Taking Control of my Credit :)

[Plex26]

Hi everyone! I've been lurkig on the forums for about 2 weeks now and last week I did something unimaginable...

I'm about to turn 20 and I'm currently going to school full-time (BS in Nursing) and working part-time. My approx. yearly income is $20,000 (recently was promoted).

I received my first credit card through Bank of America for a CL of $900. I applied for the card about 3 days after I turned 18 at my local branch and was approved on the spot for BankAmericard Cash Rewards Platinum Plus Visa. Since then, I've always randomly tried applying for more credits cards (Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Capital One) with no luck what so ever until I stopped about a year ago. At this point I had 10 inquiries on my credit report.

When I started school last year, my brother financed a Macbook through Barclays ($1,800 CL) for me and added me as an autorized user since paying the laptop was going to be my reponsibility. The credit card was payed in full about 2 months ago and I now use it sparingly.

About 3 weeks, I decided to jump the ship and tried applying for a Capital One Credit Card and was approved for a $1,000 CL for the CapitalOne NewComers Credit Card. It's a cash rewards credit card with no annual fees but with an APR of 24.9% (at leat they gave me something).

Then last week, after lurking on these forums after being approved for Capital One I applied for the Discover It Student Credit Card. After filling out the application, I wasn't approved but I was prompted to create an online account. I was a bit confused so I called Discover the following day and was transfered through 2 people to this very nice lady. She asked me why I wanted the card and I told her school is begining and I just needed something to buy textbooks with and pay off throughout the semester. She placed me on hold and approved me for a CL of $1,000 with an APR of 16.99% after 6-months of 0% APR!

I was very excited. On the letter I received with my Discover It card it showed I had a credit score of 686 through TU. I was a little compulsive and decided to try my luck at a few more places. I went ahead and applied to a TJX Rewards Credit Card and was instantly approved for a CL of $400.

I then did the impossible... I applied to Blue from American Express AND WAS APPROVED FOR A $1,000 CL!! I was beyond shocked how fast I was approved to 3 credit cards within a week.

Lastly, 3 days ago I went into a Chase branch and decided to apply for a Slate Credit Card. My application at the branch prompted the banker to call up and after a few minutes on hold, I was approved for a $500 CL through Slate.

My wallet went from 2 credit cards ($900/BoA, $1,800/Barclays) to 7 ($1,000/CapitalOne, $400/TJX, $1,000/Discover, $1,000/AMEX, $500/Slate) in a matter of 2 weeks!

I definitely want to secure a good financial future for myself and will definitely not be taking these opportuinites for granted. I hope to stay active on here to learn how to manage my credit and see my credit scores grow!

[Creditaddict]

FANTASTIC

61 day CLI on Amex to $3k.

4 STATEMETS of use first CLI on TJMax - they are always SP... stay on them!

Capital One will get credit steps, so sit back and enjoy

Might be time to go in and poke Bank of America to give you more credit!

[eddie84]

Welcome to the forums and congrats!  It looks like you're on the right path, now just don't go on any more app spree and let those cards age.

[TiggerDat]

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Well congrats!  You should keep all those cards and get no more!  In fact I might be tempted to convert that Slate to a Freedom card for the rewards it offers at some point.  If you do well with the good companies you currently have they will show you some love and give you increases.  In fact all should show you some love except one, but maybe even that one as it appears they are cleaning up their act at least a little.  (I'll give you a hint: What's in your wallet?)  Discover and Capone are good for traveling overseas, no international transaction fees.  Discover and Amex are good for rewards.  If you keep these cards in good standing and open then your Average Age of Accounts(AAoA) will increase and this will benefit you and your score in the future!  At some point you should give up being an Authorized User(AU) on the financing card.  In case the account holder forgets to pay the bill even once it would report on your credit reports.  (I am not saying your brother is going to default, don't take that the wrong way!)  You have enough accounts to stand on your own and get the full benefits of your own credit habits!  However, do wait about a year if you are going to be taken off. 

Chase, Discover, and Amex are respectable banks and will treat you well!  Heck I would close half my accounts right now if the limits on my cards with them were as high as older accounts and it wouldn't hurt my AAoA!

[Plex26]

Thanks guys. I'm definitely ceasing my application spree and letting these new cards grow on me. I will defnitely be using the Discover and AMEX cards the most from now on.

I am looking to pull out of the Barclays card but I will be waiting a few months before doing so.

[09Lexie]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! You now have a strong foothold in the credit world. The lenders you've selected are excellent.

Now, its time to garden those accts.

[Plex26]

Thank you everyone! I really hope to learn alot from browsing this enormouse community.

So, as the last credit-inquiry-related-thing; I requested a CLI on my Bank of America Credit Card and tried converting my new Slate acount to a Freedom account.

Bank of America denied my CLI online so I called the Credit Analyist number on the Backdoor Numbers thread. The agent told me my request was denied because they would like to see more credit history from me. I've had this account since I turned 18 (about 1 year and 10 months) so I was kid of surprised he said that. He did however really compliment I've never made a late payment and my payment ammount history seemed great. Better luck in the future I guess.

I went into a Chase Branch today to open a Checking & Savings account (I currently have Ally Online Banking, can't stand not having a physical branch and not having the ability to deposit cash anymore), and attempted to convert my the Slate account I was approved for on Friday to a Freedom. The banker did his best and he called some "intranet" number to help me out. They told him I cannot convert a to another product with the first year of having the Slate account due to some new legislation that was passed.

I'm happy with what accomplished this past 3 weeks so I guess it's time to grow with the account I have now! I'm defenitely stopping now. No more applications, CLI request, or product changes for a few months

[djc1puno]

Welcome aboard the house of credit addicts! congrats on your first app spree!

[Plex26]

Since my last post, I've applied to 3 more cards:

Best Buy

Amazon Credit Card (Issued by Chase)

Amazon Store Card

NEFCU (Local Credit Union)

I was approved for Best Buy ($1,000 CL), Amazon Store Card ($800 CL), NEFCU Credit Card ($500 CL). I was denied for the Amazon Credit Card.

My credit card porfolio now looks like this:

Right now I have a $338.08 balance on my BankAmericard, and a $383.04 balance on my Barclaycard Financing Card. The rest of the cards I just was approved for this month and have a few dollars on each of them ($2.00-$40.00). I am also financing a pair of Bose Headphones (~$150.00) on the Best Buy Credit Card for 6 Months (0% APR offer given). I am transfering the balance on my Barclaycard Financing Card to my Chase Slate (0% APR Balatance Transfer Offer until 11/2014) and removing myself as an AU on it.

I'm going to pay the BankAmericard and Chase Slate down to $0.00 ASAP to have a complete clean slate across the board. I'm thinking this will take about a month or two. I am also going to split up the ~$150.00 purchase on the Best Buy Credit Card into 6 even monthly payments. I will also continue to use the rest of the cards to pay monthly expenses (cell phone, monthly commuter rail and subway tickets).

I'm wondering if this is a good plan boost up my credit history/score. Before this massive spree I only had the BankAmericard and Barclaycard (AU). Right now my scores are 662 TU (CreditKarma, 8/7/13) and 714 EX 714 EQ, 704 TU (CreditSecure/AMEX, 8/7/13).

[jefftca925]

STOP!! STOP!! STOP!!  Don't apply for any more cards!  Your scores are gonna tank now because your AAoA is going to shrink dramatically and you have lots of INQs and new accounts on your CR.  Time is going to be your friend now and you need to wait at LEAST a year before you apply for ANY credit (loans, CCs, etc.) as your score is going to get re-bucketed and it will be difficult to recoup your earlier scores.  Also,  don't rack up your cards as so many young adults do only to regret it later.  Keep your balances to a minimum and PIF!!  Trust me... been there done that!  It's a painful lesson to learn...