inquires

[Anonymous]

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@llecs wrote:

+1. I have no doubt my scores would be higher than they are now and I'd have much higher CLs, had I only taken my time and be more selective, vs. settling for a Credit One, Orchard, Target, etc (at that time).

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Do you really think some ccc's may look down upon the possession of such cards when considering lending?  I mean never dealt with Cred one or Orchard, have target but at the time of rebuilding my options were limited like everybody's.  Right now have gotten alot more responsible however i'm in position now where i can't sing my way out of my last three baddies.  It's just not gonna happen i've came to that conclusion two of which due to drop beginning of 2012, the other 2013.  But these aren't lates they are two Co's, one a ca.  So it's like ya gotta build history with someone and that's been the hsbc's, cap ones, junipers.  Skiddish about the prime cards cuz they hate seeing CO's and not to mention my last one reported in beginning of '09.

[llecs]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@llecs wrote:

+1. I have no doubt my scores would be higher than they are now and I'd have much higher CLs, had I only taken my time and be more selective, vs. settling for a Credit One, Orchard, Target, etc (at that time).

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Do you really think some ccc's may look down upon the possession of such cards when considering lending?  I mean never dealt with Cred one or Orchard, have target but at the time of rebuilding my options were limited like everybody's.  Right now have gotten alot more responsible however i'm in position now where i can't sing my way out of my last three baddies.  It's just not gonna happen i've came to that conclusion two of which due to drop beginning of 2012, the other 2013.  But these aren't lates they are two Co's, one a ca.  So it's like ya gotta build history with someone and that's been the hsbc's, cap ones, junipers.  Skiddish about the prime cards cuz they hate seeing CO's and not to mention my last one reported in beginning of '09.

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No, not at all.These are great cards for rebuilding, and IMO, lenders don't care if your profile contains an Amex or a First Premier. I was speaking more in the terms of applying for a bunch of cards, like I had done, hoping that something would stick. I was settling for low-limit cards instead of selectively applying for cards that could have provided for higher limits. My AAoA took a beating after adding 15 CCs over the past 3 yrs following repair. Instead of hoping for something or anything, I should have aimed for 1-2-3 cards and let those age and then I'd be in a better position to get those higher limit, more prime cards later. If I had it to do over again, I would have aimed for a high-limit secured CC (I started in the 500s per FICO), let that report, and slowly add a new CC every 9-12 months or so as my credit aged. If I did this, my AAoA could have been 6-7 yrs vs. the 3 now.

[vanillabean]

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@llecs wrote:

If I had it to do over again, I would have aimed for a high-limit secured CC (I started in the 500s per FICO), let that report, and slowly add a new CC every 9-12 months or so as my credit aged. If I did this, my AAoA could have been 6-7 yrs vs. the 3 now.

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Interesting. My AAoA is also fairly low, but not because we didn't go for platinum-level cards which we did, but because our first card came relatively late in our lives, supplemented with our other cards less than a year ago.

The latest is my Discover More card that came in the mail just two hours after my post earlier today. You can get a 5% cashback bonus up to $300 this third quarter on gas and hotels and a ditto up to $200 in September for grocery/drug stores, The introductory $75 (until the day after tomorrow) requires purchases of $500 within the first three months (although the first is not a full month), and I think after doing the math we can make it! I should encourage DW to apply as well

Anyway, more pertinent in this forum is that apparently the credit limit is reported. And we like that. Plus in a year we may get a score increase, as you pointed out.

[haulingthescoreup]

Many folks don't realize that when building or rebuilding, you don't need lots and lots and lots of cards. Yes, it's good to have new clean tradelines to dilute old baddies (if you have them), but the benefit wears out after four cards or so. We get a lot of posts here from people with 8 - 10 cards with $200 and $300 CL's, annual fees, and terrible CS, and it soon becomes obvious that however well they treat the cards, they're never, ever going to grow. They get very frustrated to find that there's very few, if any, of those cards worth keeping, now that they're getting back on their feet.

So if rebuilders can have some patience and stick with 2-3 clean cards, and after a year start adding newer cards, they'll be in a position to get better cards during with those newer ones.

And we have had posts suggesting that if all you have are these low-limit cards, it can be hard to get that first good one. Lenders might not want to be the first one to take a chance and issue a $1K CL card. Anyway, something to keep in mind during those impatient early days of rebuilding.

[llecs]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

Many folks don't realize that when building or rebuilding, you don't need lots and lots and lots of cards. Yes, it's good to have new clean tradelines to dilute old baddies (if you have them), but the benefit wears out after four cards or so. We get a lot of posts here from people with 8 - 10 cards with $200 and $300 CL's, annual fees, and terrible CS, and it soon becomes obvious that however well they treat the cards, they're never, ever going to grow. They get very frustrated to find that there's very few, if any, of those cards worth keeping, now that they're getting back on their feet.

So if rebuilders can have some patience and stick with 2-3 clean cards, and after a year start adding newer cards, they'll be in a position to get better cards during with those newer ones.

And we have had posts suggesting that if all you have are these low-limit cards, it can be hard to get that first good one. Lenders might not want to be the first one to take a chance and issue a $1K CL card. Anyway, something to keep in mind during those impatient early days of rebuilding.

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I couldn't have said it better myself.

[vanillabean]

Along the lines of low-limit cards, I remember that all DW and I had in our twenties was, I guess, charge cards. She had Neiman Marcus, Marshall Field's and one or two more of that sort. I had a Mobil card.

We got to reminisce of that last week, because I happened to stumble across a myFICO thread entitled "How to Retrieve Old Credit Report?", in which guiness56 wrote in 2007:

"Even if you apply for a mortgage and it has already been deleted from the CR it will still be in the OP file.  Your entire credit history can be seen under a few circumstances.  Applying for a mortgage of $150,000 or more is one of them."

So because we did a refinance of that size last year, I called our mortgage broker, who unfortunately could say no more that he no longer has access to our credit reports from back then.

It would have been interesting walking down memory lane though. And I would particularly like to have that Mobil card reinstated (if it appeared on my credit report in the first place), if at all possible. It would certainly boost my AAoA!

[vanillabean]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

So if rebuilders can have some patience and stick with 2-3 clean cards, and after a year start adding newer cards, they'll be in a position to get better cards during with those newer ones.

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I don't know the first thing about rebuilding, but consider myself knowledgeable on consolidating.

DW too has now been approved for a Discover More card, which represents something fundamentally new for us. We have no reason to AU each other on those cards.

And that brings up my long ago concocted plan to become AU on her Costco Amex and why I haven't yet. And now why maybe I shouldn't.

I  wanted to, because 1) it was a habit from sharing our travel cards, 2) the card's credit limit would report to me too, and 3) pump gas without her.

I haven't yet, because it would bring down my EQ AAoA farther than I thought could be justified. No doubt helped in getting my Discover card.

So now that I'm out of the danger zone, you would think I'd jump on it and become AU. But reasons 1) and 2) have evaporated.

Reason 3) was never really important. But since I'm one card behind her, I wonder what's the best gas card around. Discover's 5% will do it for the 3rd quarter only. Of course the Costco Amex gives 3% all year.

Maybe it's best to sleep on it. I don't need a card such as Amex Blue Cash that'll significantly take away usage of our travel cards.

Of course what I can do is be AU until I find a card and then undo it before applying.

Ok. I'm back on track.

Which means it's time to ask the very question that OP did. Which translates into simply rereading this thread!

Was about to hit the Post button, but figured I'd check my mail first. Got a myFICO SW alert. Assumed it would be for DW, and it was. Assumed it would be an increase because she's down to one card reporting balances. I was wrong. She had dropped two points. "A new inquiry has been added to your credit report." I'm guessing something like 7 - 9 = -2.

The big surprise is that Discover checked her EQ. I thought they checked just TU for me. The difference might be that I applied by phone while her application was done using the online form.

I think it's time to purchase updated 3-in-1 credit reports for both of us. Does Suze Orman's FICO Kit Platinum up on myFICO list soft inquiries?

[haulingthescoreup]

No 3-in-1 monitoring service shows softs. You have to get those on the full reports from each bureau.

Suze doesn't monitor EX.

EQ has something called Credit Watch Gold, which I like, which allows you to buy 3-in-1's along with the full EQ report, which shows EQ softs.

As for gas cards, I'm really, really not trying to get you to app , but IMO best gas card = PenFed Plat Rewards Visa. 5% cash back, credited back on the statement every month, all the time. I think it's pay at the pump, though, which can be a problem if your usual gas station makes you go inside. Anyway, any time that I can buy $3/ gal gas for $2.85, that cheers me up.

[vanillabean]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

softs. You have to get those on the full reports from each bureau.

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Thanks. It makes sense what you're saying.

As far as I can tell, the CRAs are not consistent though. EX shows softs in the annual free report, but not when you purchase a report from them. TU shows them in neither. EQ shows them in both.

I would think you're entitled by law to know your softs.

[llecs]

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@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

softs. You have to get those on the full reports from each bureau.

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Thanks. It makes sense what you're saying.

As far as I can tell, the CRAs are not consistent though. EX shows softs in the annual free report, but not when you purchase a report from them. TU shows them in neither. EQ shows them in both.

I would think you're entitled by law to know your softs.

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I have softs on all 3. With EX, I get the full reports for free due to being a subscriber with CCT. If you click the "dispute" button, even without disputing, you get a free full report from EX that shows softs, the full 7-yr history, demographics, etc. Also, pre-CCT, I would just order a new EX report from experian.com and that would show the softs. It was always a challenge finding the link though. Per TU, I have found the link to purchase a report in the past, but lately I can't find it at all. They always try to pass TC as the end-all for my report woes. However, if you dispute, and again you don't have to dispute, you'll get a free report with all the softs.