NFCU Visa Approval

[Karunch]

I called and signed up for a Navy Federal Credit Union account today.  After reading some more about NFCU on these forums, I called back and figured it wouldn't hurt to apply for a credit card.. And I'm totally shocked to find out that I was approved for the Cash Rewards Visa card with a $14k (yes $14,000) limit at 14.65% (prime + 11.4%).  The extremely friendly customer service rep said that she was surprised that I was instantly approved as well, since I had just opened my NFCU account today.

Right now my FICO score according to ScoreWatch is 677.  I had a CH7 BK discharged back in 2008, so I'm about 3 years out from that.  I've been working hard the past 3 years on improving my credit scores, but I have a long way to go still.  I've made all of my payments on time since then, and the past few months all of my cc's are PIF every month.

Here is a list of the credit cards that I currently have and I'm wondering which, if any, I should close?  Should I just keep them and not use them?

Cap1 MC, $2,000 limit, 22.70%

Hooters/Merrick Bank MC, $1,400 limit, 20.20%

Target Card, $200 limit

Cap1 MC, $1,500 limit, 22.90%

Kohls Card, $300 limit (keeping this card for the coupons)

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on your cashRewards VISA!    Good thing that you didn't app for nRewards VISA.

Do you carry the balance on any of your ccs?

What is the reason you want to keep target card if you do?

Any of those come with AF?

[kc12286]

Congrats.

[Datx]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Congratulations on your cashRewards VISA!    Good thing that you didn't app for nRewards VISA.

Do you carry the balance on any of your ccs?

What is the reason you want to keep target card if you do?

Any of those come with AF?

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Ack! You got me thinking when I read this statement. May I ask why you would prefer the cashRewards over the nRewards.

Congrats btw OP, that is a great CL with NFCU.

[Anonymous]

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@MyCreditStinks wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Congratulations on your cashRewards VISA!    Good thing that you didn't app for nRewards VISA.

Do you carry the balance on any of your ccs?

What is the reason you want to keep target card if you do?

Any of those come with AF?

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Ack! You got me thinking when I read this statement. May I ask why you would prefer the cashRewards over the nRewards.

Congrats btw OP, that is a great CL with NFCU.

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It's easy ... check out the rewards program info.

Fact:

The rewards pts will expires on 4th yr in same month.  vs  No Expiration Date on cashRewards

The redemption of the pts is worth than used to be.  used to be 2500 pts for $25 Gift card and more choices.

The bottom line is nRewards rewards are not worth for me.

nRewards®

Point Redemption	Rewards Return
Start redeeming at 2,000 points for merchandise, gift cards and travel-related certificates. Redeem Rewards Points Reward examples: 2,000 points for $10 gift card from Starbucks or Applebee's 3,500 points for $25 gift card from Best Buy® or iTunes Music Store 7,500 points for $75 Gap® or Navy Federal Visa®Awards Card	Rewards up to 1% return on each dollar spent
Point Limits
None
Point Expiration
4 years

cashRewards

Rewards redemption	Rewards limits	Rewards expiration
Start redeeming once you reach a rewards minimum of $20.	None	None

[Karunch]

I just called customer service for each of my cc's, and I found that none of my accounts have an AF.  As for my cc's, I make sure to pay them off every month.  But I realize that I probably was doing things incorrectly, and was using the cards in between when the payment was made and when the statement would generate.  So I would imagine that my CR's are always showing a balance on each of my cards, even though I'm technically always paying them off.

And for my Target Card, the reason that I'm thinking about keeping it is due to the 5% savings every time that I use my card in the store.  So I'm thinking about closing one of the Cap1 accounts, or the Merrick/Hooters Card account.

[mmduluth]

I figure since none of your cards have an AF, I would jut leave them open and SD one or two of them. 

[Anonymous]

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@Karunch wrote:

I just called customer service for each of my cc's, and I found that none of my accounts have an AF.  As for my cc's, I make sure to pay them off every month.  But I realize that I probably was doing things incorrectly, and was using the cards in between when the payment was made and when the statement would generate.  So I would imagine that my CR's are always showing a balance on each of my cards, even though I'm technically always paying them off.

And for my Target Card, the reason that I'm thinking about keeping it is due to the 5% savings every time that I use my card in the store.  So I'm thinking about closing one of the Cap1 accounts, or the Merrick/Hooters Card account.

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That's very good!    Then you don't need to close anything.  Keep it all open and active. 

This is what  and how I do on my ccs:

Report the balance

On three out of nine ccs ...  I carry the balance and PIF the statement balance by the due date.

Does not report the balance

On two out of nine ccs ...  I PIF the charged amount 1~2 days before its closing date, and stop using it until new billing cycle start.

On four out of nine ccs ...  sock drawer and use it every six mos and PIF before its closing date to keep it active.

What you have to do is, you just need to find out what's works for you and fit in your spending habit and routine.