I am. The last credit that I was approved for was Providian, about 3 years back. But that ain't saying much. 3 months ago, I was in the low 500's for everything, but now I have TU 681, Efx 710 and Experian 707. TU and EXP don't have a judgement, but Efx does. However the exp and efx scores I got from a car dealer. I don't need credit, I have decent cards from before my credit was screwed. But I actually get a type of anxiety when I think about applying for new credit. Does anyone else have this problem? I have some derogs on TU, and Exp. All are paid collections or one paid charge-off. No late pays or anything. Efx I still have the judgement that is over 5 years old, some paid collections that are all over 4 years old. I think it is my fear of rejection. And the fact that my wife would probably kill me if I get approved for any new credit since she doesn't want anymore cards. I am just curious as to if it can be done.
Everytime I want to apply I get worried. I was 1 for 4 a couple weeks ago with credit apps. I got GM's card w/ $1500 limit....however.. Fleet, Discover, and someone else denied me.. I feel your pain.
Why on earth do you want to apply if you have decent cards? It just lowers your score. Sounds like ummmmm... you just need to prove something? Prove you can make your score go up by not applying. It's worth it.
Of course, I know that it will lower my score. No I don't need the credit, but it is like just trying to find out if you have gotten far enough to get approved. I haven't felt the excitement or the rush for so long. Everyone here seems to be feeling it everyday. I just want to know if I have arrived yet.
What in the world do you need to improve your score for if you aren't going to apply for anything? I mean, I understand you want to maintain a minimum score to keep your current CC companies happy, but beyond that, who cares? Besides, an inquiry counts so little on it's own towards your score, I really don't see why everyone on this board makes such a huge deal about them. I can certainly understand not being excessive, as that can be a real denial reason, but I can't see how applying every once in a while will hurt you any. This opinion is offered with no warrantees, expressed or implied. Prices may vary in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I'm the same way! I was looking today on the internet for 0% apr deals for like a year...applied to Fleet and Bank One and both denied me flat out. Last time I checked my Eqx score is was 700. Then I found discover card and applied there thinking man I'm not getting approved and it came back "approved" and shocked the heck out of me LOL So, I get 8 months 0% apr on balance transfers and that will help me pay off my 3 tiny balance accts without paying interest! I have closed out 2 of the 3 cards I'm transferring and just sent a letter in the mail today to close out the 3rd. I figure in finance charges alone I'll save 25/month. so it's worth it!
See, this was what I was looking for. People who are afraid just like me. This is helping me build up my courage. I have always wanted a Sharper Image credit card. I would be content with that.
Maybe you should just go for that Sharper Image card. If you haven't applied for anything in 3 yrs then the inq. section of your rpts must look good. OR you could wait until closer to the holidays and apply then. Some people have posted that they've had good luck being approved for cards during the holiday shopping season.
I will try and hold off until the 1st of the year. And try to squeeze whatever points I can out of the final 4 months. And then I will apply the the Sharper Image card. And probably will never use it.
Closing 3 accts in a short period of time was not a real good move. This will affect your ratios, your length of history etc. The net result will be lower scores, not even taking into consideration the inquiries and new acct. It is recommended that you close no more than 2 accts in any 6 month period.
Well, I closed the Target acct out cause I can't see paying 21% interest. And after talking with their customer service area and them telling me I can't get their visa card (and I have perfect payment history with them for many years!) I decided to ditch them. The other acct was Providian which sent me a letter stating my interest rate is going up to 23.9% after paying my card ontime every month and that if I disagreed with the increase then I can close my acct out. That was the only way to keep my original 17.99% rate. I'm just sick and tired of companies taking advantage of me when I pay on time every month!!! This was like 1 yr ago...so it hasn't been within the past 6 months and I don't care what it does to my FICO score cause I don't plan on getting anything else for along time. I can't see leaving excess credit on my credit report when 1) I never have any intentions of using it and 2) it actually hurts me cause it shows I have TOO much available credit open to me to use.
"GEORGE FACTOR"~~~ARE YOU GEORGE??? I GET DENIED WHEN OTHERS WITH 30% OF MY H/H INCOME AND 150 LESS F.I.C.O. POINTS GET APPROVED!!!
If you aren't concerned with your scores, then that is fine. Having available credit lowers your usage percentage, which in return raises your score. What do you consider to be too much available credit?
I'm working on paying off my CC's and I have about 5 currently with 3 that have 5000.00 limits. That too me is way too much credit for my liking. I have a plan set out to pay them all off in 5 yrs...laddering the interest rates down to the lowest one. My goal then is to purchase only what I can pay off that month and thus not having to worry about interest rates, etc...I don't like having those 5 accts open plus my mortgage and HELOC. I want to be down to only 2 cards + my texaco card which I use for gas and pay off each month. I used to have about 10 cards (1/2 of which I opened but never used). I just had a Chap 7 bankruptcy fall off my credit in 2001 and I established so much credit (plus bought my saturn with .9% interest rate!) that it scares me alot. I have paid my bills on-time every single month since the bankruptcy that I have been able to establish alot of credit. I don't want to ever fall into that trap again...collectors calling me all the time, not being able to pay my bills, etc...that I'm wanting to get rid of the excess credit just to be on the safe side. My FICO was 700 in May 2002 so I'm thinking it's alittle higher now. Any suggestions on where I can pull my FICO now? Thanks!
