Got the coveted credit card #3

[Zombie13]

Hey everybody!
I have some catching up to do on here, hope everyone is hangin in there. So, before we left CO in 2022, we acquired a secured credit card from our credit union. A couple weeks ago we figured ok; we would like our cash back now please. So, we did a credit application for an unsecured credit card, and today, the secured account went unsecured. Coooool.
Our BK13 "Post-2-Year Anniversary" is February 2024. Per other threads here, the BK should be falling off our credit reports soon. Looking forward to that.
You can do this. Just don't ever do it again.

[Carmella]

Maybe I am missing something does the BK fall off of the credit report 7 years after the BK started? What does the credit report look like, does it just show your current credit? Is any bad credit from before filing still on the credit report? We finished earlier than 5 yrs so our 7 yr mark won't be until early 2025 even though two yrs post BK discharge is June 2024.

I only have the one credit card still with sky high interest. Never got a card for husband, but he should have his own. All the offers are sky high interest and I hate to use the credit card and have been using for large purchases (meaning over $100 but up to$1,000 ish) and paying off not to accrue interest.

I did apply for Sunbit which isn't a credit card, but it was offered to make "3 easy payments" at the auto dealership. It was actually for my daughter's car, brake pads. I applied and the man at the dealership said they don't pull your credit, but look at your driving record. I was approved for $4,600 on the spot. If you pay off in 3 months there's no interest.

I think I mentioned recently my daughter had been furloughed/laid off recently. She has started a new job about 3 maybe 4 weeks ago. She and fiance had no income for several weeks. He just finished school and was waiting for his job which started a week before my daughter's. Now they are paying off credit that they ran up. They have a good plan to get it paid off within less than 6 months.

[shipo]

The public record of a Chapter 13 falls off credit reports 7 years after filing; for Chapter 7 filings the time period is 10 years. Unfortunately this also means if one's Chapter 13 was discharged before the typical 60 month threshold, it will still take 7 years from the filing date for it to fall off one's credit reports.

[Carmella]

The public record of a Chapter 13 falls off credit reports 7 years after filing; for Chapter 7 filings the time period is 10 years. Unfortunately this also means if one's Chapter 13 was discharged before the typical 60 month threshold, it will still take 7 years from the filing date for it to fall off one's credit reports.

This sounds like a silly question, but is the filing date when you go to court/341. I know I can look up the exact date, but I am lazy to dig out the paperwork right now!

[shipo]

I believe my 341 happened at least a month after both my filing and possibly even my first payment. Said another way, the filing date is when your filing was recorded and also I believe when the automatic stay was issued.

[Carmella]

Thanks shipo I will look it up eventually, but I believe it was the end of March. I haven't ventured to get my credit report, but I probably should do that by the end of the year. I think it's 2025 when it will fall off.

[shipo]

That's when your credit scores will skyrocket. The prevailing wisdom is by then you should have three credit cards (with only one reporting a trivial balance) and one installment type of loan (car, mortgage...) for the maximum score boost. The other thing you can do now to boost your scores then is to arrange for those additional lines of credit now so they'll be well aged come 2025 as the age of your accounts also plays into your scores.

[Barbisi]

Personally, I am content with 3 CCs, one with me as a co-applicant (the formally secured CO CU one, and the other two with me as an authorized user) because for now with no regular and separate income it would undoubtably be harder for me to qualify.
Later on, I'll probably get Capital One and PenFed, if not some others.
So, just like my better half, I'm looking forward to Dec.2023/ Jan.2024, when all notation of those unrelenting BK13 years should be expunged from our credit reports.

[shipo]

Barbisi, household income is the typical metric used for credit approvals; I was able to successfully beg my wife to quit working a semi-toxic job three years ago, and even without her own personal income, she has landed several credit cards since then.

[Carmella]

That's when your credit scores will skyrocket. The prevailing wisdom is by then you should have three credit cards (with only one reporting a trivial balance) and one installment type of loan (car, mortgage...) for the maximum score boost. The other thing you can do now to boost your scores then is to arrange for those additional lines of credit now so they'll be well aged come 2025 as the age of your accounts also plays into your scores.

We already have two cars loans! We have the HELOC which will be paid off. I can go with two more credit cards and car loan and that's it. I don't think we will have a mortgage which is fine with me.

[Johnworker1]

That's when your credit scores will skyrocket. The prevailing wisdom is by then you should have three credit cards (with only one reporting a trivial balance) and one installment type of loan (car, mortgage...) for the maximum score boost. The other thing you can do now to boost your scores then is to arrange for those additional lines of credit now so they'll be well aged come 2025 as the age of your accounts also plays into your scores.

So 3 credit cards with 2 having zero balance still help improve credit score? I was under the impression that having a credit card with zero use and/or balance don't improve your credit because bureaus/creditors like to see light use like small purchase each month buy paid off within 28 days.

[justbroke]

So 3 credit cards with 2 having zero balance still help improve credit score? I was under the impression that having a credit card with zero use and/or balance don't improve your credit because bureaus/creditors like to see light use like small purchase each month buy paid off within 28 days.

The third card should report less than 9%. That gives you the maximum score under the AZEO strategy. (AZEO = all zero except one.) The scoring systems want to see both that you don't use credit and that you can manage credit. The AZEO strategy is proven to work.

As for your specific creditors, you should rotate which card has the 8% (or less) balance from time to time. That's to prevent the dreaded Adverse Action (AA) because you didn't use the line.

Edited to add: the dreaded Adverse Action is a credit line decrease or close of your account for non-use.

[Johnworker1]

The third card should report less than 9%. That gives you the maximum score under the AZEO strategy. (AZEO = all zero except one.) The scoring systems want to see both that you don't use credit and that you can manage credit. The AZEO strategy is proven to work.

As for your specific creditors, you should rotate which card has the 8% (or less) balance from time to time. That's to prevent the dreaded Adverse Action (AA) because you didn't use the line.

Thanks for this strategy.

[Carmella]

So if a married couple goes for 3, can you be on your spouses credit card and have it count as 1 of your 3 or should it be each individual has 3 cards?

My husband needs to get a credit card since the one we have is ONLY in my name. Another concern is that if one person passes away the other would not have a card if they are not primary. A friend's mother is going through this and she is in her 90's. She kept her deceased husband and her account in place. He was primary. Something came up and the credit card company realized he was deceased they closed the account and now 9o something year old woman needs to apply for a credit card when she's been using the account under her husband's name for decades!

Some banks might let you keep the account, when my father passed away he and I were on the account and they transferred it to me being primary, but that was 20 some years ago maybe it's different or maybe depends on the card/bank.

[shipo]

I've never been fully convinced the whole Authorized User thing works terribly well (yes, I know it works to a point), but I firmly believe each person should be primary on all of their main cards.