Here is some food for thought as we enter the autumn season and the holidays approach.
When I decided to focus on gardening my credit, I decided to use nature’s calendar to keep time for me. By roughly following the equinoxes and solstices as to when to transact credit business, it is much easier for me to track what to do and when to do it.
Winter Solstice - December 21 - Longest Night and Shortest Day
- Call or go online to request SP CLI on existing 181/6 credit cards
- Call to request APR reductions for accounts more than a year old
- Make an application for one goal credit card (if not in the garden)
- Request Equifax and Advanced Resolution Services Credit Reports
Spring Equinox - March 21 - The Beginning of Spring
- Request CLI for new CC obtained Dec 21st
- Use sock draw cards to keep them active
- Request TransUnion and SageStream Credit Reports
Summer Solstice - June 21 - Longest Day and Shortest Night
- Call or go online to request SP CLI on existing 181/6 credit cards
- Call to request APR reductions for accounts more than a year old
- Make an application for one goal credit card (if not in the garden)
- Request Experian and ChexSystems Credit Reports
Autumn Equinox - September 21 - The Beginning of Autumn
- Request CLI for new CC obtained Jun 21st
- Use sock draw cards to keep them active
- Request Innovis, LexisNexis, and Early Warning Systems Credit Reports
Once I am 0/24 and only applying for a credit card every six months should always keep me under 5/24.
Great information you are giving us here, Medic 981. I appreciate it very much.
@Anonymous wrote:USAA has abandoned their secured credit card and they said on the phone that there was no penalty. However, I would take a hit on my credit score if I closed it.
Welcome to the myFICO forums!
The USAA website currently does not offer a secured card.
As for closing your account, I do not see how you would incur a FICO scoring penalty for closing it. You have five credit accounts currently on in your signature line. For FICO scoring purposes, all you need is three open revolving credit accounts. Any account you close that is non-derogatory should remain on your credit report for ten years. Closing the credit account will not affect your FICO scores until the account drops off your credit report ten years down the road. Hopefully, in ten years, your credit file will be thick enough that this will be but a hiccup to your FICO score when the account falls off your report.
If the credit limit of the credit account you are closing is significant and your overall utilization is high, you might take a temporary hit on your credit score until you get your utilization below 30%.
Most CSRs are clueless as to how actions you take will affect your FICO scores, that is unless they are a member of the myFICO forums. 
NFCU offers Cell Phone Insurance Coverage when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Navy Federal Visa or Mastercard credit card.
NFCU -
- For NFCU Membership (opening a savings share account) there is no HP, neither is there an HP for opening a checking account.
- Applying for a credit card or CLOC, NFCU will hard pull TU FICO 9 Score
- Credit Line Increase, NFCU will hard pull EQ FICO 9 Score (possible SP after AR)
USAA -
- Obtaining a USAA checking or savings account will not incur a hard pull from any of the 3 bureaus.
- Applying for a credit card, USAA will hard pull EX FICO 3 Bankcard Score
- Credit Line Increases, USAA will hard pull EX FICO 3 Bankcard Score
PenFed -
- For PenFed Membership (opening a savings share account) PenFed will hard pull EQ FICO 9 Score
- Applying for a credit card or CLOC, NFCU will hard pull EQ FICO 9 Score
- Credit Line Increase, NFCU will hard pull EQ FICO 9 Score (possible SP after AR)
@credit_is_crack is maintaining and updating The "Which Banks Pull Which Report For Apps" list from which I obtained this information.
How to Obtain and Make a Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) Share Secured Loan (SSL) Work for You.
The trick to paying a Share Secured Loan down is that NFCU pushes your payment due date back by however many payments you pay in advance instead of shortening the life of the loan. Since the FICO score benefit is only good when you have an active installment loan and even further, there is an additional FICO score boost when the loan is at 8.9% or lower of the original amount.
To obtain a 5-year term loan, an NFCU member would need to apply for a loan greater than $3000. Less than $3000 will get you a 3-year term loan. Once the loan is obtained, immediately pay the loan down so what you owe is at 8.9% or less than the original amount borrowed. Doing this will award you with the FICO scoring benefit for the next five years (the life of the loan). Be sure to either make a small payment of several dollars every few months or set up autopay of several dollars a month to keep the loan account active and reporting to the credit bureaus.
- You have to join or already be a member of NFCU which requires a minimum $5 Share Savings Account.
- NFCU acknowledges that “Our Shares Secured loans are a great option to help you build your credit...”
- You will need to call 1-888-842-6328 or visit a branch to apply for the SSL.
- NFCU does not make a hard inquiry on your credit report for an SSL application.
- If asked why you are taking out the SSL, all you need to say “I am credit building."
- Shares (the money used to secure the loan) can be pledged by yourself, family and friends.
- Shares become available to you as the loan is paid off.
- Autopay is not required to take out the loan.
- A minimum $3001 share is required to obtain a 60-month term SSL.
- When the funds of the SSL are available to you, pay your SSL down to 8.9% of the original SSL amount.
- An SSL with an initial 91.1% payment on the principal of $3001 is $2734. This leaves 8.9% of the principal due which is $267.
- This will put your next payment date 52 months into the future.
- To maximize the FICO scoring benefit of having an installment loan below 8.9% it must be reported to the credit reporting agencies (CRA).
- Paying on the loan will report it to the CRAs, either manually log into your NFCU account and pay $1 so it will report or set up autopay to pay $1 each month.
Thank you to CreditGuyInDixie, Saeren, AllZero, SouthJamaica, M_Smart007, Birdman7 for the posts from which I was able to put this step by step guide together.
Does anyone have any knowledge of if or when NFCU, USAA or PenFed will do mid-cycle reporting?