Making some progress! What now?!

[Anonymous]

I filed for ch.13 8/2012. Couldn't afford the payments and converted to a ch.7 1/2015. Ch.7 discharged 5/2015. I've gotten a significant raise, got serious about my finances, and started living within my means. Since then I've read and researched a ton on this site and others. Jan 7 2015 I pulled my reports and only had 1 discrepancy I'm currently trying to sort out.

I signed up for fico ultimate 3b to monitor my scores.

1/22/16 my scores were equifax 590, Trans union 585, and experian 593.

I decided to apply for a capital one cc. I got approved for a 1000 cl. The capital one platinum Mastercard. I was quite surprised because I had burned cap one in my bankruptcy.

So I used the cap one card for gas for the month. The balance was 87.00 when the bill cut which I paid immediately after it cut. Looking to keep my balances under 10% cl.

Got the notification Friday on myfico app that the bureaus have detected a new line of credit and my scores benefitTed nicely.

2/13/16 equifax 617, Trans union 613, and experian 642.

I felt great about it!!! But I wanted to try for another card now instead of down the road when it could mess up my average age of credit. So after much research I decided I would try to apply for a citi card. Any of them. I got denied. I did not burn them in bankruptcy. Although I plan on calling and asking if my be they can reconsider I still am not sure what to do.

So my question to anybody is what should my next move be?! I really want to keep it rolling but I don't want to hurt myself with a bunch of hard inquiries either and not get any new credit from it.

Thank you in advance! Everybody's story has been helpful one way or the other!

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
I filed for ch.13 8/2012. Couldn't afford the payments and converted to a ch.7 1/2015. Ch.7 discharged 5/2015. I've gotten a significant raise, got serious about my finances, and started living within my means. Since then I've read and researched a ton on this site and others. Jan 7 2015 I pulled my reports and only had 1 discrepancy I'm currently trying to sort out.

I signed up for fico ultimate 3b to monitor my scores.

1/22/16 my scores were equifax 590, Trans union 585, and experian 593.

I decided to apply for a capital one cc. I got approved for a 1000 cl. The capital one platinum Mastercard. I was quite surprised because I had burned cap one in my bankruptcy.

So I used the cap one card for gas for the month. The balance was 87.00 when the bill cut which I paid immediately after it cut. Looking to keep my balances under 10% cl.

Got the notification Friday on myfico app that the bureaus have detected a new line of credit and my scores benefitTed nicely.

2/13/16 equifax 617, Trans union 613, and experian 642.

I felt great about it!!! But I wanted to try for another card now instead of down the road when it could mess up my average age of credit. So after much research I decided I would try to apply for a citi card. Any of them. I got denied. I did not burn them in bankruptcy. Although I plan on calling and asking if my be they can reconsider I still am not sure what to do.

So my question to anybody is what should my next move be?! I really want to keep it rolling but I don't want to hurt myself with a bunch of hard inquiries either and not get any new credit from it.

Thank you in advance! Everybody's story has been helpful one way or the other!

---

I would suggest a second Capital One card

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Do you think I should apply now or wait after a couple more months of good payment history with them. I'm also thinking about going to a local credit union here and applying for at least a credit builder loan. I included them in my ch 13 and reaffirmed with them after my ch. 7. But I did talk to a loan officer there and she said they are likely to work with me again since they didn't take a loss.

[Anonymous]

Try the prequalified link and see if it recommends anything for you. That's a good no-pain way to see if they're eager to offer you another card.

[Anonymous]

Ok thanks!

[Creditwiser]

Definitely another Cap 1 card.  Use and pay as often as you can . Cap 1 has been extremely gracious in extending me credit post BK disch and I honestly couldnt be happier with them. I burned them as well for 3.6k .  Do not app for the prime cards for at least 2 years. Barclays could be another good choice for you but stay clear of the Big Banks for the near future. Watch your AAoA and INQ.  I strongly suggest you read the BK TO 700 in 2 Years Thread on here if you havnt already.  Also, if you dont have an installment loan, look in to getting a credit builder loan at a Credit Union if you can.  But again, that would probably be a HP for joining if not a memeber already and another HP for the loan.  Weigh it out before you act.  

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the advice. I have read the bk to 700. Would you recommend using the card and paying the balance multiple times a month? I just want to make sure the balance is less than 10% when the bill cuts. Also do you know if a credit builder loan would be better than just getting a 1000 personal loan if I could get approved?

[Creditwiser]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for the advice. I have read the bk to 700. Would you recommend using the card and paying the balance multiple times a month? I just want to make sure the balance is less than 10% when the bill cuts. Also do you know if a credit builder loan would be better than just getting a 1000 personal loan if I could get approved?

---

Cap 1 gave me a 1k & 3k SL on my cards 18 months ago.  I have been using these cards like debit cards swiping for everything I buy. From gas to utility and cable bill, car insurance , pretty much everything. I have their phone app and I simply make several payments a week/month either on the app or online. I never did push the limits on any of the cards too much and if I did, I made sure to pay the same day the balance posted to the account. There were times that I ended up with a credit on the account for a day or two until further purchases were posted.  They gave me decent credit post BK disch and I burned them. For that I give them booku swipe fee's and in return they have definitelty taken care of me. Look at my siggy below. In 18 months Ive gone from 1k & 3k to 5.5k & 8k.  

I guess it doesnt matter which loan you get but you want to make sure you dont burn a HP and INQ and not get approved. Remember that from this point going forward you want to limit the HP's and INQ's to a minimum. Just make sure whoever you app with will report to the 3 CRA's and try to strecth out the loan for as long as possible.  The amount of loan and payment amount is of little importance at this point. FICO only cares that you have an installment and that you pay ON TIME , EVERY TIME !  A mentioned a Credit Builder as its easiest to qualify for with a BK.  The bank has no risk since you dont receive the loan proceeds until its paid off.

BTW, welcome to the forum. As a person that had to go the BK route, you should know by now that you are in the right place. The good folks in this forum will help you with your journey and help you stick to the plan that you develope.  Read , read , read and then read some more so that you limit mistakes and have the best impact possible on your situation.  There are so many people in here that have soild, real-time experience with BK and credit rebuilding, credit cards and loans.  As time goes on and you gain knowledge, share it with others in here and continue to build on your success. 

[Anonymous]

Will do! Thank you. I've read so much on here and have seen so many success stories it has definitely given me hope that not that long ago I thought I'd never have!