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App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

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Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Sorry in advance for the long post, but I have a lot of news to share!!!

 

Bad New First...my scores have dropped especially TU (from all the inquiries I think):

 

As of 10/9/2017  

 

TransUnion 739, Inq= 9 , $102 payments, 9 total accounts, 6 open accounts,  not sure of AAofA but probably same as others since it was my highest score previously

Equifax 765,  usage 3%, Inq=7, $168 payments, 8 total accounts, 4 with balance, AAofA = 8 years 1 mon  total credit = 52k 

Experian 783, usage 3%, Inq = 4, AAofA = 8 years 9 mon,  7 total accounts, Oldest account = 22.4years   Total credit= 50k   

 

 

Good News... I applied for a loan for a new sprinter van with Mercedes ($45k price+tax+extended warranty+fees = $53k)  Initially they said I was approved with TransUnion score of 791,  (no POI, 72 months 3.9%, $0 down !!!!)  but after I signed the papers they said they needed final approval from finance and since it was 7pm Sunday night I'd have to come back tomorrow.  Next day they calld and asked if I could put $15k down  Smiley Sad     My wife was already a little concerned about the monthly payment cost and whether we really needed the Sprinter so I told them I needed to think about it.  The salesman called a couple times over next two days..then sent an email saying congratulations ?????  He then called and said I could pick up the car with no down pmt???   I still had to think it over a day becasue I was considering getting a used one for less money, but after running the numbers the new one seemed like the best deal. I called the salesman and said I was coming to pick it up and he told me I needed to sign some more papers, I asked what papers since I already signed everything and he said I needed to talk to finance.   After a few calls I finanlly got in touch with the  finance guy who told me they had got me a loan with Golden 1 credit union since Mercedes wouldn't do it with no down, and that the rate was lower (3.19%) but they had to add gap insurance so the payment was just a few dollars cheaper.  I said "Did you have to run my credit?" he said "No" I said "did they just use the credit you pulled?" he said "They just did a soft inquiry", I said "Oh...." (Thinking to myself those suckers did a hard pull without my authorization!)  I have credit monitoring and I had seen an alert.  I don't know if something I signed gave them authorization to pull my credit a second time (I doubt it), but they sure did!  Wow.     It was a good result, but had I decided not to get the van and then got denied credit somewhere else I would have been pretty pissed.   I might even have a small case against them if I wanted to pursue it.  But anyway, I picked up my new sprinter a few days ago!!!      It also occured to me that since Golden 1 did an inquiry I might as well see if they would give me a credit card...I called them, they took my credit card app over the phone and approved me for $10k Smiley Happy

 

Another reason I was on the fence about the sprinter is I needed a 2nd car for my wife and I wasn't sure I could qualify for two big loans.  The Golden 1 auto loan wasn't on my report yet so I figured I'b better just apply for the 2nd car asap....  yesterday I got approved for a lease on a new $38k Mercedes GLA ($2000 down, $500/mon)!!  

 

 

Also checked the mail couple days agon and low and behold...a new Chase Saphire card with a $28,500 limit!!!   It feels like Christmas in October.

 

My TCL is now $116,500 as of October 5th,  up from $14,700 August 23,2017!!!    basically $100k credit cards and $90k in car loans in one month of App Spree-ing.   In January 2017 I had TCL of just $4700!!!

 

My scores above reflect all the new inquiries but the car loan, car lease, Chase Saphire, Cap 1 Venture, and Golden 1 cards have not shown up yet.

 

I'm not quite sure what my next move should be.  There is an off chance that I will have an opportunity to buy a fourplex at a really good price, so I need to keep my scores up and usage down.  I may even have to get rid of one of the cars to qualify...but it's such a long shot I didn't want to wait on the cars.   

 

I also need some business financing, so I'm looking at SBA but hopefully my partner can be guarantour. 

 

I feel like I could apply for a few more cards with companies that check Experian or Equifax?  But I don't want to do so much that when the car loans show up plus the new credit and new inquiries my scores are under 720 and I can't get the house.  (I did do a score simulation and it seems that maybe the car loans will actually increase my score???) 

 

I'm also thinking that in 90 days from each credit card approval I should ask for CLIs.

 

I'm hoping my scores will go back up soon, but I'm not sure how long it will take.

 

I'd love any suggestions on strategy going forward.    Gmood1 is my role model right now...I'd like to be at TCL=$500k this time next year. 

 

In retrospect the biggest problems I had were the fraud alerts, the wrong home address, and wrong employer on my reports. Once those were fixed I got approvals like magic.

 

I know this is now a full length novel, but I think the whole experience could be instructive to others!!!!   Thanks again to everyone on this board for the advice and posts that helped me figure this out!!!

 

 

Message 21 of 30
Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Congrats on all those approvals! Very inspiring spree. I had a pretty similar september too x10 TCL and car refi, now I have 16 HPs on EQ and 14 on EX

Message 22 of 30
Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Fraud alerts have been around for 8 years ???

Message 23 of 30
Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Thanks and Congrats on your September Cosmiami!    You have a lot more HPs than I do which makes me think I could go for 4-8 more cards if spread out the HPs between EX and EQ.  What do you think?  How many Inqs is too many?  How much new credit is too much?

 

Anyone know how long it will take for my TU score to come back?   

Message 24 of 30
Gmood1
Super Contributor

Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

I'd chill and let those accounts simmer for 90 days. Your scores will eventually bounce back. In 3 to 6 months, you should be back to where you were originally.
Congrats on your early Christmas! Lol

My TU doesn't move much with new accounts and INQs. I'm waiting for one or two more accounts to report to TU. As of now my score has been unchanged in the last 3 months. That's with 1 new inquiry a month since May. And 2 new accounts reporting over the last two months. I've added more than that, some of them are hidden. I have had some inqs drop off as well. Your AAOA is much longer than mine. So your scores should rebound fairly quickly.
Message 25 of 30
Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Thanks for the tips Gmood1!    I got everything I need for the time being so I will chill until end of December or so when Santa Claus may show up...again Smiley Happy  ha ha.   

 

I have a question for anyone on the board.   What are some of the most creative and beneficial things people have done with extremely large TCLs?   i.e - if you have $500k or $1M in unsecured credit, what might you do to earn or save yourself some money?  buy a small house or a car on a zero interest card?   invest in an income property? buy a business? I'm not really considering any of these things at the moment, but I'm genuinely curious what creative things people have done.

Message 26 of 30
LadyJEsq
Established Contributor

Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Congrats on your spree! I agree with Gmood, it's time to chill. I must say, the amount of debt you've acquired in such a short span of time would totally freak me out. I would also research the CU you're new CC and auto loan is through, they may be conservative, as most CUs are, and some AA could be in your future. And you also mentioned that you have business loans/credit that you have to acquire, IIRC, and I don't think you want to seem to be too much of a risk to them by acquiring so much debt in such a short period of time. Don't let your desire to achieve a fun little goal affect the bigger picture.

 

Just my two cents, you can take it or leave it! Smiley Tongue

**FICO 8 Scores EQ EX TU **


Message 27 of 30
Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Thanks LadyJEsq!  I'm here to learn and I'm definitely going to heed people's advice.  My usage is still very low on the credit cards and I expect that to continue.   The cars feel a little scary to me too, but I was paying almost as much for two compact rental cars a few years ago before my credit improved.   I could defiitely see some of my creditors getting nervous seeing all the new credit, so I will be mentally prepared for an AA.

 

I'm hoping that the $500k TCL is more than just a fun goal (it is a fun goal though!) and that there are some real ways I can benefit (hence my question about creative uses).  I do anticipate needing to carry some balances this year, so right off the bat I'm thinking that a high TCL means my usage is low, my interest rates are low, and my credit score stays high.    The same $10k balance that would have killed my usage and scores in August will now be less than 10% usage and probably have little to no effect on my scores.   I can also likely carry that balance on my zero interest BofA balance transfer card if necessary.     My goal is to carry no balance at all, but I'm also in the middle of launching a new business so we'll see!!! 

 

 

Message 28 of 30
Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Thank you for this! I know it's an old thread, but I appreciate the journey, and I'd love to hear how things have settled a few months later. I'm in a similiar situation, and you've answered all of my questions almost to the 'T' 

Message 29 of 30
Anonymous
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Re: App Spree Now...or App Spree Later? Also, ideas on Credit + Auto rate shopping strategy?

Hey Robin651! 

 

Sorry for the delay in updating.  I got our family the 2 cars we needed and went from $14k in credit to $108k almost over night.  I also applied for a mortgage, but the deal fell through.   My utilization is way up (I have about $30k in credit card debt), but I'm paying it down to $15k tomorrow.   My scores nosedived with all the new credit, high balances, and inquiries, but they have started to creep back up as I've paid my balances down.   

 

I'm hoping that after I get my utilization down to approx 15% I can apply for some new cards next week and possibly a business loan.  I need to carry $20k-$30k for a few months so I want to get a zero % balance transfer card.  Also, still trying to get my TCL up, but I think utilization is going to slow me down.

 

One question I have for the board is if I have just paid down (or off) a card, will that bank be open to an immediate CLI or additional card?

 

Also, my Chase Sapphire, BofA Travel, BofA Cash, Cap1 Venture,  were all opened ~9/25/2017 and Golden1 ~10/17/2017.

Is it too soon to APP Spree again since my new cards are just 5.5mon old?    I have small window where my scores will jump from paying down balances and I want to take advantage if possible.

 

 

Robin651 (or anyone else), let me know if you have any specific questions.  

 

Thanks in advace for any help or ideas everyone!

Message 30 of 30
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