Citi Simplicity, Double Cash or Diamond Perferred for BT card?

[marcforza1]

As I'm working on getting everything back on track this year with my balances on my cards, I think a BT card may prove useful for me in the next 12-15 months. I plan on possibly apping for one in the fall so I can move a portion of my Chase FU balance over (balance owed is around $3200 out of $3500 CL). Last two INQ was in August 2019 when I got approved for Discover IT and Sam Ash Synchrony card. Never been late on a payment (yay!). Only derog is a $100 medical bill from 2017 that's paid. Luckily, only cc decline that I had in the last 3.5 years was the Amex HH card last August due to high util (66% at the time). Current EX score is 667 (still have to update my sig, but score keeps going up every other week). Total credit util is 23% and will likely go down to 15% by October as I make extra payments. And my total util will be lower after my payments for the 15th and tody are posted. 

For UW with the Simplicity, Double Cash or Diamond Preferred, which card would be easier or worth getting once my score is well above 700?  I also want to make sure that whichever card I might get, it won't be too big of an issue to PC to the Rewards+ card once the 0% APR ends. 

[Anonymous]

I don't think either of these products come with your typical SUB, so pretty much anyone would do. I will say that the Diamond and Simplicity oftne offer the longest BT durations at 18-21 months, so one of them would be my choice for a strictly BT card.

That said i would definitely keep an eye on them because a few reports have said that theh BT's were pulled after application leaving people felling left high and dry as the sole reason for apping. 

Honestly speaking, a $3,200 balance on a $3,500 limit might be asking for trouble waiting any longer to pay down. Or for a BT offer.

However, I'm not experienced enough with Chase to know if that's too high for them.

[AverageJoesCredit]

I thought i just read that DP is no longer 21 months but 18 months on bts.

[Jnbmom]

The simplicity card usually offers a good BT offer however I have only seen a very rare occasion were they let you PC.

I tried for months to get them to PC it , I talked to every department and every supervisor and was told NO this card can not be PC'd.

I closed it soon after as I really had no use for it no perks or anything .

[wasCB14]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

I thought i just read that DP is no longer 21 months but 18 months on bts.

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There may be special offers, but the public link is 18 for both.

[KLEXH25]

Your Chase card is at 91.4% utilization. That's just as important as your overall utilization and will likely result in a denial. You're also at risk for AA from Chase. Do you have any existing BT offers on your Discover (or any other cards)? How much can you pay down that card before applying? I would try to BT a portion of that balance to get utilization down if possible. 

[CYBERSAM]

Even if you get a card with BT offer, most likely would not be huge SL!

You can try getting PL to consolidate all your debt and reduce your interest payout! Your DTI is not as high that would prevent you from getting a PL.

[kdm31091]

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@Jnbmom wrote:

The simplicity card usually offers a good BT offer however I have only seen a very rare occasion were they let you PC.

I tried for months to get them to PC it , I talked to every department and every supervisor and was told NO this card can not be PC'd.

I closed it soon after as I really had no use for it no perks or anything .

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Right, historically Citi was unwilling to PC the Simplicity card with very rare exceptions. I have heard a couple reports that they now do allow PCs on it, but probably still YMMV.

I'd just opt for the Diamond Preferred since it's a very similar card and is far more readily PC'd to something else.

[Loquat]

Just wanted to chime in to say that after 4 long years with the Simplicity, Citi finally allowed me to PC to the Double Cash. It is very much a YMMV type of situation.

[marcforza1]

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@KLEXH25 wrote:

Your Chase card is at 91.4% utilization. That's just as important as your overall utilization and will likely result in a denial. You're also at risk for AA from Chase. Do you have any existing BT offers on your Discover (or any other cards)? How much can you pay down that card before applying? I would try to BT a portion of that balance to get utilization down if possible. 

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Not sure as far as my Discover, so I'll have to check on that. It's not the first time the FU was up there with a high util. Both the FU and Slate were around 95% util at one point but I still managed to snag a Shell card, Discover and Sam Ash card in the process. I'm not too worried about AA from Chase. I think they would have done that awhile ago if given the chance. As far as paying it down, I'm making double payments on it recently. By the time October gets here if I decide to app for a BT card, it'll be down to around 50-60% util.