Close out 1 of the 2 loans. Then grab NFCU's SSL after you close Cap's secured. Until that happens leave at least 1 loan open. And you can upgrade your Plat to the QS then you can get some cash back. Call and ask. Once you get the SSL. Close out the remaining loan.
@Anonymous wrote:Hi All,
I have what I like to believe is a good idea. Still, I would like to read other opinions or suggestions about going about things.
As mentioned in my first post on the forum, my goal is to get a few more cards and increase my overall CL. Taking the advice from my first post and doing what was suggested, my scores went from EQ 714, EX 653, TU 682 to EQ 749, EX 656, TU 687. EQ got the most significant boost because, for some reason, my paid collection from May 2021 fell off my EQ report (YAY!).
After the increase in scores, I applied for 4 cards, 2 had pre-quals, so there was 2 SP. Ultimately, I gained two new cards, a PenFed Power Cash Rewards with a $2k SL and a Cap1 Platinum with a $3k SL. This increased my overall CL from $2,500 to $7,500.
The Idea: Now that I have 4 cards, I will start doing AZEO. I want to close my Cap1 secured for a few reasons: 1. Cap1 doesn't seem to want to graduate this card. After my NFCU card graduated, I started using the Cap1 exclusively, ensuring that less than 9% was reported and PIF monthly. 2. If I leave it open and it does graduate, I'd then have two Cap1 Platinum cards, and I see no point in having two. 3. I can get the money back from the Secured card and use it to open an NFCU SSL.
Reason 3 is the second part of the plan. I'll be Gardening for some months, using my oldest open card (NFCU) exclusively, and will request a CLI or apply for a better NFCU card once the graduated card is 7 months old. Then, I'll spend the remainder of the year in the garden. When I'm ready to ask for the CLI, the two installments on my report will be closed. Would it make sense to close the Cap1 Secured, use that money to open an SSL through NFCU, pay off all but 8% of the SSL, then pay off the two current installments after the NFCU SSL starts reporting to keep the credit mix good?
Does this sound like a good idea, or would it make more sense to keep the secured card open and not worry about the NFCU SSL?
Thank you in advance for your responses.
Your plan sounds good, but I don't think you need the SSL. If you do want to get one, you should get it further down the road, because with that amount of money it's only going to be a 12-month loan.
Certainly you don't need it for credit mix, because you've got installment loans in your mix. That doesn't go away even after they've been paid off.
@Anonymous wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:Close out 1 of the 2 loans. Then grab NFCU's SSL after you close Cap's secured. Until that happens leave at least 1 loan open. And you can upgrade your Plat to the QS then you can get some cash back. Call and ask. Once you get the SSL. Close out the remaining loan.
Thank you. I just paid off one of the loans a few minutes ago. The remaining one has 4 payments left. Since my Plat is new, should I wait a few months before asking for an upgrade to the QS?
Now you'll see a score bump because your last open loan is probably below 8%. Perfect time to closed the secured. Open the SSL and pay it down to 8%. Once the open loan is paid. You wont have to go thru the no open loan point loss because hopefully the SSL is be intact once the last 4 payments are made and the last loan will be paid. Yes I agree with @SouthJamaica it may be a short term SSL. But you can always get another one possibly a year later with more money and longer terms. If your card is I believe 3 months old at least. Call and ask. No HP. If not. Try at 6 months.
@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Hi All,
I have what I like to believe is a good idea. Still, I would like to read other opinions or suggestions about going about things.
As mentioned in my first post on the forum, my goal is to get a few more cards and increase my overall CL. Taking the advice from my first post and doing what was suggested, my scores went from EQ 714, EX 653, TU 682 to EQ 749, EX 656, TU 687. EQ got the most significant boost because, for some reason, my paid collection from May 2021 fell off my EQ report (YAY!).
After the increase in scores, I applied for 4 cards, 2 had pre-quals, so there was 2 SP. Ultimately, I gained two new cards, a PenFed Power Cash Rewards with a $2k SL and a Cap1 Platinum with a $3k SL. This increased my overall CL from $2,500 to $7,500.
The Idea: Now that I have 4 cards, I will start doing AZEO. I want to close my Cap1 secured for a few reasons: 1. Cap1 doesn't seem to want to graduate this card. After my NFCU card graduated, I started using the Cap1 exclusively, ensuring that less than 9% was reported and PIF monthly. 2. If I leave it open and it does graduate, I'd then have two Cap1 Platinum cards, and I see no point in having two. 3. I can get the money back from the Secured card and use it to open an NFCU SSL.
Reason 3 is the second part of the plan. I'll be Gardening for some months, using my oldest open card (NFCU) exclusively, and will request a CLI or apply for a better NFCU card once the graduated card is 7 months old. Then, I'll spend the remainder of the year in the garden. When I'm ready to ask for the CLI, the two installments on my report will be closed. Would it make sense to close the Cap1 Secured, use that money to open an SSL through NFCU, pay off all but 8% of the SSL, then pay off the two current installments after the NFCU SSL starts reporting to keep the credit mix good?
Does this sound like a good idea, or would it make more sense to keep the secured card open and not worry about the NFCU SSL?
Thank you in advance for your responses.
Your plan sounds good, but I don't think you need the SSL. If you do want to get one, you should get it further down the road, because with that amount of money it's only going to be a 12-month loan.
Certainly you don't need it for credit mix, because you've got installment loans in your mix. That doesn't go away even after they've been paid off.
That makes sense. I thought installments only counted for credit mix when the account was still open. Would keeping an SSL open make the most sense to maximize points earned while gardening, or would you still suggest getting it further down the road?
On a small SSL the duration will probably only be 12 months. It would be better to do a loan of more than $3k, so you could get the 60-month term. You don't have to tie up the bulk of the money for long, just for a few days.