Well, youre question hinges on one facet. Can you come up with the money to pay off the Sears charge off in full by, September or October at the latest? If so then:
When you have the full amount to pay off the charge off, call the collection agency and arrange a PFD (Pay for Deletion) That is, Offer them the full amount to settle the account on the contingency that once paid, they will delete the account from your credit reports. Make sure, however, to get this in writing before you give them a cent, otherwise, there is nothing to hold them to their word. If this account is your only negative account, that should give you QUITE a boost in your scores almost immediately once the account is deleted.
If that is not an option, then make your payments to Sears as well as paying down the debt you currently owe on your credit cards to under 9% total util. Using this strategy, it will increase your score a bit, however, it will be slower. Im no expert in the fico scoring model, but what youre asking is doable.
If the first option is a possibility, do it as quickly as you can as this will greatly affect your score in a positive way, assuming there are no other negative items on your reports.
Good Luck!
