Second Chances

809 (+3)

Ugh. I recently cancelled my CK account because of shenanigans like this, not to mention data/privacy concerns (I didn’t realize the sheer amount of ways they were using my info). CK alerts did lead me to realizing my identity had been stolen years ago (yay, Anthem breach), but I have much better free options today.

I found CB in 2013 after wrecking my credit in grad school and finding MF not to be the best help (for me). I spent a great many hours on here learning how to rebuild my credit, how FICO works, and how not to get myself in the same situation again. I’ve gone from scores of 613 and 608 (though they were surely in the 500s in the year prior, based on what was reporting at the time), to scores of 790-800ish depending on what balances I have reporting at the time. I put credit related things on the back burner for the most part (beyond maintaining current accounts) the last couple of years, because most of my energy was focused on a career change plus a wedding, all on top of Covid. But things are a little more settled and I finally went for a couple of “prime” cards. Here’s a snapshot of my credit card journey: -Cap1 Quicksilver - 2014 - Current CL $9k -Walmart - 2014 - Current CL $1,200 -NFCU GoRewards - 2018 - CL $24k -Chase Freedom - 2020 - CL $6,000 -Chase Sapphire Preferred -2022 - $12.8k -Amex Blue Cash Preferred- 2022 - $25k I don’t have a large amount of cards or huge CLs, but what I have matches my spending habits and suits me as far as management goes. Thanks CB for all of the help and valuable info I received while I was rebuilding.

Amex Blue Cash Preferred for $25,000 ($350 SUB with $3,000 spend in 6 months) Chase Sapphire Preferred for $12,800 (60k UR points SUB with $4,000 spend in 3 months) They’re my first very good/excellent credit required cards, so I was very excited!

Congrats! That was the first card I applied for when I was rebuilding and that was my credit limit. It shocked me, based on what I had read about Cap1’s CLs.

I submitted a credit pulls entry/report earlier, but after it was approved, I realized I inadvertently left off which card it was for. Is there any way to edit it, so it says “Amex Blue Cash Preferred,” rather than just Amex?

I realize you asked a no fee or low fee card, but I still vote for Amex BCP. There is an annual $95 fee, but with 6% on groceries up to $6,000, 6% on streaming, and 3% on gas, it’s worth the annual fee. It’s my next app, since groceries and gas are my biggest expenses atm.

https://www.wired.com/story/irs-drops-facial-recognition-verification/ Looks like they are rethinking that.

There’s no location requirement to my recollection, if you have joined one of the qualifying organizations. A membership is required for any/all of their products. I’m pleased with them for the auto loan I have, but I believe there may be better options for a secured card (however, I am not up to date on current offerings).

I’ve never had a negative effect from it. I carried a negative balance (more than $100) for a couple of months due to an accidental double payment, but they just refunded the extra to my bank account after that.

QS1 from Cap One was my first card while rebuilding. Same annual fee and was in their credit steps program apparently, as I received two CLIs over time that tripled my CL. I later product changed it to a regular QS without the annual fee (though I really should have done it sooner). It’s a good card to keep active for me even now. Since I don’t have a 2% card right now, it fills the gaps from my higher rewards cards and it’s also my oldest open card.

802 (+8) Went from two cards reporting a balance to one card reporting.

I agree. Although (stupidity in not realizing I was applying for a card aside), I managed credit cards pretty well in college and I wouldn’t have applied if I’d known. My credit screwup/lesson learned happened in grad school.