topic Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice in Credit Cards

NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 21:56:49 GMT

So I got in with Navy Federal yesterday, and am wondering which credit card I should go for. The GoRewards would be the most useful to my current profile, however I intend to use the card for a fairly large purchase. Would you recommend I try for the Platinum card first in hopes of a super low APR and then changing it to the GoRewards, or just go ahead and grab the GoRewards to make use of the points while also paying off the large balance that will be there?

Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

Adkins — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 22:17:40 GMT

Why not apply for both at the same time?

Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

K-in-Boston — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 22:30:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So I got in with Navy Federal yesterday, and am wondering which credit card I should go for. The GoRewards would be the most useful to my current profile, however I intend to use the card for a fairly large purchase. Would you recommend I try for the Platinum card first in hopes of a super low APR and then changing it to the GoRewards, or just go ahead and grab the GoRewards to make use of the points while also paying off the large balance that will be there?

Whichever card best works for your spending is the one you should go for. If you got the Platinum card and did a product change, your APR would be increased 3% up to the maximum of 18%. The APR is lower on that one because there are no rewards. Just remember that carrying a balance will offset the rewards you earn.

Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 02:03:40 GMT

I would go for the card that you really want off the bat. If GoRewards works for you, then get that one.

Right now, NFCU is offering a personal loan of 6.99% (if you qualify of course, you know your credit better than anybody) for a term of up to 3 years. So, if you want the GoRewards and you can pay in full what you charge on it, great. If you also need a financial tool to pay on a balance for a while you could always get a personal loan through them on top of the GoRewards credit card. So, if I understand your situation correctly, you want the GoRewards card to make a large purchase for the points but will need to revolve the balance for a while? If you did the loan on top of the card, you could use the loan money (once deposited into your checking account) to pay the card in full while still enjoying a low rate on the loan (if you qualify of course). Too many here focus on NFCU only for the credit cards and CLOC for padding and neglect to realize how awesome of a CU NFCU is. Their loan rates and savings rates are pretty darn good.

I do not recommend applying for two NFCU cards at the same time...I believe it is rare for them to approve two at once. Most people open one card then after three months and a successful CLI on their first card they apply for the second card. Again though, why have two cards when the personal loan can act as your low rate vehicle to repay a debt?

Also, kind of off topic, but did anybody notice that the GoRewards appears to have been slightly redesigned? It looks like NFCU is going to be switching to unembossed, card-info-on-the-back-of-the-card-as well...ugh.

Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

Adkins — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 03:35:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I would go for the card that you really want off the bat. If GoRewards works for you, then get that one.

Right now, NFCU is offering a personal loan of 6.99% (if you qualify of course, you know your credit better than anybody) for a term of up to 3 years. So, if you want the GoRewards and you can pay in full what you charge on it, great. If you also need a financial tool to pay on a balance for a while you could always get a personal loan through them on top of the GoRewards credit card. So, if I understand your situation correctly, you want the GoRewards card to make a large purchase for the points but will need to revolve the balance for a while? If you did the loan on top of the card, you could use the loan money (once deposited into your checking account) to pay the card in full while still enjoying a low rate on the loan (if you qualify of course). Too many here focus on NFCU only for the credit cards and CLOC for padding and neglect to realize how awesome of a CU NFCU is. Their loan rates and savings rates are pretty darn good.

I do not recommend applying for two NFCU cards at the same time...I believe it is rare for them to approve two at once. Most people open one card then after three months and a successful CLI on their first card they apply for the second card. Again though, why have two cards when the personal loan can act as your low rate vehicle to repay a debt?

Also, kind of off topic, but did anybody notice that the GoRewards appears to have been slightly redesigned? It looks like NFCU is going to be switching to unembossed, card-info-on-the-back-of-the-card-as well...ugh.

That's interesting. When I was applying for a personal loan, they asked me why I didn't just open up a second credit card and transfer the balance. Although the second card wouldn't have been right at the same time, they would have been weeks apart.

Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 18:14:55 GMT

Excellent reply Co_Native, I applied for the GoRewards card and was approved, unfortunately for only a $3000 limit, but I'm in no particular rush. Now I'll just garden until the limit grows/my scores rise and I want to pursue the personal loan through Navy Federal. Thank you!

Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 22:05:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Excellent reply Co_Native, I applied for the GoRewards card and was approved, unfortunately for only a $3000 limit, but I'm in no particular rush. Now I'll just garden until the limit grows/my scores rise and I want to pursue the personal loan through Navy Federal. Thank you!

Congrats! NFCU has not been handing out the huge starting limits that they used to, but the limit can grow pretty quickly. You may already know this, but give your new card 91 days and three statements and then go for a CLI. I would also recommend waiting for the account reviews that occur on each odd-numbered month for the best chance at a CLI without a hard inquiry. After that, you can request a CLI every 6 months.

Were you at least given the lowest APR of 9.9%?

Re: NAVY Federal Credit Card Advice

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 00:34:19 GMT

Yep, got the 9.9% APR. Over the last 2 months My total credit has gone from $3700 to over $20k so I can't really complain about anything.