Should I try for a new credit card with PenFed...

[tubesock]

My husband and I are planning to buy a home next year. We have 9 credit cards totaling a little over $50k in credit limits. We're currently @ 51% Utl. We are paying off debt to raise our scores to 740+ by end of Summer 2012. Just a few days ago I applied for a PenFed Savings account because they offer good rates for mortgages and I didn't want to have to have my credit report pulled for the account close to when we go to buy. They asked if I wanted to see about getting a CC with them since they already ran my credit report. 

My question is: Do you think I should get one since they have great CC?

Since they've already pulled my Credit Report so I should take advantage of the opportunity?

Or should I just skip and continue with what I have and leave it alone?

We currently have: 

NFCU: $20K

DCU: $10K

Lane Bryant: $750

Capital One: $750

Citi Plat: $4.8K

Goodyear: $5850

Sam's Club: $4.8K

Amex Zync: Charge account but highest balance is $4630

Amex HHonors: $1k

Thanks in advance

[DI]

Why not get a line of credit instead?

[tubesock]

Ohhhh, never thought of that. 

Why would you suggest it though?

[DI]

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@tubesock wrote:

Ohhhh, never thought of that. 

Why would you suggest it though?

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Carrying balances on revolving credit can ding your credit a lot more than carrying balances on installment loans.  Since you all already have enough credit cards with good credit lines, adding something different to the mix would be best. 

[tubesock]

Okay, I'll definitely have to consider that for sure.

Thanks for the explanation!

[Anonymous]

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@tubesock wrote:

Ohhhh, never thought of that. 

Why would you suggest it though?

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Be very careful.  LOCs at Penfed carry a 14.9% APR.  Their credit cards generally have a much lower APR.

[TangMeister]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@tubesock wrote:

Ohhhh, never thought of that. 

Why would you suggest it though?

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Be very careful.  LOCs at Penfed carry a 14.9% APR.  Their credit cards generally have a much lower APR.

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PenFed's Line of Credit is prime + 6% or currently 9.24% APR.  Are you thinking about the Thrifty overdraft?  It's 14.65%.  But it would be somewhat useless for the OP anyway, because any balance on either is included in your revolving utilization percentage.  Of couse, the credit limit is as well.

The only LOC I'm aware of that reports as an installment loan is Justice Federal Credit Union's LOC, regardless of how much you're approved for.  It goes up to $40k.

[Anonymous]

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@TangMeister wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@tubesock wrote:

Ohhhh, never thought of that. 

Why would you suggest it though?

---

Be very careful.  LOCs at Penfed carry a 14.9% APR.  Their credit cards generally have a much lower APR.

---

PenFed's Line of Credit is prime + 6% or currently 9.24% APR.  Are you thinking about the Thrifty overdraft?  It's 14.65%.  But it would be somewhat useless for the OP anyway, because any balance on either is included in your revolving utilization percentage.  Of couse, the credit limit is as well.

The only LOC I'm aware of that reports as an installment loan is Justice Federal Credit Union's LOC, regardless of how much you're approved for.  It goes up to $40k.

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There are still cheaper APRs to be had on credit cards.

[tubesock]

Thank so much for the feedback. I think we'll just stick with what we have. One less piece of credit to think about. I think all we need anyway is a Mortgage now, since we do have two car payments reporting as well. The Mortgage is the only thing we're missing.

Thanks again

[RockinRay]

Keep paying your cards down and your score will rise.

In my mind, getting them to less than 10% utilization is the best thing to do.

Ray