I'd like to ask for some suggestions for raising my wife's credit. Her Equifax FICO is 631 and she has a fairly limited credit history. Here are her accounts: Citibank AAdvantage ($16,500 limit) - This card does not report limit or high balance. Never late. Account open since 2001. Barneys Dept Store ($5,000 limit) - $0 balance. Rarely used. Never late. Citgo Gas Card ($600 limit) - Low balance. Account paid in full every month. Never late. Account open since June 2006. Saks Fifth Ave Card ($900 limit) - $0 balance. Rarely used. 1 30-day late in August 2005 (being disputed). Account open since Oct 2004. Amex (account closed) - She opened and closed it while in college. She would like to open a new Amex Blue or Green account. Basically, her overall total credit is very low because the Citi AA card doesn't report the majority of her available credit. Should she open another Citi card that reports high credit limit? She should be able to get one easily due to her excellent relationship with Citi right? What about applying for Amex Blue? I am afraid she might not get it at this point. Any other suggestions for helping her raise her score? Thanks!
631 FICO, and only 1 30 day late? Any other negative items at all? What balance is she carrying on the Citi card? What high balance does it show? How high does it go each month? Is it paid off every month?
She never carries a balance on her card, pays it off in full every month. Her highest balance ever was roughly $7,000 but that too was paid off the same month. On average her bill is about $600-800/month. It doesn't show a high balance or credit limit, something that kinda stinks for the Citi AAdvantage card. Oh yeah, and there is one negative Wachovia bank account charge-off we have from an old joint account that was removed from my report and now I have to dispute it for her report too. I sent EQ all the same info plus the letter they sent me when they removed it from mine, so it should fall off hers within the next month, and I'm expecting a 50-point jump like I got when it left mine. But still, what else should she do?
I would seriously recommend converting the AAdvantage to a Citi card which reports. Platinum Select, Dividend, and Simplicity all do I believe. You may also consider adding her to some of your cards. If that's not an option, shoot for a Union Plus, maybe a Juniper backed card, or start out with a Delta Sky Points if you want AMEX.
Converting the AAdvantage to one of the other Citi products may make particular sense if you are not actually benefitting from the miles or other points, since that card generally has both an annual fee, and a higher interest rate than other Citi cards. With a lot of the "reward' cards being pushed, what they give with one hand, they take back with the other. Choose wisely.
