advjeep

Thanks @centex I just looked and I had 3 of the 4 revolving accounts with balances which isn't normal. I had bought something from Nordstrom over Christmas. What's a good single account utilization? I've tried for a TLI on the 3500 cap1 and they declined it saying I hadn't used the card. So since Oct I've been shifting a bunch of spending to it. I had 28% util on that card and 1% and 4% on the other. This month I'll only have one account with the $2 and see what that does.

Best advise!!

@Occam Thanks for that info! So technically you could be added on as AU for a few months of reporting and then be removed and you would still maintain the age metrics since AAoOA isn't factored?

Thanks @cv91915! I've seen you help a lot of people here and I enjoy your wealth of knowledge. Yes, the BK is still showing. I've successfully removed my old address associated with it from one report...working on the other two. For the cap1 negative I'll see what comes out of this most recent dispute. Maybe it will drop early at the very least. I love your suggestion about being added on to old accounts. I'll do that right away. What's the reason not to do AMEX? Lastly, I noticed that you have quite the file and number of cards. Knowing I'd like to strengthen my file at this time too would it be beneficial to get a few more accounts while I'm waiting for the baddies to fall off?

I’ve used credit boards on and off for years… First off, I just want to say thank you to all the amazing and wonderful people here who have helped me so much! I’m trying to get my score above 760. I’m currently sitting at a 673 Fico 8 from Experian. What has helped you the most get to this point? I’m 6 years out of a BK7 in May. All of the old negative accounts are gone except for one Cap1 account due to fall of in May 2020. Positive accounts: I have 2 paid off auto loans since the bk. 1 new auto loan as of Oct 2018 CC’s Secured Visa from a local credit union for 500 Cap1 Quicksilver - 3,500 Cap1 Venture - 15,000 Nordstrom Card - 2,500 Amex Cash Magnet - 5,000 (just got this. Not reporting yet) My utilization is at between 1-6%. I PIF but some have balances before the statements close again. I’m going to try the $2 on one card and see what happens. My average account age is 4yrs 7 months with the oldest account at 10 years 9 mos according to Experian On experian.com it shows what is hurting my score: 1. Negative Items - this shows only the one account from cap1. I sent off another dispute letter so we’ll see what happens. If anyone has some thoughts on this please let me know. 2. Loan Balances - Now that I just got a new car last Oct the percentage of principle paid is only at 2% 3. Short Account History - my oldest account is only 10 years, 9 months. Not sure if there is anything I can do about that. 4. Few accounts paid on time. - FICO High Achievers have an average of 6 accounts currently being paid as agreed. I only have 5. Because of this I added the Amex to bring up the accounts to 6. My Questions: What are your thoughts? I’ve just sat and done the minimums but I see that I need to be more proactive and strategic. Should I try to get the BK off? How to best handle the negative cap1 account? Do I need to add more accounts? My file seems kind of thin. If so, which accounts would you suggest? Thanks for your help!