USAA approval and others now what....

[Anonymous]

Last night I was approved for a USAA American Express Card w/500 limit they pulled my Experian which was at 636 I orginally applied for the USAA Rewards American Express Card but was denied and offered the stripped down version with the annual fee, I went ahead with it because the fee was relatively low and it was better than the secured card they had offered previously....

Over the past four months I've been approved for a Cap1 Platinum $500 limit, NFCU cashRewards $500 limit FingerHut $600 limit...my goal now is to get a AMEX Blue Cash Everyday and a Discover Card...

After being denied the credit line on the NFCU Checking account...I think I need to give it a rest and grow the cards I have....so my question at this point what would be the best way to grow my cards from this point to acheive higher credit lines and to eventually get my score up for the AMEX and the Discover...Thanks

EXP 636 EQ 579 TU 616

[xaximus]

Congrats on the approval! I would definitely do the 3x CLI after 3 months for Amex and then every 6 months after. Discover is a different beast, the more charges you put through it, the higher chance you'll give you CLIs (but not always the case as DPs have shown it doesn't always work).

I would also recommend going over your CR to see what is keep your score down and possibly looking into reviewing/fixing that.

[Anonymous]

Congrats on your approval !!!!!

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Last night I was approved for a USAA American Express Card w/500 limit they pulled my Experian which was at 636 I orginally applied for the USAA Rewards American Express Card but was denied and offered the stripped down version with the annual fee, I went ahead with it because the fee was relatively low and it was better than the secured card they had offered previously....

Over the past four months I've been approved for a Cap1 Platinum $500 limit, NFCU cashRewards $500 limit FingerHut $600 limit...my goal now is to get a AMEX Blue Cash Everyday and a Discover Card...

After being denied the credit line on the NFCU Checking account...I think I need to give it a rest and grow the cards I have....so my question at this point what would be the best way to grow my cards from this point to acheive higher credit lines and to eventually get my score up for the AMEX and the Discover...Thanks

EXP 636 EQ 579 TU 616

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One of the  ways to grow your cards/score is to not apply for any more credit at the moment. 

You can ask Cap1 for increase after the 3rd statement and you can see if you are eligible for product change from Platinum to a card with rewards 

https://verified.capitalone.com/sic-ui/#/esignin?Product=Card&Action=ProductUpgrade 

Let your current cards age a bit, then check for pre-approvals. 

[Anonymous]

@65Mustang -

I see that you're a new member. Welcome to the forum!

Super Congrats on your recent card approvals! And from

one veteran to another, Thank You for your service!!!

A few quick suggestions on how to grow your cards:

1. Apply the all zeroes except one (AZEO) method re card management.

This simply means that you should try and keep all your balances

at zero...except for one card. On that card, never let any more than

8.9% of the credit limit report to the 3 CRAs. So on your $500 USAA

card, for example, don't let any more than $44.50 report to the CRAs.

You'll have 25 days to pay your bill before any interest starts to accrue.

So you'll still be able to pay in full each month and "show" a small balance

on your credit reports. Use this strategy to help jumpstart your FICO scores.

 2. Think about product changing your Cap One Platinum to a Quicksilver.

You'll start earning 1.5% cash back, and you'll also position yourself for

even better Cap One cards in the future with proper care and feeding.

3. USAA is a peculiar beast. The Experian score you received from them

is FICO 3, which is unique to Experian. There are no EQ/TU FICO 3's.

I'm also a USAA member, and as you know they are very conservative.

So if the USAA Rewards Amex 3-2-1 card is what you really want, then

just keep caring and feeding your new USAA card. In time, as your score

rises and as USAA feels like you've established a good track record with them,

don't be surprised if you log into your USAA account and find a new offer.

4. Finally, I'm also a Navy Fed member. Since you're new, you may not be

familiar with the 91/3 strategy. Count forward 3 statements cycles + 1 day

from your NFCU Cash Rewards approval date, and then apply for a 2nd card

and/or ask for a CLI on the first card. I'd encourage you to do a quick search

on Navy Fed 91/3. The approval limits on the 2nd card are astonishing,

with many in the 5-figures ($10,000+ is pretty common). Your mileage may

vary, of course, but seeing results from forum members who've already been

approved for the 91/3 will provide you with inspiration to stay on track.

Congrats again on your approvals.

Thanks so much for sharing!!!

[Anonymous]

Congrats on the card approvals and Thank YOU for your service!!!!

-Michael

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys...great advice ...it's appreciated

[Anonymous]

Congrats. Sounds like you can request a CLI from NFCU if you had the card 4 months ago. They may also let you get another card. But also as stared above the AZERO will help boost your score. 

[Anonymous]

Keep reading and learning on this forum and you'll get those scores up in no time. You're doing great!