Hi everyone! Thanks very much for this awesome amount of shared knowledge. I have learned so much from these forums and webinars from myFico.
My dilemma: I graduated in June and won't start work until January. I've burned up my savings and need some credit to pull me over till January. I have good credit and have received some offers for more credit, but am unsure how to navigate the system.
Background:
FICO score on EQ is 802
Last inquiry was more than 12 months ago. 5/12/07
Credit mix:
Student loans: $12,000
Credit Cards:
Chase United Mileage Plus Visa with a $7700 limit and no balance
Wells Fargo Visa (for overdraft protection) with $3000 limit and no balance
Macy's Store card that I never use with a $500 limit and no balance
American Express Charge Card that I focus most of my spending on. I normally have $1000
and PIF at the end of the month
Offers:
Fortunately, I currently have these offers at my disposal:
Connected with my United MP Visa, I have an offer for 0% APR check until February 27, 2009. I can use up to my credit limit of $7700 with 3% transaction fee. I estimate that this is
offering me about a 6% APR rate (considering the transact fee). [From the forums I learned to make sure to pay off my other balance, before taking out the cash advance.]
New Chase Platinum Visa with 0% APR on purchases for a year and balance transfers (I don't
think that I could take advantage of balance transfers as I do not normally carry a balance)
New Chase AAA Visa with 0% APR on purchases for a year.
New American Express Blue with 0% APR on purchases for a year
Questions:
Assuming that I need the cash, what should I do? After reading the forums, it seems like my #1 issue will be utilization. At this point, my utilization has been 1% because my Amex is not reported as revolving (is this right?) and my Chase visa is used for purchases at merchants who don't take Amex.
1. Should I take the cash advance from Chase United Mileage Plus? If so how much max can I withdraw?
2. Should I ask Chase to increase my CL so that my utilization rate is not that high? (an increse might not be guaranteed, right?)
3. Should I open a second credit card account to increase my utilization level? Which card is best?
4. If I do take a utilization hit how long will it take for my score to recover after I PIF in February?
5. I currently have 2 major credit cards, 1 AMEX charge card and 1 unused store card? Is that an ok mix, should i be using the other cards?
I know that I shouldn't live beyond my means and may indeed do some temp work to hold me over. However, the point of this mini-sabbatical was to take a break before work even though it may be uncalled for in today's economy.
Thanks in advance for all the replies. I hope that I can pay-it-forward some day too.
