OCCU & PenFed Approvals

[sillykitty1]

I had (most) all the baddies fall off my CR in September, so was excited to be able to get some prime cards with decent CL’s and rewards.  I started w Cap 1 w a $300 CL, and within a week was approved for Chase, Barclay & Amex with a total $20,500 in credit.  Well then I started getting itchy to get some higher CL’s.  I wanted to keep my utility low, but not having to PIF before the statement cut & be able to carry a balance on my 0% APR cards over the holidays.  Oh, and some it was the challenge, thrill of it too!

So in reading the forum, I found out about the Duck card (wanted the Beaver, until I saw there wasn’t an actual beaver on the card!), and the high CL’s that tend to be handed out.  So I app’d and was instantly approved for $15,000! 

When I received my letter from OCCU, it had a 758 EQ score!  A year ago I hovered around 600!  So I wanted to capitalize on that before my AAOA dropped and I started reporting higher utility.   In reading it seemed like Penfed was one of the stricter lenders, but if approved gave high CL’s & was a good CU to build a relationship with.  I applied for membership and when approved I applied for the Platinum Rewards Visa.  I was instantly approved for a $13,000 CL!

So I’m super happy right now with my credit right now.  I went from $300 in credit to $48,500 in 3 months!

Thanks for everyone’s advice here!

Stats before my recent approvals:

FICO: EQ: 758 (11/21 OCCU pull)

AAoA: 4.5 yr 

Util: 7%

Cap1: $2500 CLI  opened 3/11

Barclay: $5000 CLI  opened 9/13

Amex: $2000 CLI opened 9/13 (backdated to 95)

Chase Marriott: $6000 CLI opened 9/13

CSP: $5000 CLI opened 9/13

Mortgage: opened 8/12

Auto Loan: opened 1/12

Auto Loan: paid/closed - opened 1/04 ( 7-30 days late, 3-60 days late) (only baddie)

EQ: 8 inq

All but 1 inquires auto or home buying related

[myjourney]

Congrats WTG

[coldnmn]

Congrats! Thanks for sharing!

[alvon123]

Great job!!!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you and I made the same trip on the Oregon Trail ending up at the Pentagon riding that EQ score pony  

Not that I'm going to do it, but when your instant approval popped up, did pre approvals for car loans pop up as well? 

BTW, your plastic should mail out today or tomorrow. They mail the card out even before they receive that signed member information pdf you print off after the instant approval.

[lexandra90]

Congratulations! this is very inspiring. I hope to be in this same place by mid 2014! 

way to go!

[Anonymous]

Congratulations! Now is the time to enter the garden and let those new cards grow!

[pizza1]

Wow!!! That's truly an inspiration! Congrats!!! Now garden big time and I wouldn't app for a minimum of 6-12 months!! Lets those age

[sillykitty1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Not that I'm going to do it, but when your instant approval popped up, did pre approvals for car loans pop up as well? 

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Yeah, car loan pre approvals did pop up.  I considered the refi one, as I have a high APR car loan.  But in playing with car loan calculators, it looks as if I've already paid most of the interest, and now my payments are going into principle.  So I wouldn't really be saving enough to justify opening a new TL.

[Anonymous]

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@sillykitty1 wrote:

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Yeah, car loan pre approvals did pop up.  I considered the refi one, as I have a high APR car loan.  But in playing with car loan calculators, it looks as if I've already paid most of the interest, and now my payments are going into principle.  So I wouldn't really be saving enough to justify opening a new TL.

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It caught my attention as I have a car loan with two years left on it so I'm in the same boat as you.  The only reason I really consider it was my bank does not report to EX.  However, when  I called the bank a couple of days ago, I was told they are going to begin reporting to EX in Feb 14 and go back 24 months which will help my mix.

Again, congrats!