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SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

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LS2982
Mega Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

I would not expect a big score increase with the new accounts maybe 20 points. Unfortunately time is your enemy now. You need to get positive history on those new cards hopefully the 2 collections coming off will get you a good bump. I would get the Cap1 and CU cards going for 6 months then try to add 1 store card (preferably from GE they grow quick) and by march next year he should be very close to 640.

Good luck to you!



EQ FICO 548 3/3/16
Message 11 of 19
lecorps4fun
Valued Member

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

Yes, really.  My fastest credit jump was from removing baddies.  Work on removing yours and you will see the fastest jump ever.




Message 12 of 19
cwwatts1202
Established Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

Thanks everyone for the tips and advice!! I guess we will hope between the FP reporting to $0, the 30 day late being removed, and the 2 collections falling off soon he'll get a good bump and the cap one will take him the rest of the way by the end of the year!! Our lease is up Feb 26th at our current house so we were hoping to be credit worthy by November to apply so they could start building in Dec. cause it takes them 2 months to build. 

Message 13 of 19
guiness56
Epic Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

Utilization is the fastest way to improve your score.  If it was high and you paid it down you would see increases.  How much would most definitely depend on the rest of your CR.

 

For optimum FICO scoring let all but one report a 0 balance and the other report at 9% or below.  If you only have one card let it report at 9% or below.  This is usually done during the rebuilding stage. 

 

Letting the account age and on time payments for 6 months to a year will also help improve your score.

Message 14 of 19
MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

Honestly, you can use them however you want but never pay just the min balance and don't use over 90% of the credit limit. A month before you plan to apply for new credit, pay down all of your cards except one and have that 1 card report 9% UTIL. You don't have to force those balances every month. Just a month prior to applying for credit. I recommend getting in the habit of paying in full every month and only carrying a balance on occasion. Best thing to do would be to use it for everyday expenses so that you don't over extend yourself. Pay multiple times per month if needed to cover most expenses.
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 15 of 19
bbb3601
Frequent Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

As always this is a YMMV situation. I seen my biggest increase by doing what others have said and getting a 3rd card.  Without knowing some other key info like AAOA etc may be hard to predict.  The freshness of FP will prolly hurt some. Sounds like you have a solid plan. If you are thinking late fall decide (your apps) soon and stop apping since every point will be worth gold. I went from 580's to 680+ in 90 days, but all of my collections were over 4 years old. I was lucky in getting every single one deleted and i mean very lucky. Plus I had a very high uti until i was schooled by the fico crowd.......set a goal and you will get there!

NFCU Cash Rewards 20,000,NFCU Plat 17,000, NavCheck 15,000, USAA Cash 4,000, USSA Rate Adv 2,000, USAA AMEX 3,500, Freedom 2,000, Capital One 2,000, Barclay's Apple 1,500, Barclay's Ring 1500, Various Store Cards.




Message 16 of 19
cwwatts1202
Established Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??


@bbb3601 wrote:

As always this is a YMMV situation. I seen my biggest increase by doing what others have said and getting a 3rd card.  Without knowing some other key info like AAOA etc may be hard to predict.  The freshness of FP will prolly hurt some. Sounds like you have a solid plan. If you are thinking late fall decide (your apps) soon and stop apping since every point will be worth gold. I went from 580's to 680+ in 90 days, but all of my collections were over 4 years old. I was lucky in getting every single one deleted and i mean very lucky. Plus I had a very high uti until i was schooled by the fico crowd.......set a goal and you will get there!


Thanks for the tips!! When we paid the FP, it took his score up 47 pts, but like I said it didn't report a $0 balance like it should of so i'm hoping the score will go up more once it does. His AAoA is around 6 years. We don't plan to apply for anything else after June since we'll probably be applying for the home loan in December. We'll be getting the cap1 in the next 2-3 weeks so I think by June he should be able to get an unsecured card by June, hopefully. All of his collections are 5+ years old, 2 are fixing to fall off, and the other 2 we're paying. One we are paying is due to fall off 3/2014 so i'm hoping we can GW them into removing early (it's with midland) the other is a bright house cable bill with credit protection assoc. we can pay to bright house directly and hopefully get that one deleted too. Then there's the repo from Oct. 2008 for $7400, we'll never have the money to pay that so it will remain. But the lender we're trying to go through knows about it and said with it we'll have to have every other collection paid, which is only 2.

Message 17 of 19
bbb3601
Frequent Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??

Good ole MCM......tough nut to crack, but I got them off too. I will PM you a name. 

NFCU Cash Rewards 20,000,NFCU Plat 17,000, NavCheck 15,000, USAA Cash 4,000, USSA Rate Adv 2,000, USAA AMEX 3,500, Freedom 2,000, Capital One 2,000, Barclay's Apple 1,500, Barclay's Ring 1500, Various Store Cards.




Message 18 of 19
cwwatts1202
Established Contributor

Re: SO confused. How to use cards to raise score fast??


@bbb3601 wrote:

Good ole MCM......tough nut to crack, but I got them off too. I will PM you a name. 


yea i've heard they're tough, but i've read success stories on here with GW'ing them. I think I may have a shot since when we pay it in June, it will be due to fall off 9 months later. Thanks for your help! I'll look for your pm Smiley Happy

Message 19 of 19
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