KCCutie

I haven't checked EX specifically but any derogs I had would have from my past COs would have aged off and I didn't have any when I got my home 8 months ago so I can't imagine anything showed up since then. Maybe I should just work on getting another Balance transfer card for now and pay down some of my util and then go for AMEX next year. Thanks for the advice.

Hmmm....no one knows?

Yeah I tried to re-open a couple most wanted to just open a new one not go through the trouble of resurrecting an old dead account. I hope it works for you....different creditors do different things so there's always a chance. I say go for it. If that doesn't go though I would only open on new one for now don't drag down your average age down too far and then just let them age.

I had a CO with Chase...the original trade line will stick around the full 7 years which kinda stinks. The first couple cards I was able to get after CO were Cap One and a Target card. The Cap one was a baby limit like 1250....but the Target one although it is high interest is a 5k. Unfortunately if you want to get a mortgage soon you won't want a bunch of new lines showing on there. If you don;t need them I say wait it out let everything age for the next 6 months and yes working with you CU us a great idea they can sometimes be more helpful to members.

I looked on the credit pulls but I couldn't tell no one mentioned Util in their comments. So before I pull the trigger....do I have a chance at getting an Amex (Blue Everyday) if my Util is 30%? My current score is 727 EQ and other than the high Util I'd say I have a chance.

Well they were very nice but they just would not budge on the high Util. So no Chase for me. How is AMEX with Util around 30% should I even try it? What other cards can I try to get a good Bal Transfer and lower my utility as I pay off faster. Once I pay off my car loan I'll have a good $350 to put towards paying this utility down but I'd like to up my credit limits to help out as well. I have Barclay's (Juniper) I could go for a CLI on that one and my Discover is 8 months old I could go for CLI on that one ( it has high util now b/c they gave me a smaller limit and the Bal transfer ate that up) I have a Crap one Card that is a baby limit that never shows any love I suppose I could try that too...I think it's the card I have though it just can't be increased I have asked before.... it was my first card after my clean up. What should I do first?

It doesn't seem like you are BL anymore, definitely CALL Chase UW - 888-245-0625 I agree the message didn't mention my old account so maybe that's not an issue anymore. I'll call them. Thanks for the number.

With Chase the last denial I got a year ago actually said something about a negative account with them in the past. I did call that time and they wouldn't budge. This time the letter says Outstanding debt too high, balances grew to fast (don't understand this maybe they saw balance transfers on new cards), minimum payments too high, and here's a new one too few credit accounts opened for more than 2 years.... .ummm my oldest is from 1995 and the majority were added when I fixed up my credit in 2007-2008. I can call today it's worth a try.? Do I call the number on the letter or is there a better one? Also how does the app spree work? Should I try for AMEX and if so I should do it first right?

Okay. I just pulled my FICO EQ and it was 727. No baddies. Over 15 years of history. But Util is at 30%. Just bought a home in June 2012 and got a Discover and did a bal transfer on that one before the loans showed up.So 6 months since last accounts opened. Last app one week ago. I've really wanted a Chase Freedom card for a long time so last week I applied for one but I think they have be black listed because I had CO account settle with them way back in 2005. anyway just got the denial letter today. Number one reason for denial was high util...I'm at about 30% right now...so that's a valid point but that's why I want a good Balance Transfer card. I should be paying off my car (with my tax refund) soon and I want to take that money and pay down my CC debt and what better way to do it than with 0% interest. If I do that I'll be down to 15% in 18 months. Getting new cards will help me in a couple ways transfers with 0% will help me pay off my balances faster and more credit will help with util percentages by upping the credit available. I want a rewards/ cash back card so I was thinking AMEX Blue Everyday. I want to use it mostly on groceries and gas. Never had a an AMEX. I also want a BT card so I was thinking Citi Thank You with 18 months at 0%. Had a Citi CO that was settled back in 2005 as well....do they blacklist? DO I go for AMEX first then immediately go for the Citi? Is that how that works? If they pull within minutes will they not see the other pulls?

So I called and here's what I learned. You have to call within 30 days or they close your application and you have to re-apply. Also they don't have a blanket policy to deny anyone who had a delinquent account in the past, BK, CO whatever, but I was really annoyed at the way the guy was trying to explain this to me because he made it sound like the account would always be seen as delinquent, like I still owe them money. So I had to explain to him that I paid a percentage that they not only agreed upon but most likely even suggested in order to close the account and then they reported the rest of my balance to the government as a loss for which I got a 1099, and they got a tax break so in a way they did get their money and they agreed to it at the time so its really not fair to continue to say I still owe them money. Unfortunately he was little worked up over this b/c I'm not stupid and I wouldn't just let him say I owed on any account, but I was able to then ask him if they had a policy to never let people who settled an old account have new accounts and he said no if I re-applied and called in (within 30 days) they would look at everything as a whole picture and of course he couldn't say I would be approved but they would look and the old account would only be a part of the decision...so they don't blackball or blacklist or whatever you want to call it. I am going to wait until Feb when I get my bonus from work and plan to pay down a few balances before I re-apply b/c it can't hurt to have a lower util when I do apply. Thanks for the number though you're right, they did answer right away and they are open til 10pm eastern M-F in case anyone was wondering. And even though we had a discussion over the wording he used to describe my old account he was still pretty nice.

Thanks everyone! Hehe! I know when I typed it I thought blackballed looked funny but I knew that was the term I was looking for b/c of the analogy with the voting with colored balls. Anyway I'm glad we all got a giggle. I will try the 800 number tonight when I have all my info in front of me (or tomorrow if it's an 8-5 thing). I really think it was the account that got charged off over 7 years ago that landed me on their bad list, but in the past 7 years I have really cleaned up my credit and I will never let that happen again. My utilization isn't high and actually I'd like to use this card for groceries, gas and travel that I do for work that I get reimbursed for. I figure why not get something back for those things. We'll see.

How old is your oldest card and and what is your current utilization? If you were at 50% and you paid off a big chunk but still aren't below 10 or 20% you may not see a big bump in scores.

If it is your oldest open card I wouldn't just close it. That age could be helping you. I would use for one little thing now and then and pay it off right away but keep it around for the age. That's what I do with my JC Penney card. I've had it since college I use is maybe 2 times a year and pay it off but it keep my average age of accounts high.