Thread: Credit cards after chapter 7 bankruptcy?

Good Morning folks,

Let me start of my fist post by extending my sincere thanks to all the dedicated ad helpful members on this forum. The information you provide is priceless.

In an effort to reduce multiple posting, I will try to ask multiple questions in this posting.

I filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Jan of 2002 (terrible times) it is showing a drop date of May and August 2012 on my credit report, I was under the impression that the drop date should reflect 10 years from the filing date, anything that I need to do? They call it a fresh start but to be honest what I have paid in outrageous insurance rates and 29.99% interest rate, “Bill me later”.

Is this filing always going to be visible even after the drop date or deleted?

One of my creditors was American express blue; I believe I owed them about 1600.00, few online posting indicated that American express uses internal records and will never issue you another card should your account be included in a bankruptcy filing? I wish is to apply for the delta gold card to help with my frequent traveling.

I have a few late payments about 5 years ago while I was in college, but cleaned up almost all the negative aspect of my credit. My fico is at 720 and I have a few major credit cards that are joint accounts with low balances. I have so much to ask about current cards and interest rates, so I will end this one here .

First of all I hope your kidding about the Delta gold card? when you say May-Aug did you mean 2012 or did you actually mean May-Aug 2011?

I didn't know credit cards have 29.99 apr. I thought charge cards have 29.99 percent because you can only use them in the store and outlets.

so you owe American express 1600 is that paid off, do you still need to pay them? where are you with this amount?

If your American express is in bankruptcy filing, you will have to wait a very, very long time before you get approved.

I'm glad your 5 years of late payments and negativity are over.

so which major credit cards do you have? and what year did you get them?

I would normally say call your credit report companies, but being people are very lazy and nobody answer phones, I guess you can call American express and ask them that question about your drop date. mention to them that all the people who work for credit reports are stupid like chase.

when you say you travel quite frequently, do you mean you travel on business and you get an expense account? or do you travel with your parents, friends or a mutual partner?

Thank you for your reply, I was not kidding about the delta gold but maybe I should lower my expectations.

Back in 2004 my joint chase card was late twice and it was reset to the default rate of 29.99%, every time I call case CSR for rate adjustments, the answer is always you have two late payments and rates cannot be adjusted. I carried a balance on it for a while because I had limited choices but not anymore.

In 2001 the 1600 I owed AMX was included in my chapter 7 bankruptcy filing; it was never paid or settled, the case was discharged in January 2002. Currently I have a Mortgage with Chase opened in 2010, Discover Card opened in 2010, Sears Card opened in 2010, Cap One opened in 2003, JC Penny opened in 2003, Household Card opened in 2003. None of the above accounts have a late payment. For joint accounts I have the Chase Card since 2004, US Bank (formally Northwest Airline) since 2005.

I do a lot of traveling for both business and pleasure; I have a company card but give me no incentives, so I shy from using it. I avoid carrying a balance on any account unless I have (under 500 dollars). I can dispute the drop date of the bankruptcy but I will prefer knowing rather than assuming that I can file a dispute.
Thanks for your assistance.

so things are more clear now. you owe american express no money. you mentioned the case was discharged in 2002, however american express will look at it this way - you charged money on your blue card, with interest it added up to 1600 and you filed for bankruptcy.

the only american express I would suggest to you is the lowest level card which would be the clear card.

It has been 9 to 10 years since the situation happened. you could wait a few years if you wanted to or you can try for the clear card.

now let's look at how you like your Discover and which design do you have? I have the black and my membership date is 1998.

so you have a sears charge, a capitol 1, a JCPenney's, a household bank, a chase card and a US Bank. to be honest with you since you have 5 credit cards (2 might be a joint account but you can still use them). you have 2 charge cards, have you looked at any or all of your credit reports to see if the bankruptcy is still there? If it is, I would suggest you keep all 7 cards and don't bother on applying for that clear card. if it's over you can try or you can wait to apply for it.

The reason you get no incentives on the company card is because they pay for all of your travels. since you do travel for business, talk to your supervisors and ask them what credit cards they want you to use. you may be able to get an American Express card this way. they may say you have to stick with what you have been using.

I agree everybody should have at least a Visa/Mastercard, Discover and an American Express.

Not only do I appreciate your reply, your responses are factual. I applied yesterday for the clear card with the attitude that I have nothing to lose, I checked today and it was approved.

My discover card is the Discover More card Membership date 2010, funny thing is one of your forum member posted that bank has a tendency of lending money to people that do need it. I had a high balance, paid it off and discontinued using the card. I don’t recall what department called me but they wanted to know why I am not using my card and take advantage of the 5% cash back, I explained my situation and indicated that the credit limit was low and an inconvenience for my spending habit, it was increased to almost double.

How long do you recommend before I attempt applying for the Delta Card or do you not even recommend that card at all. My only reasons for applying will be access to Sky team lounges and the bonus miles. Without any hard effort, I use to qualify for platinum with delta but it is no longer a first choice anymore, the cheapest priced airline is my company’s first choice.

I am going to pull my CR to see if i have any negative item pending.

Thanks this is good info to know! But how about those who filed more recently? What would be the best credit cards after having a chapter 7 bankruptcy about a year and a half ago? Are secured my only option?

While many folks will recommend secure cards, I avoided them completely. I went with high interest rates unsecure cards like orchard bank, merrick bank, capital one and JCPenneys or Lowes offered by GE Bank. These cards are easy to get but dangerous if you don’t change your spending habits. The interest rates are 24 to 29% and at that rate if you miss a payment or two, you’re heading for the red zone. I recommend trying to apply for one of the above and hopefully you will be content with a smaller credit limit which I strongly recommend simply because it is easily controlled. The credit market is different today than it was years ago, if you cannot get one of the above, go with a secure card.
Hope this helps

what I would say about your Delta gold, talk to your supervisors at work the people who are in charge of your traveling, what credit cards your aloud to use. explain to them what happened and ask them to call American express, have them talk to American express and see if you can get a gold delta credit card. If this doesn't work

what I would do call them tell them what happened with your blue card, you want to pay back what you owe, even though in your eyes your case is over in American Expresses eyes they view you as you charged 1600 and never paid them back
what I would do is pay the whole thing if you can but get them money, while using your clear, paying them back in full after a while 6 months to a year you can then try for the Gold delta.

Originally Posted by Money card

what I would do is pay the whole thing if you can but get them money, while using your clear, paying them back in full. after a while, 6 months to a year, you can then try for the Gold delta.

You don't need to pay back a dime that was covered in bankruptcy.

Instead of applying for a new card, you could try asking for a product change from a Clear card to a Gold Delta card if that's what you want.

If i have to pay them back that will be a total waist of all the misery i went through. The product change you suggested will be a good option if that option is available. One thing that is confusing me is how can i get approved for one of their card but denied for another because of past experience?
Seriously of the 1600.00, I didn’t even see a dime; after my EX left me all I saw was the true definition of joint accounts and authorized users.