Which cards to app for ? I need Credit Experts and addicts! :-)

[Anonymous]

Hey all!  So my credit rebuilding journey has come a LONG WAY in less than a year thanks to you all!  I cant say thank you enough.  In January, my scores were:

TU 498  

EX 509

EQ 489

As of today (FICOs) they are:

TU 604

EX 606

EQ 621

Not AMAZING by far, but a big boost for me... Just got Portfolio Recovery to delete their tradeline, which was only 8 months old and PIF, and raised my score ~ 25 pts each.  Now my only baddie is one medical COL due to age off by October.  My UTIL right now is 62% total, BUT will update to about  28% overall in about 5 days!!  This should see a large boost as well on all 3.  Now, once I hit about 640-650 on all 3 I plan to app for a few more cards then GARDEN FOR A YEAR!  Here is my current lineup:

Barclay Apple Visa:  $3,000 CL - $2,288 balance 0% APR for iMac

Western FCU Visa:  $3,000 CL  (Just got CLI of $2,000 9/1! - new CL not reported yet) - $0 balance 

CreditOne:  $600 CL - $92 balance 

FingerHut: $250 CL - $0 balance

Capital One QS1:  $1,000 CL - $300 balance  0% APR until 5/16

CareCredit:  $3,000 CL - $1,200 balance 0% APR until 4/16

Total credit:  $10,850 up from $0 in 11/14  :-)

I want to definitely app for the Cap One VENTURE ONE when I hit 640 or 650, my DW got approved for VentureOne with a 636 and $5000 CL yesterday.  also got a QuickSilver with $3,500 CL same day.

What other cards should I app for with that score range ?  i'm looking for TRAVEL REWARDS CARDS and Cash Back rewards... Citi ?  Chase ?  Barclay ?  BofA ?  More Capital One ?  I have heavy INQ on my Experian, so I'm going to freeze that and let Cap One pull EQ or TU ... Side note, when you freeze bureas Cap One will just pull the other 2 to approve you...they approved my QS1 with only Experian unfrozen!   Just FYI.

So weigh in credit addicts!  I want to get my overall exposure and avaialble credit to at least $20,000 -- not to use, mainly for UTIL.  I'll do an app spree all on one day, so let me hear what you have to offer !  INCOME:  $102,500.  Thank you all!

[SunriseEarth]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey all!  So my credit rebuilding journey has come a LONG WAY in less than a year thanks to you all!  I cant say thank you enough.  In January, my scores were:

TU 498  

EX 509

EQ 489

As of today (FICOs) they are:

TU 604

EX 606

EQ 621

Not AMAZING by far, but a big boost for me... Just got Portfolio Recovery to delete their tradeline, which was only 8 months old and PIF, and raised my score ~ 25 pts each.  Now my only baddie is one medical COL due to age off by October.  My UTIL right now is 62% total, BUT will update to about  28% overall in about 5 days!!  This should see a large boost as well on all 3.  Now, once I hit about 640-650 on all 3 I plan to app for a few more cards then GARDEN FOR A YEAR!  Here is my current lineup:

Barclay Apple Visa:  $3,000 CL - $2,288 balance 0% APR for iMac

Western FCU Visa:  $3,000 CL  (Just got CLI of $2,000 9/1! - new CL not reported yet) - $0 balance 

CreditOne:  $600 CL - $92 balance 

FingerHut: $250 CL - $0 balance

Capital One QS1:  $1,000 CL - $300 balance  0% APR until 5/16

CareCredit:  $3,000 CL - $1,200 balance 0% APR until 4/16

Total credit:  $10,850 up from $0 in 11/14  :-)

I want to definitely app for the Cap One VENTURE ONE when I hit 640 or 650, my DW got approved for VentureOne with a 636 and $5000 CL yesterday.  also got a QuickSilver with $3,500 CL same day.

What other cards should I app for with that score range ?  i'm looking for TRAVEL REWARDS CARDS and Cash Back rewards... Citi ?  Chase ?  Barclay ?  BofA ?  More Capital One ?  I have heavy INQ on my Experian, so I'm going to freeze that and let Cap One pull EQ or TU ... Side note, when you freeze bureas Cap One will just pull the other 2 to approve you...they approved my QS1 with only Experian unfrozen!   Just FYI.

So weigh in credit addicts!  I want to get my overall exposure and avaialble credit to at least $20,000 -- not to use, mainly for UTIL.  I'll do an app spree all on one day, so let me hear what you have to offer !  INCOME:  $102,500.  Thank you all!

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I'm surprised that collections hasn't fallen off by now.   You could call TU and EX and see if they're willing to do Early Exclusion, since you're so close.

My other advice...keep working that UTIL down.   Your Apple card has 76% UTIL.   Remember, the individual UTIL is important, as well as overall.   You'll definitely see score boosts when that works down a bit.    You also want to try to get some zero balances reporing, if you can.   You could see if CreditOne is willing to waive your AF temporarily, and then pay them off and SD them!

I would recommend taking those steps and then seeing where you're at before considering new cards.   Credit rebuilds require some patience, frustrating as it is.   I know all too well!

[myjourney]

IMHO keep paying off debt and wait until last baddie is gone in Oct and you'll stand a better chance for approvals with better APR's and higher scores 

[Callandra]

I agree that maybe you should just garden and wait for the last baddie to fall off (is the medical collection paid? Have you tried googling the HIPAA method to get it off right away?). I think you can probably pay off Credit One and close it (you don't need to pay those ridiculous fees anymore). 

When your scores get to the mid/upper 600s (assuming all the baddies are gone) you can probably try for Venture, Chase (CSP and/or Freedom if they interest you), or Amex. I honestly think your scores are still a bit low and waiting for the baddies to fall off and aging what you have for now is probably the best course of action. 

[Anonymous]

Good call - I actually just paid Credit One to $0.00 and they report tonight !!  :-)  So that is 3 reporting at $0 now.

Barclay I'll chip away at, want to take advantage of that 0% APR  I am going to try for EE next week with the big 3 on that medical COL...is that even affecting my score really though being 6.3 years old?

[myjourney]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Good call - I actually just paid Credit One to $0.00 and they report tonight !!  :-)  So that is 3 reporting at $0 now.

Barclay I'll chip away at, want to take advantage of that 0% APR  I am going to try for EE next week with the big 3 on that medical COL...is that even affecting my score really though being 6.3 years old?

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Fico 08 model discounts medical collections ....If under $100 IIRC

[SunriseEarth]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Good call - I actually just paid Credit One to $0.00 and they report tonight !!  :-)  So that is 3 reporting at $0 now.

Barclay I'll chip away at, want to take advantage of that 0% APR  I am going to try for EE next week with the big 3 on that medical COL...is that even affecting my score really though being 6.3 years old?

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Depends on many factors.   You might want to ask that question in the "Understanding FICO Score" section.   TBH, I think your UTIL has a bigger impact on your scores, but anything you can do to improve your credit profile is good.

Does CreditOne bill your AF on a monthly basis?   If so, were you able to get them to waive it?  

[Anonymous]

As others have said, you could go for things now and get unappealing CL's (and APR's if that matters to you), then garden. Or you could work on those few things for a bit, get some better CL's/APR, and then head into the garden with more to show for it. 

Your Apple is just over 76%. You may see a bump when it gets under 75%. I try to make a game of getting cards (even when at 0%) below certain thresholds. Just a thought. If you're near a statement cut on it and can throw a bit more at it. Or make that a goal for next month's payment. 

[Anonymous]

Good ideas all!!! Love this. I am going to pay down more before statement cuts soon.. Gonna lower overall to 30% even. That should really boom my scores up too.


The medical COL is 6.3 years old but sadly $1100 so way above the $109

[myjourney]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Good ideas all!!! Love this. I am going to pay down more before statement cuts soon.. Gonna lower overall to 30% even. That should really boom my scores up too.


The medical COL is 6.3 years old but sadly $1100 so way above the $109

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@ 6.3 years its not hurting that much 

Baddies decrease with age