Amex SPG 10K SL w/ Major Derog

Just wanted to share in case anyone who is still working on a rebuild would find it useful. Tried to boil it down to bullets so it's as straightforward as possible. A year ago I had gotten my scores into the 680s at all 3, and got a targeted mail offer for a Green charge card with 25K MR points. At that time I had an unpaid C/O for 19K showing from 4 years ago (auto repo) and a couple other baddies (a paid C/O for $129 from 4 yrs ago and lates from student loans from 5 yrs ago). The C/O had stopped updating 4 yrs ago.Applied for the Green, and after reading that you could usually get a revolver right after approval for a charge card using the same EX pull, I checked their online offers and saw that I could also get the EveryDay card with 15K MR pointsApplied for the Green, instapproved, and then the ED, instapproved for 1K with lowest available APR of 12.99%Since then, I tried every 90 days for a CLI on the ED but was declined citing my score and derogs. (The C/O started updating monthly again in November 14 and has been continuing to update ever since).Meanwhile, I added a DCU card with a 5K limit and two Cap One cards to my wallet (the Venture with a 10K limit and the Plat Prestige with a 5K). Those grew to 13K and 7K respectively after 3 statements.In May my EX was up to 714, so I added a Delta Amex Gold card, instapproved for 2K with 19.24% APRThen in June this year, I was again eligible to try for a CLI on the EveryDay and it worked, up from 1K to 3K.So, I decided to try for the SPG last night, because I think the Starpoints will be a good currency for me (planning to downgrade the Venture to a QS when the AF comes due, so I could afford one more AF card)Was not instapproved, got the 14-day message. Called in this morning, and after a couple verification questions got approved for 10K. Gave me the 19.24% APR, which I think is their highest, but doesn't matter since I'll always PIF on a rewards card. Again, still have the unpaid C/O showing up monthly, as well as the paid CO and those student loan lates. I think the reason I succeeded was because I now have a full year of spending & paying history with Amex, during which I've PIFd every product every month. (Overall spend of about 15K across all 3 cards over the past year). Current scores are below, income has been steady at 76K during all of the above. Hope this is helpful to anyone else who's rebuilding and maybe wasn't sure if Amex was worth applying to. Happy to answer any other questions about my file or stats if useful.

Hey JustMe, Thanks for the note, and it was a bummer that it took so long to get the CLI on the EveryDay. What I noticed as I read these boards is that this seems to happen with folks who have baddies - that Amex will make you wait about 11 months from the date of open to be eligible for your first 3x CLI. And that's exactly what happened to me - opened the account on July 11 2014, and on June 12 2015 I got my first CLI approval. I'm assuming (fingers crossed) that because I got this one, and because my SPG's limit is so much better, that I should now be on-track to get a CLI every 6 months on one of my cards. My strategy for that is going to be to still focus on the ED, because Amex does allow you to transfer some of your limit to other cards but only when the "donor card" has been open for 13+ months. So, in December, I'm going to ask for the ED to go to 9K, move 3K of that over to the Delta, and thus get all 3 of my cards to 5K+ (which feels like a genuinely useful limit for travel cards) by the end of the year. Then next year will be about seeing how much total exposure my income and profile will support from Amex's perspective (I'm guessing about 25-30K across all 3 cards, we'll see).

Similar Messages

Fidelity Amex!

This will be my last approval thread for a long time. I was tempted to get the Fidelity Amex, but wanted to wait for the Schwab Amex in 2016. Anyways, after opening a 529 account for my daughter I decided to click on their credit card link. Here are the results: It was an instant approval. This completes my switch to no AF cards. I started with reward cards in the beginning of the year to get my bonus points, but realized I did not want the AF's from Chase, Citi, etc. I'll still keep the Amex SPG, but cancel the Amex PRG when I receive my 50k bonus points. I'm satisifed with all my signup bonus points and new cc's, so I'm set for now... until the Schwab Amex comes out in 2016 See you in the garden.. I'm really thankful for this forum.

becontent wrote:
This will be my last approval thread for a long time. I was tempted to get the Fidelity Amex, but wanted to wait for the Schwab Amex in 2016. Anyways, after opening a 529 account for my daughter I decided to click on their credit card link. Here are the results: It was an instant approval. This completes my switch to no AF cards. I started with reward cards in the beginning of the year to get my bonus points, but realized I did not want the AF's from Chase, Citi, etc. I'll still keep the Amex SPG, but cancel the Amex PRG when I receive my 50k bonus points. I'm satisifed with all my signup bonus points and new cc's, so I'm set for now... until the Schwab Amex comes out in 2016 See you in the garden.. I'm really thankful for this forum. Super congrats on this card & your sl!!! This is one of the last cards on my list. I'll wait. You do have to open an account with them, right? Working on a NFCU account right now. WTG!!!

Disparity in scores despite same reports?

After reading the forums for a while i've finally decided to sign up and join everyone.I've been subscribed to experian for a while and it shows my score's coming in at a healthy(considering my currently sky high utilization) 632, however I found my equifax to come in at 576.They both have the same exact report information, Except for inquiries, i got hit with a whopping 10 on equifax when i was getting my car in feburary, but i was always told those only count as one. equifax shows 16, experian 7 The biggest hit on me is a very late payment 2 years ago when i didn't know anything about credit. I let it run to 180 days, equifax reports as 180, Experian reports as 120+. The account was eventually paid off in full but it still shows negative on the account. To complicate things even further, When i signed up for EQ, it showed scores for all 3 accounts, and Eq came in at 576, TU 590, Experian 585. Long term i know this is all gonna be fine, but in the short term i wanted to get my score up to 680 to Refi my car in the next 2 months by paying down my utlization, which with experian, is entirely possible, With EQ coming in at 576 though, seems impossible. Eq is the score that ultimately matters as its the one they pull. Any input/advice?

Kuma wrote:
After reading the forums for a while i've finally decided to sign up and join everyone.I've been subscribed to experian for a while and it shows my score's coming in at a healthy(considering my currently sky high utilization) 632, however I found my equifax to come in at 576.They both have the same exact report information, Except for inquiries, i got hit with a whopping 10 on equifax when i was getting my car in feburary, but i was always told those only count as one. equifax shows 16, experian 7 The biggest hit on me is a very late payment 2 years ago when i didn't know anything about credit. I let it run to 180 days, equifax reports as 180, Experian reports as 120+. The account was eventually paid off in full but it still shows negative on the account. To complicate things even further, When i signed up for EQ, it showed scores for all 3 accounts, and Eq came in at 576, TU 590, Experian 585. Long term i know this is all gonna be fine, but in the short term i wanted to get my score up to 680 to Refi my car in the next 2 months by paying down my utlization, which with experian, is entirely possible, With EQ coming in at 576 though, seems impossible. Eq is the score that ultimately matters as its the one they pull. Any input/advice?Well, actually, and as you noted, they are not the same reports The inquiries are different as well as the late payments. Different data = different scores. You can't get rid of the inquires, well I guess you could but it's not likely, and the lates, well, those are major derogs and will continue to hurt your score really for the enitre 7 years but they will lessen over time - you need to work to get rid of those if you have not already (it took me a year to get rid of one 30-day late, you will need to work at this). One thing I would do is determine which is correct - was it 180 or 120? If it was 120 then fix the other reporting for 180 (if it was 180 then don't rock the boat). Are you sure you are checking your scores from these sources all at the same time? If not then a difference in time can equal a difference in scores based on the same report. Hoping for a 50 point gain in the short term is not realistic UNLESS you have other areas that can be changed. For example, UTIL, you say it's sky high, well depending on what your definition of sky high is and on how many accounts you could very well be able to grab 50 points by lowering that UTIL to under 10%. And heck, get rid of those lates and you could shoot for the moon. If you'd like more detailed info you'd need to list all your tradelines with their respective balances and limits. The median FICO® Score 8 for the entire U.S. was 713 as of October 2014 (50% of the population scores above and below that score). I'll let you determine if you feel your score is healthy based on that data point.

Thoughts on what cards I should target next

I am trying to decide which cards I should target next. My goal is building up a point balance for a trip to Japan or maybe Brazil. I have four new accounts from Jan which are over six months old now and a prestige card that I picked up two months ago. I can do personal or business cards. Where should be my main focus if I am looking for premium redemptions. RIght now I have about 90k TY points coming in so I was looking into maybe workijng towards signapore airlines, because I can use TY points and amex MRs with their program and redeem for a suite. Normally I would look for AA redemptions but I only have like 14k AA miles in my account and don't think I will be able to build the account back up that quickly. I have abut 44k amex MRs saved up at moment. Some thoughts on what I might do. I am considering going for the citi premier card for the signup offer since I already have the prestige and I could use that card for travel bonus spend (if I did this then I would have 140k TY points to use). I could pick up the chase co-branded marriott card to redeem for some marriott stays, although I want to go for the ink plus when they have a good signup offer so I'm trying to avoid more chase apps. For amex I was looking at maybe a personal plat or a business plat/prg. None of the signups at the moment look super appealing and I am not getting the great signup offer via cardmatch for the plat. I have a number of URs saved up already but I am trying to save those for hyatt redemptions vs using them on airfare. Which card offers would you suggest I target and which cards should I focus my spend on? I was thinkg about going hard on the Everyday card to try to get my MR account up. . I currently have venture, cs, citi aa plat, citi prestige, amex everyday, amex spg, ink bold, arrival+, citi hilton, chase hyatt, freedomI got rid of or downgraded the following: csp, amex prg, Citi AA exec

JustMe3 wrote:
red259 wrote:
On second thought it looks like getting the Ink Plus may be harder than I thought. I got notified today that they are changing the bold card over to a revolver basically. They said there will be a set limit and I have option to pay over time with interest. This seems like it will make it very difficult for me to convince chase that I need the ink plus when I already have the bold.Well not necessarily, I'm sure there are others out there that have 2 Chase business cards and didn't have to do any convincing (although I could be wrong). Maybe you should just try for the Ink Plus now if that's the card you really want?Because they have had much higher signup offers in the past. Don't want to app for a 50k offer when I have seen 70k offers in the past and sometimes the higher offers occur around the end of summer. No way to predict for sure, but being its that time of year makes it worth waiting a month or two.

Credit Monitoring....PLUS Score and VantageScores?

Besides free Credit Karma that I use. I also subscribe to USAA's current CreditCheck Monitoring in which on August 20th it will be changed to CreditCheck & ID Monitor. I did notice other changes for the same price but wanted to know what is it, (is it upgrade or downgrade)? Current: "Monthly Experian, TransUnion & Equifax Credit Reports and PLUS Score" New: "Monthly Experian, TransUnion & Equifax Credit Reports and VantageScores" What's the difference between PLUS Score and VantageScores? I tried joining FICO but it won't let me because for some reason, Equifax does not have suffiecent info on me (**bleep**!?!?) so I'm stuck with CreditCheck for now. Thanks!

Estoril777 wrote:
Good news! I was approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, with a credit limit of 5000. (edit: I was expecting a higher limit but that's only becasue I got spolied with the 12k and 15k Southwest Chase cards; 5k is still perfectly reasonable) Following the application online, they just wanted a phone call to verify information, which went quite smoothly. Thanks again Yes-its-me for the helpful replies, I probably would have waited another few weeks otherwise. I think once I get a few cycles of payments in, I'll try for the SPG Amex. But for now I am more than satisfied :-) Very nice... Congrats!! Yes, I like this plan of waiting a few months before trying for the Amex SPG. That gives Chase enoiugh time to also report the CSP.

DGF Citi ATT Approval and SPG amex Pending. What next to get..

So my GF just got her autoloan and a new car so we thought its a good time for an app spree.So far Approved for Citi ATT at 2k.SPG Amex is still pending.Thinking Arrival+ although the nerf is a bit upsettingmaybe another citi card. Possibly AAany other ideas? Chase is probably a no go. shes opened 2 cards with them past 6months (CSP and United).Her Fico is around 705EQ 700EX AND 715TU.
No baddies or anyhting like that.

Citi's computers take their time to update. So her new AT&T card may not even be factored into what the pre qualifier says. Kenny is right, I wouldn't test the waters with another Citi app immediately.
If she's pre approved with Cap1 even with the new card 2 months ago, is probably a good indicator she would be approved.
US Bank pre qualifier is next to worthless and unless you have some type of existing banking relationship with them, wouldn't even bother until scores are around mid-700.
She probably has a good shot at something from Barclays. Arrival+ probably has the best bonus from their offering. I never kept mine for over a year though so it depends on use and long term objectives if you want it for the bonus or for the long haul.

AMEX really does hate me

joeyoeyb wrote:
The balance on the Delta card was $525 (the limist was $3500). I've hardly used this card for a year but within the past 2 months I've started using it some for business related expenses. As far as I can remember, the $525 is the hightest the balance has ever been. Not using it for almost a year is most likely your answer. They like to see usage every month. I baby mine. Charge big almost every month and pif.

joeyoeyb wrote:
My utilization across all cards is 22% (not great, but I didn't think it was terrible). I've not had a late or missed payment on any account from any company in over 5 years. There is one thing that concerned me though. I have an old collection for $3489 that's over 5 years old & should fall off next year. AMEX knew about this when I opened both accounts. I assumed it was old enough they didn't put much weight in it. Recently I contacted this company to see about possibly paying some or all of it off to have it removed. They agreed to remove it but for way more than I was willing to pay so I say no. A few days later I get an "alert" from Transunion telling me there was a new "major derogitory" on my Experian credit. I panicked and logged in, but it was the same account with the same info so I didn't worry. Did they "renew" this or something? From what I can tell it's all the same info. Did AMEX maybe see this as a "new" derogitory account & it freaked them out??Unfortunately, it appears that by contacting the collection agency the clock on your collection was "reset", thus appearing to Amex as a new and pretty substantial derog account. So, to minimize Amex's own exposure they cut down their potential risk by lowering your CLs. Your 22% UTI had nothing to do with their decision IMO. They just saw the derog and freaked out, which would be the normal course of action for any lender. They definitely don't hate you. They just don't want to have huge CLs open for folks who appear to be in financial trouble as they are more likely to be unable to pay money back. My understanding of old collections is that if they are closer to falling off then not, you should ride it out until it goes away. If the time frame is too far away, pay the thing off and negotiate with the collector agency to get it done. Always go for a PIF w/removal if possible. But still negotiate obviously.

AMEX for all things travel?

So, I'm a huge lover of Chase - specifically their CSP product. I view this as one of the best cards to have for traveling, especialy since I travel of SWA often, and when I don't, if I book through UR, I get 3x's back. I do not think any other card does this. In about a year from now, I know I will likely close a few accounts. I was just approved for the AMEX Delta Skymiles cards however its benefits to me are limited. I really only got it for the signup bonus and after the first year, I'm not sure I can justify it with the AF. Many people seem to rave about AMEX's MR points. Is the reward system for the cards that utilize MR points more valuable than the CSP in conjunction with UR? Thanks

medo wrote:
taxi818 wrote:
medo wrote:
So, I'm a huge lover of Chase - specifically their CSP product. I view this as one of the best cards to have for traveling, especialy since I travel of SWA often, and when I don't, if I book through UR, I get 3x's back. I do not think any other card does this. In about a year from now, I know I will likely close a few accounts. I was just approved for the AMEX Delta Skymiles cards however its benefits to me are limited. I really only got it for the signup bonus and after the first year, I'm not sure I can justify it with the AF. Many people seem to rave about AMEX's MR points. Is the reward system for the cards that utilize MR points more valuable than the CSP in conjunction with UR? ThanksI know what you mean. I'm not impressed with amex. I got delta. Not because of amex or easiness to get card. Over other airline cards. But mainly because even with small benefits. They are the real only major player does flies everywhere internationally. Not JetBlue my other favorite nor southwest. So,after my Asian trip Xmas. I will pc my delta. Hello, What will you PC your delta card to? Also, for the AMEX Gold Premier, what is the redemption rate for airline miles? Ex. if you use the AMEX travel site, will the point value be the same as what it would be if you were booking with Delta directly? I can totally see myself using the AMEX Gold card as it is a truely versitile card as far as point earnings.Will pc to no AF Hilton card. I also think I could pc to SPG. But Hilton wIll do. I know,some will say nthe bonus points. But looks like amex foes not want yo give me a 3rd card. I apped for business simply cash. Denied. Even low util. And 0 balances on my amex. Maybe i should cancel my green. They might wake up.

Macy's Amex now available with Chip

i just got off the chat with Macy's to verify my new limit I will have after merge of accounts next month . Rep said that my AU's along with me , would receive new Amex Cards with the Chip in it. My AU's where issued just a store card and a Amex for me. So now since they are doing away with the store card ( if you have Amex too) , they are issuingAU's a Amex. my combined limits will now be $16,500. I will try for a cli on all accounts in a couple 2 weeks.

MstrPTato wrote:
Applied for Macy's Amex card in store and got approved for temp limit of $1000. Thought I should add the club account before they are done away with on July 18th. Got an instant approval on that too with the purchase of two watches. I am hoping the lines will merge after this date. I have read about major purchase account but I am not sure what this is. Are CLIs SP or HP? Any auto? Do you request every 6 months?It's not a temporary limit, it is your Macy's store limit. Call 1-800-477-2167 from 9-5 EST tomorrow to find out your Am Ex limit. The major purchase account is for furniture, mattresses and housewares over $500 total. Housewares I think is $400. Your Am Ex limit should be at least 3 times your store limit. One card that you can use outside of Macy's or in Macy's. The charges made outside of Macy's will be separated on your bill and reported as 2 separate accounts. One trade line for Macy's store, and one for Am Ex. You can go for an increase on the Macy's after about 3-4 months, or as the clerk told my wife, if $1000 isn't enough call customer service now.

Amex, Chase or Capital One

I have been looking around at some cards recently as one thing Credit Karma and other related sites tell me is hurting is AAoA which is 1 year 10months, and total accounts which is at 9(most being Fed student loans). I am still in college. I currently have 1 credit card: Discover It Student at $3000.00 credit line. I have had it since July 2013 and the CL was increased last in Febuary. I also have 1 auto loan since November 2012 with about $4500 left on it. I have recieved quite a few pre-qualified mailings from AMEX and Capital One, while also seeing pre-qualified on Chase's website. Amex mailed me a prequalified Blue Cash Everyday $250 after $1,000 spend in 3 months; Their website lists as prequalified Gold Card(15k pts after $1000 spend in 3 months); and Everday(15k pts after $1k spend in 3 mo) Chase prequalified online shows: Freedom ($200 bonus, and 0 intro apr & AF); Slate; and Sapphire Preferred(40k Pts after spend $4k in 3 months). Capital One prequalified online shows: Quicksilver Rewards($100 on $500 spend in first 3 mo); Venture(40k Pts after $3k spend in first 3 months); and Platinum Prestige. Most of my spending is at Walmart/Sams Club, Gas Stations, Restaurants/Fast Food and occasionally on Amazon and at Target or other grocery stores. I am getting married in August 2016 and honeymoon looks like it will be going to Niagra Falls area(Buffalo,Toronto) and going into Canada by then I will be looking for a no FTF card that is widely accepted in Toronto (Discover has 0 FTF but i hear it is not accepted much in Toronto). Being as that is over a year away I know I don't have to have that as a major factor in my decision yet. I don't have any flights currently planned, but have taken two trips over the last year on Southwest Airlines(airline of choice due to free bags, and value). ScoresTransunion Vanatage: 781Discover FICO: 746(Online) ; 726 (5/27 Statement)Credit Karma: T- 718 EQ - 748Credit Sesame: 718. I was thinking:This month: Apply for a Amex, Possibly BCE for the $250 offer. I'm not sure how well the gold 15k pt offer is with my limited travel in the next 12 months, is that able to be PC to a non-AF card? Between September-January: Either1. Chase cards: CSP and/or Freedom. I was reconmended on another thread to try Back to back to get only 1 pull, and then before the year is up to combine the CL into the Freedom. From my understanding I will rant to redeem my points before doing that correct? Also opening after August will allow me to possibly save the points for the honeymoon in August 2016. Freedom 5x categories may match my Discover iT. 2. Cap 1: Venture and/or Quicksilver. Do they pull twice if you apply back to back within minutes? I read that you can PC Venture to VentureOne to avoid the AF, I don't believe they allow a PC to QS later on do they? I need to do some more research on the point differences between Venture and VentureOne, but I would have Venture for atleast 11 months before AF time. I also saw a thread where it sounds like Cap1 may be allowing cards to be combined in the near future. Between April 2016-July 2016: Option that wasn't choosen above. Any suggestions on timelines, and what cards I should do?Should I look at Sallie Mae Mastercard? And with how low my AAOA is now, how much will opening 2 cards at once (Chase or Cap1 Back to Back hurt?) and then later combining what I can, or should I convert AF cards Venture to VentureOne and CSP to CS?

mlj01 wrote:
Amex Blue or BCE? I haven't seen anything in particular on Slate, how does it compare to Freedom and CSP? I know CSP is the best out of the 3 and UR sounds nice. I also wonder how hard they check income, I know they want to see it, but I just started a new job, and other than hockey reffing the last few months didn't have a normal job, and reffing the funds are paid from each association and don't have a standard pay stub, just checks. I worked on campus this year but up till August 2015 worked at a a Bank and saved quite a bit up. I also forgot to state that I live near the canadian border so the Venture/CSP will be nice(NO FTF) whenever I decide to make my first trip across the border. If not this year I will most likely around the honeymoon time, unless I change honeymoon plans due to bonus rewards! My Discover IT has no FTF but I hear acceptance in Canada is limited.BCE is the one I was going for, although I just a pre approval in the mail today freedom is awesome for now, 200 after spending 500 in 3mo. 1% cash back on everything and they have quarterly deals like right now 5% on gas and kohls lolslate has no annual fee and 0 apr until October 2016CSP is the higher tier card and has 40k bonus points after spending 4k in first 3mo. Has 0 intro annual fee and $95 annual fee after you should be good cause they didn't ask for any proof of income I make 45k/yr You're correct Venture does not have FTF plus you get 40k pts after spending 3k in the first 3 mo

Looking hopeless, 400s scores starting hopeless journey to major credit repair

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and myfico. I'm 25 years old and today I decided to get serious about fixing my credit. I got tired of believing that I'll never have a 700 score in my life and have been trying to make the steps necessary to fix some major damage. I was young and stupid and let every account in my early 20s get charged off. I've never made any consistent payments and due to all that stupidity and neglect, no one will take a chance on me now. In fact, I have now been declined for multiple SECURED credit cards, including Bank of America, TOTAL Visa, Wells Fargo,and CapitalOne which I thought was impossible. In fact, I've never been approved for anything nor have I even gotten close to being prequalified for anything. I checked my scores and I'm starting at 476 TransUnion and 490 Equifax according to credit karma and 500 Equifax, 492 TransUnion, and 497 Experian according to myFico. I've even gotten declined for a car loan to try to rebuild that route despite the fact my income is great. Money isn't a huge issue any more these days seeing as I don't really owe anyone money and have been paying everything in cash. I've got 7 charge offs, 2 of which from 2008 which I'm in the process of trying to get removed from my reports. I had a car loan that I defaulted on and got repossessed last year that I was able to fully pay off the day of the repo but is recent and still a major sting on my reports. The only revolving account I have is a $500 secured credit card from a local credit union. I also bought a blender from FingerHut today and will commence payments on that from this month on. I also tried this website called SelfLender that puts money into a savings account and said that it would report and help rebuild credit but haven't seen it reported on anything yet. I applied for Crown Jeweler's and am awaiting a decision. And I have a student loan that just entered repayment this month. What else can I do? Should I open more secured credit cards? More credit rebuilder loans through credit unions? With what I have right now, do I just sit back and wait? Do I dispute everything negative on my reports even if they're accurate? Some of you guys' stories have been inspirational. But right now I feel like there's really no hope since my scores are about as bad as they can get. Getting declined for secured cards and the idea that no one will take a chance on me even if I pay them to is really making all of this seem impossible. Any input would really help!

NormanFH wrote:
rockbottom11 wrote:
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and myfico. I'm 25 years old and today I decided to get serious about fixing my credit. I got tired of believing that I'll never have a 700 score in my life and have been trying to make the steps necessary to fix some major damage. I was young and stupid and let every account in my early 20s get charged off. I've never made any consistent payments and due to all that stupidity and neglect, no one will take a chance on me now. In fact, I have now been declined for multiple SECURED credit cards, including Bank of America, TOTAL Visa, Wells Fargo,and CapitalOne which I thought was impossible. In fact, I've never been approved for anything nor have I even gotten close to being prequalified for anything. I checked my scores and I'm starting at 476 TransUnion and 490 Equifax according to credit karma and 500 Equifax, 492 TransUnion, and 497 Experian according to myFico. I've even gotten declined for a car loan to try to rebuild that route despite the fact my income is great. Money isn't a huge issue any more these days seeing as I don't really owe anyone money and have been paying everything in cash. I've got 7 charge offs, 2 of which from 2008 which I'm in the process of trying to get removed from my reports. I had a car loan that I defaulted on and got repossessed last year that I was able to fully pay off the day of the repo but is recent and still a major sting on my reports. The only revolving account I have is a $500 secured credit card from a local credit union. I also bought a blender from FingerHut today and will commence payments on that from this month on. I also tried this website called SelfLender that puts money into a savings account and said that it would report and help rebuild credit but haven't seen it reported on anything yet. I applied for Crown Jeweler's and am awaiting a decision. And I have a student loan that just entered repayment this month. What else can I do? Should I open more secured credit cards? More credit rebuilder loans through credit unions? With what I have right now, do I just sit back and wait? Do I dispute everything negative on my reports even if they're accurate? Some of you guys' stories have been inspirational. But right now I feel like there's really no hope since my scores are about as bad as they can get. Getting declined for secured cards and the idea that no one will take a chance on me even if I pay them to is really making all of this seem impossible. Any input would really help!Look at it this way - there's only one direction from here, and thats UP.Realistically, rebuilding is a long term process that takes a minimum of 24 months. Take it in 6 months increments. You already have a start with the secured credit card from the credit union. Build on that. In a few months the FH account will start to grow. Keep watching your scores, they will improve as you move out from the last derog (the repo?). Once you get into the 500's consider getting a second secured card, either Cap One, or Open Sky. Now, the 7 Charge offs - What are they, and when did each one occur? How are they being reported? Balances?BTW, you are pretty much right where I was last August when I started this journey. After one year of *mostly* just managing and using my credit cards effectively, I've come up about a hundred points.

Help me decide. Amex PRG or Ritz?

After applying for the Amex Green I had some serious regrets, realizing it offers terrible rewards and still; an AF!I must admit though, the only reason I even applied for that card was due to not educating myself. I just saw it was the charge card with the cheapest AF and applied. I now understand the error of my ways and have committed to thoroughly researching any CC in the future.After seeing the new changes to the Amex PRG, I knew I had applied for the wrong card for sure. Up until today I was going to apply for it, but now I am a little undecided. The bonus categoies for dining, gas and groceries are very appealing to me and the $100 airline fee credit/no FTF's were the icing on the cake; justifying the $195 AF down to prety much $95. I travel back to London from Detroit (DTW) once a year to visit family and friends. I know the $100 airline fee can be used for airline gift cards so I was planning on using it as basically $100 off my tickets every year. I also travel domestically once/twice a year too. Anyway, I was looking at the Chase Ritz Carlton card today just out of lust and I noticed it had a $300 airline fee credit! Now with a $395 AF, I could do the same thing, and bring the AF down to virtually $95 also. It offers Lounge Club access which was the only thing that was making me consider it over the Amex PRG to be honest. The only thing is, I usually only stay at low-mid tier hotels and not Ritz Carlton hotels. What do you think? I am getting married next year and planning a honeymoon to Scotland/England so I guess I could use reward points towards a Ritz stay in central London? EDIT*** If I was to apply for the Ritz I know I would have to wait until December of this year to apply as Chase dont approve if you've opened 5 or more accounts in 24 months. EDIT*** Ok it doesn't apply to cobranded cards, never mind

myjourney wrote:
TYREX wrote:
Irish80 wrote:
TYREX wrote:
Irish80 wrote:
myjourney wrote:
Not to sway you one way or the other but the Ritz also includes Enjoy Two Complimentary Nights at any participating Tier 1-4 Can you say honeymoon Both cards are great IMHOChase will still you the 140K point offer instead of the two night one and that's a better deal. The Ritz card is great and the 140K offer makes it tough to turn down along with the other benefits.Yes, it seems like it! The Ritz in London is classed as a Tier 3 hotel and points required are 50,000 per night, so this would be a nice benefit given I'd have easily over 150,000 points by then. Does anyone know if this is just for a standard room or could you use the points/complimentary nights for a larger suite? I mean I am guessing there is a cap for which rooms you can choose, but was just wondering?You can use the points for any room. The card also comes with three certificates for upgrades to Club Level rooms at a Ritz for up to 7 nights.After considering this, I think it seems like a no-brainer for me now, at least for the first year of owning the card. That's awesome.Given I was wrong about the whole 'Chase-24 month-cobranded cards' thing, I will probably be applying within the next few months now then. Something that just occurred to me though, I travel with Delta to LAX sometimes to stay with a friend and I know Delta are partnered with Amex. So I am guessing my Lounge Club wouldn't qualify with Delta purchases... I could always just find another airline but do like Delta. Hmm. Lol You'll love this answer Sounds like you can benefit from both cards in that case Sounds like a double app spree to me and neither card has FTF so another plus Edit to add and you can add 50k MR points to go with the honeymoon as wellHahahaha!I mean I feel I wouldn't be using both cards that much to benefit, but I guess the Amex PRG's fee would be waived the first year; which is tempting.I don't want to go overboard though, as I would have to close one card before the year in that case. Trying to focus roughly $30k of yearly spending across more than 3 cards would be diluting my potential rewards too much for my liking, even with say, $10k of yearly spending per card. My CSP still needs love as well. I wish they would offer an airline credit with the Sapphire otherwise I could just garden for another 1-2 years

I think I'm in shock - Amex Everyday Approval!

So - I just had to spend a darn decent amount on repairing my car (just shy of 2k ) It went on a card with enough room, and quite a bit was coming out of the savings account, and another bit onto a 0% card that still has 10 months remaining, but I was looking at paying interest for 10 months at 24.9%, which I hated the idea of, but I didn't have an extra grand laying around. Got to looking around, didn't have a preapproval, but started thinking about applying for the Amex Everyday (with the 0% for 15 months on balance transfers and APR). I figured a denial really couldn't hurt more than that 24.9% interest rate, so I bit the bullet and cold apped. I think I almost passed out when it said I was approved. After I got logged in I saw that they had approved me for $2000! Holy crap. I'm incredibly happy and still slightly in shock! Now - to figure out how to request a balance transfer. Thank you to everyone here on myFico. Seriously - could not have done it without you.

jfriend33 wrote:
Is there still time for OP to apply for a charge card and not get a 2nd HP? You should totally go apply for the PRG, go from an incognito browser window and when it shows 50k MR points after 1k spend in 3mos, click apply. If you get denied, its only a soft pull anyway! (i know it may not be easy with these expenses you werent expecting to have) And whatever the case, CONGRATS on the approval! The ED card kinda bugged me at first. I didn't think it was all that great compared to the others. That was until I found out the value of MR points! Easy to earn 1.2 and 2.4 which can really be worth even more if done right! Plus no annual fee. What will you plan on doing with your 10k points? If you get amex gift cards, its only 50 bucks. If you get restaurant ones, its $100. But if you redeemed for travel it could be worth a lot more! Pair that with the 50k from the PRG and you are golden!While an awesome idea - there's no way for me to meet 2 bonus spends. Largest expense is rent, and there's no way for it to be paid by anyway but check. Groceries over the next few months will take care of the 1k on the ED card. I'm not sure that I'd make good use of the charge card. Thanks for the info on the MR Points, its gonna take some time to fingure out what I want to do with them. And thanks for the congrats!

I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

I have 3 cards with a combined CL > $40K, I've had 3 cards for 8 years, I don't need any new cards (I also have a hidden business credit card with $12K limit).One of my cards is an USAA AmexWhile surfing the forum, I found a link for the AMEX preapproval site, so I checked it out for fun. OfferedPRG with the 50,000 bonus and AF waived first yearEDP with the 25,000 bonus and AF waived first year with a 12.99% interest rate listedAlso got the Delta offer, but I don't fly.My EX is 725, do the offers get much better i? I could easily meet the spend, I could easily run the 30 transactions a month.I have no idea how to use the points or what I would use them on anywayTwo cards from one pull?I haven't had a pull on EX since August 2013...

inverse wrote:
I'm the OP. The spend is no problem for me, I run plenty of business expenses including fuel and travel through my hidden card each month. AAoA is 8 years with 18 being my oldest. I'm trying to learn to make my cards work for me. I've never looked into it previously, generally I hate credit cards. But we all need to play the game. 3 plane tickets or a week in a hotel each year based upon my regular spending seems like a decent deal. Based on my current spend I think I could knock down 5000-9000 points a month that I get a whopping $30-$60 back in cash rewards each month now. Transactions arent a problem, I fill up with gas every day before work, that's 30 transactions in itself. I guess I need to keep reading on rewards. If anyone knows of a good link, please post it. According to the estimator, 5 cards is optimal. I like that I have no EX pulls in two years and this would work out for me to keep inquiries down. Based on the fact that the AMEX offers don't get much better than what I was offered, its appealing. The hardest part for me is I already have a USAA branded AMEX and AMEX still isn't accepted everywhere. Thanks for everyone's input.Believe me, I hate credit cards too. I made the mistake the last decade or two and just being anti everything. I had no clue what the potential was for earning rewards or bonuses. I have been an extreme couponer since 2012. I have learned a lot in the last few years. Being wealthy and couponing is not always a priority. But why not use the savings towards a retirement? Or just enjoy more of the good things in life? My favorite sites for deals/rewards are: thepointsguy.com flyertalk.com slickdeals.net totallytarget.com cuckooforcoupondeals.net krazycouponlady.com reddit ebates.com livingrichwithcoupons (their database specifically) Heck not long ago folks were buying $50 shell gas cards for only $25 bucks of their discover cash back... Also, you may find some flights/trips to be much less if you book them out far in advance. Most of them give you a full point refund if canceled 48hrs before. This will be an adjustment for you. The worst thing would be for you to get overwhelmed or just give up. Things wont always work out in the beginning. You will often find a better deal after the fact. Ya gotta act fast sometimes or else you could miss out on certain opportunities though. It may be risky to run too many business expenses through a card that reports to your personal CR. An accountant would be better qualified to answer that. But for me personally, I have made quite a bit just on the quicksilver and reimbursing for expenses...plus all the hhonors points I earned and delta miles. I would maybe research this for the rest of the week. Find out what major airline hubs are near you. Make sure there arent any better partner specific deals. There is a great calculator that lets you input your monthly spend. Break it down by categories, and it shows you the best deal. http://millionmilesecrets.com/new-to-miles-points-start-here/ Just be aware many of these deal sites do get a kickback for what they are doing for referrals. Many of the sites will be honest and say there is a better targeted deal and to not try their click through link first. Sounds like you have the potential here to earn a lot of free trips. We can keep this going if you have more questions. I may learn something myself along the way. GOOD LUCK

Amex auto CLI question and 100k plat offer

Two questions: 1. Does Amex do auto cli? I feel like I may be near the line with all my amex credit so I do not want to do a SP CLI request and send up any flags, but if they were willing to give me an auto CLI I'd like one on my SPG card because I only have a 2k limit on it which is somewhat annoying. I could shift spend over to it and max it out each month, but I do not want to do so if the chances are limited on an auto cli. 2. I have seen reports of people getting a 100k signup offer on the amex plat via cardmatch.com has anyone gotten this offer? I punch in my info and see no amex offers, but I see offers for chase CSP/Freedom/Slate. The first two I have and the last I do not need.

Yes, Amex does auto CLIs. As for your 2nd question, the offers does come up for those who qualify. You just have keep checking and see if it shows up for you.

Amex SPG 10K SL w/ Major Derog

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