Credit scores and reports in general.

[Anonymous]

After filing bankruptcy almost 9 years ago my wife and I decided to start seriously rebuilding our credit. What I have learned in just over 2 years is that there is no clear cut answer with credit bureaus and creditors. In fact it's pretty dark and shady. My wife and I currently have 3 Capital One cards (2) Platinum and (1) Quicksilver, NFCU cash rewards, Merrick Bank, PayPal, Lowe's, Kohl's, Military Star, and Discover IT Chrome rewards. The interest rates are not great on any of them except one. We don't carry a balance on any of our cards so interest rates not a big deal for us. The point to all of this is we have managed to acquire this amount of credit with fair to good credit and a bankruptcy still on our credit. I have found that what most people say about credit and acquiring it isn't 100% on the up and up.

[FireMedic1]

First off. Having none of your cards report a balance. There's 15-20 pts in the wings. You can upgrade the Plat so you can get some cashback here: https://verified.capitalone.com/sic-ui/#/esignin?Product=Card&Action=ProductUpgrade  

If you went with a second Disco iT the APR would be lower depending on your scores. My first card was 20+%. Second card 13.4%.

The rest of your post dont know what to say. Its a game and you just have to play to stay on top. Welcome to the forums.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the Capital One upgrade link, I wasn't aware that that was possible. It worked though so that makes 2 Quicksilver cards instead of 1. I am going to start paying the balances on our cards before the statement drops like you suggested. Again, thank you! Your reply is a breath of fresh air.

[Anonymous]

hi, ideally you want to let just one card report a balance of less than $100. you can pay it when it's due you don't have to carry it. and overall util should be 5% or less. doing this lets you maximize your score.

if there's more than one showing a balance it's a penalty for "too many accounts with balances," and if all report a $0 balance then its a penalty for non-use.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

What exactly isn't on the up and up? Everybody's profile is different. A score is just a numeric likelihood of default. I've gotten cards that required good credit despite having sub-prime scores because of the thickness of my file.

[FireMedic1]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for the Capital One upgrade link, I wasn't aware that that was possible. It worked though so that makes 2 Quicksilver cards instead of 1. I am going to start paying the balances on our cards before the statement drops like you suggested. Again, thank you! Your reply is a breath of fresh air.

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Your welcome. I went by this sentence you posted. "We don't carry a balance on any of our cards so interest rates not a big deal for us." We call is AZEO or All Zero except One. Pick a card and let it report less than 8.99% of the total credit line on statement date. Then pay in full (PIF) before the due date so your not charged interest. Too bad Cap1 axed the combine offer for now. The 2 QS's could have been combined for 1 card. Who knows it may come back one day. Congrats on the upgrade too! Welcome to the foums BTW!

[FireMedic1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

hi, ideally you want to let just one card report a balance of less than $100. Nope you can pay it when it's due you don't have to carry it. and overall util should be 5% or less. 8.99% is the high for the first threshold, not 5% doing this lets you maximize your score.

if there's more than one showing a balance it's a penalty for "too many accounts with balances," see below and (if all report a $0 balance then its a penalty for non-use). <This part is correct

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Without knowing what the credit line is. You cant just say $100. What if the credit line is $300? Thats over the 28.9% threshold. And. Its more than 50% of total accounts reporting a balance. OP has ten cards. So they're safe up to 4 cards reporting.

[Anonymous]

This
"if there's more than one showing a balance it's a penalty for "too many accounts with balances," and if all report a $0 balance then its a penalty for non-use."

And this
" Everybody's profile is different. A score is just a numeric likelihood of default. I've gotten cards that required good credit despite having sub-prime scores because of the thickness of my file."

Is exactly what I mean. First the credit bureaus get you coming and going. Then there is no real way of knowing if you should apply because the creditors can't give you clear cut criteria that they want. Sometimes it's like playing pin the tail on the donkey. Given my credit score and bankruptcy status I shouldn't have been able to get the new Quicksilver card according to Capital One's blanket criteria. I did though. I spent almost an hour on the phone with USAA and got nowhere so I decided to wait until things on my end improve a little more. USAA told me all they can do is put the application in nothing more. Sometimes it's like swimming up stream in murky water. Every so often someone like Firemedic1 comes along and sheds some light where there is precious little.

[Anonymous]

The NFCU is the main card we use now and it is the one with a decent interest rate and has a $25,000 limit.

[Anonymous]

Thank you again for your shared information. I have talked to people that are supposed to be professionals and haven't got as much information. I am reading and learning about this process all the time. I'm sure this sounds like a big complaint but that wasn't the intention. I hope that someone else that might be in the same position as I am will read this and decide like I did to take a leap of faith and see what happens. So far I have done better than I thought I would.