BT Recommendation?

[RW771]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a BT that best fits my situation. I've never had a BT card, but have recently paid down quite a bit on most of my CC's. Here are my current balances scores:

EX - 674, EQ - 687, TU - 727 (as of today)

I'm not sure what other information you need but just looking for a good BT card that will approve me with the scores above. I currently have 2 Chase cards already, so would I be able to xfer those balances to another Chase card or no?

Thanks for any help you can provide! 

[Simply827]

Since your TU score is looking pretty good, you should try Discover. How much do you need to transfer?

You can't transfer balances between the same lender.

[RW771]

I'd like to transfer around 5-9K. Mine and my husband's combined income is 115K...does Discover use TU? I opted out a few years ago when I bought my house and never opted in, so I never get any offers lol. Now that I'm needing one, I don't have a clue. 

[Simply827]

Yes, Discover pulls TU, but in some instances they may pull EQ for new apps. You're trying to move some sizable balances and one card may not fit your needs if you want to keep utilization in check on a single card. Can you give us some more info on your profile? Util, AAoA, any baddies, etc. Also, do you belong to any credit unions? Also, what cards do you currently have besides Chase? You might have some BT offers already available to you.

[RW771]

The only baddies I have on my credit are 4 medical collections that were PIF back in 2009 & 2010, and they only show up on EX.

Here is what I have so far:

WTXFCU: $5,970K/ $6K @ 8%

Chase Southwest: $3,971/ $5.5K @15.24%

Chase Freedom: $1,761/ $3K @ 22.99%

Lowes: $1,855/ $6k @ 24.99%

Home Depot: $1,256/ $4.5k @ 26.99%

Cabelas: $1,771/ $3K @ 20.99%

Kohls: $952/ $2K @ 21.90%

I belong to 2 CU's, however the one I primarily bank with wants my credit to be better and has always given me low CL's. The WTXFCU card above is another CU I am a member of, but they too are very strict and denied me the last time I applied for a CLI (before I paid down the balances on some of these cards). 

[Simply827]

I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but most of your cards have high utilization and if you apply for a new card, you'll likely get a low limit because of it. Your best course of action is to keep paying your cards down and apply when your utilization is in a better shape.

Another option is to try a personal loan. Lending Club, Prosper, and Sofi let you check rates with a soft pull, so it won't hurt your score. You have good income, so you may be able to secure a loan with lower rates than what you're paying. Use the loan to pay off at least some of your cards and you'll see a score boost and may be in better shape to apply for a 0% BT card.

[RW771]

Yea, that's kind of what I was afraid of. My hope was to move as much as I could to a 0% card, and then just make large payments towards it. I'm planning on doing that anyway, I just hate that a few hundred goes to min. payments but it is what it is! 

I haven't been paying on the WTXFCU since it has the lowest rate, but know that the maxxed out balance is KILLING me. Now that I have most cards paid close to 30% or less, I'm going to pay WTX down and then continue on. 

Thanks for the input, just wanted to see what my chances were if I were to apply for one, but no need for another card with a low CL. 

[Simply827]

You're welcome. Good luck with everything.

[NRB525]

---

@RW771 wrote:

The only baddies I have on my credit are 4 medical collections that were PIF back in 2009 & 2010, and they only show up on EX.

Here is what I have so far:

@WTXFCU: $5,970K/ $6K @ 8%

@Anonymous Southwest: $3,971/ $5.5K @Anonymous.24%

@Anonymous Freedom: $1,761/ $3K @ 22.99%

@Lowes: $1,855/ $6k @ 24.99%

@Anonymous Depot: $1,256/ $4.5k @ 26.99%

@Cabelas: $1,771/ $3K @ 20.99%

@Kohls: $952/ $2K @ 21.90%

I belong to 2 CU's, however the one I primarily bank with wants my credit to be better and has always given me low CL's. The WTXFCU card above is another CU I am a member of, but they too are very strict and denied me the last time I applied for a CLI (before I paid down the balances on some of these cards). 

---

Pay the Freedom down first, leave the TX CU where it is. Getting the Freedom to zero gives you a no interest PIF card for daily use. Then hit the other high APR cards next. Try to lower the TX CU of course, but emphasis on the higher APR will get you there faster.

[Glkslngr]

If you qualify, maybe NFCU. I use them for my BT's due to no transfer fees, low interest rate, and high CL. Otherwise I would use my DiscoverIt if there is a BT promotion.