best next BT card to apply for?

Expansion — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 20:50:29 GMT

Hey Fico Friends!

One of my balance transfer offers will be expiring soon, a balance of $7,900.

I'd like to get my next balance transfer offer through a credit union,

ideally that has a 0% BT offer with no BT fee, if possible,
(or just as low a fee as possible)

and an opening line of at least $17,000

to keep my utilization under 49%.

My sense is my best bet is Navy Federal, but I wanted to check in here before I actually applied.

I already have two credit cards with them, one $22k with no balance, one $12k with no balance.
The second card was opened May 12th, 2023.

I've been able to reallocate credit from card to card easily with them in the past.

I tried for a third Navy Federal card this March 2024,

and was denied after getting a nice preapproval using their prequal tool.

I believe this happened because I didn't wait long enough between applications --

in November/December 2023 I had picked up some nice new BT cards

($29k new CC from BECU
and a $12.5k new CC from PenFed,
then a small $6k from First Tech CU,
along with 2 new business credit cards that HP'd to personal.)

So I think that's why when I tried for a 3rd Navy Federal card in March 2024, it was denied,
along with Fairwinds FCU, Justice FCU, Keypoint FCU applications all being denied,
because otherwise my profile is pretty strong.

Any caveats about Navy Federal,
or recommendations that I should apply elsewhere first instead?

My overall profile has improved since that application,

including that my FICO score has gone up

and also my income,

and my utilization has gone down

as I have continued to steadily pay down CC balances

using BT cards.

My overall profile in a nutshell:

income around $180k, strong, healthy, and growing

24% overall total utilization

TU Fico 8 - 798 (!!!! O! M! G! Praise Jesus! Thank you FICO friends for helping me transform this score!!)

EXP Fico 8 - 791

EQ Fico 8 - 788

new approvals: 4/24, 3/12, 0/8

new applications: 0/8

FWIW, I have 'relationships' on the personal side with basically all the big ones: PenFed, BECU, Citizens, Navy Fed, Citi, Santander, Barclays, Chase, AmEx, BoA, Discover, Wells Fargo...

I look forward to your insight and words of wisdom!

@SouthJamaica @FinStar @K-in-Boston @M_Smart007 @Anonymous @Xanthos472

Re: best next BT card to apply for?

JoeRockhead — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 20:27:45 GMT

NFCU might be the best first choice in case they don't give you a high enough SL, you can transfer limits from other cards. I think they currently have a Platinum card with no transfer fee and .99% apr for the first 12 months.

Re: best next BT card to apply for?

Expansion — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 20:49:48 GMT

Thank you, @JoeRockhead !

topic Re: best next BT card to apply for? in Credit Card Applications

best next BT card to apply for?

Re: best next BT card to apply for?

Re: best next BT card to apply for?