NFCU Questions

[recoveringfrombk7]

I've decided to move all of my day-to-day banking over to NFCU.  My ultimate goal is a student loan refi and auto loan about 1 year from now.  I had planned to garden up until then, and still plan to do so, but ...

1) If NFCU uses some internal scoring for bigger items (an auto loan is obviously secured by the car, but a student loan refi is not) does it help me improve my standing to have a CC with them?

2) If yes, it looks like they pull EQ, which is lucky for me because my enormous stacks of inquiries are with the other 2 - or is that just loans and they'll pull TU for the card?  ...

3) Are my odds somewhat reasonable with 718 EQ FICO8 / 680 TU FICO8 15 months post CH7 DC?  I am interested in the More Rewards AMEX since I'd actually use it (assuming 1 point = 1 cent), but I could sock drawer a lesser card with a monthly subscription if necessary.

Thanks a lot everyone

[Anonymous]

---

@recoveringfrombk7 wrote:

1) If NFCU uses some internal scoring for bigger items (an auto loan is obviously secured by the car, but a student loan refi is not) does it help me improve my standing to have a CC with them?

2) If yes, it looks like they pull EQ, which is lucky for me because my enormous stacks of inquiries are with the other 2 - or is that just loans and they'll pull TU for the card?  ...

3) Are my odds somewhat reasonable with 718 EQ FICO8 / 680 TU FICO8 15 months post CH7 DC?  I am interested in the More Rewards AMEX since I'd actually use it (assuming 1 point = 1 cent), but I could sock drawer a lesser card with a monthly subscription if necessary.

---

1. Yes having credit products (of any type) improves your internal score with them and will make them like you more. 

2. For card they pull TU. For CLI increases they use EQ/ internal score soft pulls

3. Most people with less than perfect credit files get toy limits for the first card and they don't seem to grow as fast as 2nd or 3rd cards. If you really want the More Rewards and plan to use that daily I would suggest getting the go rewards or cash rewards first and waste your toy limit on that. Then go for More rewards after 91/3 and you'll see a bigger limit that you can actually utilize. Someone else can chime in on how nfcu views backruptcy. 1 point does equal 1 cent. When redeeming for cash you can get 1 to 1 up until 45000 points then you get a bonus so you can get $500 for 45000 (instead of $450 dollars) but below 45000 you get the standard 1 point 1 cent. 

[recoveringfrombk7]

I would probably just wait and do the card I want in a year after the more important stuff is handled -- unless you think 9 months is a long enough break from inquiries heading into a car loan and potentially a student loan refi?

[Anonymous]

Without the credit card what will you use to build your relationship with them credit wise? Your choices are 

1. Normal checking and banking

2. Credit cards

3. Some share secured loan 

4. Auto loan out the gate

5. Student refi out the gate

6. Buy a house with them or start a business (joking slightly on this one)

Sure you can just go straight for the auto loan or student refi, but also a credit card will just be one more inquiry on TU and that will do more for your credit relationship than probably anything else you could do. I'm assuming you could get an auto loan or student refi right now with them but are mostly worried about a better APR. Navy highly values the relationship so I'd try to find SOME WAY to get in the door with them above and beyond just normal direct deposit and checking/savings to maximize your APR potential on the important stuff. 

You mentioned ENORMOUS inquiry levels. I was looking at your signature. How many HPs are showing for 24 months?

[recoveringfrombk7]

I guess enormous is a relative thing. More than 5 feels crazy to me. I plan to do DD/Checking with them and an EZ share 12 m cert. I was thinking a CC would round it out well. Maybe 2 rounds it out better. I want to show a solid 12 months of loving on them.

My 24mos inq are not much more than the 12:
EX 12
TU 6
EQ 3

[Anonymous]

Ok good news your inquries are not a problem. 

Second, DD/Checking for 6+ months will have them liking you and the 12 m cert is icing on top. Doing this for a solid 12 months is actually a bit overkill but you will have no issues with them at that point. I'm not an expert on how these guys treat BKs so dig a little more into that or hopefully someone else can chime in. Your plan sounds fine and it sounds like the card is optional. It definitely will not hurt you to have a 12 month credit card relationship with them. I can almost guarantee you that will get you a better rate. 

In addition most of us in this forum love nfcu because of the higher credit limits to pad the utilization. Your overall score will probably be prettier with a nice 10k to 15k credit line from Navy which is a virtual certainty over the next 12 months. The CC definitely isn't required for you to get a decent loan with them if you use them for a full year before hand. But if you want to stack the chips in your favor get the card and really boost your internal score. You have 5 TU inqs over 12 months and 6 over 24. If you were to get a card and apply for auto and student loan 12 months from approval you would have 0 TU inquiries under 12 months and 6 in 24. That is not a problem for nfcu

[recoveringfrombk7]

Thank you for all of your help. I'm gonna call the rep I spoke with today in the morning.

[Caught750]

I’m officially in love with NFCU and I’m screaming it from the top of MyFICO Mountain!

To answer your question, credit cards most certainly don’t hurt and I do believe they help as well. I guess I’m saying there’s nothing to lose in a single CC. I broke the mortgage rule, apped for More Rewards within a year of mortgage app, to improve my relationship with them and my mortgage pre approval was an absolute breeze.

[ldkcivilservant]

CLOC might not be a bad idea. Not burning a card slot (only able to get 3 with them) and still have a credit product to build relationship.

[addicted_to_credit]

I just read on the approval side of the forums someone was approved with a 555 score (700 SL) so I’m guessing score wise none of yours would be an issue. I thoroughly enjoy my More Rewards Card, it definitely has one of the better point systems than most of the no AF cards I’ve seen. If you decide to go for it or another one, let us know the outcome.