The Chase Sapphire Preferred card was my first premium credit card.
Before that, my credit history was full of collections, defaults, and charge-offs. My credit score was in the low 500s.
In early 2012, I resolved to finally get my credit under control. I used my tax return (in conjunction with my full-time job at the time) to pay down my credit cards to $0. I started making big payments at the end of January.
By late February, my credit score shot up to 702! Pretty amazing – but was I ready to apply for a premium card?
