topic How to know when to apply for a new card? in Credit Cards

Should I get another?

tschaet — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 04:40:28 GMT

I am working on rebuilding my credit by fixing my payment history and paying down my NFCU balance. I'm a bit confused as to when I should look at applying for other cards. Should I wait until I pay off my closed NFCU one? Should I apply for the Apple card or the Petal 2?

Cards I have:

Capital One Quicksilver since 12/2016
Discover It Chrome since 2/2016
NFCU GoRewards (closed 9/19 by them)

Re: Should I get another?

SouthJamaica — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 05:16:17 GMT

@tschaet wrote:
I am working on rebuilding my credit by fixing my payment history and paying down my NFCU balance. I'm a bit confused as to when I should look at applying for other cards. Should I wait until I pay off my closed NFCU one? Should I apply for the Apple card or the Petal 2?

Cards I have:
Capital One Quicksilver since 12/2016
Discover It Chrome since 2/2016
NFCU GoRewards (closed 9/19 by them)

You should wait until you have the closed card paid off. When the payoff has reported, reassess your scores.

Disregard the Vantage scores.

Re: Should I get another?

SUPERSQUID — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 08:12:23 GMT

W??hat are the utilization amounts on those cards?

credit limit and amount owed, even the nfcu card.

Re: Should I get another?

Gollum — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 09:43:55 GMT

@tschaet wrote:
I am working on rebuilding my credit by fixing my payment history and paying down my NFCU balance. I'm a bit confused as to when I should look at applying for other cards. Should I wait until I pay off my closed NFCU one? Should I apply for the Apple card or the Petal 2?

Cards I have:
Capital One Quicksilver since 12/2016
Discover It Chrome since 2/2016
NFCU GoRewards (closed 9/19 by them)

Interest rates are going up. Don't apply for new credit cards. Concentrate on paying your debts.

Re: Should I get another?

tschaet — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 13:11:07 GMT

@SUPERSQUID wrote:
W??hat are the utilization amounts on those cards?
credit limit and amount owed, even the nfcu card.

0% for Discover ($1250 CL) and Capital One ($2000 CL)

$12000/$13500 for NFCU

The NFCU will hopefully be paid off within 12-18 months.

Re: Should I get another?

FinStar — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 19:42:43 GMT

@tschaet wrote:
@SUPERSQUID wrote:
W??hat are the utilization amounts on those cards?
credit limit and amount owed, even the nfcu card.
0% for Discover ($1250 CL) and Capital One ($2000 CL)
$12000/$13500 for NFCU

The NFCU will hopefully be paid off within 12-18 months.

So, just to confirm @tschaet, the balances on Discover and Capital One are $0/paid off? Why did NFCU close your account?

Any other balances elsewhere (i.e. installment loans and/or other tradelines)?

Re: Should I get another?

tschaet — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 22:17:01 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@tschaet wrote:
@SUPERSQUID wrote:
W??hat are the utilization amounts on those cards?
credit limit and amount owed, even the nfcu card.
0% for Discover ($1250 CL) and Capital One ($2000 CL)
$12000/$13500 for NFCU

The NFCU will hopefully be paid off within 12-18 months.
So, just to confirm @tschaet, the balances on Discover and Capital One are $0/paid off? Why did NFCU close your account?

Any other balances elsewhere (i.e. installment loans and/or other tradelines)?

Correct on the Discover (1 30 day late in 2019) and Capital One (2 30 day lates in 2019). The NFCU one was opened on 12/2016 and closed on 9/2019. I don't remember exactly why, but likely due to continuously carrying a high (maxed or just over) balance continuously, followed by some late payments. I have had a few late payments since then. The NFCU is tanking my score quite a bit, I'm focusing a lot on paying that one off in the next 12-18 months.

I do have quite a few in student loans ($100K) with no late payments on those.

I also have an autoloan from September of last year with Capital One. No late payment there.

No chargeoffs, other closed accounts, bad tradelines, etc.

Re: Should I get another?

FinStar — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 22:26:37 GMT

@tschaet wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@tschaet wrote:
@SUPERSQUID wrote:
W??hat are the utilization amounts on those cards?
credit limit and amount owed, even the nfcu card.
0% for Discover ($1250 CL) and Capital One ($2000 CL)
$12000/$13500 for NFCU

The NFCU will hopefully be paid off within 12-18 months.
So, just to confirm @tschaet, the balances on Discover and Capital One are $0/paid off? Why did NFCU close your account?

Any other balances elsewhere (i.e. installment loans and/or other tradelines)?
Correct on the Discover (1 30 day late in 2019) and Capital One (2 30 day lates in 2019). The NFCU one was opened on 12/2016 and closed on 9/2019. I don't remember exactly why, but likely due to continuously carrying a high (maxed or just over) balance continuously, followed by some late payments. I have had a few late payments since then.  The NFCU is tanking my score quite a bit, I'm focusing a lot on paying that one off in the next 12-18 months.

I do have quite a few in student loans ($100K) with no late payments on those.

I also have an autoloan from September of last year with Capital One. No late payment there.

No chargeoffs, other closed accounts, bad tradelines, etc.

Thanks for providing some of the extra info on things as it paints a better picture for any future strategy.

Are the $100K student loans on a deferrment plan? Is the vehicle loan >$15K?

Re: Should I get another?

tschaet — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 22:36:03 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
Thanks for providing some of the extra info on things as it paints a better picture for any future strategy.

Are the $100K student loans on a deferrment plan? Is the vehicle loan >$15K?

No problem. The loans are 95% federal. Those are being paid upon, but still deferred by the President. The private ones are still activaly being paid.

The autoloan is $25K right now. I've paid $2.5K off so far.

Re: Should I get another?

W261w261 — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 22:40:09 GMT

On your NFCU closed account, do you have a payment plan, e.g. a certain amount per month and at a greatly reduced interest rate (say 6%)? If not, call them up and see what they offer you.

The best thing you can do for yourself imo, is get on top of what you owe. Don't tempt yourself with more cards.

Re: Should I get another?

tschaet — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 23:20:57 GMT

@W261w261 wrote:
On your NFCU closed account, do you have a payment plan, e.g. a certain amount per month and at a greatly reduced interest rate (say 6%)? If not, call them up and see what they offer you.

The best thing you can do for yourself imo, is get on top of what you owe. Don't tempt yourself with more cards.

I do! It's at 6% with a low payment. I've beeing paying at least 5 times that amount per month.

How to know when to apply for a new card?

tschaet — Tue, 03 May 2022 21:30:54 GMT

I see a lot of people on here talk of phases in their credit journey where they went on an application spree for cards. Is there a particular benefit to this? Is it just confining all of your hardpulls to a set time period so that they'll all fall off of your report around the same time?

Any advice on how to know when you apply for better cards throughout your credit building journey?

Re: How to know when to apply for a new card?

SouthJamaica — Tue, 03 May 2022 22:08:46 GMT

@tschaet wrote:
I see a lot of people on here talk of phases in their credit journey where they went on an application spree for cards. Is there a particular benefit to this? Is it just confining all of your hardpulls to a set time period so that they'll all fall off of your report around the same time?

Any advice on how to know when you apply for better cards throughout your credit building journey?

It's just a matter of personal preference. Basically the more you look to add new accounts, the worse your scores will be. There was a time when I was looking to diversify, add on accounts, and raise my limits. I never intended to go on a spree, though, and I don't think I ever did. Eventually I went into a second phase, where I was trying to improve the quality of what I had. Now I'm in phase 3 where I think twice about applying for anything.

Re: How to know when to apply for a new card?

CYBERSAM — Tue, 03 May 2022 22:09:42 GMT

You need to have a decent credit score before going for spree! You will take some hit by doing that, new inq, new account, AA, etc...

Is best to have your Fico score around 740+ before going for any spree, otherwise you'll end up with very low-end cards and low SL that most likely be bucketed to begin with! Even then try not to add more than 3-4 card max. Banks are much more sensitive to credit seeking now.

Re: How to know when to apply for a new card?

Gollum — Wed, 04 May 2022 08:53:41 GMT

@tschaet wrote:
I see a lot of people on here talk of phases in their credit journey where they went on an application spree for cards. Is there a particular benefit to this? Is it just confining all of your hardpulls to a set time period so that they'll all fall off of your report around the same time?

Any advice on how to know when you apply for better cards throughout your credit building journey?

My advice is to wait until after you pay off your closed (by NFCU) NFCU credit card.

Re: How to know when to apply for a new card?

tschaet — Mon, 09 May 2022 06:16:58 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@tschaet wrote:
I see a lot of people on here talk of phases in their credit journey where they went on an application spree for cards. Is there a particular benefit to this? Is it just confining all of your hardpulls to a set time period so that they'll all fall off of your report around the same time?

Any advice on how to know when you apply for better cards throughout your credit building journey?
It's just a matter of personal preference. Basically the more you look to add new accounts, the worse your scores will be. There was a time when I was looking to diversify, add on accounts, and raise my limits. I never intended to go on a spree, though, and I don't think I ever did. Eventually I went into a second phase, where I was trying to improve the quality of what I had. Now I'm in phase 3 where I think twice about applying for anything.

Thanks! I'm definitely more cautious lately and don't want to be dinged for so many attempts. I just seem to see a lot talking about it, so wasn't sure if there was some huge benefit to it that I'm unaware of.

Re: How to know when to apply for a new card?

tschaet — Mon, 09 May 2022 06:19:30 GMT

@Gollum wrote:
@tschaet wrote:
I see a lot of people on here talk of phases in their credit journey where they went on an application spree for cards. Is there a particular benefit to this? Is it just confining all of your hardpulls to a set time period so that they'll all fall off of your report around the same time?

Any advice on how to know when you apply for better cards throughout your credit building journey?
My advice is to wait until after you pay off your closed (by NFCU) NFCU credit card.

Absolutely. I don't plan doing any sort of spree or anything like that anytime soon. I'm making some headway with my NFCU card and seeing my score increase due to that. I'd rather wait until the end of that and then look at travel cards.

Re: How to know when to apply for a new card?

tschaet — Mon, 09 May 2022 06:20:46 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
You need to have a decent credit score before going for spree! You will take some hit by doing that, new inq, new account, AA, etc...
Is best to have your Fico score around 740+ before going for any spree, otherwise you'll end up with very low-end cards and low SL that most likely be bucketed to begin with! Even then try not to add more than 3-4 card max. Banks are much more sensitive to credit seeking now.

Thank you! I appreciate your feedback. I definitely want to wait a bit longer because I want to get a good travel card. I've been traveling a lot these past few years and want to take advantage of that once I pay off my NFCU card.

Re: How to know when to apply for a new card?

FireMedic1 — Mon, 09 May 2022 12:04:21 GMT

@tschaetFix whats broken first. The balance your paying on will eventually help with your util %'s. Open/closed its still the same. Once all is well. Scores goes up. Better chance of getting the card you want. More credit never fixes baddies. The time it took to get in a pinch with credit. Takes twice as long to get out of it per say. You'll get there. Just takes time.

Re: Should I get another?

FireMedic1 — Mon, 09 May 2022 12:09:30 GMT

@Gollum wrote:
@tschaet wrote:
I am working on rebuilding my credit by fixing my payment history and paying down my NFCU balance. I'm a bit confused as to when I should look at applying for other cards. Should I wait until I pay off my closed NFCU one? Should I apply for the Apple card or the Petal 2?

Cards I have:
Capital One Quicksilver since 12/2016
Discover It Chrome since 2/2016
NFCU GoRewards (closed 9/19 by them)
Interest rates are going up. Don't apply for new credit cards. Concentrate on paying your debts.

Yes OP should concentrate on the debts. I agree. If you dont carry balances. APR's shouldnt matter for new credit by others. Heck COL is up as it is. Still applied.