CHASE SLATE OR FREEDOM?

[jason86423]

I was approved for $5000 Freedom Visa card with a 774 (Walmart FICO) in September. 

Zero inquiries on TU at the time. 

[LS2982]

Is the slate one of their easier cards to get?

[mgeorges]

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@clocktick wrote:

If you're about to pay off $4700 in debt within a month then I would definitely wait until then.  You may want to keep a small, under 9%, balance reporting (but pay no interest!) before you apply too.  I think it was Chase, but recently I read a post on here someone being denied for having no credit card balances!

Edited to add:  What advantages does the Slate card have?  I was always under the impression it was sort of a rebuilder card?  I haven't read about it in a while though.

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I like the blueprint feature....

my credit cards go as follows:

Best Buy - CL 2200 - using $1400

Citi -  CL 2500 using $500

Citi - CL 1800 using 1400

Capital one CL 750 using $0

Capital One CL 1500 using 1500 

Gap CL 600 using $100

JC Penny CL 200 using $0

Is there any of these you guys think i should close?

[mgeorges]

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@Anonymous wrote:

3 is not a lot of INQ in my opinion.

I don't  know what your credit limits are. Divide $4700 by your TOTAL credit limits on all cards. This will give you your utility percentage. If your UTIL is high, you may want to wait until you pay it down.

Do you know your average age of accounts? 

I know Chase wants to see a minimum 1 year history, preferably 2.

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My oldest card is March 2008

[jason86423]

I wouldn't close any of them until you get your utlization down..especially on the cap one that is maxed out

[Anonymous]

Your UTIL is at 51% right now.

Don't close anything. Your UTIL will go up and you don't want that.

Try to pay down some before hitting the app button. Chase does not like high UTIL, unless you have a huge income.

I like Blueprint as well. You can allocate which items you want to PIF that will accrue no interest, even if you are going to carry  balance.

[mgeorges]

all of these bills will be paid off at the end of this month...

How long should i wait before i apply?

[haulingthescoreup]

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@mgeorges wrote:

all of these bills will be paid off at the end of this month...

How long should i wait before i apply?

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If you're wanting to have all these accounts showing $0 before applying (excellent idea), you need to be familiar with when your cards report new balances to the credit bureaus, and also with when the credit bureaus post the new balances to your reports.

In nearly all cases these days* (see below), your CCC's will report the balance that shows on your statement. Most report it that very night; some (think HSBC/ Orchard) delay the reporting for a week or two. So with multiple card payoffs, you'll need to check when the statements typically post for each card and assume that that is when the new $0 balance goes in, meaning that most likely, they will all be updating at different times. If you pay off a card AFTER that statement has posted, you'll need to wait until the next statement posts a month later (and keep your balance at $0 for that time as well.)

Once the credit bureaus get the info, they vary in how long it takes for it to hit your reports. Experian almost always posts it that very night or early the next morning. Equifax generally takes around 4 days, and TU maybe a day or two longer. EQ and TU frequently trade places in being the caboose for updating. And again, remember that this will happen with each card as it updates on its own individual schedule.

If you have a credit monitoring service, you might want to wait until 4 or 5 days after the last card's statement posts and then pull your report(s) to see how they look.

By the way, this 4-6 week wait in getting your accounts to report new, lower balances is the reason that many of us keep nearly all our accounts reporting $0 on a routine basis. The wait can be frustrating if you're trying to grab a good deal and so forth.

* Until recently, HSBC/ Orchard bank cards used to report CC balance as of the last business day of the month, and then they delayed sending in the info until the first or second week of the following month. They now seem to have switched to reporting the balance as of the statement (like the majority of CC's), but they still seem poky in sending in the info.

As far as I know, USBank cards still report the balance as of the last business day of the month, regardless of statement date. They update the new balances to the credit bureaus that night.

For a long time, American Express cards (those that actually come from American Express) would report the balance that was on the statement, but they wouldn't send it in for another four weeks. A year or so ago, they started sending in the info that night on many of their cards, but some people reported that a few of their cards still had the 4-week delay. I don't know if that's still the case, or if they all update promptly.

There are probably other cards from local banks and credit unions that have their own timetables, but otherwise, your CC's probably follow the general rule of reporting the balance due that displays on your statements and sending that new balance to the credit bureaus that night or the next day.

[mgeorges]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

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@mgeorges wrote:

all of these bills will be paid off at the end of this month...

How long should i wait before i apply?

---

If you're wanting to have all these accounts showing $0 before applying (excellent idea), you need to be familiar with when your cards report new balances to the credit bureaus, and also with when the credit bureaus post the new balances to your reports.

In nearly all cases these days* (see below), your CCC's will report the balance that shows on your statement. Most report it that very night; some (think HSBC/ Orchard) delay the reporting for a week or two. So with multiple card payoffs, you'll need to check when the statements typically post for each card and assume that that is when the new $0 balance goes in, meaning that most likely, they will all be updating at different times. If you pay off a card AFTER that statement has posted, you'll need to wait until the next statement posts a month later (and keep your balance at $0 for that time as well.)

Once the credit bureaus get the info, they vary in how long it takes for it to hit your reports. Experian almost always posts it that very night or early the next morning. Equifax generally takes around 4 days, and TU maybe a day or two longer. EQ and TU frequently trade places in being the caboose for updating. And again, remember that this will happen with each card as it updates on its own individual schedule.

If you have a credit monitoring service, you might want to wait until 4 or 5 days after the last card's statement posts and then pull your report(s) to see how they look.

By the way, this 4-6 week wait in getting your accounts to report new, lower balances is the reason that many of us keep nearly all our accounts reporting $0 on a routine basis. The wait can be frustrating if you're trying to grab a good deal and so forth.

* Until recently, HSBC/ Orchard bank cards used to report CC balance as of the last business day of the month, and then they delayed sending in the info until the first or second week of the following month. They now seem to have switched to reporting the balance as of the statement (like the majority of CC's), but they still seem poky in sending in the info.

As far as I know, USBank cards still report the balance as of the last business day of the month, regardless of statement date. They update the new balances to the credit bureaus that night.

For a long time, American Express cards (those that actually come from American Express) would report the balance that was on the statement, but they wouldn't send it in for another four weeks. A year or so ago, they started sending in the info that night on many of their cards, but some people reported that a few of their cards still had the 4-week delay. I don't know if that's still the case, or if they all update promptly.

There are probably other cards from local banks and credit unions that have their own timetables, but otherwise, your CC's probably follow the general rule of reporting the balance due that displays on your statements and sending that new balance to the credit bureaus that night or the next day.

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE!!

I THINK I WILL WAIT UNTIL THE FIRST OF THE YEAR TO MAKE SURE ALL MY SCORE REACHE THEIR PEAK AND ALL MY BALANCES ARE AT $0 THEN I WILL APPLY.

THANKS AGAIN!

[SevenNEW]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

* Until recently, HSBC/ Orchard bank cards used to report CC balance as of the last business day of the month, and then they delayed sending in the info until the first or second week of the following month. They now seem to have switched to reporting the balance as of the statement (like the majority of CC's), but they still seem poky in sending in the info.

As far as I know, USBank cards still report the balance as of the last business day of the month, regardless of statement date. They update the new balances to the credit bureaus that night.

For a long time, American Express cards (those that actually come from American Express) would report the balance that was on the statement, but they wouldn't send it in for another four weeks. A year or so ago, they started sending in the info that night on many of their cards, but some people reported that a few of their cards still had the 4-week delay. I don't know if that's still the case, or if they all update promptly.

There are probably other cards from local banks and credit unions that have their own timetables, but otherwise, your CC's probably follow the general rule of reporting the balance due that displays on your statements and sending that new balance to the credit bureaus that night or the next day.

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Hauling, this is great info and a question that definitely recurs -- you should consider making it a sticky...