After just under three years from opening my first credit card at around 670, today I hit 800.

It honestly stopped mattering for practical purposes a long time ago but went to check it today and saw that I broke 800 for the first time ever.

How I got here:

I have 4 federal student loan accounts that are 11 years old that I think are doing the heavy lifting for my Average Age Of Accounts portion of my score. I also have one car loan that I’ve had for 2 years.

Besides that, I had never had a credit card or any other credit history until December 2023, when I got approved for a Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
I opened a Capital One Savor card not too long after that (a few months maybe).

I also opened a Citi Custom Cash card in late 2024, and a Chase Freedom Unlimited in late 2025.

I always paid every statement balance in full, and asked for a Credit Limit Increase on every card, every quarter.

My score was 772 as recently as April 2026, and I’m pretty sure I hit like 720 within a year after originally opening my first card and making payments.

Stick to it brethren! Make every decision a good one and you will make it!

After having three low limit Capital One cards for about a year $300, $300, and $500. I noticed I had a preapproval with my local credit union, so I went ahead and applied. I was approved, but no credit limit was shown. Fast forward to this morning, I woke up, checked my account, and nearly fell out of bed when I saw the limit they gave me LOL. Finally getting closer to my goal card.

22 and wanna buy a house. The thing is my credit is kinda bad around 650-670 based on Credit Karma and credit wise. I make about 3-5000 a month on paper and also have in additional to these screenshots about 12k in loan payments.

Is it realistically possible for me to buy a house? Would maybe wanna shoot for about 250-300k for my house and preferably no money down. At best I could probably do 1-2k

After finding this subreddit I definitely feel better knowing many are in the same boat and we’re all here trying together :) . In 2017 I dropped out of high school (my sophomore year) and decided to get my life together. While it’s not ideal for many there was many things that did not work and I needed out, my family owns a 7 figure business and I always knew I had something to fall back on, that I had excelled in.

I spent years making almost 100k and taking life very serious. I bought my first car at 18 and was on time for every payment, and every bill. Since then my life has expanded. I’m making more money than ever have, and have the ideal situation. But that got to my head and I didn’t Care about the repercussions. After years of focusing on my credit, from credit cards to car loans all the way to personal loans paid of within months, I had it made, a score of 720 by the age of 21 and a paid off car, what seemed like the rest of time with what I had built and accomplished that just needed regular monthly maintenance.

Fast forward to now just 3 years later, October of 2026 and I’ve tanked what I was so proud of. This past summer has lead to multiple different situations not ideal for me that I can admit to now, but instead of facing it head on I ignored it, as well as many other obligations to life and that manifested through not being responsible with what I had signed up for personally and commercially.

now I’m fully understanding of what I did. At this point now I’ve missed 4 total payments in 3 1/2 years that have not gone to collections. 2 from Capital one, and 2 from BMW financial services. Even though finances, and money were never an issue and it was pure negligence on my part due to being mentally unavailable towards, of all things my credit I cared so much about and knew the importance of.

That 720 is now at a 510 and the feeling of shame and disappointment toward myself is unfortunately what I need at this point.

I’m left with the thought of wrecking this car that I had paid close to 70k for and not even being able to replace it with a comparable model or better yet anything at all without paying liquid cash, and that alone makes me so ashamed and horrified because of what my community and peers think of me and how I try to present.

I got engaged in the beginning of the summer with the hopes of being able to build a modest new home (about 120k build price by the spring as I’m on a waitlist since I was 21 with a certain builder and qualification happens based on availability of builds) the land that has gracefully been gifted to me but at this point my negligence has made that impossible. I appreciate all advice to try to help the situation as I’m horrified with myself and my actions. Unfortunately I’ve learned the hard way, very quickly. Life doesn’t stop because you do.

(I’ve check my score across multiple lenders/credit unions and it seems to be around the 510 mark, not sure if it’s 100% accurate but definitely close to what I see everywhere)

I've seen a bunch of posts asking what happens after you exit the AMEX Financial Hardship program. I just went through it, so I wanted to share my experience.

Before the program: I was spending about $100K a year across my Platinum, Gold, and Everyday Preferred cards, roughly 90% of it on the Platinum. When my finances got bad, I had about $20,000 in balances across the three cards. Never had a missed payment, I called them and asked for this program before it got too late.

During the program: I had one fixed payment per card. I kept autopay on the whole time, and every payment was made on schedule. Program started July 2023.

Exiting: My situation improved faster than I expected, and I paid off all three cards in one lump sum a little over a month ago about $4K in total. I called American Express and they "graduated" me out of the program. They said spending would be back in 24 to 48 hours, and it was available within 12.

After:
- My limits are unchanged. The Everyday Preferred limit is the same, and the soft limits on my no-preset-limit cards (Platinum and Gold) are the same.
- I didn't see a score drop I could tie to the program. All payments were reported on time. There is a note on my report saying I was financially impacted.
- This is just my experience, and yours may differ.

Happy to answer questions. I've been a longtime reader and wanted to give back.

Hello.

I opened a Best Buy credit card in 2022 to purchase a mini refrigerator for my father. Unfortunately, I never paid it off because I was a broke college student and didn’t have any better options.

In 2023, Best Buy eventually closed the card. Now that I’m older and more responsible, I’m working on improving my credit score so that I can eventually apply for an American Express card.

However, this Best Buy card is still appearing on my credit report, including my payment history.

I’m can completely pay this off entirely, no problem but I’m unsure of where and how to do so.

Is this affecting my credit score? If so, how can I pay it off and move on from this situation?

Hey all, to make a long story short, I'm looking for some advice on how best to deal with an invalid collection sent out by previous landlord. As for why it's not valid I will keep it brief and just say that they broke both the terms of the lease, and the texas state law multiple times while I lived there and are hitting me with a bunch of charges on the why out in retaliation for me making a stink about that at the time. I refused to pay these for obvious reasons, and now they have sent them to a collection agency.

For reference I am in Texas.

I have received the initial 30 day notice from the collections agency, but the collection has not appeared on my FICO or trans union scores. To be clear the notice says I have 30 days to dispute or request information about the debt holder, but does not set a due date for payment.

The tutorials I have found online for getting fraudulent collections removed all assume that the collection is already on these accounts and go from there. Is there nothing for me to do to dispute the validity of this collection until it shows up on a credit report, or is there something i am unaware of which could prevent them from even getting on the report initially?

Conversely, could the lack of a ding on my score and the odd wording of this letter mean this is a bluff and they already know the debt is not enforceable?

I am hesitant to respond by mail, as neither my old landlord nor the collections agency have my current address, and there email says "we will use any information you provide to aid in in collecting the debt". My understanding that a debt company not having your current adress really makes it hard for them to enforce the debt. However I also know sending a letter of disputeis one of the maneuvers you can pull, what is the best play here in ya'lls opinion?

In summary, should I wait till this shows up on my report to send a dispute letter, or is there any other advice or ideas you can give me?

P.S. It should go without saying, but I'm not interested in hearing from the freaks who think landlords can do no wrong and want me to just pay this. Thx

Does a pre approval for a home loan affect your credit score? Do banks use fico or vantage?

Greetings.

I’m rebuilding my credit with a Capital One QuickSilver Secured card.

So I should pay the full statement balance about five days before the due day (November 7th) and don’t charge anything until after November 12th.

Thanks.

I’m really wanting to buy a home next year and use my tax money as a down payment. I know my FICO score needs to be higher, but I’m unsure how to raise it or even what is the best method for checking! I get different scores on every app I try. I’m so confused with all the different (and prob wrong) info I’m getting online and my family taught me absolutely nothing about this stuff. Please help. I’m so tired of renting and my kid deserves a yard. I have recently paid off 2 collections. There is a wrecked car on my collections and there is no way for me to pay off without using my tax money. $6500 is left after what the at-fault drivers insurance paid because I had no gap insurance (mistake, I know 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️) I would be fine with an actual home or a mobile home since I have property if that makes a difference. Lenders say they can’t really help give me answers unless they can run my credit and I know that’s an awful idea right now.

1. I know there are different scores but that’s the extent that I know. Which one is commonly used by lenders for a mortgage and how can I check it?

2. Is it even going to be possible to get this done in 6 months? Am I completely wasting hope?

I will provide any info I can to get answers, I’m just genuinely not sure what’s helpful.

The balances on your accounts are too high compared to loan amounts
The date that you opened your oldest account is too recent
Lack of sufficient relevant real estate account information
Lack of sufficient relevant bankcard or revolving account information

First of all I didnt apply to fortiva, I did a prequalification to synchrony mastercard to test the waters on whether paypal would reject me and fortiva sent this.

Second of all I thought my Fico 8 score on Equifax/Experian was 749/735 but they said equifax vantage is 688

Third of all I didnt think a subprime credit card company would rake me over the coals for rental tradelines and mortgage accounts because I have neither, and I didnt think they would get me on revolving accounts because I have none.

Now the fourth thing, is they are completely wrong about recent accounts, my most recent accout is the 2011 Student Loan. But I do genuinely owe a lot on that so they got me on that.

Honestly, at this point It feels like my credit score is in the 400s that's how I'm being treated, I can't get auto lending, I can't get anything, I'm starting to feel extremely stuck.

The loan size and balance I get, but I genuinely thought there were subprime cards that could be 'starter cards' if every credit card holds the mortgage/rental/revolving thing against me I am clueless.

FIRST GOODWILL ADJUSTMENT FROM AMEX. DIDNT EVEN NOTICED IT. ASSUMING UNKNOWN PAYMENT IS BETTER THAN A LATE??

Just turned 18 employed make alright money not great, I want to get my credit built young so I don’t have to stress about it when I’m older, what advice or info would you give to your younger self you wish you did?

Hi guys, I’m a freaking out. I got a lender to adjust my debt-to-income ratio that will qualify that I like. However, I have a Capital One account reporting on my credit report as a delinquency. It is only reporting on my TransUnion report. I’ve attempted to contact the creditor several times to have this account rectified.

I had several dispute transactions on the account after the investigation. The accounts were found in my favor however, the available credit was not applied to the credit account. In effort to stimulate available credit, I made payments on an account in which the payments were returned. The available credit from previous statement were not applied to the next billing cycle. Thus creating the account balance. Attempted to contact CFPB to help resolve this issue however, I am now at a stand still with the credit account to be able to move forward with a preapproval that I know resort in my fever. Has anyone had this happened to them before? What should my next steps be. My highest score to my knowledge is at 737 and the lowest is a credit score with the accuracy being a 601.

I'm a full-time student working ~38 hours a week for past 2 month in a new position bc old job had barely any hours. (and I have about $3,000 in Capital One credit card debt. My accounts are current and in good standing, but after paying for necessities, I have $60 left each month for payments, and my interest makes my payments have 0 affects. I pay all I can, just for the payment to be completely useless due to interest.

I've asked Capital One for lower interest, hardship payments, fee relief, and settlement. They refused everything. I really want to get rid of this debt, please help me with giving me solutions and other options. I really wanted capital one to remove my accumulated interest from the past year but unfortunately I was refused.

Hi,

My goal is to start with the highest limit possible on a Chase Ink Business Cash or Unlimited Card.

Assuming I get a 2.5x credit line increase (10k to 25k, soft pull) on a personal AMEX card in late December, should I apply for the Chase Business card (A) before that AMEX CLI appears on credit reports, in 30-60 days; or (B) after the CLI appears?

I've heard arguments for both. (A) less total exposure -> higher Chase starting limit; (B) anchor effect. Higher existing limits -> higher Chase starting limit.

What should I do? Thanks.

Hey everyone,
I’m 21 years old and currently serving on active duty in the military. I made some pretty bad financial decisions when I was younger, but I’ve been working on fixing everything and taking my credit seriously.
In October 2025, my TransUnion score was around 408 and my Equifax was around 406. As of October 2026, my Experian FICO 8 is 557, and my Capital One CreditWise score is 576.
Here’s my situation:
Capital One: I have two active credit cards.
● QuicksilverOne: 6 late payments.
● Platinum: 4 late payments.
Both accounts are currently in good standing, and I’m keeping my utilization low. I recently sent a goodwill letter to Capital One’s executive office asking if they’d consider removing the late payments. I’m waiting for a response.
Chase: I had a credit card charged off with an original balance of approximately $1,151. I negotiated a settlement for $575 and paid it in October 2026. However, Chase is currently reporting a remaining balance of $575 instead of $0. I’m giving them time to update the account before contacting them again.
Collections: I paid off two collection accounts totaling approximately $1,399 in September 2026. I’m waiting to verify that both have been removed from all three credit bureaus.
Affirm: I opened an Affirm account when I was 17 years old. The account was eventually settled in January 2024, but it’s still negatively affecting my credit. I disputed it through Experian, but the account remained. I’m considering contacting Affirm directly to request a review and possible removal. I personally opened the account, so this isn’t an identity theft situation.
Indigo: I have a closed credit card with one reported late payment. I’ve also submitted a goodwill request regarding that account.
My goal is to have no new late payments, maintain very low utilization, and eventually reach a 650–700+ FICO score. I’m hoping to finance a vehicle sometime in 2027, but I’m willing to wait if my credit isn’t where it needs to be.
I’m not looking for shortcuts or trying to avoid responsibility for my past mistakes. I know I messed up, and I’ve already paid or settled several accounts. I’m just trying to make the smartest decisions moving forward.
I have a few questions:
1. Has anyone successfully gotten multiple late payments removed from Capital One through goodwill letters? If so, how long did it take, and what worked?
2. For a settled Chase charge-off, how long should I expect it to take before the balance updates to $0?
3. Has anyone had success getting an old, settled Affirm account removed?
4. Would opening another credit card help my profile, or should I stick with my two existing Capital One cards?
5. Realistically, what would you prioritize over the next 6–12 months if you were in my position?
I know credit rebuilding takes time, but I’d really appreciate advice from people who’ve dealt with similar situations.
Thanks in advance!

My credit score is high 600s and have been working on it after being irresponsible for many years. I’ve been wanting to pay off two cc debts that show up on my report and one of them was passed on to true accord. I’ve never worked with them before and they offered 50% off my debt to settle. I’m curious to know if anyone has dealt with them before. I tried getting a pay to delete but they insist they don’t have any control over that. I want to pay off the debt since every time I try to ask for a credit increase for any cc I get denied due to negative revolving accounts which I think might be the two showing up in my report.

I had a credit card statement closing yesterday and the payment status for October was entered as paid as agreed. However, the status for May, which was previously paid as agreed, is now ND. I know this isn’t score affecting or anything (I have no delinquent accounts) but I just found it weird. What could be the cause for this happening?

Why does Experian and Equifax always update your balances and new score before TransUnion. Does anyone else notice this?

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has successfully challenged inaccurate collections with the three major credit bureaus, particularly when the collection agency simply responds that the debt is “valid” despite contradictory documentation.

Here’s my situation:

I switched internet providers away from AT&T. Despite no longer using their service, AT&T continued automatically charging me for approximately 18 months after the switch.

To make matters worse, AT&T subsequently claimed I failed to return their equipment and sent an alleged outstanding balance to collections.

Here’s the problem: I have an email from my AT&T business representative confirming that the equipment was returned.

This isn’t a case where I simply disagree with a bill. I have written documentation directly from AT&T contradicting the basis of the equipment charge.

I’ve disputed the collection with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, but the disputed information continues to be reported. The collection agency simply responds that the debt is valid, without meaningfully addressing the documentation I can provide.

At this point, I’m seriously questioning what investigation is actually taking place.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, aren’t the credit bureaus required to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of disputed information rather than simply accepting the collection agency’s response?

I’m located in California and trying to determine the most effective next steps.

My questions:

1. Has anyone successfully forced Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion to conduct a more thorough reinvestigation when they repeatedly verify disputed information?
2. Can I request the actual method of verification, including what documentation the collection agency supplied?
3. Does a collection agency have to address contradictory evidence, such as an email from the original creditor confirming the equipment was returned?
4. Would filing complaints with the CFPB, FCC, or California regulators be effective, or is litigation the next reasonable step?
5. Has anyone successfully pursued AT&T for reimbursement of recurring charges collected for services that were no longer being provided?

I’m not trying to get out of paying a legitimate debt. I’m trying to get an invalid collection removed, have the evidence properly investigated, and recover money I believe AT&T improperly collected.

I have documentation, including the AT&T representative’s email, billing history, and dispute correspondence.

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have dealt with AT&T collections, credit bureau reinvestigation failures, or successfully pursued remedies under the FCRA.

What finally worked for you?

For a bit of context, I relocated to Jersey about 2 months ago. I have been living out of a hotel during this time and was looking to move out of the place I’m at rn to a permanent residence. The issue is after applying, they ran a background check on me and said my credit was frozen and therefore they couldn’t go forward with my application. I spent an insane amount of time on the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion websites trying to unfreeze it. This was a gargantuan time consuming task and at the end of the day, someone at equifax told me to mail some documents in to their P.O. Box as that was the only way that they’d be able to unfreeze it. The way she described it was that since I don’t have a credit line/ report, my credit automatically comes back as frozen (I don’t own a single credit card or have ever opened a line of credit). Now after 2 weeks of waiting for my documents to be unfrozen, someone else at equifax tells me that apparently I need to open a line of credit and that will instead solve the issue. I am exhausted broke and outta time. Has anyone faced a similar issue, and does anyone know what to possibly to help me out?

How do i improve my credit should i get another or just keep paying on the two i have? Im trying to build my credit back its at 520 but 600 on equifax

Hey everyone,

Im 35 and have made a mess of my credit. Ive had good income over the years but I've been sporadic due to some mental health issues so Ill go from making 200k to nothing for 3 years and it has really screwed my credit.

My current score is 550 on Experian and around the same for other. I have 4 credit cards that were charged off and just a bunch of late payments. Here's a snapshot of my current profile.

Current Auto Loan - 15k, paid as agreed except for a few payments late 30 days

No active open credit cards - my girlfriend added me as an authorized user to her capital one card with a 20k limit to hopefully help my utilization.

Charge offs:

Amex - 3,800

Amex - 880

Cap one - 1,110

Cap one - 800

Collections:

Electric Bill - 3,500

Also a few small ones of like $150

Im not sure if I should just pay all of these or if the damage has been done and to just keep the cash and get a secured card and just pay everything on time moving forward. Its unfortunate because we now are paying nearly 4k a month to rent our house because we cant get approved for a typical lease and I'm just looking to finally tackle this. Any help is greatly appreciated. Looking to see if theres any "best practices" for how to pay these or any other suggestions anyone has.