Should I apply for a 2nd card?

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I need some advice. I am getting my final ducks in a row and working towards building a new home in a little over 2 years. My last outstanding item is a credit card with a very high balance. My plan was to do a BT and utilize the 0% interest and then open another one after the 0% interest period was over to finish paying it off - or at least get it to an acceptable % by the time I apply for a mortgage.

I decided to apply for NFCU Platinum as I knew NFCU had the potential to be generous with their SL. It took several days but I was finally approved. Unfortunately, the SL, while still significant, was half the amount that I need to do a full BT. Should I apply for a second card to BT the remaining balance? I know that I can't pay off the entire balance in a year and I hate to burn through all the 0% BT periods, but I also hate wasting my money on the interest to Capital One. I'm ok with having the cards report as maxed out because after I finish this I'm going back to the garden until I app for my mortgage.

I don't know if this data point matters, but will include just in case. I started my rebuild a little over 5 years ago so I do have some concerns about AAoA. My current AAoA is 5 .5 years (including the new card from NFCU). In my mind, I do need to be cognizant of the impact of several new cards with a mortgage application 2 years in my future.

Current Fico 8 Scores are: EQ: 756, TU: 752, EX768

EDIT with UPDATE: I decided to app BOA because 1) $0 BT fee 2) If the SL wasn't what I wanted, I could ask to transfer from my existing CL 3) I believe they pull EX aka my highest score.

Unfortunately and to my surprise, I was denied. Now I need to decide if I want to chase this next BT card or wait it out. I only have 60 days until I want to go into the garden in prep for the mortgage.

[Anonymous]

The City DIamond Preferred card offers ~20mos of 0% BT right now.  The trick is getting a limit that is generous enough to accomplish your goal of refinancing your debt.

I wouldn't worry too much about adding one or two credit cards if you're more than 2 years away from obtaining a mortgage loan.  They will consider your full picture including your DTI.  If you are concerned about going into an application with too many open tradelines, you can always close an account or two that is no longer serving its purpose.  Make sure you do so well enough in advance of your mortgage application for it to report to the credit reporting agencies.  This way when the mortgage company pulls your report they will see it is closed and you won't have to write a letter of explanation (you may not have to anyways, it just depends on how it was paid then closed).

You have excellent scores!  I think you can handle another card especially if you're plan is to go back into the garden for two years.  You'll still have a strong AAoA.

Good luck.  Please post what card you ultimately get and if the SL was enough to accomplish your goal.

[Anonymous]

I know that Discover gives out balance transfers and has to options: 0%APR, 1+ year repayment and a low BT fee, or a no-fee BT with longer to pay and an extremely low APR. After it expires and some time has passed, they will give you the same offer for another year.
A lot of people have found they can be more generous with SL's if you only have a few cards.
I've read that if you get a solid APR when you do the pre-qual, then you're likely to be approved by them.
If course I love Discover, so I could be biased. 😉

[Anonymous]

Thanks ehomeyjr. . I already have a relationship with Citi and the Citi card was a strong contender. My other cards with Citi have a 10K limit and I was looking for higher. Of course I haven't done any type of CLI increase on those cards in a few years. My scored have definitely increased over the last year so Citi may give me love. I was kind of keeping the Citi card in my back pocket for BT that I will need to do in a year (because I knew that I won't be able to pay off the entire balance in 12 months). That app would be the one credit item I would do between now and the mortgage but would carry me well past that time.

BOA was another strong contender. Again, I already have a relationship but my CL is ony 6K with BOA. I need 15K SL. Was going to do a SP CLI increase later this month but maybe I should just app for them instead and see what they give me. That would still allow me to keep the Citi card in reserve for 12 months from now.

Decisions... Decisions.....

[Anonymous]

Sabii,

Thanks for the insight. I don't have a relationship with Discover but perhaps I should take a look at the pre-qual site. I am pretty sure I did at least look at them when evaluating BT card but I don't remember why they weren't in my final couple of options. Good reminder though that there are additional options with lenders I hadn't considered. Thanks also for the pro-tip on the pre-qual site. I forgot about that option.

[Anonymous]

Songgirl: Well, hey, if you've got CLI's available, go for it! Especially if it's a while since you've requested one & your scores have improved. 15k is a lot for a SL. I think it would be a hit or miss with applications, and too many would lower your score. Is it possible to split up the BT between more than one card? I think some cards will let you write a check which can be deposited into your bank account to pay the other card.

[Shooting-For-800]

I would check prequal for cap one.

If you are prequaled for Venture (not Venture One), you should get a good SL with Cap One.

QuickSilver has 0% for 15 months and a $150 sub with no AF.

GL!

[Anonymous]

With a 752 TU you could do a Pre Qual check on a Marcus (goldman sachs) loan.

I got 17k at 6.9% for 66 months (310 a month vs 480 on CC's) with a 766 TU.

I got tied of moving BT around as I paid it all down.

Just a thought.