credit advice

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone,

I recently started trying to build my credit by getting my first card about a year ago. I am a student and make about 13K a year. My credit scores are around 700 and I am 20. So far I have:

Discovery it-$1,000

Bank of America Travel rewards- $1,000

Chase southwest- $3,000

Capital one Journey- $500

Target credit card- $300

Amazon- $1200

Macys- $400

My plan was to not apply for any new cards for atleast 6 months. I was considering opening a checking account with penfed. Does anyone have any experience with this. Do they do a HP when I apply? Is there any other way to get in besides working for the government? Also, if you were going to apply for CLI which card would you do it on. Any other credit advice is much appreciated.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello everyone,

I recently started trying to build my credit by getting my first card about a year ago. I am a student and make about 13K a year. My credit scores are around 700 and I am 20. So far I have:

Discovery it-$1,000

Bank of America Travel rewards- $1,000

Chase southwest- $3,000

Capital one Journey- $500

Target credit card- $300

Amazon- $1200

Macys- $400

My plan was to not apply for any new cards for atleast 6 months. I was considering opening a checking account with penfed. Does anyone have any experience with this. Do they do a HP when I apply? Is there any other way to get in besides working for the government? Also, if you were going to apply for CLI which card would you do it on. Any other credit advice is much appreciated.

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Welcome to MyFico

Regarding PenFed.  You don't have to work for the government to join.  There is an organization you can join for a small fee that gives you eligibility.  It is an HP to join but that same HP can be used for up to 90 days to apply for their credit cards or other products.

[Anonymous]

I would open the Penfed checking/apply for one of their credit cards after you garden (HP lasts for 90 days like Irish80 stated above so applying for membership around the time you would like to apply for the credit card would be ideal)... It wouldn't hurt to have more than 1 year history before applying with Penfed.

When you want to apply for membership, you can go to Penfed's homepage and click "Join Now" under "Membership Process." In the drop down, if you choose "Other," there are two options: Voices for America's Troops ($14) or National Military Family Association ($15). This membership fee is one time only and does not bill annually (unless you would like to keep donating after the first year to continue membership in one of the associations).

Among your cards, I would ask for a CLI with Amazon Synchrony. I went from $2,200 to $5,000 in about 1 year with similar income (YMMV).

Good luck!

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Do they do a HP when I apply? Is there any other way to get in besides working for the government?

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Yes.

Second question is answered above but eligbility info is on their site.  Most CU's have eligiblity info on their respective sites.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Also, if you were going to apply for CLI which card would you do it on. 

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Doesn't matter what I or others would or would not do.  Your decisions need to be based on your specific need/wants.  You should be selecting cards using that criteria and you should use it to determine the CLI's you request.  Which would be most useful to you?

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@Anonymous wrote:

It wouldn't hurt to have more than 1 year history before applying with Penfed.

It wouldn't hurt but it won't necessarily help either.  As with any creditor, credit profile and income are primary considerations.  1 year of a checking account or membership will not make or break an approval or overrule those factors.

[Anonymous]

Sorry! I meant 1 more year of credit history with the cards you have now and then applying for Penfed membership and CC within 90 days of each other.