Navy Federal Thread for CLI and Additional Cards

[okurosetta]

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@Credit4Growth wrote:

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@okurosetta wrote:

Started a thread about applying for WF Visa Sig, one of my more sought after cards, and was advised to wait until January 2022 at earliest. Since WF will pull EX and I now know I should wait that long, I pulled the trigger on NFCU More Rewards. Here's some stats:

• Became NFCU member September 2020, swapped direct deposit immediately, most of paycheck goes there
• First NFCU card October 2020 - Platinum - $20k SL, automatic CLI to $24k after two full statement cycles
• Second NFCU card - March 2021 - More Rewards - $21.7k SL
• Pulled TU - most recent known score TU FICO 8: 744, will update when I find out what they pulled which I believe will be TU FICO 9

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The More Rewards is a nice get 👌 

Congratulations on your approval!

Could you share with us (you may have done so in the past)... was your spending like on the Platinum during the first 90 days upon account opening?

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I got the Platinum primarily to transfer balances - have paid off ~3/4 of my credit card debt in the past few years, hoping this will be last use of a balance transfer to finish it off - and transferred $5.8k there shortly after opening. I paid $200 each of the first two months, meaning it was at $5.4k when they gave the automatic CLI to $24k, which happened after two full statements - 77 days from account opening, to be exact. I then paid $900 in January and have paid $100 the following two months, with it currently at $4.3k. I have not used the card for any purchases yet. Hope this is helpful! (Edit: Added quote)

[SPChaser]

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@ficobuilder923 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@ficobuilder923 wrote:

Had my last TU collection just fall off and score got boosted up so just apped for Platinum, instant approval! 25k@5.99% to go along with Flagship (29k), MR (7k).

I'm wondering if they'll let me transfer 20k from Flagship to Platinum right after getting approved? My plan is to get that to 50k when it's all said and done so I can be my own bank so to speak with the around 15k cash advance @7.99%. Nobody in the industry is touching that kind of CA rate...

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Do you mind sharing your data points and history? What other cards do you have? How long have you been with NFCU? I want to apply for the flagship card so bad! It just seems like a far cry! I just got approved the same day opening an account with them for the cash rewards card $1k SL.. I have a pretty thick credit profile my scores are around 700 across all 3 bureaus.. but I have the worst luck with high limit cards my highest limit card is a capital one and that's $1,900... I have an Amex card and even that is only $1,000 it just seems like I'll never get above $1,000 credit limit on a VISA card.. I have store cards with high limits but no VISA or master card.. I have over 15 open revolving credit card accounts,, an auto loan an installment loan so my file is nice and thick I just can't beat this $1,000 SL.. I gave NFCU a shot because I read they give outstanding credit limits and even with them I get a $1,000 SL.. I just don't get it.. should I try for the flagship card come my 91/3?

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Sure, my metrics are:

-DTI 12-15% range with a student loan payment and mortgage off combined income with wife of 152k. If they go off just my income it'd be around 18.5% DTI but pretty sure they go off combined for married couples. 

-Relationship with NFCU is 13 years, mortgage from 2015-2020 before refi last year. Direct deposit for both of us since 2015 (though I just changed it to another bank we have a HELOC with, NFCU please start doing HELOCs again!). Personal loans for 5.5k and 4.5k paid off in 2014, 2017.

-Other cards: NFCU Flagship (4/2020), NFCU MR (10/2011), AMEX BCP, AODFCU Visa, Amazon Synchrony SC, Citi DC, Citi Rewards +, BJ's Mastercard, HELOC (which just found out is apparently revolving credit, not installment). Total revolving is $150k~ (including the NFCU Platinum from tonight). Authorized user on Chase Freedom Visa, Chase Freedom Flex, and Discover It from family members (total $27k~). 2/24 ie 2 new cards opened in the past 2 years other than this one.

-TU Fico 9: 803, TU Fico 8: 780, all scores 750+. Note that I've done all of this in the past year, my score as of a year ago was 630's for all 3 bureaus. Then I started learning how the game is played, took out a consolidation loan in Feb 2020 for 15k to KO revolving debt and the rest is history. 

I would wait at least 6 months after the first card to apply for Flagship, and don't feel bad about the low starting limit on your first card - it's very common. My first card was the MR (product changed from previously nRewards secured) in 2011 and they gave me the same and it was only raised once(?) to 3k from 2011-2020, I didn't know how the credit game worked. The second card, if you have a good proven relationship with them, is where they unlock the door for you (25k flagship for me). On a different tangent, their 0% down mortgage was the only way we could get into our first house and we paid the higher rate for a few years before refinancing. NFCU is the best, hands down - very grateful to them. 

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So motivational!!! I'm on my debt repayment journey, and I can't wait to be done. I'm so fortunate to be in position where I can pay down a considerable amount of debt and look forward to greatly improving my financial future and CSs. 

[Anonymous]

I got Navy Federal credit card two months ago. Can I apply for another one today or I have to wait 91 days?

[M_Smart007]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I got Navy Federal credit card two months ago. Can I apply for another one today or I have to wait 91 days?

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@Anonymous, Unfortunately ..You have to wait 91/3 for your next application, or you will be denied.

[Anonymous]

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@M_Smart007 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I got Navy Federal credit card two months ago. Can I apply for another one today or I have to wait 91 days?

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@Anonymous, Unfortunately ..You have to wait 91/3 for your next application, or you will be denied.

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Sounds good not too far away. Thanks!

[M_Smart007]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@M_Smart007 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I got Navy Federal credit card two months ago. Can I apply for another one today or I have to wait 91 days?

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@Anonymous, Unfortunately ..You have to wait 91/3 for your next application, or you will be denied.

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Sounds good not too far away. Thanks!

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Hang in there, it's just around the corner!

[Falcon9]

Don't jump the gun.   I waited until I had my fourth statement before applying for my More Rewards card.  I had a positive answer in less than a minute.

[Anonymous]

So my girlfriend apped for her second card with NFCU first before going for the CLI since that's what we have seen people say is best. She got approved for the second card but with a low Limit that was the same as her first card. She hasn't gone for the CLI yet on the first card due to us wanting to try and recon the credit limit on her new card she was just approved for. 

Should we wait to ask for a CLI on the first card until we go through the recon process for the new card or does it not make a difference now that she atleast apped for it ? 

[AllZero]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So my girlfriend apped for her second card with NFCU first before going for the CLI since that's what we have seen people say is best. She got approved for the second card but with a low Limit that was the same as her first card. She hasn't gone for the CLI yet on the first card due to us wanting to try and recon the credit limit on her new card she was just approved for. 

Should we wait to ask for a CLI on the first card until we go through the recon process for the new card or does it not make a difference now that she atleast apped for it ? 

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My guesstimate is wait for the decision on the reconsideration. YEMV. Then, proceed with the CLI request once decision has been decided.

[Jazee]

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@ficobuilder923 wrote:-TU Fico 9: 803, TU Fico 8: 780, all scores 750+. Note that I've done all of this in the past year, my score as of a year ago was 630's for all 3 bureaus. Then I started learning how the game is played, took out a consolidation loan in Feb 2020 for 15k to KO revolving debt and the rest is history. 

I would wait at least 6 months after the first card to apply for Flagship, and don't feel bad about the low starting limit on your first card - it's very common. My first card was the MR (product changed from previously nRewards secured) in 2011 and they gave me the same and it was only raised once(?) to 3k from 2011-2020, I didn't know how the credit game worked. The second card, if you have a good proven relationship with them, is where they unlock the door for you (25k flagship for me). On a different tangent, their 0% down mortgage was the only way we could get into our first house and we paid the higher rate for a few years before refinancing. NFCU is the best, hands down - very grateful to them. 

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It's experiences like this that keep me coming back to follow this thread.  I'm in a similar position having brought my scores from the 630's to the 730's with all 3 bureaus in a little over a year.  My file looks good except for no mortgage and a 5-yo charge-off I haven't resolved (yet.)  I quickly learned from here, instead of just sitting on my 15-yo USAA Visa Signature and never asking for a CLI, or applying for a new card, that I was leaving money (err, I suppose 'credit' is the best term) "on the table" and hampering/delaying my score improvement.

I was denied Amazon card when in the 630s but the Store Card was my first approval since a home equity loan 12 years ago.  Chase is who I still have a C/O on file with so it's going to be no dice with them.  So read about the fantastic service and product terms/approvals from NFCU.  Joined them almost 2 months ago and was easily approved for Platinum $3K SL with proof of income.  But that brought me to only 3 cards total with a $14.5K total CL (and an auto loan.)  I recently tried a Hail Mary for the BofA Premium Rewards card after waiting for my UTI to go from about 8% to 3% (didn't improve my Experian score unfortunately) and even opened BofA and Merril Lynch accounts just in case it helped but that card is notoriously hard to get unless you have some sizeable accounts with BofA and Merril.

I just want one more card that is travel related (at 2% travel spend reward), luggage reimbursement, travel insurance, TSA reimbursement, no foreign transaction fee, etc. Navy sig has it except for no Travel Insurance. 

The two common things I see in your stellar Navy approvals and the (few) approvals reported on the BofA Premium Rewards is there is strong evidence these banks are putting a lot of weight on the overall length and size of your banking relationship with them in addition to all the other usual considerations.  This would explain why someone like me with a > $100K income, and low DTI (as I have no mortgage) and 3% total UTI on my 3 cards, has a much harder time to get approvals and gets much lower SLs.  It's Navy (and BofA) saying, hey, we see you have a thick file with only one blemish, low UTI, and a decent score, but we need to get to know you directly better first before we offer you more credit.

I also always thought if your file showed you had a huge amount of available revolving credit, that could be a yellow flag, as the new account issuer has no idea if all the sudden you are going to go on a spending spree and not pay off/down your balances.  But I am seeing a pattern to the contrary.  If you have a decent average age of accounts then I think the bank looks at it as "you've had all this credit limit for that long and you score is pretty good so you can probably handle 15% more credit."  If you're total available credit is $150K.  15% more is $22.5K.  If your total credit available like me is $14.5K then 15% more is an SL of $2,175.

At this point my main decision is after 3 statements on the Platinum, do I app for the More Rewards, or do I wait until after 6 statement like your recommend?  It seems to me from all the messages I've read, if you app for the More Rewards after 3 statements BEFORE asking for a CLI on the Platinum, it's probably not going to make a difference if you wait 6 months instead of 3 to try for the 2nd card. Just a guess.  I'm just trying to build more history ASAP and get the CLI waiting periods started sooner than later and not get too close to when I apply for a mortgage with opening new accounts so that's why I'm leaning towards 3 months.  Seems virtually no one pulls TU except for a handful of banks. I just have one NFCU and one Synchrony in the past two years so if I was denied at 3 months and approved at 6 the only downside would be 1 extra HP.