I'm glad you find it amusing 
I also find it amusing!! And also exciting compared to previous times where I didn't have elbow room to do this kind of move.
So I'm coming up on 6 months since I took out the reconsolidation loan with PenFed, and starting to consider my next move.
Because of the reconsolidation loan, I was able to pay all my cards down to 67% utilization. Two cards with smaller balances I recently (8/3) paid down to 47% utilization.
I have been getting some 0% BT offers for new cards.
One from PenFed, which I would actually like to have a credit card with long-term just because they have good rates. But it's for the Platinum, and I want the Gold -- longer BT offer, lower rates, and I don't care about points. The offer expires 8/30, about a month before 6 months since the loan was taken out. Do I use it? Do I wait? Do I tell them I want a different card?
I've also been getting 0% BT offers from Discover for the card that I already have a 0% balance transfer offer activated on!! I'm like, guys, this is... helpful??!! strange??!! Thank you AND could you wait for me to need a new offer before sending me an additional one? The only way I could use it would involve transfering balances that would go back up past the 67% utilization and kind of completely defeat the point. Do I call them and ask them for a new card instead...? Ask them to 'save the offer for later'? Just brainstorming here.
Also some offers from Citi for 0% APR on a new card for 21 months.
Then I've gotten a 0% APR offer on *new purchases* from BOA on my existing card, but not very useful since I just want BTs. Do I call them and ask them for a BT offer instead...?
Overall these offers indicate that I'm headed in the right direction.
As of today, my scores are TU 693, EX 709, and EQ 688.
Suggestions? Words of wisdom? As always, I want to take wise and strategic action 
I look forward to hearing your suggestions
@Expansion wrote:
Overall these offers indicate that I'm headed in the right direction.
First, congrats! ...and thank you for the update!
Some random thoughts... if you are not paying interest on credit card debt and don't need the balance transfer right now, I would wait.
If, however, picking up a new balance transfer card or two could help you get under 48% individual utilization, it would help your scores.
PenFed has been good to me, I have the Platinum, the Gold, and two Power Cash Rewards...currently, two of them are zero balance, and the other two are carrying zero percent deals....they are nothing fantastic, but do offer balance transfers fairly frequently!
Discover has a prequalify page... I'd see if you prequalify for a second Discover card and see what zero percent deal they offer.
Citi and Wells Fargo both have 21 month zero percent BT offers going right now.
(of course, if you ARE paying credit card interest, by all means go grab a balance transfer offer or two... don't get silly with it!)
I'm not a fan of Bank of America, so I won't be much help there...
You're doing fine. You got this. Good luck!
@Expansion wrote:So I'm coming up on 6 months since I took out the reconsolidation loan with PenFed, and starting to consider my next move.
Because of the reconsolidation loan, I was able to pay all my cards down to 67% utilization. Two cards with smaller balances I recently (8/3) paid down to 47% utilization.
I have been getting some 0% BT offers for new cards.
One from PenFed, which I would actually like to have a credit card with long-term just because they have good rates. But it's for the Platinum, and I want the Gold -- longer BT offer, lower rates, and I don't care about points. The offer expires 8/30, about a month before 6 months since the loan was taken out. Do I use it? Do I wait? Do I tell them I want a different card?
I've also been getting 0% BT offers from Discover for the card that I already have a 0% balance transfer offer activated on!! I'm like, guys, this is... helpful??!! strange??!! Thank you AND could you wait for me to need a new offer before sending me an additional one? The only way I could use it would involve transfering balances that would go back up past the 67% utilization and kind of completely defeat the point. Do I call them and ask them for a new card instead...? Ask them to 'save the offer for later'? Just brainstorming here.
Also some offers from Citi for 0% APR on a new card for 21 months.
Then I've gotten a 0% APR offer on *new purchases* from BOA on my existing card, but not very useful since I just want BTs. Do I call them and ask them for a BT offer instead...?
Overall these offers indicate that I'm headed in the right direction.
As of today, my scores are TU 693, EX 709, and EQ 688.
Suggestions? Words of wisdom? As always, I want to take wise and strategic action
I look forward to hearing your suggestions
@tcbofade @K-in-Boston @FinStar @SouthJamaica
At this stage of the game I wouldn't be applying for cards unless they were cards I (a) absolutely wanted and (b) was pretty certain would be approved. So my recommendation would be to just work on paying stuff down.
Calling and asking for balance transfer offers probably won't work. Generally those just get loaded by computer. With Discover it seems to be vary by profile, but in the 6 years or so since I opened mine I have never not had a BT offer.
For the 0% on new purchases offer from BOA, if you are not already carrying a balance on that card it might make sense to use that for all of your daily living expenses and instead apply those funds to pay down the existing balances.
Citi could be really hit or miss. They are definitely balance sensitive, and if you are approved you may find the limit isn't enough to make too much of a dent with BTs. But anything that seems like closer to a "sure thing" with an approval that has a BT offer certainly couldn't hurt as you continue to pay these down.
Congrats on the progress!
@tcbofade thanks so much for your reply! I really appreciate your random thoughts. It is extremely encouraging and helpful
Thank you so much for the way you broke it all down!
Right now I am paying interest on my CCs, except for my Discover balance that has a 0% offer on it right now.
I appreciate the tip about the Discover prequalify tool. For some reason I always forget to check for that.
I went ahead and was prequalified, and then went ahead and submitted -- I've had a really good experience with the Discover card I already have.
Sadly, the credit line is only $4,000, which isn't much help for BTs when I'm trying to move each individual card from 67 to 47% utilization.
Is it worth calling customer service to ask for a higher credit line? My other Discover has a CL of $13,500, so I was expecting something somewhat in line with that.
With PenFed, should I just accept the offer they sent me for Platinum (which now has a 12 mont BTO), and then ask to convert to Gold, which has a longer BT offer (15 months)? Since I just applied for Discover, do I need to wait to space things out?
Just one or two BT offers I'm planning to grab - don't worry, I won't get silly with it
Thank you for everything