Have UW standards relaxed anywhere with Covid-19?

[macinjosh]

I really would like a BT card so I can transfer the last of my Discover card balance before the 0% intro rate ends, but have any banks relaxed their underwriting standards? I know US Bank is heavily marketing their Platinum cards (Personal & Business) for 20 months with 0% interest.

[Anonymous]

With what's going on, I don't see relaxed UW in the cards. Perhaps with terms could be met with existing lenders, heck Citi and Disco are always offering BT's. I just don't see it happnening on new accounts. As others have said if you have a strong profile it's likely business as usual, but if you don't then it might be a tad tougher. Who knows.

I know this may seem like a weird move by some, but in the past I have totally paid off a BT right before the 0% expiration date from savings.

Then I just take out another 0% BT to replace it. While i don't really advocate this beacuse it can just cause you to be in a constant BT shuffle, it works in a  pinch.

Or if you belong to a CU, just transfer from their CC with no fees to pay it off. Then BT back to Discover for the next 0%. I've done that before as well. And since the interest is so low at CU's, the most you'd pay before the balance tranfers is a couple bucks. At mine it was only $0.97.

[Mv350]

Not in my experience so far, but as you can see in my signature. I have a TON of INQ, half of them are unscorable from car shopping Nov 2018. But I also have 1 negative left that a quite a few new accounts in the last 6 months. 

With stronger profile, I'm sure there would be more options. The US bank platinum was on my list also. HSBC has the gold card for 18 months 0% right now too. 

[M_Smart007]

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@macinjosh wrote:

I really would like a BT card so I can transfer the last of my Discover card balance before the 0% intro rate ends, but have any banks relaxed their underwriting standards? I know US Bank is heavily marketing their Platinum cards (Personal & Business) for 20 months with 0% interest.

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@macinjosh, You should be able to transfer some or all depending on the amount? .. to your PenFed PCR

and it can be done on the website. I have no idea if this would help you.

[macinjosh]

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@M_Smart007 wrote:

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@macinjosh wrote:

I really would like a BT card so I can transfer the last of my Discover card balance before the 0% intro rate ends, but have any banks relaxed their underwriting standards? I know US Bank is heavily marketing their Platinum cards (Personal & Business) for 20 months with 0% interest.

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@macinjosh, You should be able to transfer some or all depending on the amount? .. to your PenFed PCR

and it can be done on the website. I have no idea if this would help you.

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I did a BT to my PCR. I limited myself to $4300 with transfer fee so my Util wasn't too high. I really wish Citi would give me a BT offer on my Best Buy Visa. I really should call them, but I haven't had time.

[pinkandgrey]

You and I are in the exact same boat. Trying to move balance off Disco before the 0 runs out. 

[M_Smart007]

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@pinkandgrey wrote:

You and I are in the exact same boat. Trying to move balance off Disco before the 0 runs out. 

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I almost posted the link to your thread.

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

Have you tried the BB&T prequalifier? They have a BT card called the Bright card and their Cash rewards card also does a BT offer as well. You can check and see the terms/credit line before applying, so maybe try that and see what happens?

https://www.bbt.com/offers/checkOffers

[NRB525]

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@macinjosh wrote:

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@M_Smart007 wrote:

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@macinjosh wrote:

I really would like a BT card so I can transfer the last of my Discover card balance before the 0% intro rate ends, but have any banks relaxed their underwriting standards? I know US Bank is heavily marketing their Platinum cards (Personal & Business) for 20 months with 0% interest.

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@macinjosh, You should be able to transfer some or all depending on the amount? .. to your PenFed PCR

and it can be done on the website. I have no idea if this would help you.

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I did a BT to my PCR. I limited myself to $4300 with transfer fee so my Util wasn't too high. I really wish Citi would give me a BT offer on my Best Buy Visa. I really should call them, but I haven't had time.

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I didn't see PCR in your siggy?

How much is your PCR limit? How much total was on your Discover Balance? 

As noted up thread, the tactic of moving a balance temporarily to a CU or other no-BT Fee card is... it is temporary.  You give it a week then BT it back to the better BT offer card. You time it to all occur within a statement period so ideally it does not pop up as a spike balance in your reporting. 

Unless you are me, in which case the spike in utilization on a statement is not something I worry about.  Utilization has no memory and fades with time. The spike in utilization sort of remains on your reports as an indication you have larger balances. Combined with never missing any payments, some of us believe that voodoo helps future apps for CC.  

[kdm31091]

If anything I think the opposite - lending standards are probably tightening up, not relaxing. Banks are trying to cut expenses and reduce risk. It would make little sense to relax underwriting right now.

Instead of opening a new account with potentially a weak starting limit, you could try working with your lender on your existing balance. Perhaps the rate can be extended, or at least you could be offered a reduced rate for x amount of time. I'd try that before attempting to open a new account at the moment.