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Needing a Little Guidance

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Needing a Little Guidance

Hello everyone! 
I've been lurking here for about 4ish-5months now, and I've read a good chunk 
of the wealth of information here.
But I do know that if I need specific answers,  I needed to make my own topic.
[ This might be long, and I am very sorry about that. I will bold out the
main points.]

My goal is to get a car by the end of next year, maybe sooner.



I made my first post on here a few days ago, I got an offer from FNBO for their Sheetz Visa Card.
I was excited, and from what I've read here they're a tough cookie to crack.  
But normally their letters are pretty solid,
so I apped for it. I waited a few days, and it was declined.

I was so bummed, but from here I learned to always recon * buwaha *.
So I called their recon number, and had a very nice gentleman pick up.
He pulled it up, and said that the reason why it was declined was because
of my age of credit history, to few revolving accounts; and " You're just to new to us"
So I asked him is there anything that I can do for my credit, so I may get
this card in the future. 

He spent a good 10-15 minutes talking with me, just genuinely wanted
to help me out. He told me that from what he sees, and what I had told him,
that I am doing really good. I'm making ontime payments, my utilization is
perfect. It's just that my history isn't old enough. And that I am more than
welcome to apply again in the future, once I have a more established history.

During this spout of 'bummed', I applied for a Barclay's, and
Amex. They were both declined for the sameish reason.
I called them both, they said the INQ's had no affect in their decision;
I just had to few revolving accounts with history.

Now, the nitty gritty part.
From what I have read, ( please correct me if I am wrong.)
To start my credit off on the right foot, and just have a nice
looking credit report. I need a store card, and 2? bank cards, just to be really solid.

I have a store card, which is the Kohl's Charge Card.
I've had it for almost five months now, it has a $300 limit.
i've been paying it off in full each month, making sure it reports $10-26 each statement cycle. (9%)
And pay it off as soon as the statement cuts. The only exception being during Christmas, and I
helped a needy family buy Christmas for their children( almost maxed it out :-(.) But it has
since been paid off before the due date. This did nick my scores for roughly around 70 points.
But they have since gone back up, at least.. This is what credit karma has told me, but I know
to take those scores with a grain of salt.

Two months ago I apllied for a Capitalone Card. (quicksilver)
I got the dreaded '7-10 days' reply, which saddened me.
But I persevered, and called until they finally had my application
processed, and asked if it had been approved. Which it did woo!
It got approved for $500. I've been using it for everything,
so far it's been a wonderful card, and the rewards are amazing.
I've been trying to keep my utilizaion on that card at around 9%, once the statement cuts....
And so far I've been under that :-)!

This is from what Creditkarma says about my scores, and my inquiries for EQ, and TU.
TU: Score - 611(credit simulator says it'll go back up to 651, once it updates that my kohl's is paid off. Equifax did indeed do this.)
INQ: 10( 7 fall off in 2017, 1 falls of this year in November.)
EQ: Score - 664
INQ: 7( 5 fall off in 2017.)

This is what the Capitalone Credit Tracker says about my TU score, and inquiries.
TU: 611 ( credit simulator says it'll jump back up to 655, once it updates that my kohl's is paid off. Equifax did indeed do this.)
INQS: 8.

This is a report from Experian, that I pulled on the 26th.

Revolving Debt $32.00 - Revolving Credit Limit $800.00
Revolving Credit Usage -4% - Real Estate Debt - $0.00
Installment Debt - $0.00 - Total Debt - $32.00
Accounts Ever Late -0 - Accounts in Collections 0
Time Since Negative - Never
 Inquiries - 12( 3 fall off this year, 9 fall off in 2017.)

My Experian does not have a credit score.
It says that I have insufficiant credit history, or no revolving 
accounts with a 6 month history on them.

There is my background, and information for you guys :-).
So my question is, what bank card do you believe I have a decent shot at obtaining.
Or, do you believe that what I have now, and how I am paying them off is my best bet; at giving me
the best chance of getting my car next year?

TLDR;
I want to buy my first car next year.
I have 2 cards, 1 store, 1 bank.
Been paying them off in full, after the statement cuts.
Utilization is usually around 1-15%
Scores via Creditkarma 611 TU, 664 EQ.
My experian does not have a score.
What bank cards do you recommend?
OR, do you believe that what I am doing is just fine.

Thank you so, SOO much for whoever reads this.
Advice is so welcome!
Message 1 of 3
2 REPLIES 2
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Needing a Little Guidance

Welcome to the forum, Trinityblade! It's good to have you here.

 

You are doing great! And you have the pieces in place to begin to build a very healthy credit report.

 

To answer your question, "What bank cards do you recommend?" I recommend the one that you have. If you use that card and your Kohl's card responsibly (as you have indicated you are doing), your scores are going to go up. And they're likely to go up faster and further than if you pursue another card.

 

You said you were hoping to buy a car next year. The best advice I can give you is to save as much money between now and then as possible. Let the interest work for you. Once you buy the car and start making payments, the interest works against you. If you get into the habit of saving toward your next car instead of paying for your current car, you will always be able to drive a more expensive car (because you'll have collected interest, not paid it), and you'll be in better financial shape to boot.

 

Good luck with it!

Message 2 of 3
takeshi74
Senior Contributor

Re: Needing a Little Guidance


@Anonymous wrote:

I made my first post on here a few days ago, I got an offer from FNBO for their Sheetz Visa Card.
I was excited, and from what I've read here they're a tough cookie to crack.  
But normally their letters are pretty solid,
so I apped for it. I waited a few days, and it was declined


Never rely on offers or prequals and don't just respond to them.  Sort out your needs/wants and use them to select cards that suit you.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

From what I have read, ( please correct me if I am wrong.)
To start my credit off on the right foot, and just have a nice
looking credit report. I need a store card, and 2? bank cards, just to be really solid. 


The general advice is at least 2-3 cards for scoring purposes.  A revolver is a revolver but credit cards are generally more useful than store cards.  If a store card would be useful to you then consider it.  If you are having problems getting unsecured cards the general suggestion is to look for creditors and products with more lax approval criteria.  Some (but not all) credit unions are easier to qualify for.  There are also secured cards that you can look into.

 

To be "really solid" you need to build your profile over time.  You want a strong AAoA and given that AAoA is total age of all accounts / number of accounts, generally speaking AAoA is stronger with more accounts and older accounts.  With few accounts you have a thin profile.  With a thin and young profile you will be limited including how much cedit seeking activity is supported by your profile.  It's a long, slow process so be in the right mindset for it.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

The only exception being during Christmas, and I
helped a needy family buy Christmas for their children( almost maxed it out :-(.) But it has
since been paid off before the due date. This did nick my scores for roughly around 70 points.
But they have since gone back up, at least.. 


 Revolving utilization (balance[s]./limit[s]) has a significant impact but it is determined based on balances and limits as they are currently indicated on your report.  If it goes up enough you'll see a scoring hit.  However, you'll see a scoring improvement if it goes down enough.  That's what you've experienced.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

This is what credit karma has told me, but I know
to take those scores with a grain of salt. 


It's not that you need to take the scores with a grain of salt.  The VantageScores provided by CK are VantageScore 3.0 and are as reliable as any other VantageScore 3.0.  For any score you need to consider the specific model and its relevance to a given creditor.  While most creditor use one of the FICO models there are creditors that use VantageScores.  IIRC Kohl's is one of them.  If you have a creditor/product that uses a TU or EQ VantageScore 3.0 then it will be relevant to that creditor.  However, those scores will not be relevant to creditors that do not.

 

The same applies for any scoring model.  While most creditors/products use a FICO model they do not all use the same model.  You cannot use a score generated by one model to determine a score generated by a different model.  For example, if a creditor/product uses a TU FICO 8 then no other FICO model or CRA will be relevant to that creditor/product.  The CRA used as a data source for the score matters as well.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

I got the dreaded '7-10 days' reply, which saddened me. 


"X days" just means some sort of manual intervention/review is needed.  It does not indicate anything about the outcome so don't assume based on the "x days" message.  Outcome depends on the findings.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

This is what the Capitalone Credit Tracker says about my TU score, and inquiries. 


Again, always consider model and relevance.  CO's Credit Tracker provides a TransUnion New Account score which is not used by any creditor.  You can certainly use it to monitor trends but keep that in mind.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

So my question is, what bank card do you believe I have a decent shot at obtaining. 


We can't tell you that as we are not underwriters for creditors and we do not know the details of the underwriting requirements for the various creditors/prioducts out there.  Instead of just apping for what you think you might qualify for you shoud be sorting out your needs/wants and finding products that suit you.

 

However, you have a lot of inquiries for a thin/young profile like yours.  Again, credit seeking activity for your profile will be limited.  The low limits you're getting from creditors should be an indicator of this to you.  At this stage I'd recommend building with what you have.  With 6 months or more of responsible usage then look at adding additional cards.  Spend the time to learn about credit and learn to assess your own reports.  Start here.  It doesn't contain everything you need to know.  It's just a starting point.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Also don't overlook these forums, the subfora, the stickies and the other discussions as resources.


@Anonymous wrote:

What bank cards do you recommend?


It is impossible to provide meaningful recommendations without your specific needs/wants but at this stage I wouldn't recommend anything given your credit profile and your recent activity.  When you are ready to consider new cards you need to figure out what you need/want.  You need to have a strategy.  You need to have a clearly defined purpose for each card and then find a card that fulfills that purpose.  Don't just app to app.  Keep paying every statement balance in full.  Don't spend what you don't have.  Given the typical weight of Payment History (in the link above), do whatever it takes to ensure that 100% of your payments are on time.  Avoid derogs as they will kill your Payment History, drag your scores down with typically significant impact and hold you down as long as they are on your reports.

Message 3 of 3
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