August 2018 Check-In Thread

[Anonymous]

For a quick update:

I just paid off my blaze credit card balance in full - I have my pier one store credit card left to pay in full. I also paid off two collections and looking to have it removed from my credit as soon as possible. My Transunion score is now moved from 572 to 608  I am really excited about that.

On another note, I am really tempted to accept credit one master card offer for $500 cl but I'm not sure - I really need advice. Should I accept their offer or be patient and wait for better card offers? 

I'm also noticing something strange - my credit scores are not matching across the different sources...is this normal?

[DollyLama]

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@Anonymous wrote:

For a quick update:

I just paid off my blaze credit card balance in full - I have my pier one store credit card left to pay in full. I also paid off two collections and looking to have it removed from my credit as soon as possible. My Transunion score is now moved from 572 to 608  I am really excited about that.

On another note, I am really tempted to accept credit one master card offer for $500 cl but I'm not sure - I really need advice. Should I accept their offer or be patient and wait for better card offers? 

I'm also noticing something strange - my credit scores are not matching across the different sources...is this normal?

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Be patient and wait till your scores rise and apply for better cards that will work for you, once the collections you paid off are no longer reporting and hopefully are a pay for delete, your scores will bump very nicely. So will bringing down total utilitization, as you are paying off cards. Just down let all report 0 balance at statement cut, always let 1 and only 1 card report a small balance, you do not want to exceed over 8.9% of which ever card you choose, it's total credit limit. ie 1000 cl, no more than an $89 balance. Then you can pay it off and without paying interest and charge something small to have a small amount report. 

I would not go with the Credit One offer, it has served it's purpose with your other account, a sub prime starter card, most likely with a substantial  annual fee. Your in with Capital One now, and that is a move up. When your scores are in a good zone, Discover may be the next best card for you. I don't know how old your cc's are, but the less inquiries on your account the better. It takes 1 year for them to age off as far as FICO 8 scoring. A couple is ok, but if you have 5-6 hard pulls, it appears as credit seeking in a short amount of time.

As far as scores being near each other, it all depends which is and isn't reported on each bureau, it's not all uncommon to have a old account no longer reporting on 1 or 2, or a new one that does not report to all 3.

Congrats on the progress you have made! 

[Anonymous]

@Dolly Lama, thank you so much for this advice! Means a lot! I am glad I didn't take the offer - I actually called credit one to tell them that I was looking to close my current visa account(CL $600) with them because their annual fee was too high. I didn't even know that I still owed over $16 in annual fee that they didn't show on my statement until I called them. They were willing to drop the $16 balance in annual fee and give me a zero annual fee for the next three months. I accepted that and kept their visa card for now. Once my score is up, and I get better cards, I will definitely be dropping them.  I am now looking to  paying off my pier 1 credit card, once that is done, my next step will be to takle all of the collections I have on my credit. As of right now, it I have 3 left - I had 5 which I paid off. There is one in particular that I am trying to dispute with Toyota - it's regarding gap insurance which I paid for in the event I needed it.  My car was totaled some years ago and the gap insurance was to cover the difference in cost, however, toyota keeps coming after me that I have to pay them money which the gap insurance didn't cover and I'm saying no. Any who, that's that. 

As of today my FICO score is 632, Transunion score is 608 and EQ 579(I'm thinking this should change soon). So far, it looks like I'm headed in the right direction; thank you again so much!

[Anonymous]

I first of all want to apologize in advance for the many questions I have as I am still learning to navigate my way through...

I have interest in the Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card from American Express as I have plenty of travels coming soon - I also want to get my dad tickets to London. I read a few reviews where it is stated that this is a much easier way to get into American Express. They have a $0 introductory annual fee for a year that....and other incentives. I want to give this a try, but I'm apprehensive about my credit score decreasing if I get denied. My FICO score is now 632 - should I give it a try or keep waiting until my score increases a bit? The promotion ends on September 19 of this year. Any adivce will be highly appreciated. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

It has been a pretty quite month on my side, I have really done nothing this month but just play the waiting game as my new cards age and waiting for the end of the year when my baddies will come off.  I did see a nice bump in one of my scores this month which was a very pleasant shock for me as I didn't expect it.

July Scores

EQ 681

TU 674

EX 708

August Scores

EQ 684 (+3)

TU 782 (+108)

EX 707 (-1)

I had no hard pulls and no new applications in the past 60 days now and don't plan on any for awhile.

Thanks again to everyone here for all of the great information that I have been able to find here.

[Anonymous]

Just start the challenge and now checking in for August. This month has been all about watching my new credit cards being added to my reports and learning how to make sure I pay them off before their closing dates, etc. I'm sure it will be easier in time. No new apps as I'm gardening and just wanting things to grow and my numbers to slowly increase. I've taken a bit of a ding with 3 new credit lines, but that's ok. The scores will go up as I pay on time each month and keep my total reporting utilization at 1%. I also pay $25 for all 3 reports now and will continue this for at least 6 months. I hope to buy a house in 2 years max and I already have my 20% down payment saved. Gotta work on more savings and paying down my student loans. See you in September!

[2B770]

I'm new to gardening and this is my 1st post. Just wanted to say hello to everyone!