Next Rebuilding Steps

[Anonymous]

Here's my history and situation....  DW and I filed Ch13 BK in 07/2004, and it was discharged in 11/2006.  There are still a handful of baddies reporting on my CR's, which should all drop off mid-year.  My only debts are a student loan ($7400 balance) and a mortgage, the monthly payments for which I have always paid religiously.  I have a single rebuider Orchard Bank CC with $300 limit that I got in 08/2010.  I keep the UTIL on this card below 9% and PIF every month.  In 08/2010, I was declined for a Cap1 rebuilder CC, and in 03/2011 I was declined for a Lowe's card.  At the moment, the only open TL's on my CR's are a mortgage from 01/2010, the OB CC from 08/2010, and the student loan from 1992 (which doesn't even show up on TU now).  My current FICO's are in my signature - not great but not bad considering my history.  In 1 - 2 years, we plan to purchase a new family vehicle and hope to have scores high enough at that time to secure an auto loan with a reasonable/good interest rate.  I am thinking of establishing a few more TL's, specifically credit/charge cards, later this year.  Which cards should I apply for and when?  The ones I have in mind include Target, Wal-Mart, Lowes (again), JCPenney, and possibly Citi and/or Discover (burned Chase and BoA in the BK).  Any other or different rebuilding advice?

[tinuviel]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Here's my history and situation....  DW and I filed Ch13 BK in 07/2004, and it was discharged in 11/2006.  There are still a handful of baddies reporting on my CR's, which should all drop off mid-year.  My only debts are a student loan ($7400 balance) and a mortgage, the monthly payments for which I have always paid religiously.  I have a single rebuider Orchard Bank CC with $300 limit that I got in 08/2010.  I keep the UTIL on this card below 9% and PIF every month.  In 08/2010, I was declined for a Cap1 rebuilder CC, and in 03/2011 I was declined for a Lowe's card.  At the moment, the only open TL's on my CR's are a mortgage from 01/2010, the OB CC from 08/2010, and the student loan from 1992 (which doesn't even show up on TU now).  My current FICO's are in my signature - not great but not bad considering my history.  In 1 - 2 years, we plan to purchase a new family vehicle and hope to have scores high enough at that time to secure an auto loan with a reasonable/good interest rate.  I am thinking of establishing a few more TL's, specifically credit/charge cards, later this year.  Which cards should I apply for and when?  The ones I have in mind include Target, Wal-Mart, Lowes (again), JCPenney, and possibly Citi and/or Discover (burned Chase and BoA in the BK).  Any other or different rebuilding advice?

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Hey, we got our OB rebuilder cards the same month/year, and with the same limit!

It's my understanding that JCPenny is an easy approval. I was just approved last week. They're known for starting off with small limits, but they give CLIs about every 4 months, and the card is known to grow to a nice limit in a year or two. You might want to try that one.

[Anonymous]

It looks like your CH 13 is scheduled to age off your CR's in 7/2011 - which is just 3 months away!  Congrats!

Are you pulling your FICO scores here?  What do they list under "What's Hurting Your FICO Score?" on the FICO Score report?  If we know that, we'll know the most important rebuilding steps.

I liked JCPenney.  If you shop there a lot, you may find it useful.  They are noted (along with Dillard's) for being among the easiest GEMB approvals.  I generally prefer bank and CU cards, though.

And, have you been asking Orchard for CLI's?  Historically, they were doing so every 3-4 months; then they stopped for awhile.  Might be worth a shot.  And you may want to check out the most recent posts regarding Orchard CLI's.

And, as I posted today, I really really like my Barclay Juniper card for rebuilding.  They are BK friendly.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I'm super excited about the BK aging off in just a few months.  The FICO's referenced in my signature were pulled here on myFICO.  On my TU report the items listed as hurting my score are:  public record (BK), 4 accounts with derogatory info (all BK-related), recent late payment or derogatory from 15 mos. ago (really not sure about this one - definitely not a late payment - around that time 2 of the derogatory accounts were closed, my previous mortgage and a GMAC loan that was finally paid in full after 72 mos. of on-time payments).  On my EQ report the items listed as hurting my score are:  public record (BK), 5 accounts with derogatory info (all BK-related), and short credit history (oldest acct. 18 yrs. 7mos. and AAoA = 9yrs).  Of all the store cards listed in my first post, I would probably use Wal-Mart or Target the most, Lowe's next, and JCPenney least.  I would also like to ditch the OB CC with low limit and AF once I can score a better bank card.  Of course, I'm in no hurry, really, to do anything right now.  In all likelihood, I will wait until late summer or early fall (after the baddies age off) before going on a small app spree.  I am mainly seeking suggestions about cards to apply for and always any other intelligent next steps. 

[ficofox]

Have you considered trying PSECU? My scores are just below yours and I have an 8 y.o. CH7 BK on record. They gave me a $5K PSL/VISA combo that reports as two TL's for a total of $10K.

As far as store cards, go with ones that offer you the most value (e.g. you shop there frequently, rewards, generous CLI's). 

Same as you, I plan to close my Orchard card before my next annual fee is assessed as it is the only credit card that doesn't appear to grow with me. Definitely a rebuilder only and then close ASAP. HSBC is better with my Cash or Fly, no AF, rewards card (but you have to be an HSBC banking customer for that one).

Some credit card companies use your lowest card limit as a yardstick for what initial credit line to offer-- that is another reason that I will close those CL's that are "toy limits" after they have served the rebuilding purpose. Some cards will match your highest limit.  Maximize current limits before applying for future to improve new starting limits....

Edited to add: Also, PSECU could be a very good "foot-in-the-door" option for your future auto finance needs (low rates for members).

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the feedback, especially the PSECU suggestion.  Assuming I apply for 3 store cards and the PSECU PSL/Visa combo in 4 - 6 months, should I apply for the PSECU PSL/Visa before or after applying for the store cards?

[cw81]

Yeah I would  app for PSECU before the store cards.  You could look into  Alliant  CU  and Navy if you qualify or your local CU. In regards to store cards unless you shop there regularly  I would be selective as to which ones and how many.  They are normally easier to obtain but  the limits tend to be low  and you could have a bunch of low limit cards that do  not grow with you.

[tinuviel]

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@cw81 wrote:

Yeah I would  app for PSECU before the store cards.  You could look into  Alliant  CU  and Navy if you qualify or your local CU. In regards to store cards unless you shop there regularly  I would be selective as to which ones and how many.  They are normally easier to obtain but  the limits tend to be low  and you could have a bunch of low limit cards that do  not grow with you.

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Quite true, but that's one of the reasons that I recommended JCP. They are known for giving generous CLIs on a regular basis and thus grow quite nicely. Of course, this only helpful if the consumer shops there in the first place.