Need advice...

[Anonymous]

I'm new to this forum and learning every day!  The abbreviations alone are taking me forever to learn lol.  I am currently rebuilding.  Scores were in the toilet at the beginning of the year (450 - 500 range) but I'm climbing.  My current FICO scores are  EQ 646/TU 635/EX668.  Income is $93K.  BK in 11/12.  Several hard inquiries (spree).  1 or 2 collections depending on which report you pull.  Utilizaiton is always less than 10%.  Current balances are $0 on all cards. 

Here are my current cards:  Cap1 Platinum $800/Cap 1 Quicksilver $300/Cap 1 Quick Silver (AU) $550/Amex Blue Cash Everyday $500 (approved yesterday)/Discover IT Secured $300 (haven't receive yet)/Merrick Bank $750/Total Visa $300/Kohls $300/Lane Bryant $250/Fingerhut $300.  

Lane Bryant, Kohls, Cap 1 Quicksilver, and Amex are so new they haven't hit my credit reports yet.  I assume once they do, i'll get a bump (please tell me if my assumption is incorrect)

Recent denials: NFCU, BofA Cash Rewards & Travel Rewards (both were offers from their prequal site), NASA CU, PenFed, Amex Everyday (applied yesterday right after I was approved for the Blue Cash card) .  I tried Chase and Citibank prequal but no offers.  I received a 7-10 letter from Walmart the other day.   I've tried the SCT but it never works for me. 

My quesiton is should I keep applying for credit or is this sufficient?  I haven't really been approved for any cards with big CLs and was hoping I would but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. 

Let me know what you think, thanks!!! 

[Anonymous]

Don't apply for anything else for a while. At least 1 year. You're stuck in toy limit territory and that won't change unless you build up your AAOA and let your inquiries drop off.

Remember to let one card report a small balance (say $5 or something under 8.9% of that card's limit) and you'll gain a few points.

My guess is that the new cards aren't going to help your score and may even drop it a bit. I don't think it will be anything drastic in any direction, though.

[HeavenOhio]

Because of the number of recently acquired cards, stop applying for now. Too many new accounts will hinder your chances for new credit. For scoring purposes, you have more than enough cards. Let everything age for a year. If you see a card or two at that point that you really want, go ahead and apply at that time. Apply only if a card is going to be beneficial to you.

If you're interested in Chase, you're going to need to wait longer. If one has opened five or more cards within the past 24 months (known as 5/24), automatic denial is likely. You might want to make it a goal to get under 5/24 and stay there so you'll be ready if you want Chase products.

My guess is that your score will likely go down once your new accounts report. But it'll recover and likely be better than where it is right now after a period of gardening (not applying for anything).

[Anonymous]

You won't be approved for anything decent if you apply like a madman.

With collections and BK on your reports you probably need some serious gardening of at least a year to "show" them that you've changed.

Don't treat credit cards like a game.

[UncleB]

Hi @Anonymous, and welcome to myFICO!  

Here's a link to a thread that lists common abbreviations used on myFICO:  http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your advice.  I'll start my garden today!

[K-in-Boston]

Welcome to the forums and I look forward to seeing you in the garden.  Great advice so far.  One thing I would strongly suggest is dropping the Total Visa card as soon as you can.  After the first year, that comes with $123 of combined annual fee and monthly servicing fees.  Looks like it's helped to do its job of getting you started back on your credit journey and there's no reason to hang onto it.  Use the cards responsibly and pay the full statement balance prior to the due date each month and you'll be ready for "prime time" before you know it, plus some of those cards will grow and/or unsecure.  Wonderful score progress already, by the way!

[Anonymous]

Thank you!!

[Bees18]

Did they give you a reason they denied you at NFCU? How new is your credit file?

[800who]

Too many inquiries can definitely hurt... stick it out with what you do have and keep using and paying off and keep small UTIL and head for the light at the end of the tunnel