Balance Transfer Advice?

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

Hi,

I have been working really hard over the past few years to improve credit scores and pay down my debt. I paid off my smallest CCs first, and used balance transfer offers on my Sears MC to help me pay them off quicker. I am down to 2 cards: Walmart MC ($2807 bal with $7500 CL) and Gap Visa ($4857 bal with $9600 CL- just auto increased from $7200 last week). I am weighing out what to do. I have a Sears MC (Citi) with a 0% for 12 mos bal trans offer, but only a $3200 CL. When I did my last balance transfer in Dec 2014, they gave me a CLI (resulted in 2 HP, one day a part, for some reason!). I was thinking of applying for a card with a better balance transfer offer (i.e. Citi Simplicity- I just got an offer in the mail for 0%/21 mos, or maybe Chase Slate). I don't want to apply for a card if I may not get it, or a decent CL. My scores are: CK- 751 (TU)/761 (EQ), WMMC FICO 768, credit.com 727, CS- 750. I assume the recent CLI on Gap V should increase my score slightly once it shows on my CRs. The Citi prequalified site lists the Citi Simplicity card as an offer, but I realize there are not any guarantees. My only inquiries are 2 from Citi in Dec 2014. When I applied for a CLI, I ended up with 2 HP (1 on 12/10/14, and the other on 12/11/14...still not sure why this happened and the Sears MC rep could not tell me either).

I recall when I transferred my last balance to the Sears MC, my credit score took a dip for a couple of months (I transferred a $2200 bal from a CL of $5800 to a CL of $3200). I am hoping to avoid any serious/long term credit score dips, since my husband and I have been looking for a house (just haven't had any luck over the past year).

Should I apply for new credit, and if so, are there any bal trans cards out there that tend to give higher CLs with higher approval odds? Or do you think it would be better to utilize my Sears MC bal trans offer, transfer my $2807 bal and take the credit hit til I pay it down enough?

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi,

I have been working really hard over the past few years to improve credit scores and pay down my debt. I paid off my smallest CCs first, and used balance transfer offers on my Sears MC to help me pay them off quicker. I am down to 2 cards: Walmart MC ($2807 bal with $7500 CL) and Gap Visa ($4857 bal with $9600 CL- just auto increased from $7200 last week). I am weighing out what to do. I have a Sears MC (Citi) with a 0% for 12 mos bal trans offer, but only a $3200 CL. When I did my last balance transfer in Dec 2014, they gave me a CLI (resulted in 2 HP, one day a part, for some reason!). I was thinking of applying for a card with a better balance transfer offer (i.e. Citi Simplicity- I just got an offer in the mail for 0%/21 mos, or maybe Chase Slate). I don't want to apply for a card if I may not get it, or a decent CL. My scores are: CK- 751 (TU)/761 (EQ), WMMC FICO 768, credit.com 727, CS- 750. I assume the recent CLI on Gap V should increase my score slightly once it shows on my CRs. The Citi prequalified site lists the Citi Simplicity card as an offer, but I realize there are not any guarantees. My only inquiries are 2 from Citi in Dec 2014. When I applied for a CLI, I ended up with 2 HP (1 on 12/10/14, and the other on 12/11/14...still not sure why this happened and the Sears MC rep could not tell me either).

I recall when I transferred my last balance to the Sears MC, my credit score took a dip for a couple of months (I transferred a $2200 bal from a CL of $5800 to a CL of $3200). I am hoping to avoid any serious/long term credit score dips, since my husband and I have been looking for a house (just haven't had any luck over the past year).

Should I apply for new credit, and if so, are there any bal trans cards out there that tend to give higher CLs with higher approval odds? Or do you think it would be better to utilize my Sears MC bal trans offer, transfer my $2807 bal and take the credit hit til I pay it down enough?

what APR did it say after the 21 months, if it says an APR its pretty solid....

I would bet you get a limit around 10k, you may have to endure a 2nd hp to get it higher. dont use the sears unless its all you have, your utilization will be bad on that card. almost 7800 total BT

Have you contacted both cards with a balance to see if your APR can go down?

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

The APR on the Citi offer is 14.99%. I have not contacted my existing cards to ask for a lower APR. I honestly didn't think it was possible on co-branded cards. Both are SYNB. Do you usually get a HP on lower APR requests? If my chances are good to get approved for Simplicity, I may go ahead and apply. Well, I may wait a week or two...my Gap V cycle just closed, so I would love to see if the recent CLI does anything to my score, before I apply.

takeshi74 · ‎08-12-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
Should I apply for new credit, and if so, are there any bal trans cards out there that tend to give higher CLs with higher approval odds?

It all depends on what your credit and income qualify for. It's not just a matter of score or the card itself. If you have high utilization on your cards then it may be difficult to get the higher limits, lower APR's and better offers. That's really all we can say. We can't tell you what limit you might get. We are not underwriters.

@Anonymous wrote:
I am hoping to avoid any serious/long term credit score dips, since my husband and I have been looking for a house (just haven't had any luck over the past year).

As far as utilization is concered your scores will recover as your utilization drops. With a BT it's possible to have a balance reporting on both cards until the BT process is completed which does have an impact on your utilization. However, utilization is just one factor to consider. If you apply for a new card to BT to then you incur an additional hard pull, reduce your average age of accounts and you have a new credit account reporting.

How soon are you looking to buy? Standard advice is no new credit 6 months to 1 year prior.

@Anonymous wrote:
Do you usually get a HP on lower APR requests?

Verify with your creditors. They'll tell you if they need to or not.

@Anonymous wrote:
Or do you think it would be better to utilize my Sears MC bal trans offer, transfer my $2807 bal and take the credit hit til I pay it down enough?

$2,807 / $3,200 = 88% which is nearly maxed. How quickly could you get that down?

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
The APR on the Citi offer is 14.99%. I have not contacted my existing cards to ask for a lower APR. I honestly didn't think it was possible on co-branded cards. Both are SYNB. Do you usually get a HP on lower APR requests? If my chances are good to get approved for Simplicity, I may go ahead and apply. Well, I may wait a week or two...my Gap V cycle just closed, so I would love to see if the recent CLI does anything to my score, before I apply.

The answer is NO - See blue. Reports are not pull to determine whether a customer should get an APR reduction.

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

We have been looking for a house, but we just have not found anything of interest at a price we like. We did a mortgage preapproval 2 yr ago, my scores were abour 30 points lower back then...my husband has little debt so that will help. We are looking for something in a price range much lower than what they say we are approved for.

As for balance of $2807, I could prob get it down to about $2200 fairly quickly. I work a base plus commission job, so my pay is a little higher this time of year. If I used the sears mc, would prob end up only transferring $2200 and pay off the difference with the next couple of paychecks.

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

Thanks, I may call and look into a lower APR.

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks, I may call and look into a lower APR.

Let us know if you were succesful. Good luck!!

Anonymous · ‎08-26-2015

I did some research, and it didn't look like it was 'easy' to get an APR adjustment with Syncrony Bank. I decided to go ahead and apply for the Citi Simplicity. I was approved instantly, with the same offer I was prequalified for per their prequalification website (0% interest for 21 mos, then 14.99% APR after that). Decent CL, so I am very happy! I will be transferring over one of my balances, once that card comes in. I still may try to call Syncrony Bank, and ask for an APR adjustment on whichever card I do not transfer the balance over. As long as they tell me they do not do a hard pull on my credit, it can't hurt to ask. Thanks everyone for your advice!