topic Re: Could use a new card. in Credit Cards

Could use a new card.

Equinox — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:22:05 GMT

I currently have three credit cards and a store card.

Those being

Cap One - 500

Cap One - 750 (No Hassle Rewards)

Credit One - 400 - this card sucks i know.

Old Navy Store Card - 100 (recently slashed from 500 with a 0 balance, wtf)

I'm only 21 and have a credit history of 1.5 years.

My FICO score at the moment is at 711/TU 739

Never ever had a late payment and am at about 20% utilization. The FICO report likes me, only thing that hurts is my credit history.

However, I would like a new card - these limits are way too low for me and I'm the type who likex to buy more expensive items on my cards but i can't really buy the Dell 24 inch i've wanted for a while with one of those and pay it off over time because it'll have a high utilization.

Case in point - I'd like a credit line that is at least in the 1500 range but i have no idea where to find that, and given the credit crunch we're in at the moment i don't even really want to apply. I have seen people combine Capital One accounts but I'd rather not lose the history i have on them. My C1 is the oldest card i have and the 750 one was opened in May. My brother, who works for US Bank suggested i get a major bank card like Bank of America, I'd really like to aim for one i can get though with said credit limit. Any general suggestions?

My thoughts for you

Anonymous — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:44:57 GMT

I have been a customer with Bank of America since I was 16 years old. I did not get a credit card with them until September of 2007 and that was a huge mistake on my part.

I was making a deposit at the drive thru and the young man told me that I had an offer to get a credit card with a $7500 dollar limit and he needed my approval to process the information. I said what the heck and did not fill out any information other than a signature sent back through hitting send to teller.

Two weeks later I received the BankAmericard with a $7500 dollar limit, however, I did not open it for about one month because I forgot about the moment in the drive thru.

I am sorry for ranting but I will give you my opinion on what you should do. I would open a checking/savings account with Bank of America. If you give it about a month or two with your credit scores they will have a nice pre-qualified offer for you at the bank. When you get the card and the nice cushion of available credit I would look for your scores to make a nice move upwards.

You must remember that Bank of America takes care of it's customers by giving them high credit limits and nice CLIs when possible. Do not ever ever ever ever ever pay your bill late because your interest will shoot through the roof.

If you decide to get a Bank of America credit card and you are not a member of the bank your credit limit might not be as generous, nevertheless, the card should give you a higher limit than what you have available right now.

Good Luck--TheTaxMan

And PS

Anonymous — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:52:44 GMT

When I was building my credit I used Capital One and Orchard Bank to build my credit history. Capital One was not generous with my CLIs when my credit score really started moving upwards in the world of credit and Orchard Bank charged a $59.00 fee.

Down the road I decided to cancel both cards because I used them to get better cards where respect is given for responsible credit use. I do not tell people to close cards, but I am just letting you know that when you are done with particular cards move on from the relationships.

Hence, credit building is the stage you are in right now, but you will one day be credit gardening!!! Think four years ahead versus just today with credit.

TheTaxMan

Re: And PS

Itsmeagain — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:34:10 GMT

I know many folks don't like HSBC but I love my Best Buy store card. They offer 18 months interest free on any purchase above $499. With your scores you should have no problem getting the credit line you need. I believe you would stand a better chance by apping in the store.

Re: Could use a new card.

score_building — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:13:49 GMT

@Equinox wrote:
I currently have three credit cards and a store card.
Those being

Cap One - 500
Cap One - 750 (No Hassle Rewards)
Credit One - 400 - this card sucks i know.
Old Navy Store Card - 100 (recently slashed from 500 with a 0 balance, wtf)

I'm only 21 and have a credit history of 1.5 years.
My FICO score at the moment is at 711/TU 739
Never ever had a late payment and am at about 20% utilization. The FICO report likes me, only thing that hurts is my credit history.

However, I would like a new card - these limits are way too low for me and I'm the type who likex to buy more expensive items on my cards but i can't really buy the Dell 24 inch i've wanted for a while with one of those and pay it off over time because it'll have a high utilization.

Case in point - I'd like a credit line that is at least in the 1500 range but i have no idea where to find that, and given the credit crunch we're in at the moment i don't even really want to apply. I have seen people combine Capital One accounts but I'd rather not lose the history i have on them. My C1 is the oldest card i have and the 750 one was opened in May. My brother, who works for US Bank suggested i get a major bank card like Bank of America, I'd really like to aim for one i can get though with said credit limit. Any general suggestions?

before you combine the cap1s simply confirm that you will keep the age of the older account (most who combine reportedly do) and you'll be pretty close to your 1500 right there. see if you can get a cli as well by calling a backdoor number for cap1 once you have at least 6 months on both cards. there's no rush to do this necessarily but considering your stated goal and that multiple low limit cards are unlikely to serve you well in the long term it may be the most logical next step on your way to higher limits.

boa is a great lender to get in with and generally offers good cl's and cli's

check the boa's pre approval site, you may find a card that appeals to you that you are preapproved for:

BoA

https://preapproved.bankofamerica.com/cc/SelfInquiry.aspx

boa seems to pull EQ reports for these, but they typically pull EX and sometimes TU as well for the real thing.

i wish i had got in with a good cu when i was your age you should consider this no matter what you decide about apping prime lenders. cu's generally offer good limits and increases on their cards as well. moreover they are not acting out against their members in the way banks are against their customers due to the credit crunch.

Re: Could use a new card.

Equinox — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:17:16 GMT

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I tried the backdoor number for Capital One and got a pleasant lady who basically said Capital One wasn't giving anyone CLI's due to the state of the economy and the only one she approved today was for 250 dollars. She also said that my account was not eligible for customer requested CLI's. I think I've heard that before and it's pretty absurd.

So I think i should just go ahead and combine my Capital One cards and tell them to keep the one with the longest history and lose the one i've had for six months. That'll leave me with two credit cards and the Old Navy store card. Is this a good thing to do? How will it affect me in terms of looking for a new card and my current score?

Re: Could use a new card.

MidnightVoice — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:21:16 GMT

You could join your local credit union and try them.

Or the bank that you use regularly

Re: Could use a new card.

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:55:43 GMT

I would dump CreditOne before apping with BOA. Better bet is a credit union.

Re: Could use a new card.

n2win — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:36:26 GMT

A secured card is one way to get a higher limit.

In my case, with no "positive" credit in many years, I talked to my bank at the time (Wells Fargo) and although they wouldn't/couldn't approve an unsecured card, with my deposit, I was able to get a card with a $2000 limit (still my highest) and a few months later, BofA approved me for an unsecured card.

Just a thought...

Re: Could use a new card.

wmarat — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:49:35 GMT

As always, I suggest BOA secured card or/and local CU.

Re: Could use a new card.

score_building — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:08:45 GMT

@Equinox wrote:
How will it affect me in terms of looking for a new card and my current score?

won't necessarily have a large impact on either. your cli may offer a smal boost and one of your best bets is probably still a cu.

oh yeah, i somehow forgot to remind you in my previous post to dump credit one like a bad habit. you won't look back, not with the scores you posted.

Discover has a nice small roster of generally highly touted cards:

http://www.discovercard.com/more/rates.html

http://www.discovercard.com/motiva/rates.html

not sure how they'll factor in your relatively short history on a more or motiva app.

Re: Could use a new card.

spiritcraft1 — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:01:59 GMT

From personal experience, I bet your score might actually rise a bit if you get a Visa, MC or Discover with a line at 1,500 or more. Did you try the BofA preselector?

Are your other FICO's in the range of your TU score? How about inquiries? I think if you research a bit and match a couple apps to your best scores and INQ situation, you may get a couple of decent lines... and then in six months will be even more appealing to prime issuers...

There are several players who would normally be perfect but many are acting a bit screwy at the moment...

At some point you want:

A good CU

Perhaps a Discover

A nice Visa product.. what about US Bank???

A nice store card that will grow with you... ie. Nordstrom, Macys...

Good luck... you are in a pretty good situation.

Message Edited by spiritcraft1 on 11-30-2008 09:01 AM

Re: Could use a new card.

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:02:44 GMT

I was in the same boat as you about a month ago. I have good scores, but I'm young (19 years old) so I also got my first Capital One credit card about a year ago. I personally believe that you getting that second Cap 1 card was a mistake.

But anyways, I applied for the Chase Perfect Card and got approved for a $3,200 credit limit, which is my first and only semi-large limit.

My Cap 1 is 500, and my Paypal account has a credit line of 400. But all I can say is don't go Citi. I recently got denied for "not using my credit cards."

Re: Could use a new card.

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:43:27 GMT

@Equinox wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I tried the backdoor number for Capital One and got a pleasant lady who basically said Capital One wasn't giving anyone CLI's due to the state of the economy and the only one she approved today was for 250 dollars. She also said that my account was not eligible for customer requested CLI's. I think I've heard that before and it's pretty absurd.

So, first she tells you that Capital One isn't giving anyone CLIs. Then she tells you that your account is not eligible for a CLI. After that, then she gives you a CLI of $ 250

Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 11-30-2008 08:43 AM

Re: Could use a new card.

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:46:17 GMT

MojaveMoon wrote:
@Equinox wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I tried the backdoor number for Capital One and got a pleasant lady who basically said Capital One wasn't giving anyone CLI's due to the state of the economy and the only one she approved today was for 250 dollars. She also said that my account was not eligible for customer requested CLI's. I think I've heard that before and it's pretty absurd.

So, first she tells you that Capital One isn't giving anyone CLIs. Then she tells you that your account is not eligible for a CLI. After that, then she gives you a CLI of $ 250
Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 11-30-2008 08:43 AM

I think Equinox is stating that the CSR was able to give one CLI to one person on that day, not to Equinox, but to someone else.

Re: Could use a new card.

Equinox — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:33:30 GMT

Yes Whirled that was the case.

I just tried the BofA preselector and it picked three cards there, all of which were platinum ones with what it said would be credit lines of 2k. They were the bofa AMEX accelerated rewards card, a Visa Platinum and Cash Rewards Platinum MC.

I not sure which one to go ahead and pick so i didn't do it just yet. The AMEX seems the best choice among them though.

Re: Could use a new card.

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:32:38 GMT

Besides those BofA cards, there's also a BofA Accelerated Cash Rewards American Express: (link)

If that link doesn't work, then you can find the card using google.

Regarding the non-cash version of that BofA Accel. Rewards Amex, I had read this comment regarding redeeming the points for cash:

Comment by Ashes - Posted on 2008-11-19

Like you I applied last week and got my card and activated it this afternoon. They had given me $13k limit and I carry $0 balance so I didn't do a BT.

While this is an Am Ex brand, watch out for their rewards program! It not not 1% cashback till you get 25,000 points! Yes, 25,000 points! You get 1.25 points per $ but the first 2500 points get you only $12.50. That means $12.50 for the first $2k spent (1.25 point per $) which comes to 0.625%. 10,000 points get you $80 (which translates to 1%) and 25000 points get you $250. So unless you spend $20k on the card 1.25 points per $ don't mean that much. My HSBC Cashback Mastercard is straight 1% starting at 2500 points, no caps no expirations. My Chase Freedom does the same with 3% in some categories. I personally don't like cards where I have to spend so much to get maximum cash back. 25000 points will take me 2 years to get there. The rewards should be simpler and better but that is just my opinion.

I will keep this in my wallet but will use my Chase Freedom and HSBC card and Discover for their 5% cash back categories.

Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 12-01-2008 04:32 AM

Re: Could use a new card.

Equinox — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:29:43 GMT

Hi Mojave,

I went ahead and applied for the BofA Amex Accelerated Cash Rewards card that you linked. It appears i got approved for the card with the 2k credit line. Pretty sweet!

Thanks guys, the BofA link was a good one.

In regard to the Capital One card consolidation - i went ahead and called them and they basically told me that if i wanted to combine cards I would lose the reward points i have accumulated on my No Hassle Rewards account and combine that card limit with my old one. I've got like 7k points on that card and I'm not about to go ahead and lose that, anyone else have experience with combining two Cap One accounts, one of which was a rewards card?