App for Schwab Invest First

[pmc123]

I have been considering an app for the Schwab Invest first with 2% cash back attached to the brokerage account. However, I have not applied for anything in a couple of years, paid off 25,000 in CC debt over the past 1 year, and have been PIF since the first of the year. I have been fortunate that I have not had a CLD since the sky began falling last year and I want to keep it that way. I have limits of 26K, 18K, 17.5K and 6K currently.

I pulled scores today and have 794 and 764 on this webiste and no baddies to report. I have a mortgage, car loan, student loans and that's it. Income is not an issue.

I am concerned that if I apply for new credit that BofA, USBank, and/or AMEX will give me a CLD.

I don't need the credit, but the 2% cash back reward can add up pretty quickly as we PIF about 8K per month.

What do the experts think?

[jaybird201]

With scores as high as yours, if it were me, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you were carrying balances on your AmEx, that would be a different story, but by paying in full and having high scores, I don't think you'd be likely to have your limits decreased. The only other thing that would give cause for concern would be if you have several recent inquiries/new accounts, which are also red flags for issuers that may prompt a CLD. 

All that being said, stranger things have happened, so if your livelihood depends on those other credit lines staying where they are now, you might want to hold off.

By the way, you may find that BofA isn't comfortable giving you more credit (the Schwab card is issued by a BofA subsidiary if you weren't aware) in which case they may approve you under the condition that you transfer part of your credit line with from an existing BofA card to your new Schwab card. 

Message Edited by jaybird201 on 07-17-2009 10:50 AM

[Anonymous]

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@jaybird201 wrote:

With scores as high as yours, if it were me, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you were carrying balances on your AmEx, that would be a different story, but by paying in full and having high scores, I don't think you'd be likely to have your limits decreased. The only other thing that would give cause for concern would be if you have several recent inquiries/new accounts, which are also red flags for issuers that may prompt a CLD. 

All that being said, stranger things have happened, so if your livelihood depends on those other credit lines staying where they are now, you might want to hold off.

By the way, you may find that BofA isn't comfortable giving you more credit (the Schwab card is issued by a BofA subsidiary if you weren't aware) in which case they may approve you under the condition that you transfer part of your credit line with from an existing BofA card to your new Schwab card. 

Message Edited by jaybird201 on 07-17-2009 10:50 AM

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Is it possible to PC to the Schwab then?

[jaybird201]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@jaybird201 wrote:

With scores as high as yours, if it were me, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you were carrying balances on your AmEx, that would be a different story, but by paying in full and having high scores, I don't think you'd be likely to have your limits decreased. The only other thing that would give cause for concern would be if you have several recent inquiries/new accounts, which are also red flags for issuers that may prompt a CLD. 

All that being said, stranger things have happened, so if your livelihood depends on those other credit lines staying where they are now, you might want to hold off.

By the way, you may find that BofA isn't comfortable giving you more credit (the Schwab card is issued by a BofA subsidiary if you weren't aware) in which case they may approve you under the condition that you transfer part of your credit line with from an existing BofA card to your new Schwab card. 

Message Edited by jaybird201 on 07-17-2009 10:50 AM

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Is it possible to PC to the Schwab then?

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Nope. At one point I had both the BofA Platinum card and the Fidelity Rewards card (issued by FIA Card Services, a BofA subsidiary).

When I saw the Schwab Invest First card was issued by FIA Card Services, I called them up and asked them if I could do a product change, but after calling back several times and talking to several representatives, they all told me I couldn't.

When I applied, they told me that I'd have to transfer part of my credit line from my Fidelity Reawrds card to my new Schwab Invest First card, which I happily did.

[pmc123]

I was not aware that the Schwab card is issued by BofA, so thanks for the infomation.

I have a BofA Signature Visa with 18K CL that we use for all transactions, and another BofA AmEx card with 26K CL that we haven't used in a while. Perhaps they would transfer half of the AmEx 26Kcredit limit over to a new Schwab first invest card???

Makes me wonder, should I call Schwab or BofA about this first.

Message Edited by pmc123 on 07-17-2009 02:05 PM

[jaybird201]

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@pmc123 wrote:

I was not aware that the Schwab card is issued by BofA, so thanks for the infomation.

I have a BofA Signature Visa with 18K CL that we use for all transactions, and another BofA AmEx card with 26K CL that we haven't used in a while. Perhaps they would transfer half of the AmEx 26Kcredit limit over to a new Schwab first invest card???

Makes me wonder, should I call Schwab or BofA about this first.

Message Edited by pmc123 on 07-17-2009 02:05 PM

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Apply first for the Schwab Invest First card. When you go online to check your status, you'll find a number you can call the next day. When you call it you can speak to a credit analyst who will actually look at all of your information and will make a decision while you're on the phone with them (they might ask a few questions about income, current liquid savings, etc). If you're approved, tell them you have a couple of BofA cards and you'd like to transfer part of the limit from one of them to your new Schwab card (this will be in addition to the limit you were approved for). If they tell you it's not possible, don't worry about it, they're probably just misinformed (I had to convince the representative that I spoke with that it was possible to transfer the limit). Once you get your card you can always call the number on the back of the card and they'll be able to help you (again, it might take a couple tries...with things like BofA -> FIA Card Services limit transfers, which are a bit more complicated than then average call, you might get an inexperienced representative that is sooo sure that transferring a limit isn't possible).

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.