My update 6 months after DC

[masscredit]

I had my creditors meeting the third week of April this year. That went smooth. I then jumped the gun and started rebuilding a couple weeks after. I went with a few secured cards (SDFCU - $6500, TD Bank - $5000, Andrews - $3000 and Open Sky - $3000). I also opened a $1500 SSL at Andrews). My scores went from the high 400s/low 500s at the end of April to 

EQ - 628

TU - 552, 

EX - 568 on May 31st.

They then worked up to my current best when I checked November 24th -

EQ - 685 - 11/24/22 

TU - 652 - 11/24/22

EX - 647 - 11/24/22

Since then I checked the Cap 1 pre-approval site to see if they had any offers for me. I was rewarded with a Savor card with a $3000. I also accepted an Ally offer for $2500 and just accepted a pre-approved offer from Mercury their Visa with a $5000 SL. 

I'm VERY happy with how my rebuild is going. I might be wrong, but I think going with secured cards with healthy limits allowed this to happen. I didn't have to start off with toy limits. My TD Bank card graduated after the 7th statement earlier this month. I'm probably going to get rid of the Andrews and Open Sky cards in the near future and I've read the SDFCU card might graduate after a year. 

At this point I'm going to settle into the garden and let these cards and my scores grow. My next score goal is 700+ across the board. My current scores will most likely lose a few points when the new cards start reporting. 

I follow AZEO every month. I let a couple hundred report on one card every month. That's the one I use for monthly househouse expenses. I don't buy anything unless I can immediately pay it off. This is what is working for me.

[SweetCreditObsession]

Congratulations on your progress! Keep up the good work.

[FireMedic1]

Congrats! You got the Savor over the Savor One? Nice.

[masscredit]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

Congrats! You got the Savor over the Savor One? Nice.

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Just saw that I missed that I missed an important word in there, I have the Savor One.

[FireMedic1]

@masscreditEither one is a great card. Congrats again.

[Horseshoez]

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@masscredit wrote:

I'm VERY happy with how my rebuild is going. I might be wrong, but I think going with secured cards with healthy limits allowed this to happen. I didn't have to start off with toy limits. My TD Bank card graduated after the 7th statement earlier this month.

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Congratulations on the rebuild @masscredit, I have the exact same feeling regarding my rebuild, with the TDBank secured card at $5,000 I was able to avoid the whole "toy limit" period.  FWIW, I've posted this elsewhere but on the off chance you haven't seen it, my TDCash card got an auto-CLI about 14 months after it graduated, and another auto-CLI last week; that $5,000 limit has grown to $11,500. 

[masscredit]

@Horseshoez  Thanks for the info! I use this as my daily driver for house bills/expenses. Hoping it sees similar growth in the future. 

[jmcmillan]

If you have the cash, I think secured cards are the way to go with rebuilding. It's so much better than dealing with predatory lenders like Credit One. I get so angry when people dismiss the idea of secured cards, and go with a creditor that charges a $95 anual fee with no rewards.

[Horseshoez]

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@jmcmillan wrote:

If you have the cash, I think secured cards are the way to go with rebuilding. It's so much better than dealing with predatory lenders like Credit One. I get so angry when people dismiss the idea of secured cards, and go with a creditor that charges a $95 anual fee with no rewards.

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I totally agree.  My secured card was a tad unusual because it did come with a $29 annual fee (with a pro-rated refund if/when the card graduates to unsecured).  In the end I paid $14.50 for the annual fee (the card graduated after exactly 6 months), however, offsetting that I received a whopping $1.27 in interest on my security deposit and an additional $114.74 in cash back rewards.