CC Question for Newbie

[Anonymous]

Good Morning Hogwash,

I have 3 quick things to say about your latest post:

** Work with whomever you feel most comfortable.

** Make sure they pull your Equifax report. That's your

trump card right now and your highest score ( 698 ) .

** Do your homework

You obviously have a lot on the ball. You are not very far away

from leaving most people in the dust financially and credit-wise,

but I strongly recommend that you play to your strengths from

a credit perspective. Equifax is your best play right now.

Hope this helps and thanks for sharing.

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything"

[haulingthescoreup]

Well, I'm trying to catch up on unread messages, so I apologize for pulling one up that is several days old.

OP is in an usual position in terms of his rebuilding history and interesting scores, combined with a high personal income.

Hogwash, if you're still out there, and you haven't found something else that you're happy with, I would bring up a credit union again. A lot of people regard them as some sort of court of last resort, the refuge of losers, but that's completely incorrect.

The big advantage that you have with a credit union, or with a local bank that isn't enslaved to a chain corporate mentality, is that they can look at who you are, what you have, and how you got there, and they then have the authority to grant you the appropriate credit.

Credit unions are a far cry from what they were even a decade ago. They consistently win high point in customer satisfaction and service. A member posted a few days ago that one reminded her of the Bailey Building and Loan from "It's a Wonderful Life", and that's a pretty good parallel. They fought a successful battle against the big boy banks several years ago, and they are now able to expand their membership qualifications far beyond the original narrow employment criteria, if they so choose.

If you're trying to pick up an extra tradeline or two, with solid CL's, check around locally. I would make sure that a CU belongs to the NCUA or similar organization that guarantees deposits.

[Hogwash]

haulingthescoreup

I am still here and reading as much as possible on the subject to make certain that my next move is the right one.

This week I opened up an e*Trade online checking account (soft pull and verified) tied to my securities account. The agent asked me if I wanted to apply for the VISA card and I declined. I have since received 3 telemarketing calls from them trying to persuade me to apply.

Today I applied online and was approved for the PENFED checking account and when I called to obtain a PIN number, the very polite and helpful telephone agent asked if I wanted to also apply for the VISA and auto loan. Again I declined and told her that I would wait until I had transferred $5K into the account.

To your point about utilizing my local banking relationship to obtain a credit card, I think I want to play that first. To be honest I am not a real credit hound and prefer the cash method of purchasing. I do need an auto loan in the coming months and will most likely try to take advantage of the low to no interest rates being offered by the manufacturers or apply through PENFED.

I spent this week trying to resolve my Verizon issue and from the effort being made, I feel that I will finally vindicate my credit score because of their mess up.

This board is very helpful and I only wish that I had made an effort to get involved in my credit issues earlier.

Thanks again

[Anonymous]

Happy Sunday Hogwash,

Glad to see you back!

You made all the right moves with eTrade

and PenFed. Congratulations!

I'm a cash and carry kinda guy myself,

normally using my debit card to make

purchases so I don't have to withdraw cash.

I found out the hard way that this habit isn't

helping my FICO scores. I'm meeting with my

CU this week to get a VISA myself, but I'm gonna

use it like a debit card to pay for groceries, gas, etc.

I still won't have to worry about carrying cash and it

will help my credit at the same time. You might

consider doing the same.

And that PenFed VISA is a rewards card with 5% cash

back on gas. Prices are $3.50/gallon on average, so every

little bit helps. They've already pulled your Equifax so they

know your score. That's why you're getting offers for the

card and the auto loan.

I hope everything works out for you, Hogwash. You're doing

GREAT and the forum is always here if you need us.

Enjoy your weekend!

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything"

[Hogwash]

Hi Can Do,

The confusing part to the credit game is "how much credit is enough"? How many cards in the wallet make sense and why?

I taught my kids to pay their credit card bills every month, on time and one of them zigged when he should have zagged. Young enough to recover but costly just the same.

I think 3 cards is enough and being a regular traveler it is nice to have a back up just in case a charge is denied = plan B always nice to have.

Thanks again!

HW

[haulingthescoreup]

I have to chime back in here and agree.

The types of credit cards available these days have resulted in many of us using credit far more than we once did. I was also a "cash and carry" person, and I still do not carry balances on my cards, ever, except for a BT card with our youngest's college expenses at 0%. I use mine exactly the way that CanDo describes: they are used for things that I used to pay for with cash, check or debit card. I pay them off online every week or two, usually on payday, so there is no interest involved.

I suppose if I were a whole lot more organized than I am, I could claim that by deferring payments, I'm earning interest on the cash that I eventually use. In fact, I don't bother with figuring that out at all. I just know that this makes my life simpler, in that I don't carry more than $10-20 ever, and I can deal with my bills all at once.

And there's no way to deny that I come out ahead via rewards, especially on the PenFed gas card. As I posted elsewhere, I tanked up the other day at $3.39/gal, but once that %5 cashback posts, as it does every month on my statements, I really paid $3.22/gal. That's still awful, but it's better than everyone else at my local pumps is paying!

[Anonymous]

Hey HW and hauling,

I guess we're just 3 happy peas in a pod, huh?

Our parents (both deceased now) taught us to "cash and carry"
and to only borrow money to buy a house or a car. But the world

went and changed on us. What nerve!!!!

We now find ourselves in a global society where credit....not cash...is king.

I was also told that 3 credit cards is the magic number: one to use like a debit

card, one for major purchases and/or emergencies that can't be handled in

the same month, and the last card as a reserve.

But the real answer to your question, HW, is this: whatever amount of credit

you feel comfortable with handling, that's your magic number.

So don't worry about what anyone else tells you. People can give you advice,

but they don't pay your bills and they don't care about your financial future the way you do.

So like I said, just do whatever you feel is best from a credit perspective. Just

don't let yourself get caught up in the hype.

Enjoy your day!

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything"