Question.....

[Anassa613]

I was interested in knowing if you can reaspply to a card that you put in Bankruptcy. For example I had a Macys card that I had no choice on putting in my bankruptcy. However it says for rebuilding that store cards are optimal choices.

[bkfiler]

yes can always reapply to any credit your want. they may not accept you due to the fact that you bk'ed them however. every store is different. over time most will let you back in, a few probably wont until many years later.

building your credit is very important. a mortage is the very best. then visa mastercards are second best. then car loans and then store cards. thats pretty much the order give or take on whats best for rebuilding your credit. so you can see store cards are not as good as credit cards in general.

you should receive offers in the mail each month and it will get better and better as you get father away from your bk discharge. imo try to wait for one that has low annual fees and no monthly fee. and if you are using it just to build credit then you shouldnt keep high balances anyway so the APR wont matter much.

[StaciMM]

As I hear it, a variety of types of accounts is good-but not having a visa/mastercard limits what progress you can make.

Its probably not a good idea to idea to apply for cards you previously defaulted on. Keep in mind that most stores/gas cards have someone else behind them-like I believe Shell is backed by Citicard so if you Bk'd on Citicard, Shell will probably deny you.

Perhaps try Target or Walmart? (Walmart is GEMB I believe.) I've heard them to be 'friendly' after BK.

[Anassa613]

Thank you

[Anassa613]

Should i wait to get discharged before rebuilding my credit?

[bkfiler]

attorneys all tell us hands down you should do nothing different at all until after your discharge. thats the safest bet.

however, most of them make sure you know to not do anything until at least after the 341 meeting is held. thats what i did. you should probably at least stick to that to be safe.

but, to be honest, any credit you take on is your own problem now and its probably ok to do so. you cant bk it so its your problem.

as far as if you can get any credit, if its decent credit, will you get beter offers if you wait until after discharge, etc thats a different story.

my only strict advice is that dont get credit to use it to buy things. get credit only to help you build your credit scores - toward a house and car loan only. cash is king otherwise and works well.

[StaciMM]

Keep in mind that the more time has passed since your BK filing, the better the likelihood of approval. And, applying for things puts inquiries on your report which makes it harder to get approved. So-apply for things very carefully. Research as much as you can-such as by searching the 'bankruptcy friendly' creditors at creditboards.com. Only apply if you think there is a decent chance of being approved. Otherwise, it will make it harder to get started re-establishing.

Ones to avoid, as they are known for being bankruptcy-UNfriendly, whether you Bk'ed them or not:

American Express
Bank of America
Citibank
Discover

[jennga]

Annassa, I miss my Macys card. I didn't have a high balance on it and only really used it at Christmas because it is so much fun to get something from Macy's at Christmas. I still get all the catalogs and fliers. Now that is a card I would reapply for because we don't have a store close by and I had to mail order and kept it fairly current.

[bkfiler]

you can still buy things at macys using a credit card that will help you rebuild your credit faster. imo, store cards are not as helpful as credit cards. wiat for a decent offer of a low annual rate and no monthly fee and get it.

[StaciMM]

For the standard 'prime' card issuers-they don't have to lose money in the BK! As I hear it, they are not likely to approve anyone with a BK unless it is fairly old. Even for BoA's secured card-they require 5 years to pass...

[jennga]

Yea, I don't need the Macys. I got plenty of time to see what offers come in. Honestly I am not all the hyped about getting any more cc's but I do understand I need them to rebuild the credit.