With those scores, I'd look at maybe getting something new and getting financed through a dealership with special financing. Keep in mind, your fico scores aren't always used in computing an auto loan. See Tuscani's thread about that. Another thing you could do is transfer all credit card debt to one card. What this does is sometimes lowers the monthly payments on your report. Let's say you have 5 accounts each with a $100 payment, credit bureaus see that as 5 accounts so $500 in payments is going out but if you consolidate into one low interest card, usually the payment will increase but not as much so instead when they pull the report, the monthly payment for that card is say $225-$275. This gives you an extra $250 (give or take) in disposable income which could help in your debt-to-income ratio when figuring your auto loan fico score. Hope this helps and good luck :-)
Starting Score: 475
akhil wrote:
My oldest credit card is about 5 years old & the newest one is about a month old. I have 5 credit cards & my total credit limit is around $20K of which I am presently using around $2K. All of the accounts on my credit report are in good standing although until recently I had a "high credit usage" comment on my report. I am still paying off an old auto loan that has about $2K left on it. The last inquiry on my report, other than the new "miles" card I applied for, is by Amex in last August when I requested for a CLI. No negative information on my report, although I am in the 9.4% interest block on auto loans...and would like to move up to 7.1% Would this conversion request count as another inquiry ?? Thanks.
I thought your scores would be over 700 with the info you gave me. After all your util is at 10%, not bad, your oldest cc is five years old an no late payments. If you are currently employed and earning a decent wage (capacity to pay on time) and have been there a couple of years then I say yes if you need the credit. Obviously, a blue cash card has good perks unlike some student cards.
I have a lot experience with Amex and its been pleasant. Usually if someone is applying for the first time for Blue cash card (that is, someone with no other open amex accounts) they prefer to see scores over 700. I stress usually. In your case you have 5 good years of payment history and want to get a better card. Not sure if they will pull a hard inquiry though, you should ask them before you actually apply and also ask which bureau(s) they will pull. Also, I would advise you to pull your EQ report before you apply so their are no surprises.
Before applying/converting to blue card you will also want to asks the folks at Amex how your old student card will be reported if you are intending to close it. Make sure your positive history continues to show on your reports as long as possible. Probably better though to just keep it open and sockdrawer it.
As far as the auto loan, I have been advised by some of the smart folks at this forum, to pay the loan for the full term for the purposes of raising your scores. Its a history thing, the more on time payments the better. If you want save money in interest pay off quicker.
You might qualify for a better rate in Dec 07 for a new auto loan. These 2 or 3 inquiries should not be an issue. Evidently, the FICO scores at this site vary from what the auto lenders/dealers use. It's called auto enhanced scoring. Check out the thread on this subject posted by one smart guy, Tuscani. It may turn out your auto enhanced score are better than you myfico ones.
Hope this helps you.
