Underh20 wrote:
Yes, if you have auto insurance there is also a rebate every year.
I noticed the Deposit@Home function is available if you have a credit card with them.
Definitely USAA is far better than Chase!
By the way, since I suppose my credit files are "thin," would you recommend getting a personal loan and then paying it back completely after about a month and eating the approximately 1% in interest I'll pay? Will that trade line help my scores -- which now hover around 720 with no baddies and normal credit utilization somewhere significantly south 5%?
It's a thought, but we have it on good authority that you only get the mix points for open installment loans. There's a challenge to that floating around here somewhere, and I think someone's supposed to post back with an update when their last open loan is paid off.
You might ask if it's possible to pay the bulk of the loan back almost immediately, and drag the remainder out over at least a year. That being said, unless you're specifically working on your scores for some reason, there's really no need. But if you do this, please post back with the befores and afters on your scores! We love volunteer guinea pigs.
My 23-year-old has an offer, too! Ever so useful in her Bronx apartment, on her non-existent salary as a first-year med student.
pjohnston2 wrote:
funny, I looked under the "my offers" button and found an offer for a HELOC.
except, I don't own a home.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
@Underh20 wrote:
Yes, if you have auto insurance there is also a rebate every year.
I noticed the Deposit@Home function is available if you have a credit card with them.
Definitely USAA is far better than Chase!
By the way, since I suppose my credit files are "thin," would you recommend getting a personal loan and then paying it back completely after about a month and eating the approximately 1% in interest I'll pay? Will that trade line help my scores -- which now hover around 720 with no baddies and normal credit utilization somewhere significantly south 5%?
It's a thought, but we have it on good authority that you only get the mix points for open installment loans. There's a challenge to that floating around here somewhere, and I think someone's supposed to post back with an update when their last open loan is paid off.
You might ask if it's possible to pay the bulk of the loan back almost immediately, and drag the remainder out over at least a year. That being said, unless you're specifically working on your scores for some reason, there's really no need. But if you do this, please post back with the befores and afters on your scores! We love volunteer guinea pigs.
I just might volunteer for that mission, sir!
I will first need to ask them about prepayments. Do you think any possible score increases will also depend on the amount borrowed? I could borrow $500 (or whatever their minimum is) as opposed to a higher amount since the point isn't really to obtain a loan that I need.
No, FICO doesn't care about the borrowed amount (or the CL on revolving) --just your utilization, and on installment, even the util doesn't really matter. To be more accurate, it's the history and cleanliness thereof.
It's ma'am, not sir, btw, but no prob, it happens all the time. I do miss my post/ base access, with all the guys (and gals) with courtesy and manners. A different world. *sighs*
It's ma'am, not sir, btw, but no prob, it happens all the time.
I do miss my post/ base access, with all the guys (and gals) with courtesy and manners. A different world. *sighs*
I just want to say USAA is great! Ive been a member for 3 years but never subscribed to any of their banking banking products. I was reading in this forum how lax they seem to be about giving new credit out at the moment so I had to try them. I have a EFX score of 682 (just checked) and my oldest account TL is BoA (2yrs-9mos)
Credit Util. 48% (EFX). I applied and this is what happened:
Credit Card Application
Thank you for trusting USAA, ****************! Please review your summary and find out what happens next.
Summary
Your Account Number 37**-******-*****
Approved Credit Limit $10,000.00
Current APRs
Purchase APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)
Cash Advance and Balance Transfer APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)
Shipping Method Regular Mail ... $0.00
Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
So I got gutsy and applied for their Platinum Mastercard right after the above app approvial and this is what happened:
Credit Card Application
Thank you for trusting USAA, *******************! Please review your summary and find out what happens next.
Summary
Your Account Number 54**-****-****-XXXX
Approved Credit Limit $10,000.00
Current APRs
Purchase APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)
Cash Advance and Balance Transfer APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)
Shipping Method Regular Mail ... $0.00
Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
2 approvals for $ 10,000 x2 = $ 20,000!!! This is the highest credit limit I have got to date!! Thanks for the Info here!!!
Well, maybe, to some extent. Maybe if you're brand new to USAA, and they don't have anything else to gauge you by.
They offered me a HELOC for up to $150K (I took $50K) with an EQ FICO of 651. They scolded me roundly about my score during the process, btw. I said, yes, I know.
They offered me a HELOC for up to $150K (I took $50K) with an EQ FICO of 651. They scolded me roundly about my score during the process, btw.
I said, yes, I know.
woah thats awsome congratulations
@Anonymous wrote:I just want to say USAA is great! Ive been a member for 3 years but never subscribed to any of their banking banking products. I was reading in this forum how lax they seem to be about giving new credit out at the moment so I had to try them. I have a EFX score of 682 (just checked) and my oldest account TL is BoA (2yrs-9mos)
Credit Util. 48% (EFX). I applied and this is what happened:
Credit Card Application
Thank you for trusting USAA, ****************! Please review your summary and find out what happens next.
Summary
Your Account Number 37**-******-*****Approved Credit Limit $10,000.00Current APRsPurchase APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)Cash Advance and Balance Transfer APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)Shipping Method Regular Mail ... $0.00
Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
So I got gutsy and applied for their Platinum Mastercard right after the above app approvial and this is what happened:
Credit Card ApplicationThank you for trusting USAA, *******************! Please review your summary and find out what happens next.
Summary
Your Account Number 54**-****-****-XXXXApproved Credit Limit $10,000.00Current APRsPurchase APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)Cash Advance and Balance Transfer APR
11.9% (Variable Rate)Shipping Method Regular Mail ... $0.00
Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
2 approvals for $ 10,000 x2 = $ 20,000!!! This is the highest credit limit I have got to date!! Thanks for the Info here!!!
I honestly don't know, although once again, we'd be absolutely delighted for you to take the bullet on this! 
I will say, though, that the higher the score, the less impact credit mix seems to have.
Are you specifically thinking about looking for credit in the next 6-12 months, or are you just getting fascinated with the whole FICO scoring thing? Because there's common sense, and there's what's good for your own scores, and there's the scoring formula. The same actions will not produce the same results in all areas.
I will say, though, that the higher the score, the less impact credit mix seems to have.
Are you specifically thinking about looking for credit in the next 6-12 months, or are you just getting fascinated with the whole FICO scoring thing? Because there's common sense, and there's what's good for your own scores, and there's the scoring formula. The same actions will not produce the same results in all areas.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
I honestly don't know, although once again, we'd be absolutely delighted for you to take the bullet on this!
I will say, though, that the higher the score, the less impact credit mix seems to have.
Are you specifically thinking about looking for credit in the next 6-12 months, or are you just getting fascinated with the whole FICO scoring thing? Because there's common sense, and there's what's good for your own scores, and there's the scoring formula. The same actions will not produce the same results in all areas.
I will not be needing any new credit for the foreseeable future. I have quite enough already -- even before my new USAA card.
I guess my purpose is just building my score up to where I believe it should be. After approximately 30 years with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, I have never had any negative credit experiences reported on my credit file, but still have, I am told, a "thin" file. Although not causing problems, it has made for some difficulties in getting what I ask for. Being overseas for the past 18 years, I have stellar credit where I currently am. But since I seldom use credit in the US anymore, all of my US accounts end up being closed and drop off my credit file after ten years. Unfortunately it is not possible to have a strictly overseas bank report to any of the big three US CRAs.
So, every several years I have to open a new account in the US and then hope it doesn't get closed for lack of use. Right now I have 4 open trade lines with an AAoA of approximately two years. Just before the current economic crisis hit, I asked Chase for a CLI and they gave me far less than what I asked for. When I called to inquire, they told me it just looked starange that I would only have a two-year history even though they see I have been in the CRAs system for over 25 years. They sort of make you feel like they suspect you of murder or something, but they just can't prove it.
Now I am maintaining my US accounts and using them once in a while to try to keep them open. My average FICO is about 730 and credit utilization -- prior to the new USAA card -- at around 3%. I would like to see my score make it to the high 700's.
Thus, anything I do now is not really out of a need for more credit. Rather, it is just to either increase my score or, as what happened with USAA, just a whim for portfolio diversification. If I can also find a bank that has better customer service [than Chase or HSBC] and doesn't try to sell me crap every 5 minutes [like Chase], so much the better.