@skoop wrote:I'm hoping this is the right forum for this question....
I need dental work 4-5 K. I have a limit of 8K on a Capital One card, that I have had for years, and currently down to about $600. I will need to put the dental work on a card, and wondering if my score would be affected more by using this card after a long time of not using, or applying for a new card.
I also don't know if Care Credit will approve me or not, so there's that.
Any help is appreciated. I need to make a decision soon, or be toothless!
1. Arguably your post is not under the right heading, since it relates to "credit cards", but arguably it is under the right heading since it asks which alternative will be kinder to your FICO scores. Since I'm not a moderator, I don't have to decide 
2. We don't want you toothless.
3. I say apply for Care Credit, asking for a $15k credit limit [don't be nervous about that; Care Credit gives big limits, and they won't hold it against you. If they want to give you a smaller starting limit they'll counter]
4. One crummy inquiry and one crummy new account won't cost you as many points as the increased utilization on your Cap One card would cause.
5. And you'll be saving a boatload of interest, not to mention your teeth.
@skoop wrote:Thank you for your response.
And yes, the interest rate on the CO card is ridiculous
I was thinking along the lines of asking for 5K, and if I did use this card for the dental work, it would max out my limit, and wondering what that would do my score? I doubt that Care Credit will approve me for any more than that.
TYIA for your response.
Don't worry about what Care Credit will approve you for; they don't reject you for asking for too high a limit, they just offer you a lower limit if they think it's appropriate.
If they do approve you for just 5k then you have to rethink whether to put the entire bill on Care Credit. But that's a question for another day.
For now you should just apply for Care Credit and ask for a BIG limit. Trust me on this; it won't hurt you.