When Did You Finally Stop Chasing Credit Approval?

[Changingmantra]

When I first started coming here in 2008, I was 5 years into BK,  my scores were in the 500's, and I  knew very little about how credit worked.  I had only two credit goals, really: to once again carry a Discover and Citi Visa.   Like a lot of people starting out,  I envied those who had + 700 credit scores and those who received pre-approvals for prime cards.   I looked forward to when I could say the same.   I HAVE finally gotten securely into the prime mansion, albeit, I am only just beyond the entryway.

 My  scores are all above 700, but I do not receive offers to apply for prime cards.  I have had to do my share of chasing after credit.  My cards are Discover, Citi, Barclays, and a CU card, all with at least a $5000 CL.  My cards have a lot of growing to do, but in the meantime, I have to remind myself it is OK to stop obsessing over credit, to temper those feelings of "I HAVE to have.....," which interestingly only arise when I spend time here reading others' success stories of being approved for AMEX, Chase, (two banks that keep denying me) etc.  Otherwise, I know I do not need either - and have more than enough credit!

I find my obsession both amusing and disturbing - I know I need to calm down - and instead of continuing apping for Chase and Amex - wait for the time when my credit profile is so strong, THEY will finally come seeking me.  Oh, that would be nice! .  That might  not be for a couple of years when a couple of judgements fall off.  It all just got me thinking on the following questions.

For those of you who have moved clearly into the prime world, how long did it take before you: 1. Settled down with the credit cards you have and stopped chasing after credit and 2. Started receiving pre-approval offers for prime cards?

[myjourney]

For those of you who have moved clearly into the prime world, how long did it take before you: 1. Settled down with the credit cards you have and stopped chasing after credit and 2. Started receiving pre-approval offers for prime cards?

1) It took me a year and a half to come to grips that I had everything I needed up to this point and only have 1 card left that I will app for in Dec-Jan

2) started to see good prime pre-approvals after the first year

Can I add one

3) This may all change when lenders come out with new cards and signing bonuses but for now I'm content

[adavis425]

For those of you who have moved clearly into the prime world, how long did it take before you: 1. Settled down with the credit cards you have and stopped chasing after credit and 2. Started receiving pre-approval offers for prime cards?

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1. As soon as I got the Discover it (12/2012, the last card on my wishlist) I knew I was finished and had no desire to app for anything else and have been gladly/easily app-free this year. 

2. Probably Feb/March of this year. So after a year of rebuilding.

[L-TWT]

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@myjourney wrote:

For those of you who have moved clearly into the prime world, how long did it take before you: 1. Settled down with the credit cards you have and stopped chasing after credit and 2. Started receiving pre-approval offers for prime cards?

1) It took me a year and a half to come to grips that I had everything I needed up to this point and only have 1 card left that I will app for in Dec-Jan

2) started to see good prime pre-approvals after the first year

Can I add one

3) This may all change when lenders come out with new cards and signing bonuses but for now I'm content

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1. In Nov. 2012, after the approval of my Cap1 cash rewards card (Jimmy Fallon). Originally, i set out to only have/carry 2 CC's which offered cash back, but realized I was lacking one that offered no FTF.

2. I never received any pre-approvals B/C I opted-out from CC soliciting. But somehow Citi manages to send me something in the mail every 2 wks, go figure!

[Boonie]

I believe I have just reached that point!  (thankfully!)  My last approval was Barclay Rewards MC.  I have NFCU and other bank and store credit cards that I have accumulated over the past 3 years.  Many of my CL's have grown nicely.  My scores are finally in the upper 600's, utlization at about 23% and I realized I need to stop applying to get to the next level.  Gardening is on the horizon for me.   

[Changingmantra]

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1. In Nov. 2012, after the approval of my Cap1 cash rewards card (Jimmy Fallon). Originally, i set out to only have/carry 2 CC's which offered cash back, but realized I was lacking one that offered no FTF.

2. I never received any pre-approvals B/C I opted-out from CC soliciting. But somehow Citi manages to send me something in the mail every 2 wks, go figure!

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You bring up a good point - about apping for a card that has a specific feature, something I have JUST convinced myself I needed to do.  Before recently, I could not care about rewards and such - I just wanted DISCOVER and CITI!   Discover was the first prime card I got back in with in  back in 9/11 - and it was in dealing with Discover that I started to pay attention to things like the sophistication of a bank's website - customer service - rewards -and such.   I PCed to Barclay Arrival a few weeks ago - and because I did that  I lost out on those 20,000 bonus points -  Now, I have convinced myself that a NEED of those points in a travel rewards card - from a company that has great customer service - means I MUST have a Chase or AMEX.  This even though I know I already have a difficult time trying to figure out how the heck to use 4 credit cards - which is probably 2 more than I actually need.  I did just get the CU card - as a strategic move - for a future auto loan or mortgage.  I just wanted to establish a good credit history with them.

[drkaje]

I think there just came a point when more cards didn't make sense. I realize many people love cards but they're basically just a financial tool and more really wouldn't improve life.

It took time to mature and not really crave approval once my report/history was clean, LOL!

[koalablue]

I've had credit cards for about 20 years but no rewards cards til May 2012. I collected the rewards cards I wanted for about 7 months, then waited 6 months, and went after low interest and 12 month no interest cards. I have all the cards I want now, and have some I'll get rid of or change to no AF cards this next year.

[resilient]

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@myjourney wrote:

For those of you who have moved clearly into the prime world, how long did it take before you: 1. Settled down with the credit cards you have and stopped chasing after credit and 2. Started receiving pre-approval offers for prime cards?

1) It took me a year and a half to come to grips that I had everything I needed up to this point and only have 1 card left that I will app for in Dec-Jan

2) started to see good prime pre-approvals after the first year

Can I add one

3) This may all change when lenders come out with new cards and signing bonuses but for now I'm content

I second that part too! I'm content but once I see a new bonus........itch itch!

[Hightechredneck]

I'll stop once I get my Amex, Citi, Chase and Discover cards back. Until then, I'm man on a mission.