Suggestions for a Balance Transfer Card with My Scores?

[persica9]

Hi there,

I am finally cracking down on my credit card debt. Just paid off the worst one and it feels great  

The next one to knock out is my Citi Visa. It's the 'student' card, and was my first card at 18, five years ago. It had a very student interest rate to begin with, but one late payment (2 days late) and they jacked me up to 27.99%. That was over a year ago. I called to point out that the rate is absurd considering I've been paying on time every month since, and was completely blown off. I wasnt expecting anything major, but I spoke to three different people and got "No" all around. 

I'm thinking my best option is to transfer as much of the balance as possible to another card, but I am wondering which one I should try. A few people have suggested the Discover Motiva,  but based on the experiences posted on the boards I dont think my scores are high enough (especially if they pull EQ).  I could go ahead and try anyway, but I'm not sure I want to get digned for the inquiry if the application proves fruitless.

Any other cards I should consider? Or any 'tricks' for dealing with Citi?

[DI]

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@persica9 wrote:

Hi there,

I am finally cracking down on my credit card debt. Just paid off the worst one and it feels great  

The next one to knock out is my Citi Visa. It's the 'student' card, and was my first card at 18, five years ago. It had a very student interest rate to begin with, but one late payment (2 days late) and they jacked me up to 27.99%. That was over a year ago. I called to point out that the rate is absurd considering I've been paying on time every month since, and was completely blown off. I wasnt expecting anything major, but I spoke to three different people and got "No" all around. 

I'm thinking my best option is to transfer as much of the balance as possible to another card, but I am wondering which one I should try. A few people have suggested the Discover Motiva,  but based on the experiences posted on the boards I dont think my scores are high enough (especially if they pull EQ).  I could go ahead and try anyway, but I'm not sure I want to get digned for the inquiry if the application proves fruitless.

Any other cards I should consider? Or any 'tricks' for dealing with Citi?

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Discover is the last bank your want to app with if there are late payments reporting on your credit report.  Unfortunately, when one is late making payments the rate is changed to the default rate as outline in the terms of agreement.  

Your best option is to pay more than the minimum to reduce the amount of interest you pay out.  

[persica9]

Thanks for the response. Maybe I should have included more information.

My payment history is 'great' according to the reports I bought through MyFico. I have no reported late payments (since the one was only 2 days late) and I've never had any delinquent accounts. My new credit is listed as 'good.'

The two factors that arent great are my balances, which I'm making good progress paying down, and my AAoA. I just turned 23, so my oldest account is 4.5 years old and the average account is 2 years old. 

So, while I am of course chipping away at my balance regardless, I am still open to suggestions for a good balance transfer card.

[DI]

If not already and you have a high income, try becoming a member with a PenFed or app with Nationwide if you are needing a high limit. 

[haulingthescoreup]

I see you've listed three credit scores, including Experian. Can I ask where you got the scores? EX hasn't allowed consumers to buy our FICO scores since last February.

If your EQ and TU scores aren't FICO's, the real ones might well be higher.

Since your only real negatives are high(-ish) util and short history, I'd suggest checking around for a local credit union. Your college or university might be associated with one, which would qualify you. But many community-based CU's these days have wide-open qualifications, including living, working, shopping, eating, worshipping, you name it, in So-and-so County.

CU's are great for those working on getting down util. One option, instead of a BT card, is to get a personal loan to pay off your cards. They often run about 10%- 12%, which is a lot better than your Citi rate-jack rate. You just have to be very, very careful not to let your balances go up again, because of course then you'd have the loan to repay and the new CC balances. Don't ask specifically for a consolidation loan --these often require you to close your current cards, which you certainly don't want to do.

[persica9]

Thanks for the response. I should also mention that the balance I'd like to transfer is about $2500. 

I think I'm going to wait another month or two before applying for anything. I just paid off another card entirely, which was about 15% of my total util. According to the myFICO simulator, that should bump me up  a bit. 

the TU and EQ I got from my FICO, the EX score I listed is actually a PLUS score and I didnt realize it. Once I figured it out, I tried to fix my signature it wont let me edit it anymore! weird. 

Message Edited by persica9 on 01-06-2010 08:01 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

What's happening when you try to edit? Is it letting you type in the new info, but then it doesn't show up?

This is kind of *duh*, but be sure to scroll down after changing your info and hit "Save changes." Often the button doesn't show on the screen, and it's easy to miss. I know I've done it a bunch of times.

Anyway, if down the road you get interested in a CU, most (not all) pull EQ. Before you go visiting CU loan officers, you can pull a fresh EQ FICO score and report, print it out, and show them, telling them it's a Beacon 5.0 (the industry name for the current FICO EQ score.) They would have to pull one themselves if you actually apply (a hard inq), but they might be able to eyeball your copy and give you their informed opinion as to what you could qualify for.

[persica9]

Thanks for the tip about CUs.

When I go into my profile the field for signature doesnt show up at all anymore. 

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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DI wrote:

Discover is the last bank your want to app with if there are late payments reporting on your credit report.  

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I was approved for Discover More with a high ($8.1K) CL with 13 reporting lates.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

OP -

You are not a good candidate for PenFed credit approvals until your EQ FICO score is at least 690 to 700.