Best card to move up from Cap 1?

[goodygoody]

Hi there.  My husband and I both have Cap 1 cards with low ($500 each) limits and finally have our credit close to 700.  Figured at 700 we'd try to switch to cards with higher balances.  Would others here agree that we'd be likely to be approved for something better at that point?  Or should we wait for 720?  We may end up waiting a year anyway if we decide to try a mortgage by the end of the summer. 

At any rate, anyone have input on what the next card we might want to apply for would be?   Sick to death of these low limits - we try to keep utilization below 10%, so we can't ever use them for a larger purchase or even a rental car (unless we're super vigilant about paying off immediately).  We'd like something with a higher limit but that we'd realistically be approved for.  Thanks for any advice!   

[LS2982]

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@goodygoody wrote:

Hi there.  My husband and I both have Cap 1 cards with low ($500 each) limits and finally have our credit close to 700.  Figured at 700 we'd try to switch to cards with higher balances.  Would others here agree that we'd be likely to be approved for something better at that point?  Or should we wait for 720?  We may end up waiting a year anyway if we decide to try a mortgage by the end of the summer. 

At any rate, anyone have input on what the next card we might want to apply for would be?   Sick to death of these low limits - we try to keep utilization below 10%, so we can't ever use them for a larger purchase or even a rental car (unless we're super vigilant about paying off immediately).  We'd like something with a higher limit but that we'd realistically be approved for.  Thanks for any advice!   

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Can you give us some more info. on your files??

-Any Baddies??

-INQ's??

-AAoA??

-Number of accounts??

[goodygoody]

Hi!  Sure, here's our info: 

-Any Baddies??

One from a library on my husband's, nothing else.

One comcast bill that went to collections and shows paid on mine, plus a medical bill that was paid by insurance but is listed as a paid collection (in the process of hopefully getting this off of there!)

-INQ's??

We both have inq's from our credit cards listed below that are about a year old.  My husband has one from the our car loan in his name from this past July.

-AAoA??

Mine is 2 years 10 months. Not sure on my husband's, but probably something similar.

-Number of accounts??

Me: Student loan, Capital One Visa, WalMart store card, Children's Place store card (all perfect payment history and currently really low utilization)

Husband: Car loan, Capital One Visa, WalMart store card (ditto on payment and utilization)

Hope this helps folks out in giving advice!   

[Anonymous]

Do either you or your husband have access to a credit union? It's a great foundation for a credit relationship.

[Anonymous]

The "best card" varies from individual to individual. Besides a decent CL, what features are you looking for in a card? Rewards -- points, miles, cash? A low interest rate? Zero percent for a balance transfer? It helps to know what would be best for your particular needs so that you can pick an appropriate option for the long term.

[bichonmom]

With your scores and history, you should be approved for a prime CC. You might want to talk with local CUs. They tend to have better rates, etc.than banks. If you have any military affiliation, Navy Federal CU is a great place. You could also try Barclay's. They have a variety of CCs. Definitely wait until you have any new CCs before closing your Cap Ones.

[goodygoody]

We do bank with a CU - not sure why we hadn't considered applying with them!  We have our car loan with them, so can't imagine they'd give us trouble.  Am I correct in my belief that we can apply with multiple companies at the same time and have it only count as one inquiry?  It would be great to shop around. 

I'm honestly not sure what options we'd like in a card, aside from a decent limit.  A low interest rate would probably be best.  I have rewards on my CO, and that's nice, but I don't use it much, so I don't earn much.  I'd like to give my business to a company that doesn't try to screw people over with fees constantly, so maybe the CU would be best for that, though I wonder if they have some outside credit company manage their cards?  I guess they'd be the ones to ask about that...

[LS2982]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Do either you or your husband have access to a credit union? It's a great foundation for a credit relationship.

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+1

[Anonymous]

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@goodygoody wrote:

We do bank with a CU - not sure why we hadn't considered applying with them!  We have our car loan with them, so can't imagine they'd give us trouble.  Am I correct in my belief that we can apply with multiple companies at the same time and have it only count as one inquiry?  It would be great to shop around. 

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No, unfortunately this is not correct.  This only applies for INQs coded as Auto or Mortgage, and only applies to FICO scoring.  Most CC companies count total INQs regardless of coding.  Many will recon though if there were several for auto or mortgage shopping.  Either way, multiple INQs not coded as Auto or Mortgage will be considered separately.

For this reason, it is important to figure out what you want most and apply for it first.  When I applied for 5 cards last week, I did so starting with the one I wanted most and thought I had a good chance of getting.  INQs show up on your report immediately, so the next company will see that INQ.  Good luck!

[goodygoody]

Oh, good to know - we'll definitely make sure we know what we're doing before applying.