Raising credit score for Chase Sapphire

[tin369]

Hi all,

I want to improve my credit score, last I checked it wa somewhere around 650-660. I have 2 credit cards

1. Capone - CL- $750 - Balance - $300

2. Chase Visa - $3000 - Balance - $2700

Last I applied for a card and was denied was in August 2011, if that matters. never been late etc

I am planning to pay $1500 towards my Chase and completely payoff Capone. Will this help raise my credit score, howlong will it take for the score to jump. When should I apply for the Chase Sapphire. Also, I don't have a income now, do I need to put an icome figure and if so will I need to send documents to verify my income in the application for the credit card.

How do you guys check you fico scores? Do I have to pay $20 or whatever it is everytime. Is there a fico score estimator.

I want to get back on track and improve my credit score.

[p-]

---

@tin369 wrote:

Hi all,

I want to improve my credit score, last I checked it wa somewhere around 650-660. I have 2 credit cards

1. Capone - CL- $750 - Balance - $300

2. Chase Visa - $3000 - Balance - $2700

Last I applied for a card and was denied was in August 2011, if that matters. never been late etc

I am planning to pay $1500 towards my Chase and completely payoff Capone. Will this help raise my credit score, howlong will it take for the score to jump. When should I apply for the Chase Sapphire. Also, I don't have a income now, do I need to put an icome figure and if so will I need to send documents to verify my income in the application for the credit card.

How do you guys check you fico scores? Do I have to pay $20 or whatever it is everytime. Is there a fico score estimator.

I want to get back on track and improve my credit score.

---

Start with the Frequently Requested Threads in the credit rebuild section.  That should give you the basics on scoring, etc.

To keep it simple, good credit scores are achieved by showing consistent respnsible use of credit.  That means always paying on time, never having collections, using very little of your available credit, and having a long history of good accounts.

To improve your score, you just need to improve the items on your report.  As a good starting point, you should pay down your balances.  Utilization can have a pretty big effect on your score.  It's best to have all cards at 0 except one that reports between 3% to 9% balance.  That shows you are using credit cards responsibly.

If you visit annualcreditreport.com you can get free copies of all 3 of your reports.  Any negative information like collections, late payments, judgements, etc. hurt your score.  You can get many of them removed by negotiating a "Pay For Delete" or sending "Goodwill Letters".  

If you plan to apply for specific credit it's helpful to know your score.  You can get two of 3 FICO scores here.  Also, if you have a lot of work to do on your report it might be smart to subscribe to a monitoring service that allows you to pull your report frequently so you can see your progress. 

I don't think you can get a sapphire yet.  If you search the forums here for "Sapphire approved" and look at the people's scores, you can get an idea of what you need.

Good luck!

[tin369]

Thanks for your response and detailed explanation.

I am planning to payoff my balances and get on track. I was wondering how long after paying off my credit card should I wait before my credit score changes. Is 1 month a good wait time.

[dalebb]

---

@tin369 wrote:

Thanks for your response and detailed explanation.

I am planning to payoff my balances and get on track. I was wondering how long after paying off my credit card should I wait before my credit score changes. Is 1 month a good wait time.

---

u need to know when ur statement closes, that is when they report and it will b a few days early in feb because of the short month, so u need to pay off BEFORE it closes and they send u a bill,, then u should see the increase in a few days after they report to the CRS

[tin369]

sorry for the stupid question, but how do I find out what my statement closing date is? my due date is the usually between 18th and 21st of each month I believe.

[dalebb]

no questions r stupid,,, check ur statement for the statement date or check ur online account

[getahead]

---

@tin369 wrote:

sorry for the stupid question, but how do I find out what my statement closing date is? my due date is the usually between 18th and 21st of each month I believe.

---

it's on your statement, you'll see your due date & a statement date.  I believe your statement date is before your due date

[dalebb]

---

@getahead wrote:

---

@tin369 wrote:

sorry for the stupid question, but how do I find out what my statement closing date is? my due date is the usually between 18th and 21st of each month I believe.

---

it's on your statement, you'll see your due date & a statement date.  I believe your statement date is before your due date

---

like 25 days before ur due date

[tin369]

Does anyone know anything about product trade. What I mean is can I call chase and ask them to product trade my chase visa for a chase freedom since chase to chase balance transfer is not available. If product trade is possible, has anyone had successfully done it. Do they do a hard credit pull.

[Anonymous]

---

@tin369 wrote:

I am planning to pay $1500 towards my Chase and completely payoff Capone. Will this help raise my credit score, howlong will it take for the score to jump. When should I apply for the Chase Sapphire. Also, I don't have a income now, do I need to put an icome figure and if so will I need to send documents to verify my income in the application for the credit card.

---

You shouldn't lie about your income. I'm not sure about the legalities involved (not sure if it's actually illegal or not), but they can most definitely request proof of income if they want to.

And without any income, you'll have a hard time getting approved for anything. You have to have income to be able to pay off the cards, after all...