Questions about CC after bankruptcy

[bakergrl]

Hubby and I are 15 days away from when we are suppose to be discharged. We have started recieving credit card pre-approved applications from several places. The one that we may be interested in getting after we are closed is with Capital One.

But.....we both have credit cards from them that were in the bankruptcy. So is it bad to go with them again?

We are hoping to buy a new home in about 5 years and I would really like to work on getting our credit as high as possible by then. If we get a credit card and just put an automatic payment on there for TIVO which is only around $12 a month and then pay it off before the due date every month will this even do anything for our credit? Or does it have to be larger purchases and pay off the minimum balance only each month?

We have a mortgage, 2nd mortgage, and car loan with 17 months left....i'm not sure how much these will help our credit.

[BobMango]

Some people have had success getting cards from Capitol One even after discharging cards with them, but most I've seen don't get approved until at least three months after discharge.

I did apply for and receive an HSBC card before discharge. Some would advise against getting credit before discharge (or ever again), but if you're in a Chapter 7, there is no prohibition against this.

I am also interested in getting my credit score into a decent range to be able to purchase a new home sometime in the next three years (precipitated by a job change). I did reaffirm on a car loan and that is reporting positively with an almost 4 year history, so that helps. Any loan you did not reaffirm but continue to pay will most likely not provide any improvement to your score.

[Flamingo]

To the OP - as to your last paragraph...please note that pre-approved means nothing - do you realize how many of those they send out to folks within days after a BK is filed? They know you will be debt free of credit card debt soon and cannot file a Chapter 7 for another 8 years so they want your money bad. Time is your friend after discharge...you need to prove to creditors you are creditworthy again and obtaining a bunch of cards after discharge is not the answer because the majority of the time you will be denied and you rack up hard inquiries which stay on your credit reports for two years. A creditor will check your reports and see you have a recent discharge and a bunch of inquiries for credit - doesn't look very good as you can well see.

Pay all your bills on time...over the next few years get a card or two and don't fall back into the credit trap thereafter and you will recover nicely from all this...

[bakergrl]

I know that pre-approved does not mean approved. I was just thinking about applying (after BK closed)and then if I get it putting $12 a month on it and then paying it off. I did not reaffirm the mortgages so the only one that I did was the car loan with 17 months left.

I rather not have any credit cards, but I am looking for a way to rebuild our credit so we have a chance of buying a new house in 5 years.