Does it matter when during month I apply for credit card?

[Anonymous]

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indy77 wrote:

I to am in the process of trying to re-establish my credit. What was your Fico score when you applied for the capital one card?  I am trying to decide which credit card to apply for but do not want to risk the chance of being denied and hurting my credit.

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What are your scores now?  What are your baddies and current accounts reporting?

Capital One pulls all three reports, but their approval standards are very low for their rebuilder cards.  Typical starting CL is $300.

Message Edited by cheddar on 04-24-2008 01:29 PM

[Anonymous]

My scores are very bad right now my low is 520, middle 580 and high 610. I just came out of a divorce, had to file bankruptcy and am in the process of rebuilding and re-establishing. I have one credit card $300 limit but would like to establish mainstream credit to prove credit worthiness. It's almost impossible with these scores.

[Anonymous]

I applied for the capital one after receiving so many offers. I was approved for no APR for 1yr and No annual fee $3000CL. My bankruptcy discharged 10/07. I applied for a Suntrust CC no instant answer waiting on response through mail. I want to buy a house next year. Do I need to try to obtain another CC or wait?

Experian 654, FICI 640, Equifax 594

[RobertEG]

Indy, unfortunately, you are correct.  Your current scores are not likely to bring salivation from the hungering mouths of lendors.

But why do you even care now?  FICO is only relevant when you are actually applying for new credit. 

Rebuild, and regroup.  Ignore FICO, for it will only depress your psychie.

[Anonymous]

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indy77 wrote:

My scores are very bad right now my low is 520, middle 580 and high 610. I just came out of a divorce, had to file bankruptcy and am in the process of rebuilding and re-establishing. I have one credit card $300 limit but would like to establish mainstream credit to prove credit worthiness. It's almost impossible with these scores.

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indy, I'm afraid I agree with you and Robert.  Your scores are not likely to qualify you for any prime cards with decent CLs.  It would probably be best for you to spend some time repairing before you get ahead of yourself and try to rebuild prematurely.

Repair first, then rebuild.

Message Edited by cheddar on 04-24-2008 07:55 PM

[Anonymous]

Ouch, that is what  I thought, Ok Cheddar and Robert what is the best way to repair and rebuild? I thought I needed to re-establish credit worthiness in order to rebuild but if I am needing to repair first what is the best way to do that besides time?

[RobertEG]

Get another year under your belt on the 300CL card.  Pay on time.  Dont app for new credit.  And dont order your FICO score for another year!

Yes, these are all time factors, but only time heals deep wounds.

[Anonymous]

Ok will do, thanks Robert. What do you think about the law firms that claim to be able to clean up and repair your credit report/score? Are they legit?

[Anonymous]

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indy77 wrote:

Ok will do, thanks Robert. What do you think about the law firms that claim to be able to clean up and repair your credit report/score? Are they legit?

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Often they charge you your hard-earned money to end up doing more harm than good, and they don't do anything you can't do yourself with a little bit of self-education and with the help of forums like these, particularly the General Credit Issues forum.

If you have specific questions on cleaning up your reports, I'd suggest you post them there.  Please try to start a new thread for each specific situation on your reports that you'd like input on.  You will be more likely to get good input if you keep your original posts pithy, but still giving as many details as you think are necessary.

BTW, sometimes the first thing those repair firms do is a blanket dispute of everything on your reports.  There are (at least) two problems with this.  First, you will likely end up with fraud alerts on your reports, even though you didn't ask for them.  Also, you may end up with any positive tradelines deleted, which is NOT what you want when you're trying to fix your reports.

Message Edited by cheddar on 04-26-2008 08:42 PM

[Anonymous]

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RobertEG wrote:

Indy, unfortunately, you are correct.  Your current scores are not likely to bring salivation from the hungering mouths of lendors.

But why do you even care now?  FICO is only relevant when you are actually applying for new credit. 

Rebuild, and regroup.  Ignore FICO, for it will only depress your psychie.

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I think Robert is right. There is a certain 'freedom' in saying to yourself:  I'm not going to worry about FICO - just about me.

When my scores weren't so hot (hovering around upper 590 - low 600's) several years ago - I just stopped checking, stopped 'trying' to get credit and instead just focused on trying to do 'right':  Spend less, and pay off more debts.  I didn't check for litterally two -three years until one day I 'accidently' looked at a home during an open house and fell in love with the idea of owning one.

THAT got me looking at my credit scores again -- and you know what... all that doing what is 'right' really helped - because by then my scores were up to 680's -700 and at the time (last year) that was enough to get me a mortgage at 6.3%. 

Do right by you, and the rest will follow.  I think it's only when everything else is in order that all the little games we're learning here (PIF at certain times, rotate cards, etc) really matter.

Sovi