@john_m90 wrote:Hi
I recenlty joined NFCU.
I applied for one of their credit cards, but was denied, they recommened I go with the secured card.
My TU FICO 9 score is about 650.
Experian Fico 8 is at 700.
I have been focusing on paying down my credit card debt. I hope to reduce it to ~ 20 % by end of year.
Over the last year, I have lowered my utilization from ~75 % March 2020 to ~ 44 % now.
Should I apply for the secured card now or hold off until my TU 9 Fico improves and apply for their regular card? Maybe in December 2021, I should have 2 x 30 late and 1x60 late fall off from my CRA.
My TU 9 fico has improved from 605 (March 2021) to ~ 653 currently, so large gain.
My goal is to get a credit card to do BT and just pay one bill rather than 10 different cards.
If I were in your shoes, the first thing I'd do is make sure I had at least $200 in my Navy Fed share savings account and then call Navy Fed and ask if they would use the same HP (for your recently denied credit card application) if you applied for the secure nRewards credit card today. (They sometimes do if the HP is within the last 30 days.) If they say yes, ask if you can apply for the secure nRewards credit card by phone. If they say yes, give the CSR your details. If they say no, go online and apply today.
If they say they won't use the same HP for your nRewards card application today, then if I were you, I'd continue making payments on my credit cards but wait until next month to apply for the nRewards card, when aggregate utilization is reported at ~41% (or lower if you can get some CLIs -- more on that below). After the ~41% aggregate utilization, I'd make sure I had at least $200 in my share savings account and then apply for the Navy Fed secure nRewards credit card online. (No guarantees, but I think you have an excellent chance at getting approved for the secure nRewards card with ~41% aggregate utilization and several lates more than 6 years old, if those are the only things holding your scores down, as long as you have enough income and your DTI is low enough.)
While continuing to make payments on my other credit cards each month, I'd put small amounts of spend ($10 or $20) twice per month on the nRewards card and PIF twice per month. I'd let a small balance report the second month, and let $0 report to the CBs each month after the second month (so the FICO scoring algorithm can see the credit card has been used, not furloughed in the sock drawer forever), which would help keep my reported aggregate utilization down. I would report a balance on the nRewards card on the second month, not the first month, because Navy Fed doesn't report new credit cards and their CLs and balances to the CBs until after the second billing cycle.
The second thing I'd do if I were you is check whether or not I'm eligible for a CLI on any of my current credit cards. Credit cards are usually eligible for a CLI after 6 to 12 months since opening the account or the previous CLI, depending upon the lender. If you can get one or a few CLIs, let the lenders report these new CLs to the CBs on the next monthly report date.
You're planning to make payments at a rate of ~3% reduction in aggregate utilization per month, so next month you would expect to be at ~41%, but with modest CLIs, you might be at ~35% utilization or so. You saw your FICO scores increase when you went under 49% aggregate utilization recently. You'll see another score increase when you go under 29% aggregate utilization. One of the fastest ways to get under that 29% aggregate utilization threshold is to pay as much as you can each month on the credit card account charging the highest interest rate -- and pay at least the minimum monthly payments on your other credit accounts, of course.
For many of us who start with the secure nRewards credit card, our second Navy Fed credit card is the whopper -- the card with the highest starting CL and the fastest growing CL. When you've been approved for the secure nRewards credit card, you're eligible to apply for a second Navy Fed credit card after 30 days. But if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't apply for a second credit card that soon, because I think your chances of approval for an unsecured Navy Fed credit card aren't that good, yet.
If I were you, I'd wait until after 91 days and three full, 25-day billing cycles after the approval for the secure nRewards credit card, and then I'd check my TU FICO 9 score. If it's within spitting distance of 690 (or better), I'd apply for the Navy Fed Platinum credit card, with 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months and no BT fee. (That promotion expires on Jun. 30, 2021, but I expect it to continue or have a substantially similar promotion for the next quarter of 2021.) If approved, I'd call Navy Fed and request a higher CL on the Platinum credit card, then transfer the balances from the other credit cards, starting with the cards charging the highest interest rates. If you get a CLI on your Platinum credit card, you'll have to wait 6 months to request the next CLI. If you're denied a CLI when you're approved for the Platinum credit card, then after 91 days and three full, 25-day billing cycles, you're eligible to request a CLI again.
If not approved for the Platinum credit card, I'd wait to receive the denial letter, figure out how to address their concerns ("I have a perfect payment history at Navy Fed!" and "I've paid down my other credit card debt by $X in the last Y months"), and request a reconsideration by logging in online and sending a secure message to Navy Fed. (Select "Messages" at the top of the web page when logged into your Navy Fed account.)
Good luck!
Excellent post... this is the path I'm following and it is working well for me.
@USMC_Winger wrote:
@john_m90 wrote:Hi
I recenlty joined NFCU.
I applied for one of their credit cards, but was denied, they recommened I go with the secured card.
My TU FICO 9 score is about 650.
Experian Fico 8 is at 700.
I have been focusing on paying down my credit card debt. I hope to reduce it to ~ 20 % by end of year.
Over the last year, I have lowered my utilization from ~75 % March 2020 to ~ 44 % now.
Should I apply for the secured card now or hold off until my TU 9 Fico improves and apply for their regular card? Maybe in December 2021, I should have 2 x 30 late and 1x60 late fall off from my CRA.
My TU 9 fico has improved from 605 (March 2021) to ~ 653 currently, so large gain.
My goal is to get a credit card to do BT and just pay one bill rather than 10 different cards.
If I were in your shoes, the first thing I'd do is make sure I had at least $200 in my Navy Fed share savings account and then call Navy Fed and ask if they would use the same HP (for your recently denied credit card application) if you applied for the secure nRewards credit card today. (They sometimes do if the HP is within the last 30 days.) If they say yes, ask if you can apply for the secure nRewards credit card by phone. If they say yes, give the CSR your details. If they say no, go online and apply today.
If they say they won't use the same HP for your nRewards card application today, then if I were you, I'd continue making payments on my credit cards but wait until next month to apply for the nRewards card, when aggregate utilization is reported at ~41% (or lower if you can get some CLIs -- more on that below). After the ~41% aggregate utilization, I'd make sure I had at least $200 in my share savings account and then apply for the Navy Fed secure nRewards credit card online. (No guarantees, but I think you have an excellent chance at getting approved for the secure nRewards card with ~41% aggregate utilization and several lates more than 6 years old, if those are the only things holding your scores down, as long as you have enough income and your DTI is low enough.)
While continuing to make payments on my other credit cards each month, I'd put small amounts of spend ($10 or $20) twice per month on the nRewards card and PIF twice per month. I'd let a small balance report the second month, and let $0 report to the CBs each month after the second month (so the FICO scoring algorithm can see the credit card has been used, not furloughed in the sock drawer forever), which would help keep my reported aggregate utilization down. I would report a balance on the nRewards card on the second month, not the first month, because Navy Fed doesn't report new credit cards and their CLs and balances to the CBs until after the second billing cycle.
The second thing I'd do if I were you is check whether or not I'm eligible for a CLI on any of my current credit cards. Credit cards are usually eligible for a CLI after 6 to 12 months since opening the account or the previous CLI, depending upon the lender. If you can get one or a few CLIs, let the lenders report these new CLs to the CBs on the next monthly report date.
You're planning to make payments at a rate of ~3% reduction in aggregate utilization per month, so next month you would expect to be at ~41%, but with modest CLIs, you might be at ~35% utilization or so. You saw your FICO scores increase when you went under 49% aggregate utilization recently. You'll see another score increase when you go under 29% aggregate utilization. One of the fastest ways to get under that 29% aggregate utilization threshold is to pay as much as you can each month on the credit card account charging the highest interest rate -- and pay at least the minimum monthly payments on your other credit accounts, of course.
For many of us who start with the secure nRewards credit card, our second Navy Fed credit card is the whopper -- the card with the highest starting CL and the fastest growing CL. When you've been approved for the secure nRewards credit card, you're eligible to apply for a second Navy Fed credit card after 30 days. But if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't apply for a second credit card that soon, because I think your chances of approval for an unsecured Navy Fed credit card aren't that good, yet.
If I were you, I'd wait until after 91 days and three full, 25-day billing cycles after the approval for the secure nRewards credit card, and then I'd check my TU FICO 9 score. If it's within spitting distance of 690 (or better), I'd apply for the Navy Fed Platinum credit card, with 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months and no BT fee. (That promotion expires on Jun. 30, 2021, but I expect it to continue or have a substantially similar promotion for the next quarter of 2021.) If approved, I'd call Navy Fed and request a higher CL on the Platinum credit card, then transfer the balances from the other credit cards, starting with the cards charging the highest interest rates. If you get a CLI on your Platinum credit card, you'll have to wait 6 months to request the next CLI. If you're denied a CLI when you're approved for the Platinum credit card, then after 91 days and three full, 25-day billing cycles, you're eligible to request a CLI again.
If not approved for the Platinum credit card, I'd wait to receive the denial letter, figure out how to address their concerns ("I have a perfect payment history at Navy Fed!" and "I've paid down my other credit card debt by $X in the last Y months"), and request a reconsideration by logging in online and sending a secure message to Navy Fed. (Select "Messages" at the top of the web page when logged into your Navy Fed account.)
Good luck!
@USMC_Winger wrote:
@john_m90 wrote:Hi
I recenlty joined NFCU.
I applied for one of their credit cards, but was denied, they recommened I go with the secured card.
My TU FICO 9 score is about 650.
Experian Fico 8 is at 700.
I have been focusing on paying down my credit card debt. I hope to reduce it to ~ 20 % by end of year.
Over the last year, I have lowered my utilization from ~75 % March 2020 to ~ 44 % now.
Should I apply for the secured card now or hold off until my TU 9 Fico improves and apply for their regular card? Maybe in December 2021, I should have 2 x 30 late and 1x60 late fall off from my CRA.
My TU 9 fico has improved from 605 (March 2021) to ~ 653 currently, so large gain.
My goal is to get a credit card to do BT and just pay one bill rather than 10 different cards.
If I were in your shoes, the first thing I'd do is make sure I had at least $200 in my Navy Fed share savings account and then call Navy Fed and ask if they would use the same HP (for your recently denied credit card application) if you applied for the secure nRewards credit card today. (They sometimes do if the HP is within the last 30 days.) If they say yes, ask if you can apply for the secure nRewards credit card by phone. If they say yes, give the CSR your details. If they say no, go online and apply today.
If they say they won't use the same HP for your nRewards card application today, then if I were you, I'd continue making payments on my credit cards but wait until next month to apply for the nRewards card, when aggregate utilization is reported at ~41% (or lower if you can get some CLIs -- more on that below). After the ~41% aggregate utilization, I'd make sure I had at least $200 in my share savings account and then apply for the Navy Fed secure nRewards credit card online. (No guarantees, but I think you have an excellent chance at getting approved for the secure nRewards card with ~41% aggregate utilization and several lates more than 6 years old, if those are the only things holding your scores down, as long as you have enough income and your DTI is low enough.)
While continuing to make payments on my other credit cards each month, I'd put small amounts of spend ($10 or $20) twice per month on the nRewards card and PIF twice per month. I'd let a small balance report the second month, and let $0 report to the CBs each month after the second month (so the FICO scoring algorithm can see the credit card has been used, not furloughed in the sock drawer forever), which would help keep my reported aggregate utilization down. I would report a balance on the nRewards card on the second month, not the first month, because Navy Fed doesn't report new credit cards and their CLs and balances to the CBs until after the second billing cycle.
The second thing I'd do if I were you is check whether or not I'm eligible for a CLI on any of my current credit cards. Credit cards are usually eligible for a CLI after 6 to 12 months since opening the account or the previous CLI, depending upon the lender. If you can get one or a few CLIs, let the lenders report these new CLs to the CBs on the next monthly report date.
You're planning to make payments at a rate of ~3% reduction in aggregate utilization per month, so next month you would expect to be at ~41%, but with modest CLIs, you might be at ~35% utilization or so. You saw your FICO scores increase when you went under 49% aggregate utilization recently. You'll see another score increase when you go under 29% aggregate utilization. One of the fastest ways to get under that 29% aggregate utilization threshold is to pay as much as you can each month on the credit card account charging the highest interest rate -- and pay at least the minimum monthly payments on your other credit accounts, of course.
For many of us who start with the secure nRewards credit card, our second Navy Fed credit card is the whopper -- the card with the highest starting CL and the fastest growing CL. When you've been approved for the secure nRewards credit card, you're eligible to apply for a second Navy Fed credit card after 30 days. But if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't apply for a second credit card that soon, because I think your chances of approval for an unsecured Navy Fed credit card aren't that good, yet.
If I were you, I'd wait until after 91 days and three full, 25-day billing cycles after the approval for the secure nRewards credit card, and then I'd check my TU FICO 9 score. If it's within spitting distance of 690 (or better), I'd apply for the Navy Fed Platinum credit card, with 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months and no BT fee. (That promotion expires on Jun. 30, 2021, but I expect it to continue or have a substantially similar promotion for the next quarter of 2021.) If approved, I'd call Navy Fed and request a higher CL on the Platinum credit card, then transfer the balances from the other credit cards, starting with the cards charging the highest interest rates. If you get a CLI on your Platinum credit card, you'll have to wait 6 months to request the next CLI. If you're denied a CLI when you're approved for the Platinum credit card, then after 91 days and three full, 25-day billing cycles, you're eligible to request a CLI again.
If not approved for the Platinum credit card, I'd wait to receive the denial letter, figure out how to address their concerns ("I have a perfect payment history at Navy Fed!" and "I've paid down my other credit card debt by $X in the last Y months"), and request a reconsideration by logging in online and sending a secure message to Navy Fed. (Select "Messages" at the top of the web page when logged into your Navy Fed account.)
Good luck!
Do exactly this... you build NFCU History while dealing with your UTL.
