topic Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question... in Credit Cards

To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 22:22:32 GMT

Just received a pre-approval for Merrick $600 Double Your Line, but I thinkI should pass, as it has a high APR than other offers & an AF of $72. I’ve heard of the offers getting better the longer you hold out, all the way to $1250 SL with no AF. Thoughts?

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

padme — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 22:27:18 GMT

Hmmm, based on ur cards, you dont need one of those, besides the AF, what would you gain? a measley 1k limit>?

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 23:01:12 GMT

I’m only an AU on the Costco & Sams Club cards, & my Cap1 P is restricted... so if I were to get the $1250 SL/ no AF I would probably bite, but my scores just jumped into the 620 zone & should be closer to 640 at the start of the month once my CRs show my balances at $0 on my other cards, so I’m hoping I will be closer to getting some pre-quals for some big boy cards soon... =/

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

padme — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 22:42:34 GMT

At this point, if i were you, i would just try for prime cards, maybe a SCT type one also. Just use the prequal sites for the banks. Discover seems friendly lately.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Remedios — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 23:06:34 GMT

If you expect some kind of score jump, I'd wait till that happens.
Check prequal pages and see if anything new shows up at that time.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

TheBoondocks — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 23:07:35 GMT

What's a Merrick lol?

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Pikaboo-icu — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 23:09:50 GMT

@TheBoondocks wrote:
What's a Merrick lol?

Merrick Bank offers a subprime rebuilder card..

It's better than some of the predatory cards out there..

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

3se7ens — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 16:08:19 GMT

I say go for it. I did and started with a $700 CL, and at exactly 7 mo. they increased it to $1400.
Recently at 11 mo. I received another CLI , and now it stands at $1600. Now that is actually
better than what I experienced with Discover. Oh and there's no annual fee. Good luck.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 20:12:07 GMT

@3se7ens wrote:
I say go for it. I did and started with a $700 CL, and at exactly 7 mo. they increased it to $1400.
Recently at 11 mo. I received another CLI , and now it stands at $1600. Now that is actually
better than what I experienced with Discover. Oh and there's no annual fee. Good luck.

See, the offer I got has a $72 AF. If I do pull the trigger I would wait until I received a no AF offer...

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

3se7ens — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 20:49:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@3se7ens wrote:
I say go for it. I did and started with a $700 CL, and at exactly 7 mo. they increased it to $1400.
Recently at 11 mo. I received another CLI , and now it stands at $1600. Now that is actually
better than what I experienced with Discover. Oh and there's no annual fee. Good luck.
See, the offer I got has a $72 AF. If I do pull the trigger I would wait until I received a no AF offer...

$72 AF?? Ouch! You're right, definitely wait for a better offer.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 02:28:50 GMT

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Just be be patient for 6 mos then try the preapproval sitesfor Disco and AMEX. I’d roll that die before letting prime creditors see a sub-prime lender on your credit reports.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Pikaboo-icu — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 02:44:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Just be be patient for 6 mos then try the preapproval sitesfor Disco and AMEX. I’d roll that die before letting prime creditors see a sub-prime lender on your credit reports.

I know this seems to be a thing here on My Fico for some but I think it's almost an urban myth.

I was approved for all of my Prime cards with an old Merrick Visa on my report.

I hung onto it out of some strange sense of loyalty and only closed it very recently.

It had a $3300 limit was 4 yrs old.. Never hurt any of my apps but it's the only subprime I had..

It's different for everyone, I suppose having a bunch of them could have a neg affect.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 18:39:27 GMT

Merrick is a fine rebuilder for someone with no other cards, or a couple of the same type. But OP has two cards with prime lenders, so at this point it should be considred a pass. Especially with an AF.

IMO, save the HP and new account for something worth it. As others have said, wait a few months and you could go for Discover and/or your own Citi Card.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Pikaboo-icu — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 19:18:59 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Merrick is a fine rebuilder for someone with no other cards, or a couple of the same type. But OP has two cards with prime lenders, so at this point it should be considred a pass. Especially with an AF.

IMO, save the HP and new account for something worth it. As others have said, wait a few months and you could go for Discover and/or your own Citi Card.

I would agree but the OP said they are just an AU on those cards.

I do agree the AF is too high and they can hold out for a better one or none at all.

Unless the QS is the OPs card.. Then I agree they have surpassed the need for Merrick already.

Re: To Merrick or not to Merrick? That is the question...

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 16:31:52 GMT

@Pikaboo-icu wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Merrick is a fine rebuilder for someone with no other cards, or a couple of the same type. But OP has two cards with prime lenders, so at this point it should be considred a pass. Especially with an AF.

IMO, save the HP and new account for something worth it. As others have said, wait a few months and you could go for Discover and/or your own Citi Card.
I would agree but the OP said they are just an AU on those cards.
I do agree the AF is too high and they can hold out for a better one or none at all.

Unless the QS is the OPs card.. Then I agree they have surpassed the need for Merrick already.

The QS1 is mine, the Credit One is mine, and the Cap1 P is mine (although restricted). I am AU on the Citibank Costco & the Synchrony Sam's Club accounts. I'm working at building up some good pay history on the Cap1 P card, so that when I have it below 8.9% I can beg them for forgiveness & see if they will unrestrict or let me open a new account & merge this old one with the new one, since it is my oldest card...