Plans for Sallie Mae. Advice please!

[Anonymous]

So I know the Sallie Mae Mastercard has one of the top rewards structures for credit cards at the moment, and am eyeing it as the next card I apply for. Right now, I have quite the number of inquiries on TU, 9 to be exact. 3 of those will be dropped by August 2015. So my plan is to apply towards the end of August or early September of next year. After the 3 inquiries drop, I'll be left with 6, but I will also be shopping for student loans sometime during the Summer, so I'm sure that'll up the number of inquiries again. But from now until then, I won't really be applying for anything besides those student loans.

Is this a viable plan? Should I apply for the card before I shop for my student loans? Should I do them fairly around the same time?

If it's any help, here are my stats:

Age: 20

Cards & Limits: In Signature

AAoA: ~7 Months

Overall Utilization: ~10-20%

No Baddies

Any and all help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I think Barclays seems to care more about how recent your last apps and account openings were than the sheer number of inqs. I think 6 months is probably a decent timeframe on both fronts. I'm sure more experienced people will chime in though.

[Anonymous]

It's usually a good thing to hold off on credit cards until after you put in for your loans. Once your loans are approved, apply for the sallie mae. Whatever way you go, good luck!

[coldnmn]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It's usually a good thing to hold off on credit cards until after you put in for your loans. Once your loans are approved, apply for the sallie mae. Whatever way you go, good luck!

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+1 Student loans come first!

[TRC_WA]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I think Barclays seems to care more about how recent your last apps and account openings were than the sheer number of inqs. I think 6 months is probably a decent timeframe on both fronts. I'm sure more experienced people will chime in though.

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Good advice.

I had my eyes on Sallie Mae when I opened Barclay Apple in 9/13.  I used that card for 16 months while gardening for 2014... No new accounts and INQs.  Other day I applied for Sallie Mae... Instant approval $4500.  I also opened 3 other accounts with Discover, Amex and Nordstom.

Then I moved $2200 Apple CL over and closed that card.  $6700 Sallie Mae.

Mission Accomplished.

OP,

I'd garden.  They will most likely deny you for limited history and/or INQs.  You never know though... you could get approved but my guess would be a small limit. My TU FICO is 665 as listed in my sig... but I also had 16 months history with Barclay. 

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised no one else has asked this yet... what is your TU FICO?

[TRC_WA]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm surprised no one else has asked this yet... what is your TU FICO?

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FICO is overrated... I got in with 665.  I had a history though with a 16 month Barclay Apple card. 

Gardening paid off. 

[Anonymous]

Exactly. You had history.

I got in after 4 Reconsiderations with a 680 TU FICO and a reported income just shy of $80K...

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm surprised no one else has asked this yet... what is your TU FICO?

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TU Score runs around ~720. It dipped a bit cause of my two new opened accounts, but I'm looking for a quick recovery, as I do keep my utilization at a minimum.

[TRC_WA]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm surprised no one else has asked this yet... what is your TU FICO?

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TU Score runs around ~720. It dipped a bit cause of my two new opened accounts, but I'm looking for a quick recovery, as I do keep my utilization at a minimum.

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I would say you  have decent chances...  9 INQ's may require a recon though.