@Anonymous wrote:
i'd also like to be a part of a CU to get access to low rate loans for if i want to buy a car in a few years.
Having a CU is IMO a good thing. I have a couple and they are good for cars loans, personal loans, and sometimes credit cards with low APR rate. However all it takes is $15 - $20, sometimes less in a savings to start a relationship. Your rates will not be based on your credi limits so no need to tie up 6k.
I'd like to have a card where i can put a big purchase on it of say 3k just in case of an emergency or have a quick way to buy something like a computer, since i can probably balance transfer it later onto a 0% apr card or pay it off the card with a low rate loan.
Save the $6000 in a savings for an emergency.
the cost of a phone these days is approaching and sometimes exceeding 1k,
(One can get a nice phone for $300)
and that would max out my current card just to buy that single item. if you apply for samsung financing, it counts as a "consumer finance account" and that will ding your fico score. so it's suggested that you buy it on a 0% apr card, and right now i don't qualify for any such 0% card offers, or any samsung financing. so having a larger limit card would at least allow me to buy it without paying cash. Not without it costing a lot more because of interest. One should buy needed items based on income and monthly expenses. It is not wise to base your spend on a granted CL. Putting items on credit you can't afford and don't need will backfire with time. Lots of horror stories in these forums from both Zero interest cards and overspending on cards.
it seems to be that certain lenders are very stingy and others aren't. chase, capital-one, and citi seem to be the worst ones. they are giving out small limits and tiny CLI's, whereas discover and others seem to give out thousands in a single CLI. cap1 is known for never unsecuring their secured card, even after they promise that they will do it. so i want to avoid these banks and credit unions that are hostile to the customer, some of them don't even offer secured cards. some give you the runaround when you apply demanding all kinds of paperwork and questioning you about your reasons for joining. so i'm really leaning towards joining SDFCU or DCU as these seem to be the least hostile.
Because an issuer is conservative does not make them undesirable.
Many would want 5% back on 2,000 spend a quarter with US-Bank, FNBO, etc than have $50,000 CL with Amex or NFCU with a 1.5% rewards. I am one of them. You seem to have an obsession with high CL's as a goal. A good score, strong payment history and rewards might be far more important.
I will take my $400 a year from a US-Bank Cash+ with $1000 CL rather than have $50,000 limit from NFCU and earn $120 with same spend.
my end goal for cards is to end up with 2 or 3 cards
Not a bad goal. I only use 4 cards for all my rewards and like the simplicity
with high limits, rather than lots of cards with small limits.
Credit limits should not be the goal !
Cards that benefit your from normal necessary spend and long term financial goals are more important. A good credit profile will save you money with more expensive purchases in the future like car, mortgage, persona loans, etc. Cards with good reward that earn miles or cash back. High CL's are extremely overrated, IMHO. Don't get me wrong some people do benefit from them, however the majority of card users do not need high limits.
it seems to be that lenders will set your limit based upon the limit they see someone else already gave you.
This has not been my experience, but even if it is true, who cares?.
Your CL's will rise with ALL issuers if you use the cards and pay on time.
that's another reason i was curious about a high limit secured card, so that maybe other lenders would see a reduced risk and be less skittish about giving me a similar limit on unsecured cards.
They can see it is secured.
Your use, income, payment history, and time is what matters.
You can not speed up time, so you need to develop a lot more patience.
