Can someone please lok at my scores and tell me when I have a chance at moving to a prime card as compared to the 3 sub-primes I have now ? I currently have: Cross Country Bank - $700 limit Cross Country Bank - $500 limit First Premier Bank - $250 limit As you see below, I have horrible scores (currently working on this). I would like to pay off my sub-prime cards and apply for cards that actually look good to have. Any suggestions as to what scores I need to get better cards, and what cards I should try for ? The last thing I want to do is get more inquires from cards I have no chance at getting. I want to get my scores to a point where I can rest assured I will get approved. Thanks friends.
You probably have to wait till those scores rise a bit. When your scores get into the mid 600's, you might try putting everything in dispute and trying the Citi BDD, but I would recommend you wait until then before risking the inquiry. Some others may chime in on the scores they had with the BDD, but mine (Eq) was about 650-670 when I applied and I thought I was on the fence. Better move would be to convert one of your existing cards (or terms on one of them), into better "prime like" cards, because of your good history, paying on time, using the card a lot, and carrying a balance. These items give you better bargaining power to lower your APR, canceling/lowering yearly fees, and increasing limits. Use PlanetFeedBack to drive the message to people "better eqquipped" to handle your needs. (although I have heard horrible things about CCB so it may be difficult). I still have my first (sub-prime) card, because I have been able to get all of the terms about the card that made it "sub"-prime, into "prime-like" terms: Limit $300 - now $2000 APR %19.8 - now %12.9 yearly fee $72 now $0 One way or the other you can get into prime territory. Now after I have had the card a full year I will try for even better terms, or I will cancel the card. -Peace, Dave
My question is do you have any derogs on your crs? Even if you make the 600s, major derogs will kill your chances. I think your next level will be the Capital One and Providian type of cards. I've been in the 640-670 range for the last year and have not reached prime status. My last cc approval was a Target Visa with a 6k limit. The likes of MBNA, Chase, BofA and AMEX will not be in my future until my bk-13 falls off next year. So hang in there, hopfully your derogs are not as major as mine. Best regards, Mirage
prime status requires an ASS load of work between the 650-680 score area. I do not think you will get prime very easily until then. Even then its not easy. Basically when all of your derogs' are off thats when it will be easy to get prime cards left and right. It's certainly a long 7 years for me, only 1 more to go.
That's what someone here told me to try. To put all my items, "in dispute" and apply for the Citi BDD. I had 2 items left on Equifax (which they pulled...granted they were OLD, one about to drop off anyway the other about 5 years old) and my score was somewhere near yours. I got both the Citi cards instant approval. Can't assure you it will happen to you, all cases are unique, but it did happen to me. Do a search on Sam, Marci, or Saar and Citibank and look over the results. -Peace, Dave
Dave, thanks for the tip. I was aware of this loophole. In fact some posters tried this with AMEX but AMEX was able to 'see' the disputed accounts. I myself included Citibank in my bk-13, so that was that. Best regards, Mirage
Re: Re Mirage and Target 6k cl, 18.99% (never really got around to call them up and get the APR lowered). Account opened since NOV 2001. No this was not included in my bk. I bked in 1996, so in 2003 the bk will fall off my cr. Best regards, Mirage
Re: Re Mirage and Target I am not sure what I consider matters, rather what a creditor feels is "major" matters. Some mortgage lenders will not even consider you if you have any unpaid c/o's but a paid c/o may be acceptable. On the other hand, FICO "cares" little whether a c/o is paid or unpaid, but that you had a c/o at all is what matters. In the grey area of sub-prime, there are many different loan practices and a lender who sees a 30 day late or a paid c/o may not decline, whereas an unpaid c/o, BK or foreclosure may get you an instant decline. I have found that I got very little consideration at all in the "prime" world with ANY derogs on my report, no matter how old or how small. From this, I believe that ANY derog no matter how insignificant (such as a 30 day late) can affect your ability to get a prime rate or prime terms on a loan or cc. BTW the 2 derogs I had on Equifax above were an unpaid c/o for $500 and an account c'd/o and in collection for $800. One was 6+ years old and the other 4+ years old. As of now I am clean across the board. -Peace, Dave
Mirage: Target Question Did you have any derogs on your report other than the bk13 when you got the card? I ask because Target was on my bk7 and they would not take the money I owed them in exchange for an approval on their Visa. I was told to wait until the Target derog fell off my report and then apply for their Visa card. It's amazing you got the Visa only 3 years after bk!
Re: Mirage: Target Question target seems to be all about the fico score.. I got denied with 672 efx for target visa, 2 weeks later approved with 680 score. go figure. i got my first citi with 579 efx score too. Some lenders have their own scoring model. Some dont do business with people that have any derogs (major) regardless of score. Some base on score alone (like target). Most use a mixture of the above. with derogs (major) i have gotten: amex delta skymiles mbna citibank household gold (not subprime one) crap 1 target mind you most of my c/o's are 6 years old now..
To Sam, Credit Question Sam, It sounds like you have done well. But your major derogs may be less severe than mine. I have a bk7, 1999, and Target was on it, along with Citi, Discover, CapOne, WellsFargo, Direct Merchants. I now have Dillards, Providian, Orchard, FCNB. My Fico is 675. In your opinion, is there any room for me to improve my credit portfolio?
Re: To Sam, Credit Question pretty much a BK puts you one step lower than a person with unpaid c/o's im afraid to say most of the major creditors auto-deny you with that. you need to keep disputing it, maybe it will fall off on one report, then you can target issuers that use that report only...
Re: To Sam, Question Isn't it illegal to keep disputing what's on your credit report if it's accurate? I know others do dispute accurate info and get away with it. I just wish my information was not accurate. Any thoughts?
Re: To Sam, Question THe issue is accuracy. I'm sure if you look really closely at each item, you can always find something inaccurate like name, address, dola, amount, status, yada yada yada.
Re: To Sam, Question May be marked as frivilous, but no it is not illegal. If your information is 100% accurate you'd be the first J/K. Check all the dates (reporting dates, DLA, dates opened etc) check the amounts owed, do they exactly match the amounts you owe without any added fees or tacked on services by the CA etc? How about spelling? Account #'s. Months you were late?Terms? Credit Limit? Months reviewed...If you look hard...REALLY REALLY HARD, I bet you can find something about each of your accounts that you could morally dispute as inaccurate. In any case, it is not illegal. -Peace, Dave
Re: Re Mirage and Target Were you approved for 6k, or did your limit increase to 6k over the years? I'm asking because my scores were slightly higher than yours, and I got approved for only 2k and my ch13 falls off in july!
Re: Re Mirage and Target Slayer, I applied in Nov of 2002 and was instantly approved for 6k cl. Never asked for an APR reduction and have yet to receive a cl increase. I did have the Target Guest card but do not think that has any factor. I did have a Cap 1 card since 96 and three other cc with at least one of those being a year old. I still have the theory that the Retailers National Bank started to change the rules as their cc started to take off. Best regards, Mirage
