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AMEX approved! Collections deleted, now Credit building What next?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

AMEX approved! Collections deleted, now Credit building What next?

Hey Everyone. Been lurking around here for a bit and this is my first post. Sorry for it being such long read. 

 

Heres my situational timeline:

1. In March 2020, I decided it was time to get my head out of the sand and finally tackle my student loans from over 12yrs ago that had gone into default and subsequent collections. I was able to start a rehab plan for 9mths , payments were greatly reduced and I was able to file for taxes without having my returns offset. Finally!

 

2.  I guess working on the high from my success in tackiling my student loans,  I decided very randomly to apply for an American Express Hilton Honors card- I didn't  expect to be approved. One week later I was approved. SL- $5000. ( In my past life my only credit card had been a Capital One Card for $500 that I eventually defaulted on...). 

 

Also in March 2020 - the world shut down. 

 

3. In April 2020 I pulled my Credit report from the AMEX site and found that my TransUnion Score was 618. 

3.b. May 2020 my score went up to 623

 

4. In June 2020 I went ahead and signed up with Equifax report Monitoring and Experian. My scores were TU 627 :EX627 :EQ783 - Huge discrepancy. I realized that I had a Collection with IC Systems for $1091 for ATT debt but it apparently never reported until December 2019. This is only reporting on TU and EX. Hence the high EQ score?

 

5. In April and May my Amex utilization we're at 4%. I paid the balance in full and each time my credit score went up a couple notches. 

 

6. In June 2020, in anticipation of the world opening up I purchased airline tickets ( which also helped me achieve my bonus points rewards). Tickets were $1478. 

 

7. July 10th statement closed. July 12th I paid balance of $1478 off in full. 

 

8. July 15th or there abouts I checked my scores none of them are reporting current. However I did get notifications from all three agencies that my credit score had changed. CK showed a drop to TU 602, EX 602 and EQ 721. ( Question:  Is this because my Utilization went up for June? I've paid the balance down to $0 again as is my plan each month...never charge what I can't cover with cash, right?. Anyway , does this mean that next month as long as I keep my Utilization down below say 5% , my pts should go back up?)

 

9. On July 12th I contacted IC Systems and negotiated a PFD Settlement of $645 in payment of the $1091 ATT collection.  I got the confirmation email from them on July 15th and settled the debt IN FULL. (Question: I guess it's too late now but was paying this off a good idea? And when it drops off will it offer a significant boost to my credit score? ) So, I'm super proud of myself with this one. Never before had I ever made and honest effort to pay my collections. Some tips on this site taught me how to negotiate down and get that letter for PFD

 

10. What should I be doing next? To build, grow and manage my credit? 

 

Current Overview:

I) just the one AMEX $5000 CL , that I pay in full each month. Utilization was high at 30% last month which Lowered my score. It's been Paid in full. 

2) I paid off the only collections I had and hope this drops off my report and boosts my score in the next month or two. 

3) my student loans are in rehab and are NOT reporting on my credit report at this time. Don't know if this changes in September?  

4) I have three enquiries on my credit. One is Amex March 2020, SYNCB Feb 2020 and SYNCB Oct 2018.

Thats all I have. 

 

MY GOALS? 

I'd like to apply for my  CLI with AMEX. I'm well past the 60days but figured I needed time to build a bit of history since Amex is really all I've got. (Question: When should I do this?) 

- Discover IT Cash back rewards is my next plan ( should I wait until after my AMEX CLI request so I could get a higher limit?) The pre-qualified site says I qualify for Cash back or Travel card? 

- Chase (When is the best time to apply for a Chase card and what do you all suggest for someone with limited credit?) 

- Do I need to get a different kind of card if those listed above would be difficult for me to get at this time? If so which do you recommend? 

- Are there cards that primarily pull from Equifax? Since my score is in the 700s. 

Student Loans ( will they ever report? And if so would that be a positive or negative? ) They had passed the 10yr mark and simply fell off my report is what I imagined happened. Now if I keep my payments steady and on time...wouldnt that reflect as aged installment credit and help me? 

 

I'd really just appreciate any guidance or ideas on what to do next. When to garden? 

I'd like to see my credit score above 800. 

 

Thanks guys! 

 

 

 

 

14 REPLIES 14
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?

I guess my question should be- did I post the above in the wrong place? Where should it be moved to if so? 

Message 2 of 15
dustind
New Contributor

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?

If you only had one derogatory item and you have a PFD it will have a huge affect on your score. I would wait for it to fall off, then attempt a cli, then check for solid pre approvals and only app for things that have solid pre approval odds.

 

I think the best way to go if you have one card is to let it report 1-5% then pay in full. Utilization of 30% or more will hurt your score. 

Message 3 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?

I can definitely help guide you on the collection since I just had the exact same situation with them and AT&T.

 

IC Systems will report next month as "settled" first which will improve your Vantage scores, but not FICO. I went ahead and wrote them a goodwill letter and they were both completely removed the following month (one was just 2 days ago). This is a big deal when it comes to FICO scores because the calculation only takes in the collection account itself, not if it was paid or not. It's also a huge deal if you're looking at making a major purchase like a home because they pull all of your reports to make sure they get everything. Note that they report to different agencies at different times of the month, so don't freak out if one is removed and the other isn't. Give it another week or two and they both should be taken care of.

 

Hope this helps! Please give us an update when you see results Smiley Happy

Message 4 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?


@dustind wrote:

If you only had one derogatory item and you have a PFD it will have a huge affect on your score. I would wait for it to fall off, then attempt a cli, then check for solid pre approvals and only app for things that have solid pre approval odds.

 

I think the best way to go if you have one card is to let it report 1-5% then pay in full. Utilization of 30% or more will hurt your score. 


Thanks for the response! Yeah I think you are right. I'm so bummed that I didn't pay and get some of my utilization down before my statement cut. I wanted to show usage but really didn't think it through. 

 

That's stellar advice. I'll wait it out. It'll probably take a couple months for me to see any major change. 

 

 

Message 5 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?


@Anonymous wrote:

I can definitely help guide you on the collection since I just had the exact same situation with them and AT&T.

 

IC Systems will report next month as "settled" first which will improve your Vantage scores, but not FICO. I went ahead and wrote them a goodwill letter and they were both completely removed the following month (one was just 2 days ago). This is a big deal when it comes to FICO scores because the calculation only takes in the collection account itself, not if it was paid or not. It's also a huge deal if you're looking at making a major purchase like a home because they pull all of your reports to make sure they get everything. Note that they report to different agencies at different times of the month, so don't freak out if one is removed and the other isn't. Give it another week or two and they both should be taken care of.

 

Hope this helps! Please give us an update when you see results Smiley Happy


I will take all the help I can get! Thank you. 😊

 

Interesting enough when I took a look aty Experian report yesterday I noticed that the collections entry for IC Systems was showing a 'blank' balance. Could that have been reported and reflected that quickly? 

 

For some reason only my Equifax score loads when I log into my Experian account. So I can't tell if there's been movement yet on Experian or TransUnion. 

 

At what point do you suggest I write the Goodwill letter to have this taken off my report. 30days? 

 

Thanks for your response! I'll def keep you posted. 

Message 6 of 15
RadioRob
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?

There is no bad time to write a goodwill letter.  Make it real, heartfelt, and above all not a canned template. 

Explain why/how you got into the situation, what you've learned, and what a removal means (applying for a mortgage etc). 

Quick question... I too rehab'ed my student loans many years ago but they were all reporting on my credit which was replaced with a good trade line. A friend of mine is in a similar situation where they defaulted and having tax returns withheld. Their student loans are old enough they no longer report on credit.  When you rehab'ed were they reporting?  If not, did they start to report as you were in your 9 month rehab or did a perfectly reporting well aged account suddenly appear?

Message 7 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?

Yes! They updated mine extremely quickly too. I'd write the goodwill letter pretty quickly. It takes 10 minutes and costs next to nothing. I didn't send them one until after they reported as "settled" so I had to wait another month until the next update. Just explain to them your situation, that this was your only collection, you're trying to get back on track, and ask them if they'd kindly remove it. 

Message 8 of 15
M_Smart007
Legendary Contributor

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?

I would go for the goodwill deletion route.

Message 9 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX approved! Credit building so What do I do next?


@RadioRob wrote:

There is no bad time to write a goodwill letter.  Make it real, heartfelt, and above all not a canned template. 

Explain why/how you got into the situation, what you've learned, and what a removal means (applying for a mortgage etc). 

Quick question... I too rehab'ed my student loans many years ago but they were all reporting on my credit which was replaced with a good trade line. A friend of mine is in a similar situation where they defaulted and having tax returns withheld. Their student loans are old enough they no longer report on credit.  When you rehab'ed were they reporting?  If not, did they start to report as you were in your 9 month rehab or did a perfectly reporting well aged account suddenly appear?


Interesting! I'll send out that goodwill letter today. Here's hoping for the best! 

 

So I only just rehabed this past March. But up until then it was not reporting and hadn't reported apparently fornancouple of years. I set up for payments to be withdrawn automatically each month for rehab so they have been coming out of my acct despite the moratorium on payments due to the pandemic. I should be done with rehab by October or November. 

 

But that's a good question. I'm curious to know if and how they will report after rehab. I guess as trade lines the age would help my credit age of my reports. But I worry about the amount against my debt to income ratio. I have almost $40k left on my loans. 

 

I'll keep you posted on what reports. 

Message 10 of 15
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