topic Re: PENFED material or NOT??? in Credit Cards

PENFED material or NOT???

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:34:40 GMT

I need some assistance from the PROS...

During the last year I have come a long way from anywhere from a 490 to 590 Fico score and since then have been establishing new credit to put me more ahead of the game.

My current info follows.

EQ: 662 Simulator Says 662-682 Next month.

TU: 644 Simulator Says 644-664 Next month.

EX: 635.

My EQ has three accounts on it to include

A)BOA $500.00 CC that has been opened since APPROVAL and never late

B)HSBC $1000.00 CC that has been opened since FEB-2008 and never late

C)Old Bank account that went to collections on July 2005 (DOLA) and has been paid in full back in Jan 2008. The comment for that says "Bad Debt, Collection"

D) MYFICO Reports says my score is low due to NO installment loans. ( I plan to finiance a new truck through GMAC here in the coming month or two which will help)

The other two CRs have a federal Tax Lien on them and is in the midst of being removed. IRS tells me that the cert. of withdrawal should be at the house in a couple of weeks and I have the rest of the paper work prepared for the mail.

My question for you guys is;

Am I ready for PEN FED?

(I want a new CC from them)

If not what do you suggest that I go after to further better my score and overall history?

Once again thank you for all of your support and input.

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

smallfry — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:59:13 GMT

I would wait a bit.

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:32:44 GMT

How long would you recommend and how should I mold myself to look better?

Are there any other lenders that better fit me today?>

Thank you for all your assistance/.

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

Creditaddict — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:52:18 GMT

Citi Bank

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

oracles — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:24:31 GMT

Hi Chuck:

I definitely agree that you should wait. Penfed is a very conservative bank. They have very strict guidelines in obtaining a credit card. They are very sensitive to inquiries and baddies. One thing going for you is you don't have many inquiries in the past year. However, i really would put more time between you and that collection account. Maybe try to GW it off of your report. Penfed likes to see scores in the range of 680-700. In today's times, it might have increased.

Citibank is a good options to look into.

You can also go to bankrate.com and check out which credit card you maybe interested and then come back here and ask for some advise as to if this is a good choice with your situation.

Also go to www.whogavemecredit.com to see what cards are being approved with your scores and report.

Hope this helps keep us updated

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

score_building — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:28:47 GMT

may want to try a local cu first, pf seems not to like newish histories in your score range these days.

when the inaccurate baddies is removed and TU and EX are 660ish may want to consider discover, citi, ymmv. you could also look at the cap1 preselector and see if they have any cards you like.

pen fed, it seems, has tightened approval standards in recent months. they appear to like longish histories, and not like eq inq.'s, recent baddies, high util or new accounts. few reports recently of low to mid 700s with established histories and low util being denied. the good thing is even if you are denied, you can subsequently reapp w/o prejudice after you review the reasons for denial and brush up on your credentials.

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

manyquestions — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:37:02 GMT

@score_building wrote:
may want to try a local cu first, pf seems not to like newish histories in your score range these days.
when the inaccurate baddies is removed and TU and EX are 660ish may want to consider discover, citi, ymmv. you could also look at the cap1 preselector and see if they have any cards you like.

pen fed, it seems, has tightened approval standards in recent months. they appear to like longish histories, and not like eq inq.'s, recent baddies, high util or new accounts. few reports recently of low to mid 700s with established histories and low util being denied. the good thing is even if you are denied, you can subsequently reapp w/o prejudice after you review the reasons for denial and brush up on your credentials.

You definitely want to wait until you are over 700 on Equifax FICO. Penfed was conservative, now they are more conservative.

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

jmbfl — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:08:05 GMT

@score_building wrote:
may want to try a local cu first, pf seems not to like newish histories in your score range these days.
when the inaccurate baddies is removed and TU and EX are 660ish may want to consider discover, citi, ymmv. you could also look at the cap1 preselector and see if they have any cards you like.

pen fed, it seems, has tightened approval standards in recent months. they appear to like longish histories, and not like eq inq.'s, recent baddies, high util or new accounts. few reports recently of low to mid 700s with established histories and low util being denied. the good thing is even if you are denied, you can subsequently reapp w/o prejudice after you review the reasons for denial and brush up on your credentials.

I concur. +1

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

TangMeister — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:27:57 GMT

Wait on the credit card. Highly unlikely they'll approve you at this time. BUT.....

Good luck!

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 04:16:20 GMT

That is all some good guidence. Thank you.

Well it seems as if i might not have what it takes YET...

But I will look at signing up with them after i get my credit cards and auto loans.

I was going to chose GMAC for my Auto finaince becasue there are offering better deals then banks or CUs (0%) They have also lowered there Score min from 700 down to 621. here is a link for the info.

GMAC New Credit Score MIN

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/business/31auto.html?ref=automobiles

I was also looking through many other peoples post and noticed that NAVY FCU is a good CU that works with people in the 600's and I am also elegiable becasue i am a contractor or the DOD.

Does anyone have any input about this CU and I noticed that on the whogavemecredit.com there approving cards for 3.5K to 7K.

I want to go after everything with in the 14 days window to lessen the impact of my score .

Any more guidence would be most greatful and once again

THANK YOU ALL....

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

score_building — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 04:27:49 GMT

imho it doesn't get better than navy, wish i was eligible they are likely to have v. good auto financing which you can check out b4 deciding on that.

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

TangMeister — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 09:56:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
That is all some good guidence. Thank you.
Well it seems as if i might not have what it takes YET...
But I will look at signing up with them after i get my credit cards and auto loans.

I was going to chose GMAC for my Auto finaince becasue there are offering better deals then banks or CUs (0%) They have also lowered there Score min from 700 down to 621. here is a link for the info.
GMAC New Credit Score MIN
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/business/31auto.html?ref=automobiles

I was also looking through many other peoples post and noticed that NAVY FCU is a good CU that works with people in the 600's and I am also elegiable becasue i am a contractor or the DOD.
Does anyone have any input about this CU and I noticed that on the whogavemecredit.com there approving cards for 3.5K to 7K.

I want to go after everything with in the 14 days window to lessen the impact of my score .

Any more guidence would be most greatful and once again

THANK YOU ALL....

If you're eligible for NFCU, then by all means jump in ASAP. They are, hands down, the best CU I've ever dealt with, and they are extremely generous and, as you'll read, forgiving of credit dings for many people. Go for it, and good luck!

Re: PENFED material or NOT???

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:44:40 GMT

Hi Chuck,

Navy Fed is definitely your best bet right now.

They pride themselves on helping people with

bumps on their credit get back on their feet.

They pull Equifax only, with the exception of mortgages.

In that instance, they pull all 3 but go with whatever credit

report has your middle FICO score at that time.

PenFed, on the other hand, is incredibly conservative.

Just like others have already said, they hate baddies

and don't like to see recent inquiries (within last 12 mos).

You'll need a 700+ Equifax just to be considered right now.

I think the key to your success lies in your MyFICO report.

It's telling you that you need an installment loan.

My advice is to join Navy Fed and go after either a signature loan

or an auto loan first. Based on your MyFICO report, just the presence

of an installment loan on your reports will cause your scores to rise.

Pay on time for at least 6 months and then go after a credit card.

The more positive history you build with Navy Fed, the better.

*** EDIT TO ADD*** Now that I think about it, Chuck, you're betting off not

applying for any more credit cards for a while. Your reports are saying you

have enough cc's right now. A better strategy might be to request a credit

limit increase...especially from BofA. They have proven to be very generous

with CLI's, provided that you always pay on time. CLI's will help your scores

rise as long as you keep a zero or low balance ( 0 - 9% is optimal ).

You're right that GMAC is offering super rates right now, and a 621

FICO is all that's needed. But even getting an auto loan thru Navy Fed

at a higher rate (as low as 5.25% for 60-72mos right now) is a smart

move long-term because they can do more for you credit wise than

GMAC can. Plus, Navy Fed rewards loyalty. The longer you stay with

them, the better rates you qualify for over time....with "over time" being

the key phrase. They view member loyalty as a positive compensating

factor. But you must always pay early, worst case on time. There aren't

enough words in the English language to express how important this is.

And as you know, with credit unions the membership owns the institution.

With GMAC, stockholders and bondholders call the shots but customers

are at the end of the line. So it's something to consider in the big picture

when thinking about your credit future.

Hope this helps, Chuck. Please keep us posted on your progress.

Enjoy the weekend!!!

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything"

Message Edited by CanDoAttitude on 01-18-2009 03:44 AM