Credit Cards

[Turd_Furguson]

Okay here is my situation. I have a credit score of 690-720. I currently have 1 CC from BoA which has a balance of $10k on it. The interest rate on it is 7.9% and I have asked to have a lower interest rate several times but have been told this is the lowest they offer with that card. My limit on the card is $18k. Anyways, I want to buy a home in the next 6 months. Probably apply for a FHA loan. But I recently received an offer from Citi for a CC. 0% fixed APR on balance transfers w/ no Fee and 6.99% thereafter. So I am wondering if I apply for a new CC and ask Citi to pay $5k on my BoA card if it will fly. I could really use the 0% APR for a few months to cut down on my interest. My other question is am I going to take a nose dive on score due to my credit history length. I have had my BoA card for 7yrs now.

[smallfry]

Depends on what else is on your credit file besides 1 credit card.

[Turd_Furguson]

One auto loan with $18k left and a student loan with $18k on it.

[smallfry]

What is the opening date for all of those accounts?

[Turd_Furguson]

Auto = Feb 07 Student = July 06

[Turd_Furguson]

Well I just pulled my credit reports on all the sources. Average right now is going as 745.

[debtisgood]

Turd,

How long have you had the BoA account? The interest you have now is not considered a bad rate so if you can't pay down the principal now you may have some problems.

Do you have any cash reserves? A high down payment tidyied away? If you could simply pay that CC debt down to under 20% your scores should jump quite a bit, possibly to the point of getting you a lower monthly payment which would compensate somewhat for a larger loan. It sounds like this is your only revolving account and it has fairly high util which is hurting your score.

Applying for new credit recently before a mortgage, especially if you have only 1 card may not look good to a loan officer either.

[smallfry]

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Turd_Furguson wrote:
Well I just pulled my credit reports on all the sources. Average right now is going as 745.

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Imagine what your scores would be like if your utilization was low. I would ask Citi to match the limit on the BOA. Tell them you want to balance transfer 10K. Can you pay anything down on this quickly? Normally it isn't a great idea to app so close to a home purchase but in your case if these are true FICO scores you should be OK. Maybe someone else can chime in but with your scores Citi should love you. Good luck. Match them at least match the BOA credit limit.

[debtisgood]

Small,

A new card might rebucket him though. It is hard to know. His other accounts are very new.....if his score is so high (even with high utility) based on one long open CC account, having a new card halve his average age could hurt a lot too. Its hard to tell without knowing all his open and closed accouts and their date opened.

[smallfry]

He didn't say how old his credit card was but his average age can be measured with a stop watch now. Can't hurt him that much.