dice727 is actually me. (in case you missed it, the thread is here: https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=567281)

yes, for the many doubters, sadly everything posted in that thread is real. I posted under an alias with mom's permission because I had some pending legal issues and this account could possibly be tracked back to me.

so now 18 months later, all that's been resolved, I received my Chapter 7 discharge in June and am working on rebuilding my credit.

since I IIB'd pretty much every major creditor around and most of the good CUs, rebuilding is going to be an interesting process.

current snapshot:

FICO08s are EX 584, EQ 606, TU 573.

I have no personal revolving accounts open right now. I didn't reaffirm the mortgage, so that's not open either. I do have open student loans. I am an AU on one open Ann Taylor account of my wife from 2003 with no balance and $3650 CL. I do still have some older paid/closed accounts on my report which helps my AAOA along with the student loans.

going to use this thread to keep track of progress and notes.

feel free to interject any advice if you think there's something I should/shouldn't do! I rebuilt many years ago from a bunch of CO accounts, but pretty much just waited until 7 years passed and everything fell off before starting to rebuild. so this is new territory for me.

The reasons were: 

Too many inquiries  or applications for credit  in the  last 14 days.    (we have not applied for credit)    

amount  on  on  bank cards to high  relative to the credit limit in the last 6 months.  (it was about 26% as new charges were put on just before statement date.)

Too few months  since  most  recent personal installment account opened.  (new truck back in September 6 months  ago.)

Too  many inquiries in  the past 12 months.  (1 inquiry 6 months ago for auto loan)

Credit score is a 719

I scrambled to find  out who the inquiry or application for credit was, why the low score and there's NOTHING. No inquiry at all nor a new loan/account reported, I'm not  quite sure where they got the information. It says it came from Experian.   

Come to find out after pulling all  reports from 3 different  places this is an Experian Vantage score not a Fico score.  The day his credit was pulled his vantage score was 719 and his FICO score was 771. Maybe I am just over reacting but when it said inquiries or credit in  the past 14 days my heart sank thinking with  all the security breaches going on that someone had stolen his identity.  All Wells Fargo calls it is a "Credit score they did not specify vantage or fico in their paperwork so beware.   

They are using Vantage scores.  Unknowing that to automatic credit line increases and me applying him  for this card even crashed his vantage score.   

This leads to another question I have thought about for some  time because if I think  of  applying for a low interest loan or something at a credit union I always  ask if they use the fico score or vantage score because there is such a huge difference.  If it's a vantage score most of the time I drop it and think see ya later.  BUT.... the credit bureaus are essentially private owned.  they are there to make money. So this whole Vantage score thing makes perfect sense.  You create your own scoring, which is lower than fico, offer businesses a cheap rate to  pull the vantage score over fico and in turn they can say your score is low and  offer a higher interest rate.  I it's just a theory but that's the way it seems to pan out.  Why would a business not benefit from using the  vantage score over a fico score when it makes them more money?  It seems to me a way to work over the consumer.    

Just my rant for the day.  

I would appreciate everyone's feedback.  I am interested in putting together limits between $25,000 plus

No idea how many shares I'll be able to buy, or the price or terms at this point, but OF COURSE I opted in.

For years I've been frustrated by the tiny (mainly $1k) CLIs, even after I returned to the world of prime credit, but I slowly dragged the limit up to $27k where it's sat stubbornly for a couple of years.

Today when I logged in I was greeted by a popup offer to request a CLI. 

Since previous requests between $35k and $50k have all been denied, I asked for the low end of that -- and was approved.

It's taken nearly 16 years for Capital One to treat me like an adult again.  

1. Two business cards with lines of about $7k were placed by BofA with Mercantile Collections Agency.

2. Another was placed with CCL for about $4k

These are personally guaranteed but there has been no mark on my credit report.

What are my best options to resolve these? All ideas greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Credit Bureaus Are Leaving More Mistakes on Frustrated Consumers’ Reports Under Current CFPB

Wonder if the EQ FICO will go away.

I filed a complaint with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau on Experian providing them with all the relevant information along with a police report from 2016.  I thought all this had been handled back then.  Thank god I still kept everything.

I bombarded John Erickson, President and CEO of IC Systems with 30 faxes of ten pages each with my complaint and proper documentation.  (that's 300 pages on his fax machine)  🙂   I think I will get his attention!

For anyone who is having problems with IC Systems the CEO's email address is jerickson@icsystem.com

I am also filing a civil lawsuit in the amount of $4,000 in damages.  That's the maximum amount I can get under Minnesota law.

I felt attacking this matter with the collection agency and the original creditor and lighting a fire under Experian with the CFPB would get me the fastest results.  I used Chat GBT to help me write all my complaints with all the proper language.  That software did an amazing job for me.  Once it had the facts all I had to say was write me a complaint to the Minnesota Department of Commerce or Experian and it immediately drafted the appropriate letters.  The software is awesome and it's free!

Now, if you want to lob any criticism, I'll take it squarely on the chin.  Letting cb build for several years, and letting the card go dormant (despite having "last use" date noted in my spreadsheet) aren't exactly displaying my "A-game".

Shortly before ending the 2nd call (with add'l review and a callback promised for this am), I explained to the acct spvr that while I and my wife were dealing with her near-fatal leukemia bout these last 2+ years, keeping my Citi account active kinda faded from my radar ...

I report further as things develop .

I have some accounts on my credit report that have been closed for over 10 years. They are positive tradelines but low limits. Should I have these removed or is better to leave them? I don't think deleting them would impact my Average Age of Accounts too much. 

Thanks

When my Discover migrates to Cap One, my total credit lines will be $77k.

I'm concerned that Cap One will close some of my cards (3 being my oldest) and wondering if I should be proactive and reduce some of my credit lines myself before that happens. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Pre approved Sync BP Visa offer. Sent to shredder.

The people handling the application department are completely useless and therefore I called their Executive Response Unit this morning.  It was a short call but the lady was very nice and extremely helpful.  Although the help was not immediate she told me the matter would be resolved within 48 hours.  😁

Any advice would be appreciated.

Quote

We’re changing some terms in your Credit Card Agreement and making changes to
our Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program, as well as our Customized Cash
Rewards and Travel Rewards credit cards — here’s what you need to know.

 

Here’s what’s changing

 

Credit Card Agreement
We’re amending your Credit Card Agreement due to some changes in our business practices, to clarify some language and to
make it easier to read. We’ve included an Amendment to your Credit Card Agreement with all the details — please review and
keep it for your records. This information is also available in Online Banking.

Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program
Our Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program will soon become the BofA RewardsTM program — look for a new world of
rewards coming in May.

Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards and Travel Rewards credit cards
Starting in August 2026, the 10% customer bonus will no longer be available for all qualifying Bank of America® Customized
Cash Rewards and Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit cards. If you’re enrolled in the BofA RewardsTM program, you will
qualify for the 10% Member tier bonus.

Here’s what else you need to know
We’ve included the annual Privacy Notice, which you can also access anytime in Mobile* and Online Banking. Simply go to
Accounts, select Statements & Documents and look under Other Account Documents.
Keep in mind, you may receive more than one copy of this change in terms notice, as well as the annual Privacy Notice — we
send separate notices for each account you have with us.
We’re here to help if you have any questions.

Unless something really compelling happens, that fits in my wheelhouse, 2026 will mostly be a year of gardening. In the near term, on January 14th, Bilt 2.0 launches. Three new cards to choose from. Not sure yet, which card I'm switching too.

In the bigger picture, most spend will be with Hyatt stays in mind. Of course it could all change.

After nearly 20 years and current scores of 830+ across the board, I am in a place in life where the benefits of the Platinum card are worth the Annual Fee, so I decided to apply only to be auto denied due to “prior account(s) cancelled by AmEx”.

I called to appeal but got nowhere, however I did eventually end up transferred to department that was able to provide me reference numbers for all 3 accounts, balance for each, and an address in California I could mail payment to if I so choose, but with no assurance it would result in them reopening their doors to me.

My question is two-fold:

1). Anyone had any luck appealing this?

2).  Will they ever forget and forgive if I do not pay, or did the balances/number of accounts IIB mark me for life?

So I completed and was successfully discharged from my Chapter 13 in July of 2025. I was able to get my BK removed from EX and TU. TU removed everything attached, but EX left 3 Amex accounts on there. One of them is reporting “OK” One of them is now reporting “CO” in January of 2026, and the other is reporting 150 days late in Dec of 2025. Obviously, there has been no activity on these accounts since June of 2020, so I’m guessing it’s was just an error in reporting related to the attached BK being removed. 

My question is. Are these remarks with these recent dates hurting my score and profile? They are listing no data before those months. Also, do I dispute these obviously wrong reporting statuses and dates? If so, would I be poking the bear and possibly get my BK re inserted back on my account. My only thought would be to dispute sending a letter stating that these were CO in BK in 2020 and shouldn’t have any activity updates in 2025 or 2026, but I don’t know if I’d be drawing attention to the fact that the BK is gone and they may bring it back on the report. Or if I should just leave it alone until I hit the 7 year mark at my BK so I don’t risk this. 

Thanks!

Happy New Year!

I can't seem to find the sample letters section. Either I'm not looking thoroughly enough, or they've been moved. I tried the search bar, but it keeps freezing mid loading line. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Wife 811 (+8)

Happy New Year!

Penfed is the worst. They hold every ACH transfer incoming or outgoing for at least 2 days. Several times the incoming ACH shows processing for days...

ACU - amazingly fast and literally no hold.

What are your experiences?

Quote

evidence shows that a 10% interest rate cap would reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families and small business owners who rely on and value their credit cards

cry a tear for banks

I think they want me to contact them to probably contest the legality to give them the ability to speak to me in regarding the debt.  I won't be calling them.

Wife: 803 (-8)

https://www.wlwt.com/article/fifth-third-comerica-merger-9th-largest-bank-in-us/70220731

I got an email from this company: Klima Peters Daly.  It's a collection law firm in Maryland. They are collecting on behalf of LVNV Funding LLC.

The original creditor: Bank of Missouri

Enter Collection/Charge off: April 2024

Maryland SOL: 3 years

Does anyone have any information about this company or has experiences?  I did a search which yielded no results. Thank you. 

This is very *Admin prohibits insults that reference an individual's intelligence.*. They want to offer a new card that caps interest rate at 10% for one year.  They already offer other cards at 0% interest for 12 or 18 months or whatever it is.  Why would someone apply for a card that has a capped interest rated at 10% when they can get a card that is capped at 0% interest?

Makes no sense to me.

The average American will pay off $1,786,810 in debt between ages 18 and 78

Has anyone seen anything suggesting chase will or will not integrate the apple card to its existing platform? 

TIA

😒

Like the title says. EX has deleted my ch13 BK, leaving 3 of the negative TL's from AMEX that went from "IIB" to back to their previous status listing them as "CO" and showing a few 30, 60, 90 day lates. They are a year and a half from dropping off naturally, but obviously getting these taken off early would be ideal. My question is. Would it be a wise move.. or dumb to dispute these as previously discharged in BK therefore shouldn't be reporting any balances etc? Just don't want this to rock the boat and risk them looking in to the BK and that possibly coming back or reinserted since it's still within reporting timelines? Or should I find inaccuracies with the way they are currently reporting, and go from there. 

Thanks!

Quote

 

Macy’s AmEx (actually a Citi card) was $2000 opened 9/22/23 approved for $5k 3/24/24 tried to ask for another CLI 9/30/24 and got an error that they could not access my credit report which I assume means they were going to do a HP (I've frozen all three bureaus) so I didn’t call them as the error message requested, I would rather have fewer HPs than a higher CL on this one.  The previous CLI was a soft pull, wonder why they’re doing this.

 

Just got a notification this morning (10/30/24) that one of my credit limits had been increased; apparently Macy's (really Citi) gave me an auto-CLI to $7500.  Which is a little unusual as that's a sock drawer card for me, but I'll take it.

Tried this morning (2/2/25) for $10k, got an error, but when I logged back in a couple hours later to try again it looks like it went through.

Another milestone, now every single card I have has a $10k or higher CL save for the two Citi branded cards (Double Cash and Costco Anywhere Visa) which are stuck at $1k but I think one of them will be 3 months since last CLI later this month.  Still not quite $100k TCL, this should put me at $99,600 so next one puts me over the top...

FTX insider Caroline Ellison has been quietly moved out of prison

Quote

"On some level, my brain doesn't even comprehend all the people I harmed," Ellison told the court. "That doesn't mean I don't try."

Visa and Mastercard to pay $167.5m to settle lawsuit over ATM fees

Quote

Chargeback rates climbed steadily throughout 2025, reaching 0.26% in the third quarter, a 53% increase from the first quarter of 2025. Retail e-commerce chargeback grew explosively by 233% between the first and third quarters of the year., the highest increase of any merchant category. 

https://chainstoreage.com/exclusive-why-chargeback-rates-are-soaring

It was a strong value at $625 (prim + AU fees).  But the renewal will come to something like $975.  That drains much of the card value away; I see little value in the benefits they've padded the card with now.

I expect to downgrade to CS Preferred as a temporary measure.  The input I hope to get from the group is what to grab onto as the best alternative that has the "basic" benefits of the existing CSR.

-- The key benefit I hope to retain is 3% cb on dining and travel (booked through travel providers).

-- Primary rental insurance benefits would be nice to keep as well, but not essential.

--And, of course, I wouldn't look askance at a generous SUB  

Any suggestions?

Amex Green & BB+ MR 557,559

Amex Delta Blue SkyMiles 114,649

FNBO Amtrak Guest Rewards World MC 165,644

Chase CSP / CFU / CFF UR 229,343

Chase IHG Premier World Elite MC 68,216

Chase Hyatt Visa Signature 1,744

BofA Customized Cash Rewards Visa (3% Travel) $6.20

BofA Alaska Airlines Visa Signature 140,413

Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Elite MC 205

Citi Strata Premier / Double Cash / Custom Cash TYP 79,417

Choice Privileges World Elite MC 524,432

WF Active Cash Signature Visa (2% CB) $91.22

BILT Rewards MC 67,484

Shopping Portals & Apps / Stacking Opportunities:

Rakuten. Pays out quarterly. (Amex MR Earning) Points Pending: 4953

Chase Shopping Portal (UR Earning)

American Airlines 82,415

United Airlines 115 Miles

DOSH (CB)

Fetch Rewards (GC)

Upside (CB)

Shell Fuel Rewards (Earning AA Miles 3miles/gal.)

Starbucks / Delta SkyMiles (Earn SkyMiles on Starbucks GC reloads)

Airline / Hotel / Dining and Shopping Portals

This is the fifth time since Nov 2024 that I've been only one point short of maxing out this score.