Which card(s) should I apply for? Applyorama or wait?

[Anonymous]

SCORE: EQ: 658 TU: 669 EX: 641 as of 09/13/2014 myFico

INQUIR: EQ: 2 TU: 3 EX: 3

I only have two credit accounts:

 
Capital One Platinum MasterCard: $500 CL.  Started on 01/14 with $300CL.  Low usage and paid in full, never late.
Capital One Auto Loan: $13k remaining, 12.35% interest rate, 2.5 yrs left, no late payments for 2.5 years

I have two negative closed accounts that will fall off SOL in about 8 months.  Should I wait for them to fall off before I do anything?  Should I do a applyorama on Monday?  I don't need the credit, but I'm interested in upping my score by having decent credit cards with decent CLs.

Thanks

[mongstradamus]

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@Anonymous wrote:

SCORE: EQ: 658 TU: 669 EX: 641 as of 09/13/2014 myFico

INQUIR: EQ: 2 TU: 3 EX: 3

I only have two credit accounts:

 
Capital One Platinum MasterCard: $500 CL.  Started on 01/14 with $300CL.  Low usage and paid in full, never late.
Capital One Auto Loan: $13k remaining, 12.35% interest rate, 2.5 yrs left, no late payments for 2.5 years

I have two negative closed accounts that will fall off SOL in about 8 months.  Should I wait for them to fall off before I do anything?  Should I do a applyorama on Monday?  I don't need the credit, but I'm interested in upping my score by having decent credit cards with decent CLs.

Thanks

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If it were me I would wait,you should get nice score bump from those things falling off,that could get you better cards ,limits ,Apr etc

[PandiferBear]

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@Anonymous wrote:

SCORE: EQ: 658 TU: 669 EX: 641 as of 09/13/2014 myFico

INQUIR: EQ: 2 TU: 3 EX: 3

I only have two credit accounts:

 
Capital One Platinum MasterCard: $500 CL.  Started on 01/14 with $300CL.  Low usage and paid in full, never late.
Capital One Auto Loan: $13k remaining, 12.35% interest rate, 2.5 yrs left, no late payments for 2.5 years

I have two negative closed accounts that will fall off SOL in about 8 months.  Should I wait for them to fall off before I do anything?  Should I do a applyorama on Monday?  I don't need the credit, but I'm interested in upping my score by having decent credit cards with decent CLs.

Thanks

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If you do decide to wait, you might be able to get a nice CLI from Cap 1 if you hit the love button six months after your last increase.  They are being more generous than usual with that as of late.  Also, you will have better CC options with over a year of history and no baddies.  I would suggest waiting.  Best of luck either way. 

[Kenny]

Wait wait wait, don't do it now. When you have the right score, I'd suggest an auto refi as well.

[jamesdwi]

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@Anonymous wrote:

SCORE: EQ: 658 TU: 669 EX: 641 as of 09/13/2014 myFico

INQUIR: EQ: 2 TU: 3 EX: 3

I only have two credit accounts:

 
Capital One Platinum MasterCard: $500 CL.  Started on 01/14 with $300CL.  Low usage and paid in full, never late.
Capital One Auto Loan: $13k remaining, 12.35% interest rate, 2.5 yrs left, no late payments for 2.5 years

I have two negative closed accounts that will fall off SOL in about 8 months.  Should I wait for them to fall off before I do anything?  Should I do a applyorama on Monday?  I don't need the credit, but I'm interested in upping my score by having decent credit cards with decent CLs.

Thanks

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depends on what you mean by decent CL's, it will take time, Credit is a marathon, Your a bit early in your process to get "decent cards with decent CL's," your still rebuilding. Sure you could try applying for Chase, discover and their prime friends but you would most likely end up getting more toy limits. I'm sure you don't want a chase freedom with a $500 limit, where you have to pay every week to keep the card from being maxed out. Check out some other rebuilder cards, you ideally should have 3 rebuilder cards, You most likely won't have to do a secured card at this point. If you shop at Walmart or Sam's club both are decent cards with $0 AF, that may graduate to a MC at some point in time, they give frequent CLI's every 4 months. Store cards may help diversify your credit report, and will help with AAoA when you do make it to prime cards. If your scores are over 650 and your income is decent  you may want to try for an AMEX charge card they have very low underwriting requirements, I recommend the AMEX PRG card, its the same underwriting as the other charge cards, green, gold or even platinum, and the PRG's AF is waived for the first, year, getting in with AMEX this year locks in your membership year, the charge card will also give you freedom of having a decent limit ( even though they won't tell you what it is) but you most likely won't have to make weekly payments to keep your UTL under control like you probably do now. But charge cards do need to be paid in full each month. 

Then next year when you have at least 6 months to a year with 2-3 or more cards you can apply for prime cards, and potentially get the CL's you desire. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.  I will definitely wait.

My next 6 month CLI for C1 is probably 4 months away.  Is it possible to ask them to do a SP to do BT to one of their better cards (now that my scores are much better recently)?  I don't want to waste a HP for it just yet.  But if it's a SP I could ask.

[sarux3]

Unless Capital One is an exception, lenders do not allow BT across their own cards.  But with a $500 line, you can't have that much balance to be costing a lot of interest accrual.  I'd just pay down what you have and think about applying for another card in a few months. 

[Anonymous]

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@sarux3 wrote:

Unless Capital One is an exception, lenders do not allow BT across their own cards.  But with a $500 line, you can't have that much balance to be costing a lot of interest accrual.  I'd just pay down what you have and think about applying for another card in a few months. 

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Hey sorry let me clarify.  I was paying it in full 0% util but I just found out that was hurting my score by A LOT ( according to Equifax score simulator said my score would go up by 60+ points if I had 1% util instead of 0% util).

I'm asking about this b/c I've read on the forums that people were able to convert their C1 Platinum MasterCard into a C1 Venture card, etc..  So I was hoping that with 650ish avg FICO that it might be possible for me to do something similar, but I would only want a SP b/c everyone told me to wait until my last 2 neg accounts drop in about 8 months.

[CreditDunce]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the replies.  I will definitely wait.

My next 6 month CLI for C1 is probably 4 months away.  Is it possible to ask them to do a SP to do BT to one of their better cards (now that my scores are much better recently)?  I don't want to waste a HP for it just yet.  But if it's a SP I could ask.

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I think what you are asking about is a Product Conversion (PC).   With a PC,  the CCC converts your current credit card to a different type.  You keep all of the same credit history.   Normally, it is done with a SP.  Although, it may need a HP depending on the CCC and what you are converting to.

Cap1 is not a good CCC for PC's.  You will probably be able to eventually be able to PC, but probably not now.   You can call them up (probably will require the EO) to verify.

For best luck with CLI's, it is normally better to use the card more.  Cap1 may be more stingy if they don't think you are using the card enough.  However, don't buy stuff just to get a higher CL.  Only use the card to buy what you would otherwise buy and pay your bill in full each month.    If you are using the card heavily, you may need to pay multiple times each month. 

The only other thing I would do is look into a car refi with a local CU or DCU.   You are probably a few months away from being able to refi, but asking what your CU wants your score to be could give you a good goal.  Note, I am not recommending you apply and take a HP right now.

GL

[sarux3]

Got it, thanks for clarifying.  Since you just have the one card, the simulator gave you the right advice -- it's best to have a small amount reporting on your card than a zero balance, to demonstrate utilization to lenders.  So you just want to do a product change, not a BT.  That's really easy to do with Capital One and does not cost an inquiry, except that CapOne has to deem you eligible for the PC.  I'd get onto online chat with a CSR and see if they can PC you to something more favorable, since it doesn't hurt to ask.  But, I'll wager that they would want to see more history and perhaps a thicker file before upgrading you to a Venture.  At the very least, they should be able to move you to a QuicksilverOne.