I'm looking to get a card with 0% APR and a decent limit (I'm hoping for at least $17k). Have a couple vacations coming up and want to put them on the card for rewards and so I can just pay back as I want without the interest. Currently:
Credit Score: 738-754
Credit Cards: 0 balance on $30k limits
Student Loan: 17k, in deferment (while I'm in school)
I have one 30 day late payment from 4 years ago, no other derogatories
3 inquiries (one for limit increase on USAA 6 months ago, one for mortgage 13 months ago that I didn't end up getting, and one for student loan 6 months ago)
I'm thinking of the BankAmericard (BofA) which has 18 cycles of 0 APR, but don't know what kind of limit to expect.
As others noted, with a late and limited credit already issued, a large SL seems a remote possibility.
Also, the combination of Rewards card with 0% APR is not too likely.
Many travel cards offer a SUB, which sounds like your spend volume will be able to cover much of that. Then if you have a card to BT to, for a small fee it can be paid over time on the second card.
What is your card list already?
@NRB525 wrote:As others noted, with a late and limited credit already issued, a large SL seems a remote possibility.
Also, the combination of Rewards card with 0% APR is not too likely.
Many travel cards offer a SUB, which sounds like your spend volume will be able to cover much of that. Then if you have a card to BT to, for a small fee it can be paid over time on the second card.
What is your card list already?
Bank of America cash rewards has 2% cash back and 0% for 15 months. Their travel rewards card has 0% for 12 months. Citibank also has 0% intro for 12-15 months on rewards card. Key Bank, Wells Fargo, Capital One all offer 0% on travel and cash rewards. Of the 5-6 largest banks only Chase does not offer 0% on travel rewards only on cash rewards cards.
Chase (Freedom Unlimited - 1.5%CB) threw me 18 months at 0% with a 10k limit. But as always - YMMV.
Good luck.
+1 what @Anonymous said, although often that's decades not just years.
Your best bet may be with a credit union. With BOA, you will usually need relatively high income and/or substantial deposit or investment accounts with BOA, Merrill Lynch and/or Merrill Edge in order to get large limits right out of the gate, but the cards certainly can and do grow with the right profile. You did mention the BankAmericard, which is a no-frills card best reserved for balance transfers or short-term balance revolving. It earns no rewards.
"Travel" card and 0% don't really mix a lot. Discover it Miles currently has cash back match for the first year (essentially 3% for all purchases) and a 14 month 0% offer. Discover can be all over the board as far as starting lines, though. They seem to prefer thinner profiles (likely in hopes that their card will be your daily-use card) so I have seen some impressive starting lines for those with more limited credit, those just starting out, and those with a blemish or two. Meanwhile my card started at I think $3000 and after 3.5 years just finally hit $12k, less than half of my average credit line. Chase Freedom Unlimited was mentioned earlier, and that can fit what you are looking for if later paired with a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. No one can guess at Chase approvals, but if you have other Chase cards it is very easy to move limits around as needed.
Thanks for your input. What do you mean by moving credit limits around? I have two Chase cards at this point (6200 and 2500). I've never asked for increases on them.
Thank you for your input guys. I didn't know about reallocation and I've been reading about it a little bit. It seems that, if it would work, the best bet for me is to get a new card (say the Chase card) and then reallocate the balance from my existing cards to it. This is new for me, and I don't even know if it would work....any thoughts or walk through of how to process would be appreciated. This is what I think might work.
1. Apply for Capital One (or Chase) new card with 0% apr
2. Immediately ask to reallocate the balance ot my new card
I've also read some stuff about applying but not accepting it...then calling in and asking for the reallocation before actually accepting it. I haven't applied for enough credit cards to know if this is even how it works...let alone if this is the best way to do it...so any input would be greatly appreciated.