Merrick Bank Pre-approval Question

[Horseshoez]

I've been following this thread if for no other reason than I got a similar no fee offer ($1,100 double up to $2,200 with a 23.45% rate) this week.  @Anonymous, my wife had a Merrick card for several years and I'll echo what others have said, Merrick seems to occupy that middle ground between true sub-prime and, I don't know, maybe semi-prime.  Given the secured cards you currently have (with the exception of the NFCU card), my thinking is the Merrick card is an improvement over them and can be used for a mid-term stepping stone to much better cards in the future.  Is it a card you want to keep for decades?  No, probably not, but for the next few years it could definitely be an asset.

Question: Why are you fixated on getting cards with a $10,000 credit limit?

[Anonymous]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

I've been following this thread if for no other reason than I got a similar no fee offer ($1,100 double up to $2,200 with a 23.45% rate) this week.  @Anonymous, my wife had a Merrick card for several years and I'll echo what others have said, Merrick seems to occupy that middle ground between true sub-prime and, I don't know, maybe semi-prime.  Given the secured cards you currently have (with the exception of the NFCU card), my thinking is the Merrick card is an improvement over them and can be used for a mid-term stepping stone to much better cards in the future.  Is it a card you want to keep for decades?  No, probably not, but for the next few years it could definitely be an asset.

Question: Why are you fixated on getting cards with a $10,000 credit limit?

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Thank you for your insight and I may opt for them still in consideration mode. 10k limits will allow me low utilization on any given month I spend about 3-5 on my cards. Most is for travel expenses so I need large cards for that. In the next year travel could increase along with my pay the more I travel the more income I get. I am looking to increase my earnings. I have used cash but it would be better to use rewards and get something back for my cash used. 10k reward cards will help me along the way.

[Horseshoez]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Horseshoez wrote:

I've been following this thread if for no other reason than I got a similar no fee offer ($1,100 double up to $2,200 with a 23.45% rate) this week.  @Anonymous, my wife had a Merrick card for several years and I'll echo what others have said, Merrick seems to occupy that middle ground between true sub-prime and, I don't know, maybe semi-prime.  Given the secured cards you currently have (with the exception of the NFCU card), my thinking is the Merrick card is an improvement over them and can be used for a mid-term stepping stone to much better cards in the future.  Is it a card you want to keep for decades?  No, probably not, but for the next few years it could definitely be an asset.

Question: Why are you fixated on getting cards with a $10,000 credit limit?

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Thank you for your insight and I may opt for them still in consideration mode. 10k limits will allow me low utilization on any given month I spend about 3-5 on my cards. Most is for travel expenses so I need large cards for that. In the next year travel could increase along with my pay the more I travel the more income I get. I am looking to increase my earnings. I have used cash but it would be better to use rewards and get something back for my cash used. 10k reward cards will help me along the way.

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I travel a lot as well and have a similar level of monthly card spend; that said, my three cards combined are only $14,300 in credit; even still, I rarely have even 1% utilization reported.  How?  I simply pay the cards in full right before the due date; this in turn means the few charges which trickle in between the payment and the statement is typically less than $100 per card.

[Anonymous]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Horseshoez wrote:

I've been following this thread if for no other reason than I got a similar no fee offer ($1,100 double up to $2,200 with a 23.45% rate) this week.  @Anonymous, my wife had a Merrick card for several years and I'll echo what others have said, Merrick seems to occupy that middle ground between true sub-prime and, I don't know, maybe semi-prime.  Given the secured cards you currently have (with the exception of the NFCU card), my thinking is the Merrick card is an improvement over them and can be used for a mid-term stepping stone to much better cards in the future.  Is it a card you want to keep for decades?  No, probably not, but for the next few years it could definitely be an asset.

Question: Why are you fixated on getting cards with a $10,000 credit limit?

---

Thank you for your insight and I may opt for them still in consideration mode. 10k limits will allow me low utilization on any given month I spend about 3-5 on my cards. Most is for travel expenses so I need large cards for that. In the next year travel could increase along with my pay the more I travel the more income I get. I am looking to increase my earnings. I have used cash but it would be better to use rewards and get something back for my cash used. 10k reward cards will help me along the way.

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I travel a lot as well and have a similar level of monthly card spend; that said, my three cards combined are only $14,300 in credit; even still, I rarely have even 1% utilization reported.  How?  I simply pay the cards in full right before the due date; this in turn means the few charges which trickle in between the payment and the statement is typically less than $100 per card.

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That makes sense. I think our travel is very different. You spend about 3-5k per month, I am holding back spending. I usually only report 3-10 dollars per month on one of my cards per month. I keep my utilization under 1 percent unless I am testing how strong my profile is as I am doing right now to see how much my score would change. So three cards always report zero while one card reports under $10 dollars.

The need for the 10k, I am in transportation and logistics, so the more I spend the more I make. In one month I could easily spend 20-30k but I am not focused on that right now. I am focused on about 10k spending a month which will start next month again. During this time, my income goes up about 40-60 percent so the 3-5k card no longer fits my needs. four 10k cards will always keep my utilization no matter what under 30 percent utilization if I choose to float a month and it would not really hurt my monthly credit score. I do not plan on doing that, but it is always nice to have that option. $14k in credit cards would not meet might needs.

Thanks for the info.

[MmmarkAz]

@Anonymous 

Hi, If Your Goal is Have to 4 Cards at 10k, and the Merrick

Card Max's Out at 5k, that is a Contradiction, Best to Save your Hard Pulls for a Prime Card and Try Some of the Prequalify Soft Pull Sites, Once you Receive your New Cards with Higher Limits then Cancel All your Secured and Subprime Cards Asap.. Example: I Got Approved w 37k on New Cards, then Canceled All Subprime Cards Lost 7k, But Gained 30k in Limits & Scores Went Up.. Good Luck with Your Rebuild and Keep Up the Great Research!

[Anonymous]

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@MmmarkAz wrote:

@Anonymous 

Hi, If Your Goal is Have to 4 Cards at 10k, and the Merrick

Card Max's Out at 5k, that is a Contradiction, Best to Save your Hard Pulls for a Prime Card and Try Some of the Prequalify Soft Pull Sites, Once you Receive your New Cards with Higher Limits then Cancel All your Secured and Subprime Cards Asap.. Example: I Got Approved w 37k on New Cards, then Canceled All Subprime Cards Lost 7k, But Gained 30k in Limits & Scores Went Up.. Good Luck with Your Rebuild and Keep Up the Great Research!

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Thank you so much for your insight and help. I agree that it is a contradiction, you know sometimes we second guess ourselves. I only have two total hard pulls in the last two years so I have remained patient for the right offer. I think it is awesome what you have done and hope that I can do it somewhat similar to you. I am only looking for major credit cards (prime) no store cards at all. I feel that Visa, AMX, MC and Discover will be it for me. I can use their points and rewards when purchasing all else. At the moment being thorugh and not impulsive have been my greatest friends.