Rebuilding credit; a few questions

[Duriel]

Recently, all negatives have fallen off my report. I went on an app spree. Approved for First National Bank Omaha platinum @ $3000 (balance transfer card. Probably a mistake on my part), Capital One Quicksilver @ $2000, AmEx BCP @ $1000 (super happy about this card with 6% on groceries), and Navy Federal cashRewards @ 12500. Also have a synchrony sleep number card from a year ago that I just doubled the limit to $4000 on. 

Discover did not preapprove me for anything not even a secured card. Chase preapproved me but then 7-10 and denied on recon. What is this scoring model they use? FICO 8 scores EX 729 (boosted) EQ 707 TU 708 and chase scored me at 650? Is it possible they can see back past 7 years? 

Sitting at 4 inquiries on all 3. Have a few small student loans always paid on time and an old car loan always paid on time. My next move is a mortgage in about a year but wondering what cards I should look into once these new ones age? Citi and usbank are probably no go due to previous relationship. 

Also not sure if it's been mentioned but navy federal prequal is suspect. With these new accounts and especially a navy fed card under 91 days, it still shows I'm prequaled for all cards. Is the flagship worth it or are there comparable cards with no AF? Not shopping now, just future planning.

Thanks. 

[KJinNC]

Hello, and welcome.

1 - Chase is sensitive to new accounts and inquiries. They may have denied you after seeing signs of an app spree. I doubt it's really about your score.

2 - I don't have any recent experience with mortgages, but I think you want to avoid new accounts for a while before getting a mortgage. If you are asking which should be the last card or two to add, it depends on your spend, but

3 - Flagship might be a good option. You get a lot for $49/year. I am planning to apply for it at some point when my NFCU relationship is a little more established.

One other thing I'll mention is that you can check preapproval for other Amex cards by logging into the Amex site and clicking the blue Apply button. It will say at the top if you are preapproved. That is an extremely reliable indicator.

Good luck!

[IncrsCreditScore]

@Duriel, my very first NFCU card was the Flagship with a hefty credit limit.  To be quite honest, after I year and reviewing the past year of using it, I did not find that it was worth it and product changed it to the Cash Rewards.

[Adkins]

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@Duriel wrote:

Recently, all negatives have fallen off my report. I went on an app spree. Approved for First National Bank Omaha platinum @ $3000 (balance transfer card. Probably a mistake on my part), Capital One Quicksilver @ $2000, AmEx BCP @ $1000 (super happy about this card with 6% on groceries) A $1K is usually the minimum limit they give, on marginal approval., and Navy Federal cashRewards @ 12500. Also have a synchrony sleep number card from a year ago that I just doubled the limit to $4000 on. 

Discover did not preapprove me for anything not even a secured card. Wait a bit. Were they included in your baddies? Chase preapproved me but then 7-10 and denied on recon. Chase will deny after 5 new cards in two years, unless the sleep number card is over two years old, you've reached that limit. They don't like credit seeking behavior. What is this scoring model they use? FICO 8 scores EX 729 (boosted) EQ 707 TU 708 and chase scored me at 650? Is it possible they can see back past 7 years? Every banking institution has their own internal records. If you've burned them in the past, they may be a no-go for a while yet. 

Sitting at 4 inquiries on all 3. Have a few small student loans always paid on time and an old car loan always paid on time. My next move is a mortgage in about a year but wondering what cards I should look into once these new ones age? It is best NOT to app for anything a minimum of six months to one year, preferably, before a applying for a mortgage. Citi and usbank are probably no go due to previous relationship. 

Also not sure if it's been mentioned but navy federal prequal is suspect. I don't consider the prequals to be genuine. It's better to call and ask. With these new accounts and especially a navy fed card under 91 days, it still shows I'm prequaled for all cards. Is the flagship worth it or are there comparable cards with no AF? Not shopping now, just future planning.

Thanks. 

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I've added my comments in bold. Congratulations on your new cards!

[Duriel]

Thanks for the replies folks. 

My only exposure with discover is as an authorized user on my mom's card years ago and she's never burned anyone. I had 1 inquiry when I poked preapproval so it was surprising to me that they didn't even offer a secured card. Only citi and us bank have had a bad relationship with me, which is a shame because I see they have some nice cards that I'd like to consider in the future. 

[Adkins]

You've got enough cards to get started right. If you are serious about the mortgage, I'd use those cards properly, and then try for discover AFTER you've got the keys to your house in your hand. 😀

[Anonymous]

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@Duriel wrote:

Thanks for the replies folks. 

My only exposure with discover is as an authorized user on my mom's card years ago and she's never burned anyone. I had 1 inquiry when I poked preapproval so it was surprising to me that they didn't even offer a secured card. Only citi and us bank have had a bad relationship with me, which is a shame because I see they have some nice cards that I'd like to consider in the future. 

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I found on the Disco preapproval they were sensitive to ne accounts. After letting new accounts age to 3 mo they then preapproved. This is my experience.

Banks are already twitchy and you got a good number of new accounts in your spree.

I would not app for a mortgage within a year of new credit product(s). Mortgage scores do not like it.

I would look into the Chase 5/24 rule. It looks like you are 5/24, so that is probably a reason for denial. Most creditors seem to discard boosted scores. Boosting your EX is more fluff than anything and also increases your DTI and can also look like you have even more new accounts (based on recent DPs).

[Remedios]

@Duriel  For your profile, you probably over did it. If those cards are reporting by now, I'd expect denials if you continue with applications, or worse, unusable toy limits. 

You should sped at least a year without applications while your accounts age, then reevaluate at later time. 

As far as the score on Chase's denial, that's Card acquisition risk score (CARS). 

Once your report is pulled, Chase's internal algorithm interprets and rescores it based on their criteria. 

[Duriel]

Oh I'm definitely done applying for a bit. I've read that mortgage lenders get twitchy around 6 inquiries so I think 4 will be ok in around a year when I apply. Planning to use navy fed as they gave me the lowest possible apr on the cashRewards and a big credit limit (neither of which my profile "deserves"). 

[Remedios]

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@Duriel wrote:

Oh I'm definitely done applying for a bit. I've read that mortgage lenders get twitchy around 6 inquiries so I think 4 will be ok in around a year when I apply. Planning to use navy fed as they gave me the lowest possible apr on the cashRewards and a big credit limit (neither of which my profile "deserves"). 

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I don't think it's about profiles that "deserve" it, it's more about lenders seeing credit seeking as not desired behavior when it comes to their customers. Some can get away with it, while some of us have to sit in a naughty chair for a while ( 337 days for me, but who's counting 😐). 

With upcoming mortgage, it's even more important to stay app free for at least a year. I applied for 7 cards in 2019. My EX2 went down to 702 on perfectly clean profile with Fico 8s being around  770 and 780 between three CRA. 

It wasn't till at least 6 of them reached a year that my mortgage scores went up to 760, so it's really important you do nothing to jeopardize rates on 30 year loan over a credit card you can get later.