@Anonymous wrote:New to the boards but have been scouring it the last few weeks, so I thought I'd just ask you guys directly. Main goal is the altitude reserve so I posted it here, even though I'm curious about timing with installment loan apps. My Fico9 on all three bureaus were around 650 in Jan due to utilization, and I had just taken out a Citi Simplicity for a BT to manage some of the interest but also had finally figured out how to budget and live within my means instead of trying to outearn my debt so I was making good progress. Fortunately working hard sometimes pays off and in Feb was able to bring all my balances on my three cards to zero (this hasn't been the case in 5 years). Now my scores are 800-810 across the board , AAoA 3yr8mo, AoOA 11yr. I had a chase shutdown back in 2018 when I ran up one of their cards during a hard time, but the accounts were in good standing.
Citi Costco Jan'01 - 0/14000
Citi Thankyou Preferred Jun'09 - 0/9000
Citi Simplicity Dec'19 - 0/7000
Income: 150,000
Only inquiry is on Eq for my new citi simplicity.
Im carrying my student federal loans still which are at 6.25%, a bad used auto loan at 10% (9k remaining), and a personal loan at 16% that is 70% paid off.
My income dramatically increased last year to this level to be able to aggressively pay off debt, but I also would like to begin building banking relationships.
Right now my main bank is US bank, and considering I just got back 700 from my Costco visa last year, I could make use of the Reserve altitude for all my Costco and pretty much 90% of my daily expenses through Apple Pay. My wife and I have to travel to see family every year so I would make quick work of all the travel benefits. However, I'd also like to reduce some interest on these loans and wanted to refi the personal loan through Lightstream given my credit score and income I think it would be a nice apr drop. Finally, I'm interested in NFCU or Penfed to refi my auto loan to something reasonable. My budget and timeline looks like both those loans would be finished off by mid next year at the rate I'm paying them, so I wouldn't be eating it for too long so I'm not that concerned but saving money is awesome.
US Bank, Penfed, and Lightstream all seem very touchy and sensitive, so wanted your guys opinion on which to go for first and the spacing between them!
Edit: I'm a US bank checking customer with direct deposit, so I'm eligible for the altitude
First of Congrats on paying off the debt! I would start with NFCU and Lightstream. NFCU you can do a double whammy and refi your car loan and also get the Flagship Rewards Card! Lightstream you could refi your personal loan but they are a hit or miss I have seen people on here get denied with excllcent credit and good income. But US Bank offers personal loans maybe seeks them for your personal loan payoff.
If you aren't all ready a member, I would recommend joining Navy or PenFed. They offer credit products as well as personal and auto loans.
I would also consider DCU.
I don't have any experience with Lightstream so I can't say much on that. USB can be fickle when it comes to inq's/new accounts and I believe most of the AR cards go through a manual review, also in my experience USB has always pulled TU. I'd say run the AR app first then Lightstream (I believe suntrust pulls EQ). PenFed offers better APR's than navyfed. I believe Penfed has always pulled EQ on me and navy has pulled TU for CC's and EQ for loans. If your considering CC's from Navy I'd recommend the more rewards card first then go for the flagship after 91 days and 3 statements. I hope my little rant helps.
You have high scores and a great income Penfed will like you. I think you'll be fine how ever you decide to do it if it were me I'd do this:
app the AR if you want it, High Af but everyone here that I've seen has loved it...That's a TU HP
App for NavyFed Membership that's a TU SP
App for Lightstream should be a EQ HP
Car loan refi Penfed is a HP to join on EQ and a HP for credit products and has always been EQ for me.
If you don't mind a slightly higher APR stick with Navy. I think with navy loans and LOC's are an EQ pull I'm on a plane right now and checking my CR would be a slow process.
The easiest option may be to run everything through Navyfed too they are a one stop shop that has been very gracious to me. Sorry if I'm rambling on, I worked last night, drove 2 hours to the airport and bored on a plane headed home. Maybe a few of the folks with the USB AR will chime in with their opinions. However you decide to go let us know how it works out and welcome to the forums!