USAA Rewards Visa Signature

[ooeemusic]

I recently (8/2018) applied for and got a USAA Rate Advantage. Instant approval with an 8,500 CL. I was very pleased by the initial credit limit. I am using it for the balance transfer offer to combine and pay some things down, APR after the intro period is 14something 14.75 maybe? I can't remember.

I just received a "pre-selected" offer for the USAA rewards Visa Signature card, with a BT offer of 0$ APR until 4/2020 and 16.65 after (I think that is a bit high). Given the last high initial CL I got, would it be worth it to apply for this card as well and for the BT offer?

I'm weary of hard inquries that amount to nothing, or super low CL's that don't accomplish anything with BT offers. Also wonder about applying to soon after the last new account?

My current utilization is on the high side (34%), but, somewhere in the next hopefully 6 months of less that should be cut in half (it's complicated).

My last experian score, which is what they pulled last time from 9/27 was 729. I have 2 hard inquiries, the USAA from August and a CBNA from 9/2016 which I'm not sure why hasn't fallen off?

Also recently requested an increase on my Discover It, soft pull, CL was 5500 got an instant increase of 2700 for a 8200 CL total. Also got a 1k auto increase on a citi simplicity (which I don't even use because the APR is insane) brought the CL to 4400 and a 400 auto increase on a Barclay...world? maybe? to bring that CL to 10,400 (not sure the point of a $400 increase but...).

Thoughts?

[hawkins]

From my experience with USAA the APR tends to be a tad high however the one you just quoted does not sound so bad. Also if they are making that offer and your other card is $8500 CL you will get at least that if not more. I’ve got 4 cards with USAA and they all followed a pattern as far as SL and CLIs go. So my opinion would be go for it. USAA has been good to me I’m sure they will be good for you as well.

[ooeemusic]

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@hawkins wrote:
From my experience with USAA the APR tends to be a tad high however the one you just quoted does not sound so bad. Also if they are making that offer and your other card is $8500 CL you will get at least that if not more. I’ve got 4 cards with USAA and they all followed a pattern as far as SL and CLIs go. So my opinion would be go for it. USAA has been good to me I’m sure they will be good for you as well.

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Thanks, Hawkins! You really think they will give me at least equal to the limit of the first one? I've never applied for 2 cards so close together (just over a month) so it just makes me nervous. Actually, applying at all makes me nervous, although, I've only ever been denied for one card and it was because I had just moved and they couldn't verify info. After some runaround, that card got approved too.

I guess maybe I'll give it ago this weekend. I just don't want to end up with like a 2 or 3k limit. I already have 2 cards with limits in that range and they are basically useless to me.

Anyone else have any thoughts before I pull the trigger?

[Appleman]

USAA is a fairly conservative lender. Do you need another card right away?

They also seem to cap their exposure at $50K across the credit cards they issue provided you qualify.

Personally, I would wait on getting another USAA card right away.

[ooeemusic]

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@Appleman wrote:

USAA is a fairly conservative lender. Do you need another card right away?

They also seem to cap their exposure at $50K across the credit cards they issue provided you qualify.

Personally, I would wait on getting another USAA card right away.

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I don't really need another card persay. What I do need is a balance transfer offer. I'd be ok if two of my current cards would send me good offers, but, I have a card with more of a balance than I want to carry collecting interest.

[hawkins]

Well this rewards card you are mentioning is not really a good balance Transfer card per se. carrying a balance on a rewards card kind of negates the rewards. That being said USAA from my experience likes to give you 2 cards pretty much from the start. Once you get any card you typically must wait 6 months to request a CLI. Every once and awhile they will do it automatically but not very often. If you want more cards however you can apply as early as 3 months after your first card you received. It’s how I ended up with 4 cards from them. Usually they give you more in the 2nd card and 3rd Card. 4 th Card was the same SL as the 3rd for me. But yes no matter what $50k is maximum. Since you only have one card at the moment you can app really for any card they have including another rate advantage but I don’t think your APR will change. Food for thought.