Building back up credit

[Leesa926]

I see a lot of advice about getting a secured card after bankruptcy. I know that is generic advice just trying to see the best advice for me. I am waiting for my discharge expect it mid March. Currently my Fico scores are around 725 (I had good credit and no late or missing payments just too much utilization). I think what helps is I am an authorized user for a great card for over 20 years and seems my Target card still shows active (Not included).

My school loans are not reporting and I am not due to pay them until September.

Do the school loans, mortgage or car loans start reporting again (they seem to have been removed).

My question is after discharge would I need a secured card or if my scores are ok is it best to go for a regular credit card. I am trying to follow the advice given but not sure with my circumstance. Thanks!

[justbroke]

It seems that the 20 year old card on which you are an AU is helping tremendously. The fact that you had no late payments before filing also helped you with a boost. Ask anyone here, but having a score > 700 (let alone at 725) before discharge is actually amazing. That's a score we typically achieve (or try to achieve) within 2 years form discharge. So you're way ahead of the curve.

When the discharge hits the credit bureaus (and followed by the close), you may or may not get another bump. If you do get to 740+, then there is nothing you really need to do. You'll have to keep relying on that 20 year old credit account and all the good reporting for your older accounts that were never late.

I don't know whether your school loans will start reporting again after this period. If you discharged your mortgage debt (did not reaffirm) then it should never report anything again. Car loans will behave similarly. The fact that you had them all removed is a blessing and a curse (since the lack of mortgage history could keep you, eventually, from the 800s).

That's just my opinion. I don't think that you personally need to chase scores. Anything over 680 is considered very good and over 720 is excellent. Please remember, however, that some creditors will deny you even with an 800 score if they see a bankruptcy. You will need to let that season (and it takes 10 years to fall off the report).

[LadyInTheRed]

The reason a secured card is often recommended is that people are assuming somebody fresh out of bankruptcy cannot qualify for an unsecured card. There isn't much point to having getting a secured card if you can qualify for a regular card.

[knowledge101]

You'll qualify for unsecured if your score stays in that range. I was approved for a CapitalOne Platinum card (no annual fee) and a Credit One card (no annual fee) both unsecured the day after my discharge. My score was around 700-710 post-discharge for the same reasons as you (authorized users from my spouse who did not file and no late payments up until filing). My real FICO is actually somewhere in the 660-680 range but my "FAKO" scores show up around 700 (credit karma and the likes).

I didn't apply to other banks as I burned many of the big ones (most banks you burn have a 8-10 year blacklist and for some like Amex for life), but absolutely you will qualify for at least a CapitalOne unsecured card and possibly more through credit unions. I also got approved for 3 store cards through Comenity Bank (Overstock.com, Williams & Sanoma, and Victoria's Secret) which will help with credit age in the long term. Got denied by Synchrony Bank because of the Ch 7 (amazon and walmart cards). FYI google "Comenity bank shopping cart trick" to get those store cards without any inquiries. I got all 3 without any inquiries on my credit. Very rare to have that with any card these days. Store cards obviously are not great and don't help that much but they will help you build back up the credit age over time. The two unsecured cards I got also will be helpful to establish a good record post-discharge.

Good luck!