@Adidas wrote:
I've been reading up on PLOCs trying to decide if I should get one but I have a few questions about how they work. I understand they are revolving credit like CCs, you only use what you need of your limit, they have no cash advance fees, interest starts immediately after you use the credit, and they seem to be used as a source of credit when have to carry a balance (ie need substantial cash quickly or are on hard economic times) and you want the lowest APR but don't have a house for a HELOC. Is that all correct? I was a little iffy on the last part in their use as emergency cash. Obviously saving your own EF in savings/MM is more important but they seem to get used as a second line defense or is there something better?
If so I'm wondering do they have the same CLI process as CCs or do they become fixed at the initial limit? Are CLIs always HPs or are some places SPs? What type of limits do people usually get approved for? And is it true PLOCs over a certain limit code as installment loans? Is it true you don't have to use them every 6 months to avoid closure for inactivity?
I'm considering NASA FCU but it seems like PLOCs are a rare product so are there any other places that are good to get one?
Sorry for all the questions I have been searching the forums but still iffy on some of these.
A personal line of credit is an unsecured revolving credit account.
You pay interest when you have a balance, don't pay interest when you don't have a balance; it's like cash advances, there is no grace period.
Some are linked to checking account as overdraft protection, some not.
Some give you actual checks to use on the line of credit, most don't.
Most report as revolving.
Few banks have them. Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Santander do.
Many credit unions have them. Affinity FCU, NFCU, and PenFed do.
The lines can be increased, just like a credit card limit.
As to how to use them, they're very flexible. Some people don't use them much at all, just keep them as backup.
A word about NASA FCU. There used to be many reports on this site about NASA FCU being great, generous, etc. More recently there have been many reports about them taking adverse action, arbitrarily reducing limits, being tough to deal with, etc. I think it might be wise to stay away frrom them until they figure out what their personality is.
@Adidas wrote:Thanks for the info! So can you talk about the CLI process? Is it almost always a HP?
I'm no expert but I know that it's not uniform.
Some institutions review your account periodically for auto-CLI.
Some would never give you a CLI wilthout your applying for it.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that NFCU reviews periodically, maybe even quarterly.
I was told by Affinity FCU to wait 12 months before applying.
@Adidas wrote:
Ok thanks for the help! One last question.
I was thinking of using this as a sort of emergency fund backup. In case something happened and I needed more cash than I had saved I could dip into this rather than cash advance from my higher interest rewards CCs that have cash advance fees, etc. Then once I had the chance to sell investments, etc I could pay it off or pay the minimum depending on my situation.
In your opinion is that a good use for this type of thing? These seem less common than other credit options for some reason. I notice it both on the bank side with fewer places offering them and on the borrower side with fewer discussions online.
This is exactly why I picked up a PLOC, I did mine with Penfed personally.
There are some CC's that are down near the 10% line (think my PLOC is now at 11%) but not sure any one of them would've given me 20K which is a lot in terms of my mandatory expenses.
A year later though I picked up a HELOC now at 3.5% and use that for any mid-term financing issue instead, but it's the same principal: float balances on the lowest APR possible. You're right though they are less common likely for all the same reasons personal loans got banished from most of the banks, but a lot of CU's do offer them still.
@Anonymous wrote:
Picked up a PLOC for $15K at 9.5% variable. Has a credit card with it, checks with it and the ability to transfer funds from it internally to other accounts in the bank or externally to other banks. Lots of flexibility. The one thing I did notice is approvals and CLIs seem to require a tougher underwriting process and the bank is fussy about who gets them (must have an internal customer relations score) and been a customer for supposedly one year (this can be worked around as I did it in eight months).
The card pulls directly against the PLOC? Who with? That's a nice feature.