UPDATE! - Began My "Rebuild" on the 28th of October, Already Seeing Results

[Anonymous]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

Just remember that Credit Karma is a Vantage score and not FICO. You can get your 3 FICO's for $1 for a week trial and cancel before the trial ends. And you will still get monthly EX FICO scores for free. When you can generate a EX FICO. Then run another trial run and cancel. Keep killing it. FAKO(CK) and FICO can be up to 80-100 points off from one another. Just an FYI.

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Thanks buddy!  And yeah, I know that CK isn't truly my score, I'm just using that as a benchmark of progress, making the assumption that if it goes up there it is pretty likely going up elsewhere (maybe not proportionally, but still indicative of an improvement in some way).  That being said, I did want to go ahead and check the others and my FICO 8 for them is:

Experian: not enough data

TransUnion: 639

EquiFax: 607

[Anonymous]

Boy do I seriously love this forum...while I don't have anything in the way of a score update (still waiting on those slackers at BofA, Citi and Capital One to catch up to what Discover did and report my new tradelines!).

In any case, the reason I love this forum is because there is not even the remotest of chances that I would have been able to just get done what I just did without this forum and the great information that is constantly being shared.  

I have a Christmas party next week and I wanted to just get myself something new/nice.  Planned on going up to the mall, as I almost exclusively shop for my clothes at Express...but then I remembered reading about "the shopping cart trick".  Those of you who aren't aware, it's simply going to a store (physically or online) and putting about $100 or so dollars worth of stuff in your cart (I guess that number is debatable, I've read everywhere from $40 to $150 so I figured I'd split the difference).  The reason for this is I guess at some places it triggers a "prequalification" so you can submit for the card without any hard inquiry.

So I proceeded to put just over $150 of stuff in my cart, proceeded to checkout.  I got a little nervous as all I saw was the standard banners that had been on the site telling me to apply already and that's not quite the same thing.  Knowing I had more than enough money to simply pay for it anyway, I figured "eh, so I didn't get it...I'm in good shape...just really wanted 5 cards in total, but I've got time".

Well, after I enter my name, email, address and got all the way to the 3rd and final step of the checkout process where I enter my payment info, sure enough the good advice given here came through in flying colors.  I actually clicked the field to enter my payment info and I got a popup window sayind I'd been preapproved!  It didn't say a limit, but it only asked for the last 4 of my social.  Submitted it, and they gave me a $350 credit limit!  I know that's not exactly anything to jump over the moon about, but that gets me to the five cards that I actually wanted and I got it without any hard inquiries!!  (yes, I checked, lol).  Not to mention now I've got a card at literally about the only place I'll buy clothes.  I honestly couldn't be happier right now.

[Anonymous]

Good day,

Was wondering what method you used to dispute items on your credit report.

[RSX]

And now you really need to 'garden' for awhile.   
congrats on the approval

but

you will need time so that when you apply, you start to the get the good cards with good CL

if you keep applying in the next 6 months, you will likely get approved, but they might all be under $500

wait until they are all 1yr old.  Then apply for the Rewards card you really want long term.  

(most of us have been there before). So this is not a shot at you.  

all the best

[FireMedic1]

Congrats. Happy Holidays and enjoy the garden for a while in 2020!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Good day,

Was wondering what method you used to dispute items on your credit report.

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Literally nothing special at all actually...I just used the inbuilt function on CreditKarma and then directly on Experian's website (as I couldn't do that there).  I didn't mail a thing to anyone.  I honestly know nothing about disputing things, literally not a thing.  I just submitted I believe as not knowing anything about it or inaccurate amounts/payment history (going by memory here...only spent 10 minutes doing it...was before I found this forum).  I didn't do it because I was trying to be unethical, it's just been so long I figured the worst that would happen is I'd get updated/accurate info.  Truly never expected anything to actually be removed.

[Anonymous]

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@RSX wrote:

And now you really need to 'garden' for awhile.   
congrats on the approval

but

you will need time so that when you apply, you start to the get the good cards with good CL

if you keep applying in the next 6 months, you will likely get approved, but they might all be under $500

wait until they are all 1yr old.  Then apply for the Rewards card you really want long term.  

(most of us have been there before). So this is not a shot at you.  

all the best

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I'm absolutely going to garden, and that is excellent advice that I'm going to follow.  I really only did it because I wanted more approved cards than I had total inquiries on my report, and was literally buying on Express what I was going to buy anyway.  I don't want any more CC's at the moment, particularly because of what you said about CC's and their limits/rewards.  My AAoA is going to be obliterated for sure, and my payment history is virtually non-existant so I really have no problem just putting basically all of these cards in a drawer with the exception of the discover card which I'm currently using for my daily purchasing and I'm making a payment at the end of every week and then the Express card I'll just probably once a month to buy a shirt/pants/socks or whatever and pay off the minute I make the purchase (solely for the rewards and the fact that is about how often I buy clothes from there already anyway).

Now, patience and payments...that's my focus.  As always, appreciate the good advice!!!

[Anonymous]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

Congrats. Happy Holidays and enjoy the garden for a while in 2020!

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Hahaha, thanks, and without a doubt...that's definitely the gameplan.  See above, as it goes for you as well, but will say more directly despite it being said above:  Thanks again, as always, appreciate the good advice!!

[Anonymous]

UPDATE (SO SO THRILLED!!!): 

TransUnion: 691 (+173)

EquiFax: 697 (+159)

Experian: 689 (+163)

Boy what a difference 11 months makes...will apologize in advance for not updating as frequently as originally intended.  Turned out that not only was "every two weeks" not only ambitious, but largely unnecessary.  Lots of ups and downs from balances changing, and really (as everyone on this fantastic forum will undoubtedly echo) things simply.take.time.  Now...I'm not sure what to apply for or what to do next...or if I should do anything at all, and just let things keep getting better? - Any input here would be sincerely appreciated

I ended up getting a credit line increase from Capital One when it hit the 6 month mark which was nice, as I didn't request it.  Apart from that, I haven't done anything at all since my last post here, except use and pay my credit cards and my "Self" lender loan.  Here are some screenshots of CreditKarma to see my fluctuations as I allowed balances to report, along with a screenshot of Experian showing my credit card balance fluctuations:

[Anonymous]

Seriously, huge HUGE thanks to this forum and the wonderful members within it. I simply wouldn't have been able to get to this point this quickly, or maybe ever, without the knowledge, insight and assistance from it/them. 

Anyway, posted in the "approval" forum, but for anyone following this thread (or that finds it), I decided on the card I really wanted and for right now that's the Apple Card.  I've always got their newest phone, and now I can guarantee myself interest free financing without having to fork out the $1k+ each time all at once like I've been doing (and get cash back while doing it). They approved me for a $2.5k credit line, which given where I was just 11 months ago (not being able to finance so much as a pack of gum) I'm beyond thrilled. 

THANKS FORUM/MEMBERS!!