Credit Cards

[tinuviel]

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MrAnonymous wrote:

Good Morning All!

This is my first post on this forum. I have been lurking for about 6 months and have learned many wonderful things about credit and have used this to extend and improve my credit. I have been monitoring my credit for about 9 months, paying my debts down and keeping my util low. In January I took my first step into "primeville" with my Discover More card. In May I added the Chase Freedom, Citi Thank You Preferred and Amex BCE cards to my wallet (in that order/still waiting on the BCE to arrive).

Needless to say, I am in the garden so I can allow these cards to grow.

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Greetings! Welcome to both the forums and the Garden Club! Congrats on your nice new set of cards, your "seedlings." Take good care of them and keep up the good work!

[emptypockets]

I am in the Garden until at least July (CC's in Sig). My last two cards added were AMEX BCP 2/12, and Citi Dividend (3/12). Current Util is at 7%, with several 0% promo's starting to expire come December, 2012.  1 INQ on TU, 1 INQ on EQ, 8 on EX.

BK (Filing date 7/02, finally fell off EX last week, and fell off EQ today (huge score boost - 703 to 773!!) Hope it falls of TU asap. When the BK falls off completely and I pay Util down to 5%, I will probably app for CSP and maybe another Citi. I just want a Chase card because they kept denying me due to BK (crazy, I know).

[Revelate]

Still kicking back rocking Tinu's most excellent mini-quiches!

4 months since my last application, still on track with the garden and the expected plan to refinance my car in July/August, and an Amex Zync/USAA/some TU-pulling application spree at the end of this year.

For those that are curious, the power of the rather sparse garden (nearly thin file) and the positive results of gardening so far with EQ Beacon 5.0 scores:

12/11: 561

1/12: 571

2/12: 595

3/12: 608

4/12: 617 (27% utilization)

5/12: 619 (51% utilization)

Positive tradeline history reporting on EQ:

BOFA secured: opened 10/11

Orchard/C1: opened 12/11

DCU secured: opened 1/11

WFDS auto loan: opened 12/11

USAA secured loan: opened 2/12

I'm expecting a check to clear mid/late June and will liberally using the weedwhacker on the revolving balances, but even with a highly suboptimal utilization (June will be worse since my balances won't update till July), it's still fantastic to see the upward trend that occurred from just relaxing in the garden and letting time do it's magic.  Maybe I can hit 640 by the end of the year as hoped!

Thank you Tinu, and everyone else, in demonstrating that this is possible.

[jmoney23]

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tinuviel wrote:

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Smug wrote:
About 15 K in CLI last month some still have not updated but here is my monthly shot Missing is my Amex and pep boys

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VERY NICE!!!

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This is the one thing I don't understand. Why have so much credit if you are not going to use it?  Wouldn't it be just as effective to have $1,000 in CL with a $20 balance as opposed to a $20,000 CL and $500 in usage.  I mean, I understand that available credit is good. But aren't you just waiting precious minutes of your life to apply for a card you aren't going to use? (Not to mention hassle of FRs, AAs and Fraud, what's the point of dealing with these things on a card you won't use?) 

[amkari]

Still here...

USAA Secured AMEX - $1k limit, $697.02 balance - spent too much getting my 12 yr old outfitted for summer rafting and backpacking trips with Boy Scouts.

Cap1 Plat MC - $300 limit, $287.34 balance - same story... plus fuel for the commute and a weekend road trip to a beauty pageant with my 3 yr old.

Orchard Eco MC - $500 limit, $0 balance - just paid off the car tags, now it's the daily use card until next payday.

WFNNB Lane Bryant - $550 limit, $59 balance - will pay off this week but seriously debating a summer wardrobe purchase...

Local CU auto loan - $21k ish - just made the first payment last month.  :-)

Planning to hang out with my allergy meds and sunscreen until Feb or Mar when I request an interest rate reduction on the new car loan, in the meantime Cap1 One credit steps should bump up the CL in Nov or Dec.  I'll also add another $1k or so to the USAA card when the tax refund comes in Feb or Mar... the rest will get paid on the new car since I plan to pay it off in 3 yrs rather than the 6 yrs it's financed for.  :-)

Ready for the margaritas... or a date... better yet, I want both.  roflmao

[Revelate]

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amkari wrote:

Planning to hang out with my allergy meds and sunscreen until Feb or Mar when I request an interest rate reduction on the new car loan, in the meantime Cap1 One credit steps should bump up the CL in Nov or Dec.  I'll also add another $1k or so to the USAA card when the tax refund comes in Feb or Mar... the rest will get paid on the new car since I plan to pay it off in 3 yrs rather than the 6 yrs it's financed for.  :-)

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Good plan!  However, I'd suggest simply refinancing the car with a different lender instead after the one year mark as planned.  It's vanishingly unlikely that you'll get the lender to outright reduce the APR on the loan, it's far simpler just to work out a new one with someone else... especially if you have positive equity in the car which it sounds as though you'll have.

I do like your style though!

[Dadaluma83]

Still firmly planted in the garden until January 2013, or December 2012 at the earliest.

Current cards:

Capital one no hassle cash rewards 750CL opened July 2011, will cancel later this month after the statement cuts.

Discover more opened January 2012, got an auto CLI this last month that bumped me from 5,500 to 7,200. This card has gone from a nice seedling to a sturdy and growing tree, will keep this card indefinitely and it will become a rock solid oak tree one day.

Chase United Explorer opened February 2012, 6,200 CL. Will keep until Jan 2013 and cancel when the annual fee is due.

Other loans:

Two student loans, one opened August 2008 and the other August 2009, total original principle between the two 11,000 paid down to about 8,000 now. Making twice the minimum payment each month and at the end of the year putting all extra money towards it. Just got a raise at my job so I anticipate these loans to be completely paid off at the end of next year.

Goals for the future:

App for the chase sapphire preferred December or january. Exact time I app depends on two factors, if/when the 50k point signup bonus returns and if I have a trip coming up soon. I can't really spend 3k in 3 months on my normal everyday spending unless I end up pre paying a few months rent, or doing some traveling.

Then by the end of 2013 have my student loans all paid off.

I really like the gardening thread. Really keeps you focused if you are talking about your current situation and goals every month. Time to kick back and enjoy some summer food and drinks in the garden.

[tinuviel]

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This is the one thing I don't understand. Why have so much credit if you are not going to use it?  Wouldn't it be just as effective to have $1,000 in CL with a $20 balance as opposed to a $20,000 CL and $500 in usage.  I mean, I understand that available credit is good. But aren't you just waiting precious minutes of your life to apply for a card you aren't going to use? (Not to mention hassle of FRs, AAs and Fraud, what's the point of dealing with these things on a card you won't use?) 

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Not really. Having a lot of available credit gives you "padding" in case you need to use your card for a large purchase and there is no time to pay before the statement closes and the balance reports. Or, if you need to float the balance for a month or two. For instance, if you only have $1000 of available credit, and you have a $900 balance due to car repairs, you'll be reporting 90% util! This will make your scores tank, and if your creditors are softing you for, say, a periodic account review, they may decide to take AA. But, if you have $20000 in available credit and that same $900 reports, you're only going to have 4.5% util report, which would put you right in the "sweet spot" for FICO scoring. So, having a large amont of available credit and using only a small portion of it makes a big difference.

[amkari]

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Revelate wrote:

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amkari wrote:

Planning to hang out with my allergy meds and sunscreen until Feb or Mar when I request an interest rate reduction on the new car loan, in the meantime Cap1 One credit steps should bump up the CL in Nov or Dec.  I'll also add another $1k or so to the USAA card when the tax refund comes in Feb or Mar... the rest will get paid on the new car since I plan to pay it off in 3 yrs rather than the 6 yrs it's financed for.  :-)

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Good plan!  However, I'd suggest simply refinancing the car with a different lender instead after the one year mark as planned.  It's vanishingly unlikely that you'll get the lender to outright reduce the APR on the loan, it's far simpler just to work out a new one with someone else... especially if you have positive equity in the car which it sounds as though you'll have.

I do like your style though!

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They told me when I signed the loan papers that I could request and receive an interest rate reduction anytime in the next 12 months if my credit improved... and it's documented in the paperwork.  They were more than great to me... approved me for $10k at 7.9% when everything else was 15% or higher.  Then more than doubled the loan amount when I notified them I would be paying $10k down and asked them to increase the approved amount to cover the remaining $22k or so.  I have direct deposit to the loan account on every payday so I don't have to worry about missing one of those payment either.  :-)  Gotta love lcoal CUs.  I will probably ask for a CC approval with the same HP if I can.

Based on recent experience, I'm not sure I could do any better.  It would've been nice if my other CU did auto loans outside of California... I've been with them over 20 yrs.

[Revelate]

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amkari wrote:

Based on recent experience, I'm not sure I could do any better.  It would've been nice if my other CU did auto loans outside of California... I've been with them over 20 yrs.

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Heh, wrap your arms around that CU, that's a great rate for that size of loan with your posted score.  Yeah, I was thinking most national banks / others when I made my suggestion, if they are will negotiate the rate, go for it at the 12 month mark.  I'm a little surprised that most institutions don't do this more often, but I suppose that most people don't aggressively refinance their vehicles and CU's traditionally view customers as more than a statistic.