Question for those of you that are Post BK a few years: Credit Cards

[theurge]

First off, I just wanted to share that this year I will be 6 years Post BK! I am well on my way to returning my credit to where it was Pre-BK except with a lot less debt (just checked my score yesterday and I'm at ~700). I will even be paying off my car early next month that I bought 2 months post bk.

I'm living proof that good spending habits can be relearned and payoff in the long run!

Anyways my question for those of you in the same boat...how long was it before you could get a decent credit card offer again? I applied for a Citibank Visa that came with 50,000 airline miles if approved (was planning on getting the miles and closing it anyways), but I was declined because of my BK still being on my report. Other than my BK I believe my credit history at this point to be pretty good. I still have a couple items from my BK that will drop off next year, however I've had only positive credit history since my BK.

My question is: am I pretty much going to have to wait until 2015 when my BK drops off to see the top notch offers or is it possible to get them sooner? I'd like to hear from people in my similar situation to chime in.

TheUrge

[dspii]

Check around on this site...you should be able to get decent offers...probably not the upper tier offers though. Get all 3 of your credit reports and be sure they are accurate. Typically, a clean record for the past 6 years should yield some decent interest rates as you BK is not such a factor anymore. Look over your credit mix...maybe you lack recent credit experience, hence being declined.

BTW - credit card companies are at the peak of consumer fee's....choose carefully...remember nothing is free...except air.

[Logan]

I have a Capital one card that gets cash back. I haven't used it since My wife and I use her USAA but the cash back on the Capital One seems as good as the USAA I'm using. USAA just put $400 towards my January bill for all the cashback rewards from last year.

Logan

[Flamingo]

There are some creditors that just will not lend to anyone with a BK on their credit reports and then there are the BK friendly lenders who could probably offer you lower rates since you are further from discharge and have proven yourself credit worthy again. Unfortunately, you are still branded as a risk with the BK on your credit report - there is a reason it stays on so long (10 years for a Chapter 7 and 7 years for a Chapter 13). You are finding out why.

Our Chapter 13 BK came off in April 2009. We learned well from our experience and just have mortgage debt and zero credit card debt, holding a Visa and Mastercard and 3 major department store cards. Our credit is now phenominal and it is from working hard to clean things up after discharge and not being late with one thing. The major change was getting the BK off the credit reports at 7 years and that's when everything changed for the better. Prior to that, the BK still held us back with a few things and that is probably what is happening with you but you have a bit longer to wait for your BK to come off.

[Logan]

There are some creditors that just will not lend to anyone with a BK on their credit reports and then there are the BK friendly lenders who could probably offer you lower rates since you are further from discharge and have proven yourself credit worthy again. Unfortunately, you are still branded as a risk with the BK on your credit report - there is a reason it stays on so long (10 years for a Chapter 7 and 7 years for a Chapter 13). You are finding out why.

Our Chapter 13 BK came off in April 2009. We learned well from our experience and just have mortgage debt and zero credit card debt, holding a Visa and Mastercard and 3 major department store cards. Our credit is now phenominal and it is from working hard to clean things up after discharge and not being late with one thing. The major change was getting the BK off the credit reports at 7 years and that's when everything changed for the better. Prior to that, the BK still held us back with a few things and that is probably what is happening with you but you have a bit longer to wait for your BK to come off.

I had a client call me for a loan a few years back that had stellar credit and after I hung up the phone I noticed she had a BK on her public record. There was absolutely no indication on her credit report that she had been through a BK except for that public record at the bottom.
I had no problems with any lenders getting her a loan but in hind sight it would've been interesting to find out if she ever had any other problems obtaining credit.

BTW..I haven't spoke with this person in years but she bought a home in Arizona with 100% financing back in the beginning of 2006. I have a feeling she lost the home because I guarantee it's values dropped at least 30%.

Logan

[BKOnce]

They alwasy give me new CC with 6mos to 1year with 0% interest. I use them to buy big things.. then pay minimum monthly...then pay balance off before the interest-free expiration date comes..

Then I wait 6 months & write an official letter to cancel/close it.. Then my points go up.. then another free-interest CC offer$ or more to come... then I use it.. then pay off... then cancel/close again... etc..

Let's Rinse & Repeat that process till my score go Maximum!

[CCsAreEvil]

I had a client call me for a loan a few years back that had stellar credit and after I hung up the phone I noticed she had a BK on her public record. There was absolutely no indication on her credit report that she had been through a BK except for that public record at the bottom.

So, for people who know, does the actual "public record" of the BK drop off the credit report after 10 years or just the related accounts that were IIB? Or does the public record portion of a person's BK stay on there forever?

[trying_to_fix]

So, for people who know, does the actual "public record" of the BK drop off the credit report after 10 years or just the related accounts that were IIB? Or does the public record portion of a person's BK stay on there forever?

I can't confirm but my understanding is that the "bad" accounts will fall off after 7 years and the BK itself will disappear from the report after 10 years.

[Amy26]

Credit Unions are propably your best bet. My best card at almost 1.5 years out is from NFCU at 5k limit. So, I imagine someone with better credit 6 years out would get a better rate. PSECU & Alliant CU are also good lenders for post BK. They require 3 years from discharge so you should be ok. Alliant and PSECU can join through foundations that require a small donation. There are some others you could find as well... maybe some local in your area. Apple FCU was a local one to me that also extended me credit.

[IBroke]

So, for people who know, does the actual "public record" of the BK drop off the credit report after 10 years or just the related accounts that were IIB? Or does the public record portion of a person's BK stay on there forever?

The public record itself falls off the report 10 years after filing. The dropp-off date of the included accounts (which is 7 1/2 years after the date of first delinquency) has actually nothing to do with the BK-filing itself. Many people - incl. myself - already had their accounts past-due and/or charged-off before they filed, so these accounts will dropp off earlier than 7 1/2 years after filing. In my case, the last derogatory tradeline will fall off early 2014.

[bkdone]

I agree with Flamingo on this one. My Ch 13 was set to fall off this month, or should in the next few days. I know that it has fallen off of at least one or more of the credit bureus because my credit score jumped about 40 points two weeks ago. I just checked my husbands FICO scores and his have increased significantly too. Further evidence is that my credit card companies have increased my limits significantly...I had no idea until I went to pay the bill and saw the new open to buy. My credit scores are now in the 700s and we applied at our credit union for their Visa card. The terms are very good and balance transfers are free, with a 3% interest rate for 9 months. We were approved immediately!

Up until this point...even a month ago, the BK on our report kept showing up and influencing anything we applied for. We've gotten some good rates, but not great rates. Now that it's falling off (fallen off) we are seeing movement and things are beginning to loosen up.

[backtoschool]

Many credit unions will lend to you 6 years post bk. You should be able to get a decent credit line and a lower interest rate and no annual fee. I would try the following credit unions which are known to be bankruptcy friendly: Patelco, NFCU (difficult to get into but if you qualify they are great), and Alliant. I just got a 21k visa from NFCU at 12.5% and no annual fee and I am 15 months post discharge.

As for credit reports, the public record drops off in 10 years and the IIB accounts drop off 7 years from the first deliquency.