My Offer from NFCU

[user1200988]

Pretty similar to me. I have 5 accounts opened in the last year; been with NFCU  for 4 months-ish; it is noit my main bank, USAA is, but I am considering making the change, but my investment and trust accounts are at USAA, so I am not really interested in that change. USAA has always been excellent to me. I have 6 inquiries in the past year on my TU... So our situations are fairly similar. I think I'm going to just go ahead with my plan with adding a dd for around 1,500/month, getting the pledge loan of like 3100 over 36 months and pay 90% back 3 days lator, then auto pay the rest spread over 36 months just to get an active installment loan and build the relationship. After say, 3 months of DD and the pledge loan down below 9% with 3 automatic payments after the 91% paydown logged, and continuing my little auto-additions to my ez certificate, and just apply for the flagship then and not worry about any offers until then. In the meanwhile, I will get those two **bleep**ed-ass mirrage "collections" removed from TU. That should pretty much guarantee success. Especialy since monthly income is right at 20k, and my total outstanding debt is under 600 bucks.

[portlandmusician]

@user1200988  From what you've described, I wouldn't read the "Invitation to Transfer and Save" offer as a preapproval. Those are usually just marketing offers that a lot of members see. If Navy Federal thinks you're prequalified, they usually say that more directly. Even then, it's not a guarantee, but it's definitely different from a balance transfer promotion.

Looking at your profile, I actually think you've got a lot going for you now compared to when you applied on day one. A 718 TU FICO 8, 5% utilization, a 12.5-year average age of accounts, and a mortgage and paid student loans all look good. The recent accounts and six TU inquiries are probably what's working against you more than anything, especially since you've only been a member for about 90 days. The previous denial is also something I'd keep in mind.

Personally, I wouldn't open a pledge loan just to have an active installment loan reporting. You already have plenty of installment history from your student loans and mortgage. A pledge loan can help build your relationship with NFCU, but I don't think it's likely to be the deciding factor in getting approved for a credit card.

If it were me, I'd probably wait until your direct deposit has been hitting the account for a month or two, let your membership age a little more, and hopefully get those student loan disputes resolved. Your profile is stronger now than it was when you first applied, and waiting a little longer could improve your chances while avoiding another hard pull if they still say no.

[user1200988]

@portlandmusician Thank you for such a thoughtful answer. I really appreciate it and agree with you. My idea of the pledge loan is only intended to help build early relationship by using multiple products of theirs. You have confirmed, in my opinion, the validity of my plan to establish my DD with them for 3 months. I just started my 5th month with them, so DD for three months will take me into month 8 as a member. I will continue to add to my ez start certificate each month, which is already on automatic transfer, and I am going to go ahead and start that pledgeloan later this month, since it will tie up only a couple hundred bucks, which will pay itself off with payments of around $7/month that I won't even notice and will be automatic as well.

So, that will also have 3 months of age taking me into month 8 of my membership with them. I have already sent disputes to those bs collections reported with proof that they were never even past due one day just like my other 16 student loans have perfect payment history and have all been paid in full, so I expect those off my accounts within 30 days or so. With all of that said, I will probably wait an extra month or two and get into month 10 or 11 to reapply for a card with them, and let all those inquiries age to 8 months old as well. This ought to practically guarantee success.

Again, thank you for your rational and thoughtful response,

Swap

[FicoMike0]

If I followed correctly, you have no open installment loan. In that case, you should get a score bump from the SSL trick. $3100 should be enough for a 60 month loan from navy. No point in doing less, the longer the loan, the longer the score boost lasts. I did mine with penfed, but it should work out the same. After the dust settles, you should not have any money tied up in the loan. You borrow all of the $3100 back, then prepay the loan with $2821. In a day or two, that $2821 becomes withdrawable from savings. At that point you're even on cash in hand. You can set up monthly payments as you suggested. I let mine ride, because penfed is known to forgive the last $50 or so of a loan. Nice of them, but that would terminate my 84 month loan more than a year early.

Btw, I saw a 30 point score boost in less than a month.

I apped flagship about a month after joining. They approved, but only $6500 CL. It's up to $24,500 now. Got the prime and the $120 global entry paid for myself and P2. 

Good luck

[user1200988]

@FicoMike0 

 Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I think the little score bump is kind of a side effect of what I am going for, but 748 sounds better than 718, to be sure. Really, I am trying to show NFCU that I will be happy to use a variety of their products and I am following through on my word to them in my appeal to my original denial of membership (story for another time) in which I vowed to open a certificate, the flagship and cash rewards, and use other products. Mainly, I am trying to quickly show them that I am serious about establishing a relationship with them and also get the prime and global entry paid, as I travel a lot, and just got surprised yesterday with my prime membership fee. I heard they are moving the annual fee up to 99 bucks soon, but it still pays for itself with the Prime membership alone.

I think I jumped the gun on my application for a card, especially with three revolving accounts opened in the last 6 months including 2 in the last three months. The we todd did fictitious collections probably didn’t have much to do with it since there are no payments 30 days late on my report at all, including the alleged collection, which also has a zero balance and zero-dollar monthly payment. But now that I will be waiting until month ten-ish of membership with multiple products as well as DD, I am practically assured of success. I am just impatient. Thanks again for your experience bro,

Swap

[portlandmusician]

@ccuser123 You're very welcome, and thank you for the kind words.

I think your updated plan is well thought out. Giving the direct deposit time to establish, continuing to fund the EasyStart Certificate, and letting your membership mature into the 10- to 11-month range should all help paint a more complete picture of your relationship with Navy Fed. Even if the pledge loan isn't the deciding factor by itself, it's another product showing responsible use, and with only a small amount tied up, it's a pretty low-cost way to build that relationship.

Hopefully those incorrect student loan collection notations come off quickly as well. If they're removed, that'll clean up your reports and eliminate something that could raise unnecessary questions during underwriting.

By the time you reapply, your inquiries will be older, your newer accounts will have seasoned, and you'll have several months of direct deposit history. That's a much stronger position than when you applied right after joining.

Wishing you the best of luck when the time comes.... I hope your next post is in the approval thread