Well, it's almost time... I'm just waiting on my Amazon store card to report its statement (probably tomorrow) and then I'm good to go with apps! As I finalize my plan of attack, I'm sure that I'll have questions for all you myFICOteers, so I'll just use this thread as a catch-all, rather than litter the board with multiple items. So, just to put everything out in front, here's my current credit situation: no baddies, INQs are 3 TU / 2 EX / 2 (I think...) EQ, FICO/FAKO scores are all in the 700-720 range (I'll probably shell out for myFICO scores the morning I app), no mortgage, no open auto loans, and 2 federal student loans with a total $20k balance. My revolvers are currently reporting as shown below:
| Issuer | Card | Limit | Balance | Util % | Age | APR % | AF |
| Chase | Freedom | 6300 | 1230 | 20 | 8 yr 0 mo | 25.24 | none |
| Citi | Sears | 2300 | 1135 | 49 | 5 yr 8 mo | 25.24 | none |
| Synch | VCF | 4000 | 1103 | 28 | 0 yr 0 mo | 0 (promo) | none |
| Citi | Best Buy | 2000 | 965 | 48 | 0 yr 3 mo | 0 (promo) | none |
| Synch | Amazon | 2000 | 700 | 35 | 2 yr 2 mo | 25.99 | none |
| Merrick | Visa | 1800 | 516 | 29 | 1 yr 1 mo | 23.45 | none |
| Cap One | Platinum | 1500 | 742 | 49 | 8 yr 10 mo | 9.67 | 39 |
| Cap One | Platinum | 1500 | 627 | 42 | 9 yr 10 mo | 9.67 | 39 |
| Cap One | QS One | 1600 | 780 | 49 | 9 yr 8 mo | 13.4 | 39 |
| Amex | Costco TE | 6000 | 490 | 8 | 0 yr 4 mo | 0 (promo) | none |
| Barclays | iTunes | 1250 | 124 | 10 | 7 yr 9 mo | 22.74 | none |
| WebBank | Dell | 6100 | 739 | 12 | 8 yr 3 mo | 27.24 | none |
| Totals | 36350 | 9151 | 25 | 5 yr 2 mo | |||
| w/ 2 AU's | 46600 | 11037 | 24 | 4 yr 10 mo |
Yes, I know those near-50s aren't ideal for apping and might keep me away from higher CLs, but due to some expenses coming up in the next couple months, it'll take me a bit longer than I would have liked to bring all cards down below 30% util. But, if I'm able to get approved for some BT goodness now, that'd make things a lot simpler for me to manage.
My primary goal is to snag a Chase Slate; hopefully that'll work out due to my existing relationship with Chase. Two questions in relation to this:
- How reliable is the "2 Chase apps on same day, 1 HP" rumor? I keep reading differing accounts on this. Would it be wise for me to hit them up for a second Chase card right after I app for the Slate? I've been eyeing that Marriott card lately, and people seem to have good luck apping for the CSP...
- Is it true that Chase does not consider AU accounts whatsoever? Reason I ask is, I'm an AU on DW's Capital One that she just BT'd most off onto her Discover IT, but it won't report until next week. If Chase doesn't care about AU accounts then I shouldn't feel the need to wait around for this to report, right?
I'll let this post go up now, that's enough to start on while I go get dinner taken care of. I'll post back with my app wish list later tonight!
In order of attack, here's my plan so far:
- Chase Slate; if not instant approval then I'll stop here and take care of verification/recon; if the approved limit is low ($2k or less), I might try to recon for higher CL
- If the Slate is ultimately a no-go, then I'll run a "Plan B" and try to get a BT card from a different lender (Citi or Amex -- and if I fail here, I might rein it in early).
- If I get the Slate, then I'll app for Chase Marriott. The $1k-in-3mos target spend for the bonus points is pretty reasonable under my situation, I think I can handle that.
- Next, a 0%-for-15-mos card for general spend, since my promo period on the Costco Amex is nearing its end. Thinking about that new Citi Double Cash or a Discover IT...
- Growth-friendly store cards: Macy's, Lowes, and/or JCPenney. I know I would use all of these
- Comenity: I can't recall if TigerDirect's card works with the shopping cart SP trick..? If so, I'd be interested in that, plus the easy-to-CLI J.Crew card.
@PandiferBear wrote:What kind of capability do you have to pay off some of those balances before you apply? That is an awful lot of cards with balances. I think that could hurt your chances. I would definitely try getting several of those down to zero balances. Do you have any accounts without a balance, or is this everything?
Agreed... the $0 balances matter.
I've got 9 cards, and I had at one point 7 of the cards were reporting a balance early this year. With every card that I paid off and reported a $0 balance, I got a FICO score boost from 2-6 points... every time.
Plus you save yourself the "too many accounts with balances" denial.
@TRC_WA wrote:
@PandiferBear wrote:What kind of capability do you have to pay off some of those balances before you apply? That is an awful lot of cards with balances. I think that could hurt your chances. I would definitely try getting several of those down to zero balances. Do you have any accounts without a balance, or is this everything?
Agreed... the $0 balances matter.
I've got 9 cards, and I had at one point 7 of the cards were reporting a balance early this year. With every card that I paid off and reported a $0 balance, I got a FICO score boost from 2-6 points... every time.
Plus you save yourself the "too many accounts with balances" denial.
You're both right, it would be ideal to have lower balances and some zero balances. Unfortunately, it's not feasible for me to get to that point in the short term; while I have been paying down balances aggressively over the past year and will continue to do so, there's only so much extra cash to go around each month, and it could take several months to get to the point you describe... at which point I wouldn't have much need for a BT card! 
So I can stay the course with my current paydown strategy, or I can try to improve my situation with my stronger credit profile (relative to, say, my near-maxed state around this time last year). I know it's not a perfect picture, but it doesn't need to be in order to make things a little better -- as evidenced by my recent approval successes. Pipe dreams in my app wish list aside (mayyybe that Marriott card is a touch out of reach, lol, but a guy's gotta dream!), I'm not expecting to nail those super-prime cards just yet.
Oh, to answer the other question, the only $0 accounts I have in my CRs are closed accounts that were paid as agreed with no problems... 10 in total including an auto loan, an installment loan, my pre-consolidation student loans, and a few old credit cards. DW's CapOne that I mentioned earlier will report a zero balance next week (on Saturday, I'm paying off the small amount left over after her BT went through), but then that's an AU account for me.
@Anonymous wrote:Tiger direct doesn't work with shopping cart trick. They will email you though randomly if you have an account with them. I was pre approved via email for their tigerpay
Ahh, that's too bad about no SCT. I should probably set up an account, though I wonder how long it would take them to send me a pre-approval email... probably not within the app window I'm considering, lol
@lobsterfordinner wrote:1. Pay off the balances Working at it pretty hard, actually! This is one thing that you all don't have to keep telling me, I'm already aware
2. You have too many store cards Really? I count only five, and two of those (the Citi BB and Sears) are co-branded MasterCards. Plus, isn't diversity important in a credit profile?
3. Get rid of those cap1 cards already I wish! Unfortunately, they are also my oldest TLs so I'd prefer to keep them active. Hate those AFs though; customer service told me they couldn't be waived or the cards converted to non-AF versions, but I'm hoping they will be able to convert after I pay down the balances more.
good luck!
