A few years ago when I was looking to buy a house was the first time I took a serious look at my credit score, history, and how to repair both. Over the course of the next year I managed a complete reversal, raising my score by over 150 points in all three bureaus and keeping close tabs on bills and credit reporting activity.

Last week I applied for a new credit card because having a little more credit would help my rating and I'm at the point now where I can expect to get more than a thin letter explaining why they didn't want to give me their plastic, and a 7.99% card is generally a nice thing to have. I applied online and clicked their 'instant approval' button, hoping for a 'yea' but ready to deal with a 'nay'. What I got was 'um-kay...' They let me know that they couldn't let me know, but that I should expect to hear their decision by physical mail within the next 30 days. To me that means the rejection letter listing the credit bureau used to inform their decision, along with a bulletpoint list of reasons and instructions on how to get a free copy of my credit report.

Surprise surprise today when my credit-watch service sends me an email saying there has been activity on my report, and that there is a new line of credit with the bank from which I requested the card. Funny that I find out I got the card from the credit bureau before the bank even let me know. Like I said, I'm so on top of my credit history. It's a welcome change.