BT effect on FICO?

[Anonymous]

My first draft of this post was confusing even to me, hopefully this will be shorter and clearer

Brief stats:

AAoA - 7 years

FICO scores - low 700s (TU and EQ, no idea about EX - last checked end of Apr '09)

Oldest account - 19 years (closed account in good standing that will drop off in the next 4 yrs)

Decent mix of credit - (paid off Student loans, auto loan - no lates, authorized user on a couple of DHs cards)

I have 2 "rebuilder" Capital One cards with APRs of 23% and AFs ($39 for one, $60 for the other). Both are open/good standing. The one with the smaller AF (and limit) has been paid off since Feb '09. The other had a high util. (last at 88%). Chase offered %0 APR on a BT (think the fee was 3%) and APR for 13.74% for new purchases etc. No annual fee and the limit on the new Chase card is equal to the combined limits of the Capital One cards. The Capital One cards are my oldest open CCs, although I do have a Macy's card (open and in good standing, 0% util.) that I opened in 2002. I realize that eventually my FICO scores will take a hit when the closed Cap One accounts fall off the CRs years down the road, and that I'll see a dip in my AAoA for opening the new account, but am I likely to see any other negative effects on my FICO for the BT? I don't plan on actually closing the Capital One cards until the end of the year (just before the new AF hits), but I just couldn't see paying 23% when my scores qualified me for a much better deal. I'm also not wild about paying $100 in AFs just for account age.

We're not considering purchasing a home for at least another year, so I'm content to "credit garden" for a while but hoping I didn't do anything that would make my FICO scores drop too drastically?

[tiger67]

The FICO effect of the BT is dependent on a few factors. If you have very few inquiries and new accounts, the effect is minimal. The last time I opened a new account I lost 6 points when it reported (YMMV). HOWEVER, be careful to make the BT a day or two after the closing date of the Cap One accounts or the new account and the Cap One accounts will report balances at the same time. This double booking will kill your utility. I made this mistake once and it cost me >60 points.

As for closing the Cap One accounts, consider calling and requesting a product change. This way you keep the account history and improve the cards. ie; no AF, lower int rate, higher limit.

[Anonymous]

Ouch on the 60pts! Well, I submitted the BT at the same time as the app for the new account, so I guess I may take a hit if they both report With luck, the scores will bounce back by this time next year.

Unfortunately I did ask for a product change, and was told no by the Sr. Account Mgr. I guess some have had better success with getting Cap One to budge than others. Capital One wouldn't product change DH's card either and his scores are in the low 800s. <shrug> Guess it is a sign of the times.

Thanks for the info!