Seeking Advice - New to NFCU and Cash Rewards Approval with 650 Score! - First Post

[Anonymous]

Congrats on your success with NFCU!

[AverageJoesCredit]

Great job with Navy

[HappyInHawaii]

Ahh this

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@Anonymous wrote:
Congrats on the approval and if I were you I wouldn’t apply for any more credit cards. If you need the car definitely app through Navy and maybe also get the CLOC to help with utilization. Since both products require an EQ pull they may just use the same one if you do it same day. I would also hold off on another inq because you can apply for a 2nd card in 91 days and 3 statements later and USUALLY can get a high limit (15-25k) if you are responsible with the first card.

Also keep in mind there is no “shopping period” for credit cards. Each app is usually a hard pull especially when you’re going to different lenders.

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Ahh Mike you are the man, this is really awesome feedback, I didn't realize there was no "shopping period" on cards, would have held off on that PenFed card application. So as far as being "responsible with the first card" ... I was considering setting up a $2k balance transfer from a USAA Card that's 19% interest and 90% utilized (It's a 5k balance) to my brand new NavyFederal Crd... do you think that this would hurt my chances of getting a second card or a higher balance? I was only planning on making $200 payments a month, so it would still be carrying balance when I reapplied for the second card. I'm willing to forego this if it would look better for Navy , I feel like long term the larger credit lines with Navy would serve me better than the differential in interest over a couple of months.

Also, you made a comment about applying for the CLOC to help with utilization,... I don't quite understand. Basically the CLOC is like a credit line within a checking account?  Perhaps that gets reported in the same way as a Credit Card? This sounds awesome.

[Anonymous]

No problem, I learned a lot from these forums so anytime I can I try to pass on the little knowledge I can lol. But to answer your question I’ve seen a lot of stories where people had balances carried on the card & still got those high second cards. The balance is the same no matter where it’s at but personally I would transfer everything over to save on the interest but pay more than the minimum and pay early just to establish a good relationship. I would also try to pay the balance to $0 or as close as possible before applying no matter what card it’s on because that sacrifice will bring a better reward later. Lastly, yes the CLOC will report as a revolver just like CC so it will help with your overall utilization.

Good luck to you on your rebuilding journey!

[VanderSnoot]

Like OP/HappyInHawaii, I was recently approved for a card with NFCU. Following the advice on this and other threads, I went ahead and opened the Checking Line of Credit. It wasn't the same day so they did another pull (I haven't checked but the card was on TU), but it was worth it because between the two accounts I added another $40k to my total CL. Thanks to everyone for their input and guidance. My scores keep climbing - I still haven't quite cracked the 740 mark on my FICO 8s, but I'm on the edge with 730s.