Worth it to app for a new card??

[boilerfan]

Hey all,

Just looking for some advice about opening a new account. I've been a a full member of USAA since 2008 (father in law is Navy) and have been seeing that people here are getting really high CLs with them. I'm looking to maximize my score because I'm going to be shopping for a mortgage soon (within a year). I currently have limits of $4750 with Cap One, $4000 with Citi and $8350 with Jared with around 23% utilization. My AAOA is 5.3 yrs. I have 2 hard pulls on EX and 1 each on TU and EQ all about a year old. My USAA PLUS FAKO scores are: EX 717, EQ 726, TU 726. I have a 60 day late from 2006.

My question is: would it benefit me to get a high CL card through USAA or would it ultimately hurt me due to the hard pull and lower AAOA? Also from the info above can anyone estimate whether or not I'd even get a good CL from one of the USAA cards? 10k or above would be nice.

Thanks,

Boiler Fan

[Anonymous]

I say your chances of approval are good since you are a full member and good chance of getting $10k or higher starting limit. Remember the only person that can find out exactly what you get is you 

[boilerfan]

Thanks for the reply. I just don't know whether it would ultimately help or hurt my score. Like I said above I'm going to be shopping for a mortgage within a year. My own guess is that the higher CL and lower util would help more than the AAOA hit and hard pull would hurt. That is what I'm wondering about.

[LS2982]

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@boilerfan wrote:

Hey all,

Just looking for some advice about opening a new account. I've been a a full member of USAA since 2008 (father in law is Navy) and have been seeing that people here are getting really high CLs with them. I'm looking to maximize my score because I'm going to be shopping for a mortgage soon (within a year). I currently have limits of $4750 with Cap One, $4000 with Citi and $8350 with Jared with around 23% utilization. My AAOA is 5.3 yrs. I have 2 hard pulls on EX and 1 each on TU and EQ all about a year old. My USAA PLUS FAKO scores are: EX 717, EQ 726, TU 726. I have a 60 day late from 2006.

My question is: would it benefit me to get a high CL card through USAA or would it ultimately hurt me due to the hard pull and lower AAOA? Also from the info above can anyone estimate whether or not I'd even get a good CL from one of the USAA cards? 10k or above would be nice.

Thanks,

Boiler Fan

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I doubt you would get the 10K, maybe 5K. You'll take a ding for new account but AAoA shouldn't be dinged badly. The CL would benefit you if you had a low overall CL between all cards.

[Anonymous]

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@boilerfan wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I just don't know whether it would ultimately help or hurt my score. Like I said above I'm going to be shopping for a mortgage within a year. My own guess is that the higher CL and lower util would help more than the AAOA hit and hard pull would hurt. That is what I'm wondering about.

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Your reasoning is spot on...you will gain more in points for higher CL and lower util than a minor ding in AAoA and 1 HP...that is what you are after essentially...a higher score when you apply for a mortgage 

[LTomBerry]

You should be in pretty good shape. I got a $3k CL when I got mine on 09, (full member) with a 690ish score, then got a CLI to $11k 6 months later, then another to $14k 6mo after that. Your AAoA is long enough that a single card shouldn't kill it.

[boilerfan]

Thanks for the replies. Any recommendations as to which card I should app for?

[LTomBerry]

Go for the World MasterCard, if they don't approve you for $5k they'll give you the platinum instead, then give you a notice on the website later on down the road when you are eligible to upgrade.

[Anonymous]

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@boilerfan wrote:

Thanks for the replies. Any recommendations as to which card I should app for?

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Since you are carrying balances I would apply for the Military Affiliate Card to take advantage of the 12 months 0% APR for Balance Transfers and no fee if you deposit the money into your checking account