Applying for multiple lines of credit at once

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

So I have fair credit (667TU/669Equifax) with ~5 years repayment history on 15 open student loan accounts (ugh), all in good standing with no bad marks on my report.  I want to refinance a few of my high-interest private loans, and before that I'm planning to boost my credit by opening up a credit card, my very first in my 27 years.  I have an irrational fear of credit cards, as I've seen too many family and friends abuse them and get into a lot of trouble, so it's taken a lot to work myself up to get this far.  I'm not sure which would be the best card for me to apply for, and I would be very grateful for any suggestions, but that is not why I am making this post.  My s/o approached me last night with a proposition to get a new livingroom couch that we really do need.  Apparently Bob's Furniture is having some amazing 4th of July sale that she wants to take advantage of, so she wants me to try to apply for a line of credit with the store in order to finance the purchase (since I don't already have a credit card, and she has literally NO credit whatsoever).  I have no doubt that the balance could be paid off within a few months, or even by the end of this month.  

Would this be a good idea for me, keeping in mind my ultimate goal of getting a credit card and keeping a low balance on it in order to boost my score?  Would my application even be approved?  And if so, would it negatively affect my score or otherwise affect my chances of applying for another credit card at around the same time?  If she tried to apply instead of me, would she be denied (I'm thinking probably, she applied for a Kohl's card earlier in the year to get the discount on her purchase and was immediately denied)?  Basically, should I go through with this, advise her to try to open a line of credit herself and start rebuilding her own credit, or tell her to wait until they have another sale and I've had time to apply for a proper credit card?

[OmarGB9]

Being that you already have some credit history and payment history I would suggest applying for a CC from a major bank like Chase, Capital One, Barclays, etc. if you don't really have any inq you could probably qualify for one of them, if not multiple ones. If you'd like, first you could check each of their respective prequalification sites and see if they come up with anything (assuming you're opted in to pre screened offers). Chase and cap1's prequals are pretty solid.

As for your SO, if you do decided to go ahead and apply for anything and get approved, you could always add her as an AU to help her start building her credit history.

Just my two cents. But let other, more experienced members comment too before you make a decision. Lol

[tiger_uppercut]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all,

So I have fair credit (667TU/669Equifax) with ~5 years repayment history on 15 open student loan accounts (ugh), all in good standing with no bad marks on my report.  I want to refinance a few of my high-interest private loans, and before that I'm planning to boost my credit by opening up a credit card, my very first in my 27 years.  I have an irrational fear of credit cards, as I've seen too many family and friends abuse them and get into a lot of trouble, so it's taken a lot to work myself up to get this far.  I'm not sure which would be the best card for me to apply for, and I would be very grateful for any suggestions, but that is not why I am making this post.  My s/o approached me last night with a proposition to get a new livingroom couch that we really do need.  Apparently Bob's Furniture is having some amazing 4th of July sale that she wants to take advantage of, so she wants me to try to apply for a line of credit with the store in order to finance the purchase (since I don't already have a credit card, and she has literally NO credit whatsoever).  I have no doubt that the balance could be paid off within a few months, or even by the end of this month.  

Would this be a good idea for me, keeping in mind my ultimate goal of getting a credit card and keeping a low balance on it in order to boost my score?  Would my application even be approved?  And if so, would it negatively affect my score or otherwise affect my chances of applying for another credit card at around the same time?  If she tried to apply instead of me, would she be denied (I'm thinking probably, she applied for a Kohl's card earlier in the year to get the discount on her purchase and was immediately denied)?  Basically, should I go through with this, advise her to try to open a line of credit herself and start rebuilding her own credit, or tell her to wait until they have another sale and I've had time to apply for a proper credit card?

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A furniture store card is essentially useless to you once you have the couch. I would apply for a card that you can use long term. You will get a score boost when you open a credit card, and it will further help build your profile and score. Unless the sale is insane, I would skip the store card and do some research on what credit card would work best for you (rewards structure). Are those scores FICO scores, or FAKO scores (CreditKarma etc)?

[morgacj2004]

Try Chase Freedom and if that is a no go try Barclays (basic rewards card )  and maybe Capital one (Platinum or Quicksilver). I would suggest the Chase Slate card if you were looking for 0 APR ( high dollar furniture purchase), but that card requires excellent credit and you may not qualify. With your current scores you should not have to settle for a secured card.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much to everyone who has already taken the time to reply! In response to Omar's comment, I do have 2 inquiries showing up on my report from last year when I applied for the lease to the apartment we now live in and cable service to said apartment, apparently these should drop off in September 2016.

And yes, tiger_uppercut, all this information is coming from creditkarma. As you may guess I am basically brand new to the big bad frightening world of credit (aside from the formerly crippling student loan debt that further discouraged me from even considering any other loans/credit/etc., I've been cash-only my entire adult life so far.). Is there any way for me to get real FICO scores FOC? I know about annualcreditreport.com, but as I understand you can only get reports there, no FICO scores.

I've been looking into this big sale and am finding nothing about it, honestly. It's a discount furniture store and they'll always have good deals, I can recognize a marketing gimmick for what it is but unfortunately my s/o and her family seem to be easily influenced by "limited time offers" and the like. As much as I would like a couch that isn't falling apart it really shouldn't be our biggest priority right now, and I have longer-term goals in mind, like reducing interest on private student loans and eventually qualifying for decent interest rates on a mortgage down the line (or even qualifying to rent where we live, most places want 720+ before even considering you!).

I guess I will have to find a way to let her down gently, or suggest she find another way to pay for it if it's really that important to her right now. I don't think it should be a big deal to wait until I get a "real" credit card while she establishes herself in her new job. Again, thank you so much for the advice and the suggestions for credit cards, I've simply been overwhelmed by the choices out there and hesitate because I want to make the best decision. You've all been a great help!

[Anonymous]

I'd strongly recommend going to Cap One's prequal webpage and seeing what comes up. Even if you don't see any offers, with your scores, it would definitely be worth it to just apply. I'd be willing to bet you'll see something and be approved.
But prior to Cap One, I'd try the Chase prequal webpage first. See if anything comes up there. Depending upon whether you want to go for several CC's (mini app spree) or really just want one or two, I'd advise a few different ways to go about applying. If you want to try for a few, plan it out and app lender's like Barclays, Citi, and Chase first, as these are all INQ sensitive. After you app them, you could go on to Amex, Disc, and Cap One, as they really aren't INQ sensitive. So if I was in your shoes, I'd go to Chase and Citi prequal webpage's first and see what comes up. If you see offers, apply. Both are pretty strong indicators of approval. If nothing, I'd probably still pick one, Chase most likely, and the Slate, as it's the easiest to get, requiring "good" credit vs their Sapphire which requires "excellent" credit. Slate would also give you your monthly FICO score for for free too, which is very nice. Cap One would almost definitely approve you regardless of what Chase or Citi does. Let us know if you prefer to app several cards or just one or two.

[Anonymous]

Don't sell yourself short. Your scores are not bad. I think you're worrying too much about your situation. While there's obviously room to improve your scores, they are not bad. As long as you have no recent derogs, with those scores, you can definitely be approved. It appears your scores are depressed based on not having any other credit other than student loans. You need to open up at least 3 CC's. These will raise your scores quickly, especially since you have no derogs. If you do, and manage these well, keeping UTI under 10%, your scores should sail past 700 easily. Without knowing your entire credit history, and just going by your post this, I'd say you could raise your scores 100 points quite quickly with a few new tradelines. The best thing you have going for you, and what most would kill for is, no old derogs. You are one of the few who have the potential to raise your scores alot, and very quickly at that. Now you need to go for it.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'd strongly recommend going to Cap One's prequal webpage and seeing what comes up. Even if you don't see any offers, with your scores, it would definitely be worth it to just apply. I'd be willing to bet you'll see something and be approved.
But prior to Cap One, I'd try the Chase prequal webpage first. See if anything comes up there. Depending upon whether you want to go for several CC's (mini app spree) or really just want one or two, I'd advise a few different ways to go about applying. If you want to try for a few, plan it out and app lender's like Barclays, Citi, and Chase first, as these are all INQ sensitive. After you app them, you could go on to Amex, Disc, and Cap One, as they really aren't INQ sensitive. So if I was in your shoes, I'd go to Chase and Citi prequal webpage's first and see what comes up. If you see offers, apply. Both are pretty strong indicators of approval. If nothing, I'd probably still pick one, Chase most likely, and the Slate, as it's the easiest to get, requiring "good" credit vs their Sapphire which requires "excellent" credit. Slate would also give you your monthly FICO score for for free too, which is very nice. Cap One would almost definitely approve you regardless of what Chase or Citi does. Let us know if you prefer to app several cards or just one or two.

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+1

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Don't sell yourself short. Your scores are not bad. I think you're worrying too much about your situation. While there's obviously room to improve your scores, they are not bad. As long as you have no recent derogs, with those scores, you can definitely be approved. It appears your scores are depressed based on not having any other credit other than student loans. You need to open up at least 3 CC's. These will raise your scores quickly, especially since you have no derogs. If you do, and manage these well, keeping UTI under 10%, your scores should sail past 700 easily. Without knowing your entire credit history, and just going by your post this, I'd say you could raise your scores 100 points quite quickly with a few new tradelines. The best thing you have going for you, and what most would kill for is, no old derogs. You are one of the few who have the potential to raise your scores alot, and very quickly at that. Now you need to go for it.

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+1 (well, +700)

YMMV, but I agree that you should not sell yourself short. I got approved for a Discover with much lower scores and a bunch of lates. I was also added as an AU on some cards and once I cleaned up the derogs a bit, I started getting approved for prime cards. When I started looking at CC for which to apply, I thought, mistakenly, that you needed to have *crystal clear perfect 850 credit* to get any credit whatsoever. (My thinking was, Why would anyone with even *one* late be approved for anything at all? Would you loan money to someone who's missed a payment?).

Good luck.

[SOGGIE]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'd strongly recommend going to Cap One's prequal webpage and seeing what comes up. Even if you don't see any offers, with your scores, it would definitely be worth it to just apply. I'd be willing to bet you'll see something and be approved.
But prior to Cap One, I'd try the Chase prequal webpage first. See if anything comes up there. Depending upon whether you want to go for several CC's (mini app spree) or really just want one or two, I'd advise a few different ways to go about applying. If you want to try for a few, plan it out and app lender's like Barclays, Citi, and Chase first, as these are all INQ sensitive. After you app them, you could go on to Amex, Disc, and Cap One, as they really aren't INQ sensitive. So if I was in your shoes, I'd go to Chase and Citi prequal webpage's first and see what comes up. If you see offers, apply. Both are pretty strong indicators of approval. If nothing, I'd probably still pick one, Chase most likely, and the Slate, as it's the easiest to get, requiring "good" credit vs their Sapphire which requires "excellent" credit. Slate would also give you your monthly FICO score for for free too, which is very nice. Cap One would almost definitely approve you regardless of what Chase or Citi does. Let us know if you prefer to app several cards or just one or two.

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+1 Yes indeed. Very sensitive.