Questions about my short history and will my score go up?

[Apexcrest123]

Hello everyone!

im new to credit.  After not having credit most of my life im in my lower 40s and decided to start building credit last year.

i started wiith a chime secured card, then am authorized user on a cap venture 20k limit, then a credit one 400 dollar limit, then amazon store card 500, cap one platinum 300 and finally care credit by synchrony for 4,000.  
Experian 721

Equifax and transu  680.

heres my problem, i got trigger happy and made the mistake of opening a bunch of accounts within 6 months of each other.

i wish i would have stuck to 3 maybe 4 accounts.  I dont want to look like i am desperate.

i have stopped applying or prequalifying completely and now want to grow my credit.  My questions are...

if i pay in full or azeo a little each month but make all payments, will my scores start going up?  
lets say i pay in full all cards (thats not a problem for me, im good at paying and managing my own funds) for 6 months straight, will i see a score increase or is this going to take years?

my goal honestly is to get where a bank will approve me for a 5,000 dollar limit.  I know i have a ways to go but did i screw myself by opening these accounts?  Any idea of how long it will take to start seeing a score increase if i keep utilization at ten percent and pay in full?

thankyou, this has been stressing me out and its good to get off my chest, your replies are very welcome and appreciated!

[JoeRockhead]

Screw yourself?  No. If you can pay everything in full, do it. Only let a small balance post on one account. 

How many of your accounts are yours, and how many are you an AU?

[Apexcrest123]

Hi, im an AU on only one account.  Its a cap one venture.  Its only 4 months old.  All the accounts are 2 to 3 months old and one is brand new.  Yes i can pay in full without a problem.  I dont use the accounts but for 40 or 50 bucks here and there.  

[Snook_on_the_Line]

Assuming there are no negitave items on your reports, As long as you keep up with 100% on time payments and keep your reported utilization low you should start seeing a steady rise in scores as time marches forward.   

my Equifax fico score started at 505ish and went to unscoreable after my negatives were removed.   From unscoreable to 750 took less than 18 months.   I had five cards that were all brand new.  It was a steady rise with a little extra jump when the cards hit one year old.   Ten months later and I'm hovering around 765.  

[FicoMike0]

You're not screwed at all. You'll see a score improvement when your youngest account turns 12 months. The 12 months pass in the same 12 months whether you have one account or five.  During the same 12 months, all of your hard inquiries will age off. In 12 months you will be better off than If you had spaced the 5 apps out.

[FicoMike0]

Meanwhile, you will be getting the benefit of having three or more accounts reporting paid. Make sure you ask for credit limit increases, usually every six months. These are usually a soft inquiry. Don't agree to a hard inquiry. As your limit increases, it gets easier to manage utilization.

[FicoMike0]

Another thing. You can freeze each of your credit reports for free. I say do it. That way, no one can do a hard inquiry. If you decide to apply for credit, you can unfreeze, or even schedule a temporary thaw.

[Apexcrest123]

This is all great news.  I dont mind waiting a year or so for my credit to jump.  Then i can finally be approved for something with good rewards and a much higher limit.  I have to keep reminding myself im just starting out and its ok to have a small limit.  Ive heard that the emazon card i have gives credit increases pretty standard.  Maybe in a year or so they will graduate me from the store card to the visa card?  That would be amazing!

[JoeRockhead]

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@Apexcrest123 wrote:

Hi, im an AU on only one account.  Its a cap one venture.  Its only 4 months old.  All the accounts are 2 to 3 months old and one is brand new.  Yes i can pay in full without a problem.  I dont use the accounts but for 40 or 50 bucks here and there.  

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The only thing you did was adding too much, too soon... Time will take care of that, so be patient. No more accounts until your newest account is over a year old. 

In the meantime, practice AZE0 and ask for CLIs on your existing accounts if/when they're eligible ss long as they're a SP only.

As for the AU account, I doubt  its doing anything for you. If it's reporting a zero balance, you'll actually get a small score penalty being its your only one.

[Apexcrest123]

Ipthat brings me to my second question.

If i closed one of these accounts, like the AU, or the credit one.  How bad would it affect me in the long run if i closed one with a zero balance now.