So it is well known that Navy is conservative with their first credit card and it may not grow as quickly. In fact, many people (including myself) could only get a secured card... then 91 days later, are often approved for a second unsecured card with much higher limit.
It's also been said that graduating a secured card is harder than getting approved for a second on... and even when you graduate, the limit is still much lower than 2nd or 3rd cards.
So if your secured card doesn't graduate but you've show the ability to be approved for 1-2 subsequent cards at much higher limits, would it make sense to close the secured card (or even a 1st card with much lower limit) and then apply for another card in order to get a card that has a CL comparable to 2nd or 3rd cards?
Does Navy have any rules in terms of how long you have to wait after closing a card before you can apply for another one? Other than slight hit to AAoA and takiNg another hard pull, if this was allowed, what might be the downside?
Just wondering if anyone has thought of this, tried it and what were the results?
Imo it will be ymmv. Every profile is different. You might close it and then get denied your next card or they might just approve next card. Only by doing it yourself will your dp show
. Weird i know.
I still find it amazing Navy even gives a non secured card to someone with a secured card so id count my blessings in that scenerio. However im of belief that once one starts getting unsecured credit cards, especially good ones, there no longer is a need to have a secured card regardless of age but thats just me
This is just my personal experience & opinion. Keep in mind that when I was in a similar situation in 2019, the world was a totally different pre-Covid landscape.
I started my rebuild with a $500 secured card from NFCU. After 6 months, it did not graduate. When I called to ask why, it was because a stmt is only generated (on all NFCU cards) if the card has been used during the stmt cycle. No usage=nothing to report to you so no stmt. I had only used the card 5 out of the 6 stmt cycles. The NFCU rep told me to use the card, generate a 6th stmt & see if it caused the card to graduate.
I made a small purchase on the card & immediately paid it off. But, I also went ahead & applied online for an unsecured cashRewards card. I was amazed when I was immediately approved for a cashRewards Visa Signature with an $11,500 SL. Thank you NFCU!!!
As soon as the 6th stmt cut on the secured card it graduated. My security deposit was released & I was given an auto SL increase on that card.
I now have 3 NFCU cards with a total SL of $23,500. DP's - I'm single, my only debt is a house pmt & I'm retired with an annual income of approx $28,500.
I apologize for the lengthy post but my point is the secured card WILL eventually graduate. It is the 1st building block in a solid foundation with NFCU. It will grow over time & provide extra padding to help with utilization %.
If I was more aggressive in requesting CLI, my cards would prob have higher SL but I'm happy with what I have. As many have said on here, be nice to NFCU & they will be nice to you.
Just my 2 cents. Best of luck!
