My Vantage Score (yes, I know, but until I get my monthly FICO update this is what I have to go off of) just dropped by 20 points (730 -> 710) after four months of consistent increases. I've checked the actual report to make sure there were no new accounts/fraud/missed payments anything like that. The only things I can think of are these:

• I was late on my electric bill by one day
• My utilization increased from 31% to 33% (perhaps moved me into a different bucket?)
• I got a 20% CLI, but my utilization didn't decrease (maybe lenders would be concerned that my spending increases with CLIs and that means I'm not responsible? This only impacts my debt-income ratio by 0.5%)

Any thoughts about it any of these could be the culprit, or maybe it's just random noise? Just want to try and be cognizant of anything that could cause this level of impact.

I am fresh out of chapter 7 bankruptcy as of 2 months ago. Prior to my BK I had every major credit card and my score was excellent. Score started dropping when cards were balance chasing me. My payment history for last 20 years was perfect. Job loss led to the overuse of the cards then BK. My available credit across all cards was around $175k.

I recently got 2 Capital One cards (Savor and Quiksilver) both $4k limits. Am I to assume these are bucketed cards? I am not quite sure what this term means but seeing it after reading a few posts. My plan for rebuilding is the 2 cards and my non filing spouse (with excellent credit) will be adding me to their Citibank or Chase Card as an authorized user.

My questions:

-My gut says to stay away from the predatory cards. Or should I at least get one more card? It seems Capital One is really the only for somewhat non-predatory lender. My credit karma keeps sending me messages that I have outstanding odds for a new but none seem like a good idea.

-When can I expect to get approved for prime cards....Citibank, AmEx, Chase, BofA, US Bank, Wells Fargo? I burned them all unfortunately.

-I am expecting this to take a long time to dig my way out of my low score so not looking for a quick fix. I think it is low 620s right now, which is actually higher then when I filed. I just want to have a solid plan.

Appreciate any advice.

Ive been rebuilding my credit for the last 5 years or so. Finally had a charged off card from 2019 fall off my account a few months ago and shot my credit up 100+ points. I dont spend a TON at costco but both of my CapOne cards are MasterCard (which isnt accepted at Costco) so i had to use my debit card which i hated. This is also my highest limit but will primarily be used as a gas card (5% at costco, 4% other gas stations) and my Costco shopping card (2% on top of my 2% for being an executive member). Idk why but I’m just really happy about this haha

Alright so as you can see i have two collections one for 1211 and a 3nd for 3,073 (started off as 3,074)

I then got an update saying some of my collection had been paid off. They gave me a new total of 3,073 and said my cr would update in 19 days.

But im confused. Are they saying my 1211 was removed or is ir referring to my 2nd one since my 3,074 fell by a dollar?

Also, the one for 3,073 is from a loan in 2021. Will it fall off in 2028 or will it be 7 years from the date of collection?

i've been aggressively paying off debt all year. I gave up my apartment and moved into my work truck and have been working everyday for the last 5 months. Before that i worked everyday for 3 months straight. So for the past year i've took off twice. both times were 4 days. all my credit cards are paid off. same with the "other" loan & i've paid most of my student loans i only owe 6k now & plan to pay that off by december . i do have a repo it isn't showing up on here but im on a payment plan with ally bank. will start at her aggressively paying that next year after im done with my final student loan.

I can’t believe it tbh they replied back in less than a week

I just wanted to inform everyone that BOA removed my moms late payment that was over 30 days late. I emailed the ceo and clientcare and was just being polite. The situation happened after a payment was made to bring the account to zero and then for some reason the system removed autopayments and there was a small lingering interest charge that was ignored.

Her credit had dropped 90-70 pts but 3-4 days after the correction by BOA the credit agencies corrected it and now it’s back up. Thought it would take 30-60 days. Anyways if someone’s situation is similar, dont give up!

I wanted to share a victory with everyone who’s been working hard to rebuild their credit. Hopefully, my experience can help someone else.

Over the last few years, I’ve been actively rebuilding my credit, improving my payment history, managing debt, and cleaning up old negative accounts.

My last remaining derogatory credit-card account was an old Chase charge-off. According to my Experian credit report, the account was scheduled to remain on record until September 2026

Rather than wait, I decided to try getting it removed early from all three credit bureaus.

Here’s how it went:

TransUnion — SUCCESS! (20 MINUTES!)
Resolved 6/23/2026

TransUnion was by far the easiest.

I didn’t have to call or speak with anyone. I simply went online through CK(Credit Karma) website and submitted a dispute requesting removal of the old account.

To my surprise, within approximately 20 minutes, the account was gone!

No phone calls, no supervisors, no back-and-forth. Just an online submission and a successful removal.

Experian — SUCCESS! (PERSISTENCE REQUIRED)
Resolved date 8/28/2026

Experian was a different story.

My Experian credit report specifically stated “On record until September 2026.”

I called to request an early exclusion and was initially told to call back on August 26. Being a little impatient, I decided to try calling on August 25 anyway.

The first representative told me I had to wait until the 26th. The second representative submitted an early-exclusion request, but processed it as a dispute.

A few days later, I called again. Another representative explained that he would cancel the pending dispute and push through the early exclusion instead.

He told me the process would take approximately 24–72 hours and that I’d receive an email when completed.

Shortly afterward, I received confirmation:

“This item was removed from your credit report.”

VICTORY!

Equifax — SUCCESS!
Resolved date 10/12/2026

I’d heard Equifax could be the toughest, so I saved them for last.

On 8/30/2026, I made my initial call to Equifax to inquire about the scheduled removal date for my old Chase charge-off. The representative informed me that the account was scheduled to fall off on 12/28/2026.

I explained that I had been working diligently to rebuild my credit over the last several years and wanted to request an early exclusion as a courtesy, considering the account was approaching the end of its reporting period.

During that initial conversation, I was given a case number to reference regarding my request and to follow up in two to three weeks.

I followed up with another phone call(after waiting) and was told that it was “still pending”. Yesterday I called again; I was transferred to a supervisor and I again explained that I wasn’t disputing the accuracy of the account, but simply requesting consideration for an early exclusion. And just like that, the representative was able to accommodate my request, the account was removed from my Equifax credit report.

What made this particularly satisfying was that Equifax had given me a scheduled removal date of December 28, meaning I was able to get the account removed nearly four months early from my initial call.

THE RESULTS

My Equifax credit scores improved:

FICO 8: 696 → 717 (+21 points)
VantageScore: 618 → 645 (+27 points)

My Experian FICO is currently 712.

My TransUnion VantageScore is currently 634.

And here’s the interesting part: my overall credit utilization is still around 60%, meaning I have plenty of room for further improvement.

WHAT I LEARNED

1. Every bureau handles these requests differently. What worked for TransUnion wasn’t necessarily the process Experian used.
2. Check the expected removal date listed on your credit report before requesting an early exclusion. The dates and procedures may differ between bureaus.
3. Be polite and persistent when speaking with representatives.
4. If you’re told no, ask when the account becomes eligible and whether a supervisor can review it.
5. Be clear about what you’re requesting. An early exclusion is different from claiming an account is inaccurate.
6. Approval isn’t guaranteed, and another person’s experience may be different.

THE BIGGEST WIN?

This was my LAST negative credit-card tradeline. After years of rebuilding, it’s finally gone from all three bureaus.

Now my focus is on lowering utilization, eliminating high-interest debt, and continuing to build a stronger financial future.

I’m sharing this because I know how discouraging rebuilding credit can be, especially when you’ve been putting in the work for years but still have old mistakes following you.

Sometimes patience pays off. Sometimes persistence pays off. In my case, it took both.

Consistency compounds. Keep going!

I am considering a DRP through Money Management Intentional who seem to be members of NFCC. Does anyone have opinion on how good they are on these plans. I have seen what they are offering on DMP and it looks very promising but I would have to pay more than I can 😩

I sent the CEO of Amex an email , has anyone gotten any luck with this ? I also have another card with 3x late payment I’m hoping to get those adjustment as well.

Hello!

I am working on trying to improve and rebuild my credit. I currently have two cards that got sent to collections and closed off (capital one quicksilver and chase freedom). Both of those have $1100 balance. I made the mistake of using a program that was supposed to help my credit but actually tanked it. I have two open credits (care credit and a discover it). Discover is at $900 care credit is $600 and they have a hardship assistance program I can utilize. I had never had a late payment prior to signing up for that program and my score was high 600s before the collections. According to the Experian app my score is 609 and credit karma says 585. I definitely learned from my mistakes and want to not make those same ones again.

I want to know which would improve my score more after payments either paying off the two collections first or focusing on the two open cards. have some extra money I can pay off two of them right away so I wanted to see which would help my score the most first if there would even be a difference.

So I’m trying to login into my family’s credit bureaus but I get blocked most of the time specially on Equifax and TransUnion whether it says that the account is suspended or it doesn’t simply allow me to login.
Do you guys have any tips on how to get around that?
ps. I live abroad currently, so could me not being in the US currently a problem?
I also tried using vpns

Swamped with payday/tribal loans, I’m in a really good position now to pay them off. Several have gone to collections or debt collectors. Still within the 8 years to file bankruptcy. Vet if that helps. Together they’re about 20k spread over like 10 loans.

Brought my score from 655 to 547

Was seeing if I should just pay everything and everyone off as is or could I write to them to pay to delete from my report if that’s a thing.

Not worried about getting 800 in my lifetime just want to survive and clean up my credit enough to buy a home. Any advice is helpful.

EDIT: PAID

Or just continue to pay my monthly bill on time?
Which do you think will increase more points?

My Chase Credit Journey score (VantageScore based on Experian data) dropped from 666 on October 6 to 634 on October 13. The “Recent changes” section lists:

• Account balances decreased
• Credit card balances decreased
• AMEX utilization decreased, although it’s still my card with the highest utilization
• Total available credit increased

These all seem positive, and my FICO score directly through Experian actually increased.

Does this section just list changes rather than explain the drop? Could the different scoring models explain this?

I also lost my driver’s license last month and have since replaced it, so I’m concerned about possible identity theft. Should I worry, and what should I check?

For context i did a pre qualification for a credit card because i was curious and the issuer was Mission lane. On the website it told me with bold letters WILL NOT IMPACT YOUR CREDIT, but they did impact my credit and on the submit button it says the same thing again, but then i still got a hard inquiry. I called them they closed my account but they won’t send me a letter saying they were not allowed to access my credit because they don’t do that and they won’t do anything about it. I called transunion and Experian said i still have to contact them. I’m completely lost and don’t know what to do

I had a fico credit score of 780 and added a new credit line and it dropped down to 728. Sucks but it is what it is. My current card holder length is nearly two years now. My discover still flags it as "poor" when looking at my credit factors. I just prefer having a high score if possible so I'd like to know how many years do I have own a credit card until the time of ownership benefits me?

Currently am with Sallie Mae and getting hammered by interest so am looking to refinance. I can find low interest rates but everything is about $500-900 a month.
Is there any way I can get both? Or it genuinely impossible.

Adding my data point: first letter sent to Capital One on 9/27/26 asking for 9 late payments (I had a very hard year with job/unsafe housing situation and didn’t know anything about $) from 2024 removed. They called the next morning and denied it siting the typical accurate reporting line. I sent another letter with some tweaking on 10/09/26, got a call that evening for some information gathering and was given a case #. Second call from the same person today (10/13/26) and she denied my request. Just tweaked my letter again and sent it out again. I’ve sent it to multiple emails and hoping third time is the charm. I have high credit utilization as I am working part time while I finish school but have managed to build some savings and make every payment since on time. Hoping others have had success in similar cases and hoping this time it works for me!

I’ve had my first and only credit card with chase (freedom). I will make around three years with the card, always making my payments on time, and a credit score of 736. I never got a credit increase for whatever reason but I’m ok with it since i mostly just do one purchase of my cats medication or a deserved shopping day. I recently got approved for the Sapphire preferred and a Slate card. I the sapphire offered a higher spending which I would prefer but i don’t know how taking a new card will affect my score. Any advice?

Hello friends. Below are a few tips for what to include and attach in your dispute letters.

For those who haven't seen my comments or posts before, I'm a credit attorney. That means that I sue the credit agencies, creditors and collection agencies, when we find serious errors or misconduct, involving credit reports and debt collection.

We focus mainly on issues involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is the federal law that regulates the credit agencies. We also occasionally handle Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) issues, involving collection agencies.

As I have elsewhere on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/CRedit/comments/1el647h/credit_attorney_tips_advice_for_disputing_with/), it's best if you dispute by certified mail, rather than online. The address for each credit agency is in that link.

What should you include in your dispute letters?

1. Your full legal name. This one is obvious.
2. Your date of birth. This helps the credit agency identify you.
3. Your mailing address. Of course, this helps them know where to contact you, and to match you to your credit reports.
4. The last four digits of your Social Security Number. In the past, I used to suggest that you include your full SSN. I'd still suggest that if you have a case of a mixed credit file. However, for everyone else, the last four digits is enough.
5. Any proof of the error you're disputing. For identity theft, that would be a police report and an FTC report. For an account that was paid but is listed as unpaid, that's proof of payment. The evidence varies, but attaching it is always a good idea.
6. Attach a current copy of your photo ID. Avoid an expired ID. If it does not match your current address, that's fine.
7. Proof of your address. Utility bills, apartment / house leases and mortgage statements are great. So are insurance bills. Cell phone and credit card bills work fine, though I do seem them rejected sometimes (a stall tactic).

As always, you'll want to allow for a bit over 30 days after they recieve the letters, to obtain a response. At that point, you can assess whether another dispute is needed, or if the error was fixed.

Do y’all think they will remove it from my credit after I pay them?

I was just messing around and decided to check for a pre approval for the venture x. Knowing it would be a no, just curious what the letter would say.

As expected, it was a no. The letter initially says too many recent accounts opened, which makes sense. But then when I went to the bottom it showed my score from transunion at a 619. Which shocked me. With their credit wise app that uses TU it’s a 691, with Amex and Experion is a 714. I also just leased a car a month ago and it was a 685 (mid to high 680s) pulled from multiple places.

Any idea why it shows so low?

Long story short, I've been on a credit journey for a few years, my second stretch goal was to get an Amex Gold, which I got to, but also at the same time I got an Amex Platinum. I don't relish the idea of paying both fees, but I'm ok with that if that's how it goes, but in under one year with both of those would it cause my credit to drop if I closed the gold?

Thanks! Happy to answer any additional questions