First post! need some advice

[Anonymous]

ive been lurking the boards for a while but finally decided to post.

i am 22 years old. i have 3 credit cards( walmart, target and capital one.) my walmart card i have a 0/100 bal, target- 40.00/200.  and capital one i recently paid my balance from 689 down to 135 and the cl on that was 750. besides the credit cards i have several student loans which are deferred. my question is i want to buy a macbook pro , it's my graduation gift since im graduating soon. my parents were initially were going to help me pay for it but that fell thru because of a car accident. i was thinking about applying for the apple financing card but what are my chances of getting approved?  would i have a better chance of getting approved if i wait till after my credit report updates because the high balance on the capital one card is still showing.  would anyone sugguest i pay the capital one balance  of 135$ down a little more or leave it as is? Also,  the last time i checked my credit score it was 689.

[DI]

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@Anonymous wrote:

ive been lurking the boards for a while but finally decided to post.

i am 22 years old. i have 3 credit cards( walmart, target and capital one.) my walmart card i have a 0/100 bal, target- 40.00/200.  and capital one i recently paid my balance from 689 down to 135 and the cl on that was 750. besides the credit cards i have several student loans which are deferred. my question is i want to buy a macbook pro , it's my graduation gift since im graduating soon. my parents were initially were going to help me pay for it but that fell thru because of a car accident. i was thinking about applying for the apple financing card but what are my chances of getting approved?  would i have a better chance of getting approved if i wait till after my credit report updates because the high balance on the capital one card is still showing.  would anyone sugguest i pay the capital one balance  of 135$ down a little more or leave it as is? Also,  the last time i checked my credit score it was 689.

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IMO, I think you should get the Macbook Pro after you pay down the credit card balances to zero.  Once you get into a habit of paying in full monthly, then buy toys. 

[IOBA]

+1

Even better to save up the cash for it.  Once the cash is set aside to pay for it, THEN apply for the cc if you want.

Keep a CLOSE eye on those student loans.  There are horror stories over in student loans about people not realizing payments were due and messing up their credit.

[Anonymous]

If you have a 689 credit score you are likely to get approved for the Apple Barclay card, but based on your current avaliable lines of credit your limit is likely to be very low.  Infact probably not likely you would qualify for enough credit to get the computer you are wanting. I would advise to save up your money and purchase the computer out right, or wait until you have established better credit history.

[casmith1980]

I agree with DI.

Also - if you're going to carry a "small" balance (since that seems to be the best for FICO scoring) make sure it's between 1-9% on only ONEcard.  Let that hit your report for a couple months and then see where you sit.

BTW - I love my Mac :-)  you will be a happy camper if you don't already own one

[Anonymous]

so my best bet is paying off the target card and carrying a small balance on the capital one card since i use that more often.  i would really like to close the walmart and target card, i rarely use them. does having a zero balance on a card i do not even use effect my credit? i was told to leave those open because those two are my oldest cards.  i also forgot to add that i had 2 thirty day late payents  from 08 & 09 on the target card which is probably affecting my score. I wrote a goodwill letter, so i will see if  i can get those removed.

my laptop just crashed and prefer not to get another window computer, i went thru 2 in the last 3 years.

[RockinRay]

Most likely, your interest is high on your current cards, correct?

Pay them off first, then get your MacBook Pro.

Ray

[Anonymous]

yes all my cards have high interest rates all above 20%

[Anonymous]

Don't close the Target or Walmart if they don't have an AF. They will help your score (AAoA)  in the long run.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@casmith1980 wrote:

I agree with DI.

Also - if you're going to carry a "small" balance (since that seems to be the best for FICO scoring) make sure it's between 1-9% on only ONEcard.  Let that hit your report for a couple months and then see where you sit.

BTW - I love my Mac :-)  you will be a happy camper if you don't already own one

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No, no, don't carry a balance! Just let one report, and then pay it off before the due date. Carry = not paying in full every month, and therefore paying interest. Letting report = paying off part of the balance before the statement drops (if you want to), letting the remainder report on the statement as balance due, and then immediately paying that amount in full. No reason to pay interest for scoring's sake.

That might be what you were saying, but it's an issue that confuses a lot of people.

And I love my Mac, too!