topic Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts? in Credit Cards

The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 04:50:07 GMT

So my fiancée is at 46% overall UT and 80%+ on 3 accounts. But I just got a CLI on my NFCU card to 13k and there's a BT promo right now so we're transferring all her CC debt to me making her UT between 0 and 1% (0 is bad we've heard so leaving under $50 balance on one card).

Her score prior to this was 715 as of today it's 687 she has no derogs (aside from (2) 30 day lates from 2012 which should have no impact on her credit score). After this is paid we are guessing it'll shoot to 730. Any thoughts on something we should do a specific card to app for or anything?

She's been in the garden for a while (3 cards opened in the last 24 months) we are considering her applying for the Chase FU (she currently has Chase Freedom and Slate) but only in branch and only if she can get the $300 bonus for $500 spend not the $150 Standard.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

DeeBee78 — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 05:09:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So my fiancée is at 46% overall UT and 80%+ on 3 accounts. But I just got a CLI on my NFCU card to 13k and there's a BT promo right now so we're transferring all her CC debt to me making her UT between 0 and 1% (0 is bad we've heard so leaving under $50 balance on one card).

Her score prior to this was 715 as of today it's 687 she has no derogs (aside from (2) 30 day lates from 2012 which should have no impact on her credit score). After this is paid we are guessing it'll shoot to 730. Any thoughts on something we should do a specific card to app for or anything?

She's been in the garden for a while (3 cards opened in the last 24 months) we are considering her applying for the Chase FU (she currently has Chase Freedom and Slate) but only in branch and only if she can get the $300 bonus for $500 spend not the $150 Standard.

Paying the debt off is more important than scores. Pay all your balances down to zero, and don't worry about leaving a small balance reporting.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 05:27:07 GMT

Yeah that's not happening though. And in the meantime while we are making payments towards the debt a $300 sign up bonus is pretty enticing especially when it's only on $500 spend over 3 months. While we will budget and cut out some things we will definitely spend $500 within 3 months on costs of living (food, gas, clothes, etc.) and if $300 of that $500 is taken care of that's just really helpful for us. Just my honest thoughts.

Also, why shouldn't we worry about a small balance reporting according to multiple threads here if you show a 0 balance FICO will drop you about 20-30 points

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

DeeBee78 — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 05:33:37 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Yeah that's not happening though. And in the meantime while we are making payments towards the debt a $300 sign up bonus is pretty enticing especially when it's only on $500 spend over 3 months. While we will budget and cut out some things we will definitely spend $500 within 3 months on costs of living (food, gas, clothes, etc.) and if $300 of that $500 is taken care of that's just really helpful for us. Just my honest thoughts.

Also, why shouldn't we worry about a small balance reporting according to multiple threads here if you show a 0 balance FICO will drop you about 20-30 points

Leaving a small balance reporting on ONE card is the best for scoring. Leaving balances reporting on additional cards will hurt your score.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 05:41:14 GMT

If you read my initial post that's exactly what I said we were doing...

" (0 is bad we've heard so leaving under $50 balance on one card)."

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

DeeBee78 — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 06:28:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If you read my initial post that's exactly what I said we were doing...

" (0 is bad we've heard so leaving under $50 balance on one card)."

My mistake. I thought you were leaving balances on all your cards.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Chris679 — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 06:30:26 GMT

FYI on the 30 day late my FICO went from 760-770 to 800+ when I got a single 4 year old 30 day late removed last year.

Also I know you don't want hear this but chasing sign up bonuses when you have cards at 80% utilization sounds like a terrible idea to me.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 16:51:45 GMT

Chris - Did you do GW letters? And what bank?

It wouldn't be multiple it would be one and that's only because the sign up bonus covers 60% of the amount spent and we are spending that amount regardless. After that it would be into the Garden.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Chris679 — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 20:17:08 GMT

Capital One, emailed the CEO after trying everything in the book over the course of 3+ years.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 20:23:16 GMT

I personally wouldn't do anything until she was your wife.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

yfan — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 20:46:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If you read my initial post that's exactly what I said we were doing...

" (0 is bad we've heard so leaving under $50 balance on one card)."

Balance reported is also different from balance carried. You can let a balance report and pay it off in full before the due date, avoiding interest. If you do not pay in full by the due date however, you are carrying a balance and paying interest. That seems to be what's happening with the $50. You could just pay it off, use the card, let it bill, pay in full before due date, repeat.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 20:53:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So my fiancée is at 46% overall UT and 80%+ on 3 accounts. But I just got a CLI on my NFCU card to 13k and there's a BT promo right now so we're transferring all her CC debt to me making her UT between 0 and 1% (0 is bad we've heard so leaving under $50 balance on one card).

Her score prior to this was 715 as of today it's 687 she has no derogs (aside from (2) 30 day lates from 2012 which should have no impact on her credit score). After this is paid we are guessing it'll shoot to 730. Any thoughts on something we should do a specific card to app for or anything?

She's been in the garden for a while (3 cards opened in the last 24 months) we are considering her applying for the Chase FU (she currently has Chase Freedom and Slate) but only in branch and only if she can get the $300 bonus for $500 spend not the $150 Standard.

I had no idea that this is permissible. Apparently, it is because no one in this thread has pointed this out. I have a lot to learn.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 00:07:15 GMT

Thejoshuatree - Well we own a home together, a business together, have a son together and are engaged

Soloman - NFCU doesn't use names for the accounts you're paying they just send a check for the account number so it's definitely possible and I submitted them last week. It's the best option for us right now.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 00:49:03 GMT

Matt - we are all here to help with Fico advise, info etc. Never feel the need to explain/defend your other life choices.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 00:49:23 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thejoshuatree - Well we own a home together, a business together, have a son together and are engaged

Soloman - NFCU doesn't use names for the accounts you're paying they just send a check for the account number so it's definitely possible and I submitted them last week. It's the best option for us right now.

Is this common or just unique for NFCU??

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

dragontears — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 00:53:09 GMT

It is common. You can BT from anyone's card to your card, companies don't care. (At least that has been my experience)

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 01:15:22 GMT

Just not a lot of people are willing take on someone else's debt or to sacrifice their credit score for someone else.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

UncleB — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 02:43:30 GMT

@dragontears wrote:
It is common. You can BT from anyone's card to your card, companies don't care. (At least that has been my experience)

I've yet to hear of any company needing anything other than the bank name, account number, and sometimes the address for who you want to pay off.

I've done it myself with relatives (for a debt shuffle) and from personal experience I can say that Wells Fargo, USAA, Capital One, NFCU, Discover, and BoA specifically don't ask for the name or owner of the account you're paying off. As long as you're within your credit line and have a BT 'offer' you're good to go.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 03:26:43 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@dragontears wrote:
It is common. You can BT from anyone's card to your card, companies don't care. (At least that has been my experience)
+1

I've yet to hear of any company needing anything other than the bank name, account number, and sometimes the address for who you want to pay off.

I've done it myself with relatives (for a debt shuffle) and from personal experience I can say that Wells Fargo, USAA, Capital One, NFCU, Discover, and BoA specifically don't ask for the name or owner of the account you're paying off. As long as you're within your credit line and have a BT 'offer' you're good to go.

Right. There is no real reason for them to care, unless it's one of their accounts or they believe that you are trying to circumvent cash advance costs. You are on the hook for the money however it was spent. Also, as soon as you get into names and addresses, you have to start worrying is John Smith the same as John D Smith III, and J. Donald Smith etc, as people don't always have exactly the same name on each account. Plus bank B probably isn't going to provide much verification info to Bank A about one of its accounts.

Re: The Switcheroo any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 03:38:18 GMT

Ha! Well...yeah...that'll do. Carry on. 😀