Should I wait or apply?

[Anonymous]

My current scores are Exp-621 Eq- 621 trans- 618

I am waiting for scores to update after paying off three cards with small balances. I am looking into getting braces in the next 30 days but don’t have the 1500 down payment the dentist is looking for then monthly payments of 250 to pay off with no interest in the office. I was thinking of paying he whole balance in full(3500) on a 0% card for 18 months instead of cleaning out my savings.

Current cards and balances

Cap one : 5458/6000
Cap one: 0/500
Cap one: 0/1000
Amex: 0/1000 use everyday and pay off just receive upgrade to ED preferred
NFCU : 2700/3000

Should I push off the braces for a few months, apply after scores update or try for Amex since I have a great relationship with them?

[Anonymous]

Normally I'd say wait but, have you looked into Care Credit for financing them?

[Anonymous]

I would try them but I am not in the good graces of synchrony. I had a Walmart account a year ago that was closed and I just recently paid it off. Will there be a hard pull if I apply for a 0% Amex?

[Remedios]

I would not be applying for anything with two maxed out cards, regardless of how many are at $0.00 

Is there any way you can drop the utilization on those cards to a more reasonable level? 

You already have Amex, so if you have preapproval, you can try, but I would not with maxed cards

Your limit on the existing Amex would not cover the braces, and I really do not see them going with higher SL while you have two cards at 90% utilization. 

[BallBounces]

Anything can happen, but given the data you have provided you are not a good candidate for approval, in my opinion.

Two maxed cards, especially those of the highest limit is problematic.  Waiting (addressing those balances) is the key here.

[Anonymous]

Obviously I want to pay these down but what would you say boy payments need to be to receive optimal score points? I am getting a bonus this Friday of 2000 that I would like to allocate to paying these down. Then have to wait another month for scores to update. May have to push off braces for a month or two

[Anonymous]

Which one is costing you more $$$ in interest?

If they're both 0% for an equal amount of time... either aim to payoff 1 in full or bring them under 48%/ea.  Ideal #'s are under 8.9% but, that's not going to happen with $2K.

[Anonymous]

The capital one card is killing me in interest. So that one I am going to put the money towards but if I put it towards the navy fed I kill a large portion of that balance.

[RSX]

If you want to continue with your braces plan, then use $1500 of the bonus for your downpaymwnt

then Put $250 on each CC

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Obviously I want to pay these down but what would you say boy payments need to be to receive optimal score points? I am getting a bonus this Friday of 2000 that I would like to allocate to paying these down. Then have to wait another month for scores to update. May have to push off braces for a month or two

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Your finances should come before scoring games and braces may need to wait 

A lot of orthodontist offer 0% financing, usually through OrthoBanc and they do not perform credit check. You will need to give up banking or card info for automatic payments, most likely 18 months term. 

So, instead of trying to incur more debt, as those braces wont be paid off in time with everything else you have going on , maybe look into a different orthodontist and pay down that Capital One card because just the interest on it must be insane.

Good luck