Comments on: Which Credit Cards Are Easiest To Get After Bankruptcy?

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:12:12 +0000

Both Orchid and Capital One worked for me. It is less than a week since my bankruptcy has been discharged, and after reading advice on how to re-establish credit I decided to apply for both of these cards. Orchid approved me for a unsecured card with a limit of $300, and Captial One gave me a limit of $2000. I am not big on credit cards, but want to get approved for a mortgage as soon as possible, so hopefully using these as recommended will help get my credit to a point that I will get approved for a mortgage before prices go up too much. I had close to a million dollars in debt prior due to real estate investments, and when the bubble busted, I was too far invested in vacation property real estate to get out without bankruptcy…next time I will only buy what I can afford, and not depend on renters to help pay mortgages…

By: Luke

Luke — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 01:24:11 +0000

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the amazing information! My bankruptcy was discharged in September 2011. A week after, I was approved for an Orchard Bank Gold Mastercard. After reading all of your stories, I just applied for a Capital One Classic card and was approved! I am just so excited to be rebuilding my credit and handling it responsibly. I made a lot of mistakes when I was 18-20 with credit. I am now 28 and working very diligently and hard to ensure that my credit will be in the 800′s. Thank you again for the amazing information and good luck to you all!

By: Brelan A

Brelan A — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:53:51 +0000

i wasnt filed sep/2011 and havent been discharged yet.. recieved a app for premier bank credit card @ 39% and 700 cl.. this was in october..(still pending discharge) and today i have my card.. 150 setup fees.. which i already knew from the app.. i was scared to really get the card after hearing such bad things about it.. but from my experiance.. if you enroll online (4.95) its no charge for online bill payments ect.. if you can look past the high intrest rate.. then its not so bad.. i will deal with this card and keep it.. being they was the first bank that approaved me (it felt really great ) lol. but if you can manage to get one and pay the 150 off in at least 2 months.. i would highly recommend it.. the fees arent so bad. besides.. if we all did right with credit in the first place.. we wouldnt need the fp bank credit card.. im not going to apply for any more anytime soon tho.. i will have this and my student loan on my credit .. and after about 9 months post i will apply for cap one and orchard.. i have heard that its best to wait for offers.. is this true?

By: JR

JR — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 03:44:17 +0000

Good info here – Thanks recently applied online for Capital One CC approved for $2,000 credit line at 17.9 $39 annual fee – their Classic Platinum Card. Ch.7 Discharged July 2009. I know this is credit card info but those with high interest car loans ask a local credit union if their loan guidelines will allow for a discharged BK, most will either 18-24 months, but will look for no negative credit since discharge. If so, and have low debt to income ratios should be able to improve on rate and term.
Recently refinanced and lowered interest rate by 6%! I shortened term and still lowered payment. They were willing to make 2 auto-debits from checking account per month to keep cash flow manageable and timed with paycheck cycles.

Any other post BK friendly banks, lenders, credit cards, etc would still be great to know of.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:54:46 +0000

A week after BK7 was discharged, I was approved for a Capital One Standard Platinum Card $500.Limit/$29.Annual Fee, waived first year.
Just a few helpful tips on rebuilding your credit.
1. Remember the 30% rule, NEVER charge more than 30% of your credit limit no matter how small it is. It’s proven by many in credit reporting staying at or below 30% will automatically trigger credit increases at least every six months.
2. STOP applying for credit cards, I know this is hard to do, but believe me it says your desperate and that will bury your credit score. If you need credit, apply once every three months at most, no more than four inquiries a year.
3. WAIT for things to fall off and challenge everything, all three credit reporting bureaus allow you to challenge everything on your credit report. If your wrong, it simply stays there, if your right it disappears and that’s one extra step towards taking off the past.
4. MONITOR your credit report, after bankruptcy this is your time to monitor your baby like a seedling, watch it grow and remember it takes time to build it back. In a few years you will see the progress.

Best of luck, I’m in it for the longhaul such as you are, remember there’s more of us out there than people know and we are growing by the hundreds every day.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:43:34 +0000

In response to Karen L, I also recently went through bankruptcy Chapter 7, was discharged in January 2011, and finally dismissed in April 2011. Just applied to see what would happen for a credit card, I read various information from many sites and decided to try Capital One to see if I would be denied or approved, I did this on-line, took about 60 seconds and was approved just like Karen’s, $500 limit, 24.9 interest rate, annual fee $29 waived for 1st year. Good luck guys and hang in there

By: Karen L

Karen L — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:14:55 +0000

my chapter 7 was filed last yr and discharged in oct/2010. It always looked like i would only be able to get a secured credit card in order to start rebuilding my credit. I bought a car (post bankruptcy) with decent interest rates but thought a credit card would be pushing it. I took advice here and went to capital one platinum and was surprised that i was approved within minutes..(started with the preapproval process for a variety of different cards on their site)…so $500. limit, 24.9% interest, and a minimal annual fee. no deposit, no secured card…Thanks for the insight, now i have another way of rebuilding without my own security.

By: Shaun

Shaun — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:23:22 +0000

To Eric

I read your comment and wanted to let you know that you can write a letter asking that the bankruptcy be removed due to your good credit standing… You can do this if you have been discharged for 7 years so you don’t have to wait 10 years like they tell you. Again, as long as you have sustained good credit management since your bankruptcy and it has been at least 7 years… they will remove it. Write all 3 credit bureaus.

By: Ed P

Ed P — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:30:17 +0000

I am 49 years old. a divorce and loss of $50,000 on the sale of my home left me $65K in debt. Most of my paycheck was going to pay the debts; then I got laid off in March 2010. I Chapter 7 in 4/2010, and worked closely with my Attorney. I was discharged in 6/2010 with the courts requiring $0 payments. I was out of work for most of 2010 and just began a new job as an engineer. I ended up pawning my automobile title and selling much of my stuff real cheap. I cashed in my life insurance and 401K. I waited until I was re-employed and applied for new credit cards. Capitol One gave me $500 line of credit at 24% while Orchard Bnak gave me $750 at 14.9%. I did manage to get my FICO score back up to 692 (it was 730 before I filed Chapter 7). I would suggest anyone who wants to rebuild their credit to pay for and follow Free Credit Report DOT COM. Then once you are comfortable with applying for credit again that you apply to Orchard Bank. My credit limits are low, but my goal of getting my FICO back to 700 by the end of 2011 looks like it will happen. Also when you apply for these cards, get the involuntary layoff insurance for about 35 cents on each $100.

By: kc

kc — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 23:47:01 +0000

I just got discharged from you Chapter 13 Bankruptcy about a month ago. I got denied by Capital One, Bank Of America(which I have over 25K in their bank), Wells fargo(which I have over 5K in their bank) and Citibank and all of these are secured cards. Am I doing something wrong?