Here's what credit we got from 1-20-04 to 4-3-06

[supercreditman]

Here's what DW & I have gotten in 27 months.

 

On 1-20-04, I only had a Lowes store charge with $4k limit.

 

On 1-20-04, DW only had Discover with $10K limit, CitiBiz with $5K limit, Macy's, Hecht's, and Citi Mellon MC with $14K limit.

 

 

SuperCreditMan

 

 

Personal Accounts Opened Limit

 

Household Gold 3/1/04 250

WalMart Store Card 3/1/04 405

Target Visa 4/1/04 500

Corvette Household 3/1/04 500

Pentagon FCU Thrifty 500

84 Lumber Store 6/1/04 1150

GM Card 3/1/04 1500

Dillard's Amex 3/25/06 2000

GM Extended Family 3/1/04 2500

Providian Personal 3/15/06 2500

Kroger 1-2-3 MC 3/1/06 2500

GEMB/Meijer MC 2/1/06 3200

RBS MC 7/1/04 3500

Peoples MC 8/1/04 3500

Union Plus-Household 2/2/04 3600

Lexus Persuits Visa 3/1/06 4000

First Tennessee 3/1/04 4000

KNBT (Elan) Visa 1/15/06 5000

National City Personal 11/4/04 6000

Circ.City Visa 2/1/04 6800

Compass Visa 10/27/05 8000

Bank of Int. Visa 5/24/05 8000

TCM Visa 9/1/05 8000

US Bank (Harley) 3/1/04 8500

Bank of America Plat. 3/4/04 9500

Capital One No Hass. 3/15/06 10000

Digital FCU Visa 4/1/04 10000

Western FCU Visa 12/4/04 10000

Western FCU LOC 12/1/04 10000

Lowe's Personal 1/1/98 12000

53 Bank 8/15/05 12000

BOA Power Rew Visa 3/9/06 12200

Nordstrom Visa 1/22/04 15000

BMW Bank Visa 2/9/05 15000

Chase Flex Rewards 8/1/05 15000

Phillips 66 MC 3/14/05 20000

Quicken Citi Personal 3/14/05 20000

Citi Citgo Visa 2/1/05 20000

Cabela's Club Visa 3/1/04 20000

Patelco FCU Visa 6/4/04 20000

Citi Dividend PS 2/1/05 21000

Patelco FCU MC 7/4/04 25000

Shell Plat. Select MC 3/15/05 25000

Exxon-Mobil MC 3/14/05 25000

ATT Universal Card 3/15/05 25000

Coastal FCU LOC 6/1/04 25000

USAA Master Card 6/1/04 25500

Pentagon FCU Visa 6/1/04 30000

 

Business Accounts

 

All Phase Elect Sup ?

ABC Building Supply ?

Home Depot Supply 10/14/05 ?

Lamps Plus 12/14/05 ?

United Parcel Service ?

Tiffany and Company 3/1/2005 ?

Radio Shack Biz ?

Federal Express ?

Border's Books Corp 4/10/05 ?

Harvey Industries ?

Kinko's Biz ?

BOA Pow Rew. Visa 3/3/06 25000

Interstate Batteries 11/1/05 250

Valero Oil Co. 1000

Chase Business Visa 6/1/05 1000

WalMart Corporate 1000

JC Penney Biz 1500

Exxon-Mobil Business 1900

Citgo Gas Card 2000

Staples Biz 2000

Office Max Biz 3000

Shell Corp. Gas Card 3000

Sam's Club Biz 3500

Citibusiness AA Visa 11/7/05 4000

Amazon.. LOC 4000

Target Commercial 4500

Tractor Supply 10/14/05 5000

Office Depot Biz 5000

Dell Biz 5000

Expo Design Center 5000

Cap One Biz No Has 3/15/06 5000

Home Depot Rev Biz 5000

Chase Business Visa 4/28/05 5000

Sunoco Fuel Card 5500

Key Bank (Citi) MC 3/3/06 7500

Home Dep 30 Day Biz 7500

M&T Elan Biz 1/17/06 7500

John Deere Credit 10000

Chevron-Texaco 9/1/05 10000

Marathon Fuel 10/1/05 10000

Wells Fargo Biz MC 8/10/05 10000

Quicken Business 2/28/05 10000

HDBiz MC (co. 1) 10/5/05 13500

Lowe's Biz 6/1/98 15000

National City Biz 11/4/04 15000

CitiBusiness (2) 3/30/06 15000

Advanta Biz 4/29/05 19500

CitiBusiness PP 3/30/06 20000

Citibusiness AA (2) 3/30/06 20000

Gulf Corp.Gas Card 11/1/04 20000

Wright Express 10/17/05 21000

Bank of America LOC 1/15/05 23500

BOA Biz Plat.Visa 3/3/06 25000

HD Biz MC (co. 2) 4/22/05 25000

Sam's Clb Dsc 6/1/05 25000

Sam's Premier LOC 4-01-06 $25000

Compass Biz MC 11/11/05 25000

CitiBusiness 3/30/05 25000

M&T Bk Biz LOC 4/11/05 25000

Capital One Biz LOC 3/15/06 25000

WF Biz Line 8/10/05 25000

Citizens Bank LOC 4/1/06 40000

PNC LOC 8/15/05 50000

First Horizon LOC 11/1/04 50000

BOA LOC 3/15/06 50000

 

Total 1236755

 

DW

 

Account Name Opened Limit

 

Bank of Amer 11/1/04 4300

Mellon 6/10/05 0

Household MC 4/4/04 0

Boscov's 12/1/05 0

Corvette Household 3/1/04 305

Macy's 500

GM Card-Household 3/1/04 600

Hecht's 620

WalMart Store Card 2/21/05 740

Target Visa 700

Juniper Platinum MC 1/24/06 1250

Citizen's Bank MC 7/29/05 2500

GM Extended Family 3/1/04 2500

Citi Dividend Plat Sel 1/15/06 2800

ATT Universal Card 1/15/06 2800

Cabela's Club Visa 9/1/2004 3300

Sam's Club 6/1/04 3500

Lexus Rewards Visa 9/1/05 4000

Nordstrom Visa 12/1/05 5000

Providan Visa 1/25/06 5500

Exxon-Mobil MC 1/15/06 6000

Phillips 66 MC 1/15/06 6000

Sunoco Master Card 1/15/06 6400

Citgo Visa 1/15/06 6400

Amex Blue 3/1/04 6600

Bank One Amazon 12/15/04 6800

Meijer's MC 1/23/06 7000

Bank of America 11/1/04 7300

TCM Visa 12/1/05 8000

Discover 6/1/00 10000

53 Bank 8/1/05 11000

Quicken Personal MC 1/15/06 12000

BMW Bank Visa 5/1/05 12500

Bank One Signature 2/1/05 17600

Pentagon Federal LOC 6/1/04 25000

Pentagon Federal Visa 6/1/04 30000

Digital FCU 6/4/04 30000

Patelco FCU 6/4/04 30000

 

Business Accounts

 

Advanta Biz MC 6/1/05 3500

Citi Biz MC 5000

Capital One Biz MC 2/10/06 7000

Quicken Business MC 1/15/06 8000

BOA Biz Credit Expr. 10/31/05 8000

MBNA Elite Biz LOC 4/30/05 10500

National City Biz 4/10/05 10000

Wells Fargo Biz Line 15000

HSBC Business MC 5/10/05 25000

Amex Bus. Platinum 3/1/04 100000

AMEX Capital Line 3/1/04 20000

Capital One 2/1/04 3000

MBNA Platinum Plus 5/1/05 22500

Elan Biz Visa 2/25/05 10000

KNBT 6/1/05 5000

Union Plus-Household 2/1/04 15000

Chase Signature Visa 12/15/04 7000

Chase Biz Rewards 12/1/05 10000

BOA Business Visa 2/20/05 12700

BOA Business Visa 10/31/05 25000

First Horizon LOC 11/1/04 50000

 

Total 655,415

[akaimushi]

 

 

HOLY SH@T!!!!

 

 

[666_Fico_Score]

wow, but what is the point in all of that?

[cwhit70072]

Here's what DW & I have gotten in 27 months.

 

On 1-20-04, I only had a Lowes store charge with $4k limit.

 

On 1-20-04, DW only had Discover with $10K limit, CitiBiz with $5K limit, Macy's, Hecht's, and Citi Mellon MC with $14K limit.

 

 

SuperCreditMan

 

 

Personal Accounts Opened Limit

 

Household Gold 3/1/04 250

WalMart Store Card 3/1/04 405

Target Visa 4/1/04 500

Corvette Household 3/1/04 500

Pentagon FCU Thrifty 500

84 Lumber Store 6/1/04 1150

GM Card 3/1/04 1500

Dillard's Amex 3/25/06 2000

GM Extended Family 3/1/04 2500

Providian Personal 3/15/06 2500

Kroger 1-2-3 MC 3/1/06 2500

GEMB/Meijer MC 2/1/06 3200

RBS MC 7/1/04 3500

Peoples MC 8/1/04 3500

Union Plus-Household 2/2/04 3600

Lexus Persuits Visa 3/1/06 4000

First Tennessee 3/1/04 4000

KNBT (Elan) Visa 1/15/06 5000

National City Personal 11/4/04 6000

Circ.City Visa 2/1/04 6800

Compass Visa 10/27/05 8000

Bank of Int. Visa 5/24/05 8000

TCM Visa 9/1/05 8000

US Bank (Harley) 3/1/04 8500

Bank of America Plat. 3/4/04 9500

Capital One No Hass. 3/15/06 10000

Digital FCU Visa 4/1/04 10000

Western FCU Visa 12/4/04 10000

Western FCU LOC 12/1/04 10000

Lowe's Personal 1/1/98 12000

53 Bank 8/15/05 12000

BOA Power Rew Visa 3/9/06 12200

Nordstrom Visa 1/22/04 15000

BMW Bank Visa 2/9/05 15000

Chase Flex Rewards 8/1/05 15000

Phillips 66 MC 3/14/05 20000

Quicken Citi Personal 3/14/05 20000

Citi Citgo Visa 2/1/05 20000

Cabela's Club Visa 3/1/04 20000

Patelco FCU Visa 6/4/04 20000

Citi Dividend PS 2/1/05 21000

Patelco FCU MC 7/4/04 25000

Shell Plat. Select MC 3/15/05 25000

Exxon-Mobil MC 3/14/05 25000

ATT Universal Card 3/15/05 25000

Coastal FCU LOC 6/1/04 25000

USAA Master Card 6/1/04 25500

Pentagon FCU Visa 6/1/04 30000

 

Business Accounts

 

All Phase Elect Sup ?

ABC Building Supply ?

Home Depot Supply 10/14/05 ?

Lamps Plus 12/14/05 ?

United Parcel Service ?

Tiffany and Company 3/1/2005 ?

Radio Shack Biz ?

Federal Express ?

Border's Books Corp 4/10/05 ?

Harvey Industries ?

Kinko's Biz ?

BOA Pow Rew. Visa 3/3/06 25000

Interstate Batteries 11/1/05 250

Valero Oil Co. 1000

Chase Business Visa 6/1/05 1000

WalMart Corporate 1000

JC Penney Biz 1500

Exxon-Mobil Business 1900

Citgo Gas Card 2000

Staples Biz 2000

Office Max Biz 3000

Shell Corp. Gas Card 3000

Sam's Club Biz 3500

Citibusiness AA Visa 11/7/05 4000

Amazon.. LOC 4000

Target Commercial 4500

Tractor Supply 10/14/05 5000

Office Depot Biz 5000

Dell Biz 5000

Expo Design Center 5000

Cap One Biz No Has 3/15/06 5000

Home Depot Rev Biz 5000

Chase Business Visa 4/28/05 5000

Sunoco Fuel Card 5500

Key Bank (Citi) MC 3/3/06 7500

Home Dep 30 Day Biz 7500

M&T Elan Biz 1/17/06 7500

John Deere Credit 10000

Chevron-Texaco 9/1/05 10000

Marathon Fuel 10/1/05 10000

Wells Fargo Biz MC 8/10/05 10000

Quicken Business 2/28/05 10000

HDBiz MC (co. 1) 10/5/05 13500

Lowe's Biz 6/1/98 15000

National City Biz 11/4/04 15000

CitiBusiness (2) 3/30/06 15000

Advanta Biz 4/29/05 19500

CitiBusiness PP 3/30/06 20000

Citibusiness AA (2) 3/30/06 20000

Gulf Corp.Gas Card 11/1/04 20000

Wright Express 10/17/05 21000

Bank of America LOC 1/15/05 23500

BOA Biz Plat.Visa 3/3/06 25000

HD Biz MC (co. 2) 4/22/05 25000

Sam's Clb Dsc 6/1/05 25000

Sam's Premier LOC 4-01-06 $25000

Compass Biz MC 11/11/05 25000

CitiBusiness 3/30/05 25000

M&T Bk Biz LOC 4/11/05 25000

Capital One Biz LOC 3/15/06 25000

WF Biz Line 8/10/05 25000

Citizens Bank LOC 4/1/06 40000

PNC LOC 8/15/05 50000

First Horizon LOC 11/1/04 50000

BOA LOC 3/15/06 50000

 

Total 1236755

 

DW

 

Account Name Opened Limit

 

Bank of Amer 11/1/04 4300

Mellon 6/10/05 0

Household MC 4/4/04 0

Boscov's 12/1/05 0

Corvette Household 3/1/04 305

Macy's 500

GM Card-Household 3/1/04 600

Hecht's 620

WalMart Store Card 2/21/05 740

Target Visa 700

Juniper Platinum MC 1/24/06 1250

Citizen's Bank MC 7/29/05 2500

GM Extended Family 3/1/04 2500

Citi Dividend Plat Sel 1/15/06 2800

ATT Universal Card 1/15/06 2800

Cabela's Club Visa 9/1/2004 3300

Sam's Club 6/1/04 3500

Lexus Rewards Visa 9/1/05 4000

Nordstrom Visa 12/1/05 5000

Providan Visa 1/25/06 5500

Exxon-Mobil MC 1/15/06 6000

Phillips 66 MC 1/15/06 6000

Sunoco Master Card 1/15/06 6400

Citgo Visa 1/15/06 6400

Amex Blue 3/1/04 6600

Bank One Amazon 12/15/04 6800

Meijer's MC 1/23/06 7000

Bank of America 11/1/04 7300

TCM Visa 12/1/05 8000

Discover 6/1/00 10000

53 Bank 8/1/05 11000

Quicken Personal MC 1/15/06 12000

BMW Bank Visa 5/1/05 12500

Bank One Signature 2/1/05 17600

Pentagon Federal LOC 6/1/04 25000

Pentagon Federal Visa 6/1/04 30000

Digital FCU 6/4/04 30000

Patelco FCU 6/4/04 30000

 

Business Accounts

 

Advanta Biz MC 6/1/05 3500

Citi Biz MC 5000

Capital One Biz MC 2/10/06 7000

Quicken Business MC 1/15/06 8000

BOA Biz Credit Expr. 10/31/05 8000

MBNA Elite Biz LOC 4/30/05 10500

National City Biz 4/10/05 10000

Wells Fargo Biz Line 15000

HSBC Business MC 5/10/05 25000

Amex Bus. Platinum 3/1/04 100000

AMEX Capital Line 3/1/04 20000

Capital One 2/1/04 3000

MBNA Platinum Plus 5/1/05 22500

Elan Biz Visa 2/25/05 10000

KNBT 6/1/05 5000

Union Plus-Household 2/1/04 15000

Chase Signature Visa 12/15/04 7000

Chase Biz Rewards 12/1/05 10000

BOA Business Visa 2/20/05 12700

BOA Business Visa 10/31/05 25000

First Horizon LOC 11/1/04 50000

 

Total 655,415

 

 

Congratulations. It's nice to see people reaching their goals. I know of people who have achieved more credit, but none more creatively than you have. Again, congratulations and keep on, keeping on!

 

Charles

[mdw75034]

I agree with cwhit70072, that's not easy to do, or keep up with. But it does show Some nice creditworthiness, I hope to have a portfolio like that in 2 years...

[FlaHomeBldr]

I agree with cwhit70072, that's not easy to do, or keep up with. But it does show Some nice creditworthiness, I hope to have a portfolio like that in 2 years...

 

 

It ain't cheap either can you imagine just keeping up with the fees and such.

[supercreditman]

I am aware of which accounts charge annual membership feea LOC renewal fees. I do have business debt and it's much cheaper for me to pay the fees than to pay penalties and late charges on the business debt, not to mention the damage to the business reputation when the business bills aren't paid on time. Paying annual membership fees are cheaper than 10% penalties on late business bills. Only a few of the credit card accounts have annual fees anyway, and I intend to combine the credit limits into ones that don't and close them. The bottom line in business is that it many run on credit. Without credit, you're helpless and hopeless. I ran for years without credit, and all of the sudden, during a slump in the economy, I needed credit and didn't have any available. I'd much rather have too much than too little, and I'm willing to pay for that privlidge. I have more options in a financial crunch.

[cwhit70072]

I am aware of which accounts charge annual membership feea LOC renewal fees. I do have business debt and it's much cheaper for me to pay the fees than to pay penalties and late charges on the business debt, not to mention the damage to the business reputation when the business bills aren't paid on time. Paying annual membership fees are cheaper than 10% penalties on late business bills. Only a few of the credit card accounts have annual fees anyway, and I intend to combine the credit limits into ones that don't and close them. The bottom line in business is that it many run on credit. Without credit, you're helpless and hopeless. I ran for years without credit, and all of the sudden, during a slump in the economy, I needed credit and didn't have any available. I'd much rather have too much than too little, and I'm willing to pay for that privlidge. I have more options in a financial crunch.

 

Supercreditman, You should also educate (Disclaimer: Get Your Own Accountant and Attorney) some of the people on the tax write offs of annual memberships and fees. Also, I don't know of one significant corporation that doesn't operate on some level of lines of credit or just credit in general. This would include Microsoft, WalMart and Exxon!

I would suggest taking some classes and seminars to find out what banks will offer lines of credit in excess of $100K unsecured. Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't happen. It happens all day long.

 

Congrats!

 

Charles

[kendrabyrd]

ok how did you grow the personal credit with low scores as you had? CONGRATS THO THIS IS AWESOMEEEEE. Also some of the bus cards you have did you do them online I saw some that I had not recongnized before and did they pull personals on most of the high limit business cards?

 

I am on my way also.........dancinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[supercreditman]

KendraByrd,

 

I started building the personal credit with the Union Plus card by Household. They gave me a $2K limit in late 1-04. Then, I applied for the Nordstrom Visa and they only gave me a Nordstrom store charge with $500 limit. Then, in 3-04, I applied for the other Household trio cards and got them all. After that, First Tennessee Visa. By the way, these were all online. Then, 5-04, I applied for credit union memberships. Once established, I applied online for their cards in 6-04. Most approved, but required tax returns and were concerned about the baddies on the reports. I eventually convinced them. The first big limit I got was with Patelco. They opened my first Visa card with them at $20K and, a couple of weeks later, a second MC for $25K. Once they started reporting, I had the token high limit account that I challenged the others to match, but the seldom did. The other huge break I got was, after several unsuccessful attempts between 6-04 and 1-05, Citi approved, not one, but 8 accounts with limits of $20-$25K. Then, with 10+ high limit accounts on the reports starting in 2-05, the approvals started getting a little easier. Another break was when I applied for Bank One cards and got 3 of them. I had 2 settled Chase accounts reporting, and when Bank One merged with Chase, Chase decided, in 1-06, to delete the 2 baddies from my reports, totally on their own. I have a soft on EQ in 1-06 where the recovery division checked things out and saw that I had several hundred thousand in credit. They must have decided "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Now, the only baddies I have are 2 settled MBNA and a Bank One vehicle loan with several 30 day lates. I've asked the analyst from BOA that just approved my LOC to have some extra inquiries on EX deleted, and mentioned that if anything could be done about the MBNA reporting, I sure would appreciate it. We'll see.

 

Allmost all of the business credit cards require a personal guarantee and pull personal reports, except of course, Citi. It's just wishful thinking here on the board that they won't pull personal CR's.

[ToddieM]

SCredit Man:

You know, your screen name would fit very nicely into that Secret Agent Man song.....just think Super Credit Man, Super Credit Man, he's giving them his applications, and they're giving back some luv.....

 

You seem to be the king of the mountain from what I've seen in these forums.

It begs the obvious question. How do you keep your Ex from getting hammered with all those inquiries?

[Corpcredit4me]

How do you not get questioned on the amount of inquiries on your personal CR and how do you explain the amount of accounts you have accumulated in such a short period of time, again, for the personal CR. I can't imagine not one of them noticed a high number of recent trades and inquiries?

[KevPochop]

How do you not get questioned on the amount of inquiries on your personal CR and how do you explain the amount of accounts you have accumulated in such a short period of time, again, for the personal CR. I can't imagine not one of them noticed a high number of recent trades and inquiries?

 

I second that! Heck, I get questioned because I have 18 closed accounts on my credit bureau report. All closed is good standing. "paid/closed by consumer"

 

Chase gave me a hard time having sufficient credit lines with other creditors!

[supercreditman]

Right now, I have 2 inquiries on TU, thanks to "b", 0 on EQ thanks to the phone, and 20 EX inquiries total, 6 of them in the last 2 months. I just apply for no more than 6 EX pulling lines right after my EX inquiries age beyond the 6 month mark and the score goes up. Then I stay away from EX pulling lines until the latest batch ages again.

 

In March, my 5 Household accounts all aged past the 2 year mark, as well as the First Tennessee Visa, Target Visa, BOA Visa, Harley Visa, etc. The scores as reported by TC are all just over 700. The last time I pulled them through MyFico, the Fico scores were 30 points higher on each bureau than the TC scores were, so I'm likely in the 730-740 range now. They are all doing their softs, and I'm getting occasional automatic increases. DCU denied an increase 3 months ago, but "due to my good credit", sent me a letter yesterday stating that they have increased my limit from $10K to $12.5K. I keep looking for "LUV" every 3 months on the Elan and US Bank cards, and on the Circuit City Visa every 4 months. I try the GE "LUV" buttons but seldom get a pre-approved offer. A couple of days ago, I called the automated Lowes system, requested and increase from $12K to $15K. I haven't used the card in over a year. Approved with no hard. I don't think any approvals would have been possible without that one Lowe's account that dated back to 1998 with a never late history. I guess I've now got enough accounts over 2 years old now to satisfy their criteria. Some of the credit union accounts I got in June and July '04 will soon age past 2 years. I'll probably see another score boost from that. When the 7 Citi personal accounts opened in 1-05 age past 2 years, I'm going to see a major increase in score. When I get manual reviews, some of the analysts in conservative banks and credit unions remark that I've got waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much credit already and, of course, decline my app. However, the large banks, such as BOA and Citi, and even GE, baven't said "boo" about it, and have been quite free with the approvals.

 

My personal credit has one card with a 0% APR BT and $1.5K balance, the rest of the over $525K limits are unused. Ah, but the business credit, that's another story! I've got $310K charged across 30 CC's and LOC's. Over $150K of that is at 0% APR. The rest are at 1-3% over prime. I've still got a couple LOC's for backup in case any of the banks call their money in. DW's got another $101K charged across 15 various lines.

[jowster]

Wow, thats a lot of accounts. Your mailman must have a broken back from carrying the mail you must get. All kidding aside, good job for building such credit. You can probably buy a small country on credit and the charge taxes and be king! Please dont build any weapons - we have enough trouble in the world.

[supercreditman]

Jowster,

 

LOL! Yep, the mailbox is near full almost every day with 80% credit card bills and solictations. But, just 2 years ago, I would have done just about anything to get just 1/20 of the credit I've got now, because I needed it BAD. In 6-04, my prayers were answered when Patelco opened 2 CC with combined limits of $45K and DCU gave me a $10K CC. They saved my business, literally! I love opening that box and not seeing deliquent utility and real estate tax bills, but instead, credit card bills and offers. It's great! Staying ahead of them is challenging, but doable. Like everybody that looks at this thread, I too, can't believe I got this much credit. It's truely a miracle. Pressure brings out the survival instict in people, and it definitely did in me. I needed money and I glued myself to the computer and fax machine until I got it. Wachovia, my local bank, wouldn't, and still won't, loan me a dime. Amex is the only one got skeptical and pulled the plug on my credit. No loss. Their credit is only for show. If you try to use it, they suspend or cancel it.

[Braintan]

Supercredit,

 

So US Bank business visa's have a 'luv' button (meaning a pre-approved cli with no personal pull) similar to Amex?

[noagie]

AWESOME SUPERCREDITMAN! YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION! where there is a will, there is a way!!!!!!!! question, is your company home or office based. I messed up my first corp file w d&b, now taking it really,really slow w/ my 2nd corp. wish you could be a financial mentor. you already are in a way.

 

Thank you for sharing such invaluable info. Gives me attainable goals for the future.

 

noagie

[supercreditman]

Brainton,

 

I only have a US Bank personal Harley Davidson Visa. The automated phone system has increased my limit over the last year from $1K to $8.5K. I also have 2 personal Elan cards that work exactly the same way. Elan, from what I've read, is a division of US Bank. DW has had an Elan Biz Visa and I recently got one too. The Elan biz cards have the same phone CLI system and seem to be available in all states. Most of US Bank's biz cards, nor their LOC, are not available in Pa. Only an airline one with an annual fee, which I never tried for. Their standard interest rates aren't that great. I accepted a 0% for a year offer for an M&T biz Visa issued by Elan. Sorry for the unclear information regarding my US bank experience.

[supercreditman]

Noagie,

 

Glad I can be of help. I'm a sole-proprietor and I have several businesses, none of which are filed with the Secretary of State. I have one EIN for 3 types of businesses. One was run out of my house for years, but I opened an office, however, I never changed my biz credit files to show the new office. The other 2 have different retail locations. I also am a partner in another biz with a different EIN, that has yet another location. I'm kind of a "one man band". I do have one employee that does a little of everything, but is primarily a maintenance and repair man. No articles of incorporation or LLC's. No PG for the charge accounts either. That's why I sometimes don't get the big deal that many have made about the formalities of corportate filings, deposit accounts, etc. I make money by the seat of my pants, lots some days, none other days, totally hit and miss. Tax returns show significant loss year after year, $500 to $1000 average balance in checking, and I still managed to get that much credit. Make no mistake though, I can handle the debt load, and that's their main concern, I think.

[ToddieM]

I was just wondering s.c.m.

Does having the backing of "ready cash" calm you down somewhat as you go through your business day? Sometimes, being worried about paying the overhead robs you of attitude and your customers will pick up on it. I would think those worries would be over for you.

Has it been your experience that your business bottom line has improved since you obtained all the credit?

[Braintan]

SCM, thanks for the info on US Bank, I'll call them and see what happens.

 

Todd, having way more credit than you need is definitely good for the head and lets you take advantage of opportunities. But you've got to have some discipline, obviously.

[supercreditman]

ToddieM,

 

It is true that customers observe how you run your business and when you cut back due to cash flow problems, they try to guess why. When they sense vulnerability, they take advantage of your situation by offering to do business with you conditionally or for a huge discount. They also sense distraction and try to avoid paying some or all on arranged payment plans, either because they think they can get away with it and you won't notice, or that you won't have the nerve or finacial power to cut your losses. Plus, when public debt like taxes and utilities go unpaid, that's public record in the newspaper and on county websites. Many saavy people actually will do or say what they can to kill your business so they can later come in to the liquidation sale and pick up the spoils for pennies on the dollar. It's a cut-throat world. Yes, having the financial resources to keep bills paid on time, but only as long as you can stay ahead of the payments and pay it down before you need to tap into it again. Kind of like quick sand, the more you struggle, the deeper you sink. I use ONLY what I MUST, except where an opportunity to raise quick cash comes by. Then, I'll pull money out, make a quick flip, and pay back what I pulled and use the profits to pay more in on debt. One thing I can guarantee is that I never let the illusion of available cash go to my head. I don't live for now, and die later, financially speaking. At this point, I'm relieved that I've got my situation under control, severe penalties on delinquent debt are eliminated, interest rates are minimized, and control and order are restored. I now spend what I have to to cut losses and get rid of non-payers to hopfully replace them with good customers. I still don't have confidence that the situation can spin out of control, even though I've got a firm grasp where every dollar goes. I'm in businesses that have extremely high perpetual overhead in an extremely financially depressed region, leaving a very small margin for profit, at the very best. It's very frutrating, but I'm determined to persevere, with the help of that CB'er spirit to inspire me!

[ToddieM]

SCM:

I undestand your pain.

I'm originally from MI. I just had a colleague tell me yesterday that Detroit (which used to be #6 on the city population chart) has now dropped all the way below 1 million people. People are leaving that area in droves for the Phoenix', Miami's, L.A.'s, and Atlanta's of the world........

That whole "rust belt" is losing it's population to the "sun belt."

Despite the hurricanes!

[wj2005]

How did you get some of the cards you did from the Credit unions that you have to be in the military to belong?

 

Congrats on your great success.