Looking for a new CC

[Anonymous]

Hello all. These forums are awesome! I'm still learning about credit scores and things and there certainly is a wealth of information here.

I have some questions about looking for a new CC. A few years ago I signed up for a CCCS to pay down some CC balances. (Now I know that I probably could have gotten the interest rates reduced myself and saved the $20 a month that went to the CCCS, but oh well.) I have already paid off one CC, a second one will be paid off next month, and the 3rd in September.

I didn't realize that when you pay off the CC's they automatically close the accounts. In fact, the lady at the CCCS told me that wouldn't happen. Anyway, 2 more accounts are about to be closed, meaning my available credit is going to plummet. The CL on one is $6700 and the other is $4000. I want to either get a new CC or increase my limits on the 2 that will remain open before that happens.

Right now I have 4 CC's and the total UTIL is 9%. I checked my credit scores about a month ago. I didn't know about FAKOs then, so only one of them is a FICO, the EQ which is 755. EX 735 and TU 746, both FAKOs. I may go ahead and buy the FICOs for the other two soon.

Would it be a better option to apply for a new CC rather than increase my limits on the other 2? They are department store type cards and have rather low limits.

What card should I apply for to get a high enough CL? How high of a CL do I really need?

Also, I read on some financial advice site or another that having a platinum CC helps your credit report/score. Is that true? If so, am I in good shape to be approved for one?

[Anonymous]

Your EQ score is definitely fine.

I have heard that if you are working through CCCS you cannot apply for new credit during that time, not sure though.

You can call the CCs that closed and ask them to reinstate. You can call the CCs you are about to pay off and ask them to not close. Failing that, with your scores, as long as you don't have any recent lates, more recent than 12-24 months, you'd probably easily get a BoA, and likely a low end AMEX. BoA is seen to be 'easier' with CLs and CLIs.

It sort of depends on who your current CCs are with as well.

Platinum really means nada. UTIL is king. On manual review having Visa/MC/Discover/AMEX will look better than just store cards, but platinum/gold/etc mean nothing IMO.

[Anonymous]

It's definitely not true that you can't open new credit while you have a CCCS, at least not in my area or with the CCCS I went through.  I have gotten 2 new CC's, an auto loan, and then refinanced the auto loan while doing the CCCS.

I did call 2 of the CC's that are going to close due to the CCCS and asked if I could keep them open.  Both said no.  The third one is already closed.

One of the ones that is going to close is BoA.  That's the one with the highest CL.  When I asked if I could keep it open, they said I could apply for a new one with them, but I'm guessing that probably isn't the best idea.  The other that's going to close is U.S. Bank.  The 2 that will remain open are Best Buy and Firestone.

I only have one late, on one of the bureaus, and it was over 24 months ago.

I'd really prefer a Visa.  Besides BoA, are there any others that tend to be easier on CLs? 

[Anonymous]

With your scores you should be a shoe in almost anywhere.

If you have a local CU or have some way of being eligible for NFCU or PenFed, I'd recommend that route for Visa/MC with good CLs.