Just wanted to tell my super quick story here. I have currently a 659 score according to CreditWise through my Capital One Quicksilver Card. I just bought my first house on September 24th and have yet to even make the first payment. The thing holding down my credit score is my utilization (usually about 35-45%). I have revolving monthly expenses from work that total $6000+. I make $170k+ yearly and I only have a couple of credit cards (QS, Amazon Prime Credit Line, and Credit Union branded CC). Total is about $20,000 in credit through all sources. My wife is a stay at home mom and we have 2 Auto loans for $30,000 total but only owe $17,500 on them. I started reading these forums because I really wanted to get the Marriott Rewards card but it looks like my score isn't high enough.
For work I do some travel (always Marriott properties) but I do a ton of meals and dinners so when I saw the 4% on the Savor card I was intrigued. So, I did the Shopping Cart Trick with 2 companies (Wayfair $8000 and Overstock $5250) and then a week later I looked to Capital One for a pre-qual. It said I qualified for the Savor card so I went ahead and did the application.
I immediately got, we will respond in 7-10 days. I was super bummed about that because I figured it was a denial. I gave it a couple of days and then I gave them a call this afternoon. I waited about 20 minutes to get someone on the phone and then it was the moment of truth. I asked to see if they needed any verification or anything. I was trying to be super positive to the person thinking that they might not deliver the bad news on a Friday afternoon. Well, she let me know that I was approved. Natural first question from my side was, "How much was I approved for?" The answer was $30,000 and I was stoked. This will be my new card for about $2000-$3000 monthly in restaurants plus I will get a $500 credit after spending $3,000.
To me that is $620 back on the first $3,000 that I spend at restaurants. Since I get a company reimbursement on the $3,000 I will spend then this is a free $620 to me. Really looking forward to the new rewards with my new cards. Now with this credit line I will also drop my monthly utilization to about 8%-10% ($6000-$8000 of $72,000 in credit). That should have a massive impact on mycredit score over the coming months and years. Marriott Card here I come when I get back in the 700's.
Have a great weekend everyone and go after what you want.
Also, a small P.S., if you have never listened to the MFCEO Project Podcast you really should give it a shot. Amazing for business.
