Game Plan for CCs after Mortgage Closes

[JayTee1]

Hi, need some feedback.

I will be closing a a mortgage in April for new construction.  I've been in the garden until very recently (two new inquiries on TU for a new car lease, have to update my signature)., scores are in my signature.

I want/plan to buy about $5k (ish, perhaps up to $7k) worth of new furniture after closing.  I'd really like to just get a new 0% interest credit card with a high limit, but that may or may not be possible.  Most of my active accounts are less than two years old, and by the time April rolls around, they'll be four months older.  

None of my current cards will have a 0% rate after April.  Here's a list of my VS/MC/Discover cards and their limits, so you can see what I have.  Overall utilization is 4%, highest on a single card is Discover which runs around 7-8% utilization reported.  All other cards are at $0.  This will not change between now and April.

Discover - $11,300

Amex Delta - $3000

BarclayCard Rewards - $2800

Citi BestBuy Visa - $3000

Merrick - $1400

GM Buy Power - $750

Cap 1 QS One - $750

Have quite a few other store cards at $0 balance (Walmart, Target, Amazon among others).

So, ideally I'd qualify for and pick up something like a Citi Simplicity for the 0% interest rate for 21 months with a high enough limit ($10k or more) ... but that may be a pipe dream.  

How should I approach this to minimize inquiries and maximize approval chances.  Here are the options I've considered, but don't know what order to try:

Synchrony Card for furniture store (local store around here has a credit card offered by Synchrony ... I already have two of their cards, highest limit is Walmart at $3500)

Amex BCP (which I want to apply for anyway after closing for the 6% grocery/3% gas) - no idea what limit would be, maybe just $1000 if approved, but who knows

Venture One - I'm prequalified for both the Venture and Venture One, they seem to offer pretty high limits to start with, but the Venture One is the only one with a 0% introductory interest rate, but it only offers 20k miles signup bonus (so I really don't want this card)

Citi Simplicity or other good 0% intro card ... not sure what the best are and/or what I would qualify for ... this would actually be the ideal option, but I may not be approved, and there's no guarantee what the initial SL would be

Other 0% intro cards?

In what order would you apply for these?  I don't want to apply for all, but want to try to maximize my approval chances and hit goal goal (0% payment for 1-2 years on $5k of furniture) without generating a bunch of hard inquiries.

Thanks for any tips/advice.

[Anonymous]

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@JayTee1 wrote:

Hi, need some feedback.

I will be closing a a mortgage in April for new construction.  I've been in the garden until very recently (two new inquiries on TU for a new car lease, have to update my signature)., scores are in my signature.

I want/plan to buy about $5k (ish, perhaps up to $7k) worth of new furniture after closing.  I'd really like to just get a new 0% interest credit card with a high limit, but that may or may not be possible.  Most of my active accounts are less than two years old, and by the time April rolls around, they'll be four months older.  

None of my current cards will have a 0% rate after April.  Here's a list of my VS/MC/Discover cards and their limits, so you can see what I have.  Overall utilization is 4%, highest on a single card is Discover which runs around 7-8% utilization reported.  All other cards are at $0.  This will not change between now and April.

Discover - $11,300

Amex Delta - $3000

BarclayCard Rewards - $2800

Citi BestBuy Visa - $3000

Merrick - $1400

GM Buy Power - $750

Cap 1 QS One - $750

Have quite a few other store cards at $0 balance (Walmart, Target, Amazon among others).

So, ideally I'd qualify for and pick up something like a Citi Simplicity for the 0% interest rate for 21 months with a high enough limit ($10k or more) ... but that may be a pipe dream.  

How should I approach this to minimize inquiries and maximize approval chances.  Here are the options I've considered, but don't know what order to try:

Synchrony Card for furniture store (local store around here has a credit card offered by Synchrony ... I already have two of their cards, highest limit is Walmart at $3500)

Amex BCP (which I want to apply for anyway after closing for the 6% grocery/3% gas) - no idea what limit would be, maybe just $1000 if approved, but who knows

Venture One - I'm prequalified for both the Venture and Venture One, they seem to offer pretty high limits to start with, but the Venture One is the only one with a 0% introductory interest rate, but it only offers 20k miles signup bonus (so I really don't want this card)

Citi Simplicity or other good 0% intro card ... not sure what the best are and/or what I would qualify for ... this would actually be the ideal option, but I may not be approved, and there's no guarantee what the initial SL would be

Other 0% intro cards?

In what order would you apply for these?  I don't want to apply for all, but want to try to maximize my approval chances and hit goal goal (0% payment for 1-2 years on $5k of furniture) without generating a bunch of hard inquiries.

Thanks for any tips/advice.

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If I were you I'd just go with the furniture store credit offered by synchrony. They will most likely beat the 21 months that citi will offer you. And there is a high chance you wont get the credit limit you are aiming for with citi. I thought I'd get a minimum of 15k when I apped for the simplicity only to be given less than $8k.

[JayTee1]

Thanks, appreciate the feedback.  Your scores are a lot better than mine - good to know about Citi.