Denials due to BK

[jeff6898]

I currently have a Secured Capital one $300 limit
Unsecured Cap one $300
Cap one car loan $18,000
Secured loan credit union $ 1,000

I tried for as was denied Amazon store card
Kay Jewlers
Bill me later
Walmart
Firestone

Reason give on all 5 bankruptcy. I seen many people approved on these with a BK. I guess it it hit or miss on these cards Funny thing about firestone my wife got approved and we both files BK jointly. Her score was 599 mine was 621

[HHM]

You don't need any more credit. You have 3 trade lines and 1 car loan, that is all you really need.

Do you have balances on the credit cards?

[jeff6898]

You don't need any more credit. You have 3 trade lines and 1 car loan, that is all you really need.

Do you have balances on the credit cards?

Oh ok so what I have will be enough to get my credit rebuilt? Yes I do have balances.

[Logan]

Don't pay interest!!!!

[SMinGA2]

Give it time. Because of all the new accounts you have excessive inquiries and a young average age of credit in addition to a recent bankruptcy. Part of the process is letting time go by, so the BK gets older & the new accounts build history.

Your wife can have you added to the FIrestone card if you want another account.

[jacko]

What exactly do you need credit for?

Oh ok so what I have will be enough to get my credit rebuilt? Yes I do have balances.

[jeff6898]

What exactly do you need credit for?

Never know down the road there could be a emergency where I will need good credit to get a loan or something.

[SMinGA2]

I think the conundrum is that those who have good credit don't necessarily 'need' it. So you want to build good credit, even if you don't need it now.

In general - I believe having a few open tradelines, always paid on time, is good. That doesn't mean you need to pay interest on revolving credit. Its fine to use the accounts - but pay off in full by the due date. Thus, no finance charge.

If you were to do anything else Jeff - I'd say to open a secured credit card with your credit union. First confirm that over time, you can increase the limit by increasing the deposit. Sometimes, having low limit accounts makes it harder to get 'real' credit down the road - since you're only showing you can manage small amounts. (It might be possible to increase your deposit/limit on the secured Cap1, I don't know. If you can then that would serve the same purpose.)

[hmsmith]

Since you were just discharged last month, it sounds like you have enough open accounts to rebuild credit. I would certainly focus on making sure those bills are paid on time every month....I would never cut it too close to the payment due date when paying on them.

[jeff6898]

Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it and will be following it.

[justbroke]

I agree with HHM. All you need is several "types" of credit and your score will improve over time. The further you get away form discharge the better. Low credit card limits actually "hurt" your score because they show that other lenders don't trust you (it's in the FICO model).

Other than paying on time, the largest hit for credit is in utilization! That means, don't carry much of a balance on your cards. Definitely keep them ALL under 30%. If just one card is near its limit, you take a big hit for that.

Don't be a score chaser. Just have several cards -- which you do -- of different types and pay on time and keep the balances below 30%. Then, in an emergency, you could obtain credit as necessary.

[jacko]

Credit will recover in time. No use in spending to spend just for the sake of it. Its not hard to build up a cash position. Its proven time and again that one over spends with credit regardless if they pay off the balance each month.