Opening credit card without credit check...worth it?

[oceanbay]

My local community credit union has offered me a credit card with them with a $2.5k credit limit but they have said they are willing to do it without running a credit check on me.

Question is, is it worth lowering average age of accounts to get another credit card with a $2.5k limit? My current total credit limits equal $12,000. I have 5 credit cards and AAoA is 4 years.

[Anonymous]

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@oceanbay wrote:

My local community credit union has offered me a credit card with them with a $2.5k credit limit but they have said they are willing to do it without running a credit check on me.

Question is, is it worth lowering average age of accounts to get another credit card with a $2.5k limit? My current total credit limits equal $12,000. I have 5 credit cards and AAoA is 4 years.

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Who is saying this?  The manager or the teller?  I'd really query them on the [not running credit aspect].  If you don't have any need for it then don't take it.

[oceanbay]

Some lady from a branch. I was interested in getting it eventually since the rates are some of the best available (7%). I just didn't know if this would crush my AAoA though to be worth it.

[Anonymous]

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@oceanbay wrote:
Some lady from a branch. I was interested in getting it eventually since the rates are some of the best available (7%). I just didn't know if this would crush my AAoA though to be worth it.

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Getting it will reduce your AAoA.  So just ask yourself if the 7% offer is worth it for you.  Do the pros outweigh the cons? If the asnwer is no, then that is your answer..

[oceanbay]

Well the put of me asking is to try and get help to figure out the pros/cons and long-term benefits. If I knew all of this already, I wouldn't need to ask.

[Anonymous]

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@oceanbay wrote:

Well the put of me asking is to try and get help to figure out the pros/cons and long-term benefits. If I knew all of this already, I wouldn't need to ask.

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Without knowing what Credit Union you are referring to per your original post and what card your are referring to, it will be hard to answer your question hence my responses.  No one can guess you know.  There are many many credit unions and their CCs.

[oceanbay]

I guess if this helps...

No annual fee

rate goes down with good payment history each year

no rewards

bank is BECU in Washington.

But really, it seems like the question comes down to how much does AAoA really come into play vs having more untilized credit (especially since I am being told they wont pull a report)? That is really the answer I am trying to find.

[Dw4250]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Who is saying this?  The manager or the teller?  I'd really query them on the [not running credit aspect].  If you don't have any need for it then don't take it.

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It's possible they are just doing a soft pull.  Many people have credit check done on them prior to joining a CU, which would automatically give the CU access to OP's credit report without having to ask.

As far as OP's question, your AAofA depends on the age and number of all accounts (open and closed) on your reports.  If you have, say, 25 accounts on your report adding one probably won't make a huge difference.  If you have only 3 accounts, it will make a big difference.

[oceanbay]

Gotcha...

Oldest card is 6 years, have 9 credit cards on my report and like 12 student loans that are all at least 4 years old. A 2 year old car loan and 2 other personal loans that are 3.

A secondary question...think it would be worth asking if they would do a $5k credit limit? Seems like they might force me to pull if I did that...just an idea, though.

[Dw4250]

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@oceanbay wrote:

Gotcha...

Oldest card is 6 years, have 9 credit cards on my report and like 12 student loans that are all at least 4 years old. A 2 year old car loan and 2 other personal loans that are 3.

A secondary question...think it would be worth asking if they would do a $5k credit limit? Seems like they might force me to pull if I did that...just an idea, though.

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Sounds like you have enough trade lines where one isn't going to make a big difference.  If you are not apping for anything major in the next year (i.e. mortgage or car loan), I would go for it.  As far as asking for a larger SL, I would verify that it will be a soft pull (if you don't want a hard inqury).  Good luck!