Making payments on time. GW sent. What else can I do?

[signguy17]

On EX FAKO score site it gives a report card.  All the grades are As and 1 B but for payment history I have an F.  I have made 20 months of on time payments on my Cap One card.  I had (1) 30 late back in September when we were on vacation.  The Executive Office has already called after I sent an email to the CEO (the very next day).  I've made my last 9 house payments on time.  That's all the monthly debts I have.  I had 4 collections and they have been paid off with GW letters asking for removal from my credit file.  One already responded and said they flagged the account for deletion and to give the CBs 30 days to drop it.

So my question is: WHAT ELSE CAN I DO???

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What else can you do for what?  Raise your score?

Do you have CC?  What is your utilization?

[signguy17]

to raise my score...I have a Cap One card.  I've had it for about 21 months now.  I had a late payment back in September and I sent a GW email to the CEO and the Exec Office called today and said they could not remove it because it was a true late payment.  However, due to the fact that I had made all those payments on time they ere going to raise my credit limit from $300 to $500.  This is the first credit card I have ever had in my life.  I buy gas with it once a month and pay it off before the 14th when the payment is due.  Will the raise in my CL raise my score?  Presently my EQ is 631.

[Anonymous]

If this is your only CC don't let it report a 0 balance.  Let a small % report, 1 to 4 and see if that helps your score.

You may want to try for another card, secured or unsecured.

Also, If the Cap one is all you have, credit wise, see about getting a small installment loan with your bank or CU.  This will help with credit mix.

[Anonymous]

well, as Guiness indicated, alot of other factors are involved. If your asking what else you can do about the Cap1 card...just keep GW at a reasonable rate (with different executives), and hope. after all, all its costing you is an envelope and a stamp.

if youre asking overall credit score improvement, sooo many things factor in. Id highly recommend reading some of the credit basics here on the forums (the stickies that are at the top of list of threads). for example, you could have perfect revolving (cc) history, but NO installment loan history, etc etc.

FICO break down:

1. Payment history: 35 percent of the total credit score

2. Debt amounts: 30 percent of the total credit score 

3. Length of credit history: 15 percent of the total credit score

4 and 5. New credit and credit mix: Each comprise 10 percent of the total credit score

[signguy17]

Well I charge a tank of gas on my Cap One and pay it off usually a week later.  I've made my house payment on time for 9 months and I have watched my credit score do.......nothing.  There for a while it was going up at least a point a week.  I have 2 collections "supposed" to fall off next month one wasn't too bad (only 2 30s) but the HFC was horrid.  Glad to see that fall off.

I am alot of things but patient isn't one of them.  So tonight I just applied online for a $500 secured credit card with our old credit union.  We haven't banked there for a while.  Never closed the accounts so they still had like $7 of our money.  So I'm sceptical as to whether they will approve.  I guess I should go get $500 cash out of our other bank and deposit it in our CU savings tomorrow morning.

Did I do the right thing?  Hope so....I saw where this other guy on this forum basically used his secured credit card as a savings acct and paid his house bills with it and kept adding to the credit limit/balance and he saw rapid credit score improvement.  We shall see!