Looking for a high SL, 0% intro BT card

[Anonymous]

Why not do a debt shuffle instead?  Doesnt your discover card have a bt offer available? Ours constantly has 0 for 12 months.

If you dont have any cards that regularly offer BTs....then I would say u for sure should get a Barclay Ring or a penfed Promise. Something with super low APR but most importantly no BT fee. 

That way down the road if you have a balance on a card, but it has a BT offer on it, you can shuffle the debt to the penfed, then back to the original card!  

[John02]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Why not do a debt shuffle instead?  Doesnt your discover card have a bt offer available? Ours constantly has 0 for 12 months.

If you dont have any cards that regularly offer BTs....then I would say u for sure should get a Barclay Ring or a penfed Promise. Something with super low APR but most importantly no BT fee. 

That way down the road if you have a balance on a card, but it has a BT offer on it, you can shuffle the debt to the penfed, then back to the original card!  

---

It's interesting that you bring up the debt shuffle because that's what I actually just got doing with my existing Chase Freedom, Discover IT, Citi Dividend, Cap One Venture, and Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature. Or at least something similar, I've been kind of swapping balances instead of taking 1 balance from card A to B back to A. However, I'm trying to keep all of them under a certain utilization (which I may adjust my personal threshold for a couple of them depending on how everything goes). What I was thinking about here is instead of doing more balance transfers on those cards and upping the utilization, just opening another card or two that have continual BT offers and just use a limited % utilization.

I don't have any Barclay cards currently but had looked at the ring. How well do you think it and the Penfed Promise would do for starting limits?

[Anonymous]

---

@John02 wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Why not do a debt shuffle instead?  Doesnt your discover card have a bt offer available? Ours constantly has 0 for 12 months.

If you dont have any cards that regularly offer BTs....then I would say u for sure should get a Barclay Ring or a penfed Promise. Something with super low APR but most importantly no BT fee. 

That way down the road if you have a balance on a card, but it has a BT offer on it, you can shuffle the debt to the penfed, then back to the original card!  

---

It's interesting that you bring up the debt shuffle because that's what I actually just got doing with my existing Chase Freedom, Discover IT, Citi Dividend, Cap One Venture, and Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature. Or at least something similar, I've been kind of swapping balances instead of taking 1 balance from card A to B back to A. However, I'm trying to keep all of them under a certain utilization (which I may adjust my personal threshold for a couple of them depending on how everything goes). What I was thinking about here is instead of doing more balance transfers on those cards and upping the utilization, just opening another card or two that have continual BT offers and just use a limited % utilization.

I don't have any Barclay cards currently but had looked at the ring. How well do you think it and the Penfed Promise would do for starting limits?

---

Hard to say. With your high limit on your discover, I would say anything is possible. What is your current overall util and goal util?

Have seen some pretty high limits with penfed.  Also some people open a credit card and also get a line of credit.  I just hate to see folks open something like a simplicity and get discouraged by the limits without a 2nd pull...barclays some get 10k or more. Not always.

At least with Amex you could get the rate reduced extremely low later on post promo...Your SPG you could get an APR reduction. I like the chase idea. Maybe you could get a bonus on the freedom, get the slate, move some limits around?

Ideally I would want you to get something that can grow with you, be PC'd later easily, or app for something at a bank specifically for your BT and maybe combine the inquiry with something else usable.

"

Looking for at the very least $10k limit. For reference, my current highest CL's are Discover 29k, Amex SPG 25k, Paypal Extras MC 25k, Chase 21k, Home Depot 20.5k. However, my Citi is 7.7k and Capital One 7k

My FICO is around 770-780. Income should be ok I think, although I do have some balances adding to the debt/income ratio."

There are a million ways to do this and with your scores whatever you are doing is working. But it sounds like your limits are growing as well as your debts.  How much of a BT are you wanting to do?

[John02]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@John02 wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Why not do a debt shuffle instead?  Doesnt your discover card have a bt offer available? Ours constantly has 0 for 12 months.

If you dont have any cards that regularly offer BTs....then I would say u for sure should get a Barclay Ring or a penfed Promise. Something with super low APR but most importantly no BT fee. 

That way down the road if you have a balance on a card, but it has a BT offer on it, you can shuffle the debt to the penfed, then back to the original card!  

---

It's interesting that you bring up the debt shuffle because that's what I actually just got doing with my existing Chase Freedom, Discover IT, Citi Dividend, Cap One Venture, and Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature. Or at least something similar, I've been kind of swapping balances instead of taking 1 balance from card A to B back to A. However, I'm trying to keep all of them under a certain utilization (which I may adjust my personal threshold for a couple of them depending on how everything goes). What I was thinking about here is instead of doing more balance transfers on those cards and upping the utilization, just opening another card or two that have continual BT offers and just use a limited % utilization.

I don't have any Barclay cards currently but had looked at the ring. How well do you think it and the Penfed Promise would do for starting limits?

---

Hard to say. With your high limit on your discover, I would say anything is possible. What is your current overall util and goal util?

Have seen some pretty high limits with penfed.  Also some people open a credit card and also get a line of credit.  I just hate to see folks open something like a simplicity and get discouraged by the limits without a 2nd pull...barclays some get 10k or more. Not always.

At least with Amex you could get the rate reduced extremely low later on post promo...Your SPG you could get an APR reduction. I like the chase idea. Maybe you could get a bonus on the freedom, get the slate, move some limits around?

Ideally I would want you to get something that can grow with you, be PC'd later easily, or app for something at a bank specifically for your BT and maybe combine the inquiry with something else usable.

"

Looking for at the very least $10k limit. For reference, my current highest CL's are Discover 29k, Amex SPG 25k, Paypal Extras MC 25k, Chase 21k, Home Depot 20.5k. However, my Citi is 7.7k and Capital One 7k

My FICO is around 770-780. Income should be ok I think, although I do have some balances adding to the debt/income ratio."

There are a million ways to do this and with your scores whatever you are doing is working. But it sounds like your limits are growing as well as your debts.  How much of a BT are you wanting to do?

---

Current overall utilization around 22%. I try to never go above 29% total or on any individual card however over that on the Paypal Extras MC which I use frequently for daily purchases. Since it's been carrying a balance for a while, was thinking of trying to pay it off completely to keep them happy. Also, it currently has a pretty high APR, so I would like to quit paying all that interest.

The idea with Simplicity (doesn't have to be this card, but this was just one example card I found) was to just find something that can help me with paying down my balances by being a big player in the debt trading through BT game. Since I like to stay under 29% (might stretch that to 49% for one card for now if I need to) I would need a high starting limit to even make it worthwhile. But you're right, it would be nice for such a card to server another purpose, even if not now, in the future.

So with Chase, since I already have an open Freedom, would they let me/be generous with another Freedom? I've been shying away from the Slate thinking it may have a low SL in comparison to other cards, but is that not necessarily true?

[John02]

Also, is the Citi TYP a good option here? I realize the intro period is shorter, but it does offer the sign up bonus and earns points for future use, too. How would its starting limit compare to the Simplicity/DP?

[takeshi74]

You cannot rely solely on the card for the starting limit.  You credit profile and income will determine the limit, APR, etc that you qualify for.

---

@Skye12329 wrote:
As for limits with them, they generally give higher limits on cards after you have gotten your first with them. So your first chase card might have a lower limit and your 2nd could have a much larger.

---

Again, depends on credit and income, not first card or not.  Be very careful trying to assess trends with anecdotal data.  Aklways consider your sources.  If you're relying on myFICO posts keep in mind that there are many builders/rebuilders here.

---

@Skye12329 wrote:
Amex can also be decently generous but they don't like people keeping a balance on their card for too long.

---

And be careful propagating memes like that.  Creditors are not generous or stingy.  It's all about risk assessment.  All creditors can consider revolving utilization and debt level to be a risk.  It is not simply a matter of balance or no balance.

---

@John02 wrote:

---

I have a couple of Amex's but I believe the combined limit is close to Amex's limit before doing a FR (and they're not offering me BT).

Do not conflate income verification with FR.  The amounts that can lead to income verification are guidelines and not set in stone.  Some encounter it when crossing those thresholds, some do not.  This is covered in the 3X CLI Guide.

---

@John02 wrote:

---

Looking for at the very least $10k limit.

---

How much are you looking to BT?  Keep in mind that revolving utilization on the card with the BT offer matters as well.

---

@John02 wrote:

Current overall utilization around 22%. I try to never go above 29% total or on any individual card however over that on the Paypal Extras MC which I use frequently for daily purchases.

---

22% overall isn't terrible but not as good as lower utilization.  I'm not sure exactly how that will impact the limits that you might qualify for with different creditors/products.  You're only going to find out for certain by applying.  I'd suggest focusing on paying down your balances versus relying on a BT but it's your call to make.

---

@John02 wrote:

So with Chase, since I already have an open Freedom, would they let me/be generous with another Freedom? I've been shying away from the Slate thinking it may have a low SL in comparison to other cards, but is that not necessarily true?

---

It doesn't work that way. Again, your credit profile and income at time of consideration will determine what you qualify for. Having a card with a creditor in itself will not make or break the decision. That card factors into your credit profile but it's your entire credit profile that matters.  An existing Chase cardholder could be approved for a new card with a high limit and low APR, approved for a new card with a low limit and high APR, denied or anything among those points.

[John02]

---

@takeshi74 wrote:

You cannot rely solely on the card for the starting limit.  You credit profile and income will determine the limit, APR, etc that you qualify for.

If you're looking to BT what is your revolving utilization like?  High utilization will restrcit the limit that you qualify for and can impact approval.

---

@Skye12329 wrote:
As for limits with them, they generally give higher limits on cards after you have gotten your first with them. So your first chase card might have a lower limit and your 2nd could have a much larger.

---

Again, depends on credit and income, not first card or not.  Be very careful trying to assess trends with anecdotal data.  Aklways consider your sources.  If you're relying on myFICO posts keep in mind that there are many builders/rebuilders here.

---

@Skye12329 wrote:
Amex can also be decently generous but they don't like people keeping a balance on their card for too long.

---

And be careful propogating memes like that.  Creditors are not generous or stingy.  It's all about risk assessment.  All creditors can consider revolving utilization and debt level to be a risk.  It is not simply a matter of balance or no balance.

---

Right, I get that there are a lot of factors that go into the starting limit. what I am trying to figure out is all things being equal, meaning for my specific income level, debt, utilization, etc, which cards are most likely to give the highest starting limits? That being said, I also understand that for each company there are different formulas as well as different levels of relationships I currently have with each of them which factors into it also. So, based on my current relationship with Chase and Citi that I mentioned, do you have a good feel for what might be the better option for my goals? Is there any other info or factors whether they be related to my credit profile or the credit cards themselves that I need to look at to help me choose the right one? I know there's not necessarily a hard and fast answer, just looking to apply for what will give me the highest probability of what I'm looking for.

Thanks

[John02]

---

@takeshi74 wrote:
Do not conflate income verification with FR.  The amounts that can lead to income verification are guidelines and not set in stone.  Some encounter it when crossing those thresholds, some do not.  This is covered in the 3X CLI Guide.

---

Right income verification. I'm familiar with the 3x CLI guide and have gotten some good CLI's that way. However, I do believe there are certain thresholds that exceeding normally will trigger income verification (>25k ind., >37.5k across all Amex accounts). This would normally not be a problem, except when I tried last year they were asking for I believe the prior year's tax return which didn't include some new income. Also since Amex doesn't have a 0% BT offer for me, it's not currently helping for this specific scenario.

---

@takeshi74 wrote:
How much are you looking to BT?  Keep in mind that revolving utilization on the card with the BT offer matters as well.

---

At least 12k if possible (but not necessarily all now as I may be making some bigger payments coming up as well) and correct about the utilization still mattering on the BT offer. I'm looking for a high SL(s) so I'm keeping the utilization lower on the new accounts.

---

@takeshi74 wrote:
22% overall isn't terrible but not as good as lower utilization.  I'm not sure exactly how that will impact the limits that you might qualify for with different creditors/products.  You're only going to find out for certain by applying.  I'd suggest focusing on paying down your balances versus relying on a BT but it's your call to make.

---

 By using BT to lower interest rate from current levels to 0% it should help me pay the balances down quicker since payments will be going to principal. Agree that I'll only find out for certain by applying, but trying to get some level of confidence/likelihood in what will be my best bet to not waste an app.

---

@takeshi74 wrote:
It doesn't work that way. Again, your credit profile and income at time of consideration will determine what you qualify for. Having a card with a creditor in itself will not make or break the decision. That card factors into your credit profile but it's your entire credit profile that matters.  An existing Chase cardholder could be approved for a new card with a high limit and low APR, approved for a new card with a low limit and high APR, denied or anything among those points.

---

Not implying it will make or break the decision (unless there was a hard rule with a certain creditor that they will not open more than X number of cards per person, or per card type per person), but it could play a part in the decision. For example, if I have an account with them and have a positive history they could look at that positively. Alternatively, if I have too much total credit for their liking they may be less willing to extend more credit. There are certainly a variety of options with any given Chase cardholder applying for new credit, however given a certain customer's credit profile there are likely certain outcomes that are more probable than others, which may vary from company to company. That's what I'm trying to find, is based on everything I've said and people's experiences with certain companies, which one/card is most likely to give me the best offer for my situation...it's not an exact science unless we knew every single factor that goes into their decisions which of course we don't, but hoping to make an educated guess.

[John02]

So I think for now I'm considering applying for a Citi first, then depending on how that goes either another Citi or a Chase...or going the opposite way and start with Chase then see how that goes.

For Citi I'm considering the Simplicity, DP, and TYP. If I knew I'd get the same SL regardless I'd go for the TYP since it has the potential for more rewards later, despite the shorter BT period. If I knew the Simplicity or DP would give a higher SL than TYP I'd probably go with one of them and just use then exclusively for BT's. I'm assuming both will continue to offer BT to me since my current Citi Dividend does, but if one of these cards is known to not usually do that I would eliminate it.

For Chase, I'm considering the Freedom and Slate. Even though I already have a Freedom I would go for another if there was no difference in SL between it and Slate since it has the 5% categories. I'm somewhat worried they would give me a lower limit on the Freedom though since I already have one but maybe that makes no difference? I'm also worried about the Slate's limit as I've seen them have low SL but maybe since I already have a good Chase limit in the Freedom it would be good, too. Also I don't know if the SL is at all influenced by if I do a BT at app time or wait til I get it (since it seems to be a card more geared towards BT). I'm not really wanting to initiate the BT until I know the CL, though.

All that being said, does anyone have any advice or answers to any of my questions? Including a possible different option?

Thanks in advance