in the past?
@penelope10 wrote:Currently have a TU Fico of 713 pulled 10/2011. 9 years and 6 months ago I claimed bankruptcy which has ruled me out for a few cards (ie Chase). I make just over $100K a year. I have the following loans and cards:
JCPenney 0/$1000 opened May 1994
Capital One 0/$5000 opened May 2002
Line of Credit 0/$11000 opened June 2010
Car Loan $13053/$16599 opened June 2010
Mortgage Refinanced in July 2011, $1500/$185k (original mortgage was opened in May 2007)
My question is, will I qualify for a good rewards card now, or should I wait until the bankruptcy falls off? I spend approximatley $2500 a month on my Capital One card (with no rewards), and pay in full at the end of each month. I know this shows a high utilization, and was looking for something with a higher credit limit to make my utilization seem lower and give me some rewards. Should I call the backdoor Capital One number and see if they will switch me to a rewards account? I have seen in some previous posts that this occasionally works. Thanks in advance!
Like others, I think your best bet would be to wait the 6 months for when the Bk falls off your reports. I'm not fully aware when Bk's fall off totally, I've never dealt with one myself. Just that once it's off you have a good income and looks like some good history.
After it falls off you might want to look at a credit union. PenFed is kind of hard to get but has a good gas rebate of 5% automatically credited on your statement (if paid at the pump) 1% on other purchases. They also give good CLs. You'd probably have to give them proof of income, but it'd be worth it if you buy an average amount of gas. They don't like a lot of inq's so that's why I mention them first.
After them I've heard Amex Blue cash (preferred? not sure which one, fee is $75 a year) has good rewards, like 6% on groceries? Chase Freedom is nice with it's rotating rewards (which you sign up for every 3 months).
If you want to keep your utilization looking low, you might want to try PIF right before the statement cuts. If you're PIF and showing a balance on your reports, it may just be an issue of timing. Compare the Due date on your statement (either online or paper) with your statement date, that date is when your statement cuts (finalizes, reports etc). PIF just before the statement date and you should show 0 balance.
From what I've read (and I have 2 of their sub $1000 cards, one of which is a rewards), Cap One doesn't often do PC, actually, they don't do much of anything when someone calls anymore LOL Unless you want them to put a useless inq on your report, they seem to be able to do that but not much else. 
Chances are also good if you change your Cap One card, you'll shorten your AAoA as it would probably show as a new card. You're better off not risking playing with the risk of inq and AAoA issues being you only have about 6 months to wait for a much better position to apply for better products with rewards.
