iam

How do you do this, keep track over a dozen different billing cycle close dates that all move each month? I'm keeping my overall spending below 10%, but sometimes one card gets into the 50%+ range, and I've had my scores tank from missing a close date with one card in a high usage %. Now paying these well before the close or due date is no problem, but with so many cards and the close dates changing every month how does one keep track? This was so much easier when I just payed cash for everything, but I'm really starting to get into the bennies of cash back and travel points. I am also starting to feel stressed from so many cards with so many different and changing closing dates.... Then with all non CC autopay on top of all this, I'm really starting to wonder what tools other folks use that could help with all this growing chaos... What I'm really looking for are your tips or tricks for managing so many different close dates. I seem to be spending too much time with my google spreadsheet, scrolling through several times a week, or even every day.... There's got to be a better way....

One thing I did which I don't know if made a difference in my experience is, I applied through the Chase website and not one of the CC services links like CreditKarma or NerdWallet. I did this mostly because of the sign up bonuses offered from Chase were different than the nonaffiliated websites, and I wanted the former.

So fyi, I'm a noob to credit building. I've always made more than enough $$$ and never really cared. Well the rona, and my wife getting stressed about her debt, most of which is from paying collage tuition, I got interested. Plus she got me open to home buying, and for big dollar purchases the higher the score the lower the interest payments. Well I've gotten so into this that I've set for myself a goal of hitting an 800 credit score my the end of the year.... To be honest I don't know if it's actually doable for me this year, but it is still a laudable goal which serves to motivate and keep my focus. Now from what I've heard, I don't know how much is accurate, so let's see what we can figure out together... Obviously the normal score parameters hold the bulk of what's gonna get me there, but "I hear" that a total amount of available credit over a certain number is also needed to reach 800. Various numbers like $40,000 or $50,000 have been offered, and then there are supposedly folks with limits in the $30,000, so I don't know for sure if this is even a thing. And then there's the ubiquity of misinformation and grifter sales pitches that promise the world, but I actually know how to reason so I don't play with any of that. Well so far at least, knock on wood... The other thing I understand holding a large sway over the 800 algorithm is age. For this one I got an authorized user account from one my wife had years ago and forgotten about. This card is actually her oldest one, that she thought was long canceled because she stopped using it when they denied her for a credit increase... She didn't know, neither of us did, about the credit game. But when we pulled her reports, there is was, and now we are both like, Ooo hooo. Or at least I am. Her score is doing great because she always pays on time and because of her school loans, and then there's this long forgotten BankAmericard Visa. The only reason my score is higher than her's is because of our usage %, mine is under 10 with her's over 40. Actually she should be in the 30% range since I took one of her loans and helped her pay down a BT card by two thirds, but it takes awhile for the information and scores to show up.... As for me, I'm really hoping that being an authorized user on this old card, the two new Chase cards and a sweet raised limit on my Amex upgrade are going to push me the extra 28 points I need to crest 800. So what experience have you had or heard of in cresting 800 for the first time? Any tips? Tricks? Or odd WTF experiences? Inquiring minds want to know...

Done, and done.... I just posted it...

So this overall experience seems kinda odd to me, but incase there's something in it that'll help in some way, here it is... First off there is where I'm at credit wise, I'm a noob, my whole history is not quite three years old. Thanks to the rona I got some time and thanks to my wife taking on too much debt and not letting me know, I got interested in the subject... In order for me to be able to help her, or possibly take on some of it, I had to dive it... Now I'm sure this is a well worn story, simple and straight forward; 1. Secured Card, 2. Intro Card, 3. Better inter card with bigger company, 4. Ditto and the first Amex. . . On and on, I got some prescreened offers but kept the applications to one every three to four months. Mostly working the cash back while I learn the nuances on the ins and outs, buying only our normal stuff but with credit cards instead of cash. Learned the hard way about letting a high balance roll past the close of the billing cycle... But all in all I've done well so far in that my score has been in the mid 700s for most of the time, and only hit a lowest 718 with that one card that was at 74% for only two days but during the billing cycle close.... It took me the better part of four to five months to get my scores back.... But this just gave me inspiration and a self proclaimed goal of hitting 800 by the end of the year... We'll see, but I have a plan. And part of this plan is/was starting a relationship with Chase... Now to be honest, for the straight up cash back cards I'm not overly impressed with Chase's offerings. I know, I know that they have the rep for travel points and not so much cash back, but in planning my quarterly card applications there are cards I'd rather have than Chase. And then there is the dreaded 5/24 double supper secret rule than everybody knows about but no Chase employee will ever admit to .... And looking at my cards list, if I am to try to keep with the three new cards a year for right now, I had to hit up Chase next... Alrighty then, Back story laid out.... On to my Chase Adventure.... I noted that I was about to have two cards hit their two year mark this spring so decided to apply in late April when I had 3/24 listed in my Experian. The other two showed even less. Also I had been watching the intro offers for the three Chase cards I was eyeballing.... A little side note, I kinda wish I do travel more cause that 80,000 points intro offer for Chase's Sapphire Preferred had a couple months ago was sweet.... But I like to practice the KISS method of training and practice, (Keep It Simple Stupid), so I focused on the two Freedom Cards Chase offers.... I applied for the Freedom Unlimited in the middle of April, fully expecting to get a response within a day or two, and calling their computerized info line a week later gave me a big fat 'No Information at this time'... About twelve days later I get the first letter saying that they are not sure if it was actually me who applied and that I need call them to confirm my identity... So I gave them a call, which didn't go as smoothly as it could have because I didn't remember my address from four years ago.... so about two weeks later I get the DENIED!!! letter... Well I ain't goin down like a punk *Admin and our Terms of Service prohibit profanity*, especially having put so much time and effort in, so I called the reconsideration line.... Realize that it's been just over thirty days since I first submitted my application. So I call, and she noted my previous call, to which I point out that it was for an ID check. Without being asked, I pointed out that while my history is less than three years old I never considered credit cards until the pandemic made buying online necessary, and that I only allow some balance to carry past the end of the billing cycle to show usage but I pay it completely before the due date and never carry a balance. I also noted that the signature loan I have on my Amex account was in fact a loan they offered I didn't request, but I took because it was five points less than one my wife had so I paid her's off to save up money and build a more diversified credit portfolio... So I ask her; "Isn't this what I am suppose to be doing?" Well she didn't give me a definitive answer that day, and only said I'd hear back within 10 to 30 days. Same as before... I'm fully expecting a denial letter any day now, but it's been almost two months since I sent in my application, so I decide to go ahead and apply for the other Chase Freedom card, the Flex. Well a couple of days go by and I get a Congratulations You're Accepted email, without any specifications or mention of the card so I assume it the Freedom Flex card which I just applied for... Now get this, I get yet another 'Is this your application?' letter and another request to call them to confirm about a week after the acceptance email.... At this point I starting to get that WTF voice chanting in my head, but I take a deep breath and give them yet another call. So this woman starts out by noting my Reconsideration call, and I point out that was for a different card with an application submission date over two months ago. She never really asks or says much during this call, but I offer my experience with my Discover Card and how I'm not going to be using much this next quarter, and I wanted to try their Flex since it's just like it but often with different categories, you know just trying to show appreciation for their product.... In my mind I don't understand at all why I'm even having this conversation since I already got the acceptance email, so towards the end of the call I mention the email. Well it turns out that the acceptance email was for the first Freedom Unlimited Card I had applied for two months before, and later than day I get another acceptance email for, what I assume is the Flex card... But talk about a total WTF rollercoaster ride of jumping through hoops and waaaaaaaiiiiiiiittttting over two months.... But now I have two chase credit cards and solidly on my way to the Chase Trifecta!!! So I guess the moral of this journey, and advise for those struggling to build or rebuild their credit is this.....

Well hell, what has happened since that drop is gonna really fry some brains then... So I got concerned about the drop mostly cause I was about to apply for a Chase card. Once I realized my identity wasn't hacked or stolen, and that this drop was more or less normal, I made my application.... Well most of what happened with the application is for another thread, but it took me over a month to get my approval, and it happened almost a week after my second reconsideration call and the day after I made an application for a different Chase card. They apparently don't really communicate very well with non-costumers... 🙄 As for my score they never really dropped from either the application... Weird Right...??? I mean there was a couple of points, but nothing like the OP. In fact I'm higher now than I was when this thread first posted, even the Experian is almost back to where it was then.... Total WTF??? But whatever, now I just gotta hit my sign up bonuses on two cards when I was only expecting one.... I guess I won't we too concerned about scoring the maximum points right now, just the sign up $....

So is this no longer available cause when I try to dl it it responds as unavailable....??? Never mind, I found the updated link on the previous page....

Okay, apologies for the late reply/update... Well without more specific reasoning from Experian, as they only gave me the standard list of reasons and nothing new or that would've fit my usage at the time. Neither of the other two agencies moved my score at all, so I can only guess that it was a rebucketing... The real rub for me was that I had been working my scores so I could apply for my first Chase card so it really kind of freaked me out for a little bit. I mean I was thinking that maybe my identity was hacked or something, so I ended up pulling all three reports only to see nothing weird or off tilt, thank the gods.... Thanks for the tips folks....

So I get this email from Experian saying that my score dropped 16 points. Well naturally I'm like WTF and am I being hacked or id theft???... Then I start with getting my credit reports from each agency, and there are no new accounts, not new hard pulls, no high or unknown utilizations, no closed accounts, no paid off loans, basically there's nothing that every article I read lists as possible causes, although they all say that I should really find out what's up with any kind of large drop.... So is 16 points a large drop? I thought I was doing the right things by getting my % down, I'm at 8% right now. I did pay off a card balance last month, but I make sure that I have a small balance on some cards at the end of their billing cycles so usage on the cards get's reported... I mean I believe I am doing all the things I'm suppose to do, so what the F is happening? I'm really confused....