High achiever question

[Anonymous]

THA

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@Revelate wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

What Thread could I use to ask for good credit unions in San Diego County?

I always struggle with where to put my questions.

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San Diego County Credit Union is probably the best one down there by a solid margin though you'd have to look up their credit extensions as someone else suggested, but I haven't really done anything with them in the past 12 years so it's possible it might've changed but such things don't turn over quickly.

A bunch of CU's now take nationwide applications for a small donation to a charity (usually $20-25); if I wanted broad access to a solid product lineup I'd probably go Penfed if you didn't need the ability to walk into a branch.  Some other lenders do things better (like DCU for home equity loans or HELOCs, I'm sort of in shock at those products, still after having found that 2 weeks ago) but they don't have interesting credit cards TBH where Penfed does plus does well on a bunch of other things like auto loans.

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THANKS...I was just checking out credit union forums and San Diego County Credit Union was mentioned favorably. Shame I am not connect to the Navy here.

There is a Sdccu down the street so it should work out.

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

What Thread could I use to ask for good credit unions in San Diego County?

I always struggle with where to put my questions.

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You could also look into Golden1 since you are in CA. Their standard rewards credit card is 3% cash back on gas, groceries, and restaurants, 1% everywhere else, and only 1% FTF. That level of rewards percentage is very difficult to beat with any sort of CC, whether from a bank or CU. (the specification of "Restaurants" is an important difference from "Dining". My understanding is Golden1 does not code 3% at Fast Food restaurants, only sit-down restaurants)

While PenFed does have rewards cards, one has to watch what those "points" are worth, and the redemption of those is about 80% of a penny per point.

[Anonymous]

Thanks NRB,

I will get on it. 

[Anonymous]

It's great you are getting all kinds of feedback about credit unions and credit cards and so on. 

But while that is really helping you out, I thought I would respond to what your primary concern appeared to be.  Which was something like this:  How can I have a high score anytime I want, without either having a huge total credit limit or keeping my reporting balances ultralow every month?

(In other words, you want to be able to get the benefits of a high score but also want to be able to use your cards naturally.)

The answer is easy.  Do exactly that.  Use your cards naturally.  Keep each one pretty far from being maxxed out (< 70%) and your total utilization under 40%.

Then, in the rare situations where you actually NEED a high score for some reason, pay all the cards to $0 except one, whiich you should have reporting a smallish balance.

There is no FICO scoring benefit from having a low utilization every month -- just in the month before you need to apply for something important (car, house, very hard-to-get card, etc.).  There is also no FICO scoring benefit from having a high credit limit in itself -- all that matters is the utilization.  And a student with a $300 total credit limit (for example) can have a 5% utilization any time he wants, just by paying his cards(s) down before an important app.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It's great you are getting all kinds of feedback about credit unions and credit cards and so on. 

But while that is really helping you out, I thought I would respond to what your primary concern appeared to be.  Which was something like this:  How can I have a high score anytime I want, without either having a huge total credit limit or keeping my reporting balances ultralow every month?

(In other words, you want to be able to get the benefits of a high score but also want to be able to use your cards naturally.)

The answer is easy.  Do exactly that.  Use your cards naturally.  Keep each one pretty far from being maxxed out (< 70%) and your total utilization under 40%.

Then, in the rare situations where you actually NEED a high score for some reason, pay all the cards to $0 except one, whiich you should have reporting a smallish balance.

There is no FICO scoring benefit from having a low utilization every month -- just in the month before you need to apply for something important (car, house, very hard-to-get card, etc.).  There is also no FICO scoring benefit from having a high credit limit in itself -- all that matters is the utilization.  And a student with a $300 total credit limit (for example) can have a 5% utilization any time he wants, just by paying his cards(s) down before an important app.

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Thanks again, creditguy! You are a wealth of knowledge, especially when you have good news!

So below 40% total and no card over 70% ?

I can do that....

I had only 5000 cl and now have 12000. AND A million inqs. CITI AND SLATE ACCEPTED.2500 cl together

But decline city for several others. 

I can sit on these cards and wait for their cli as the come.

Thanks again. I love your insight 

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I just spent some time reading the high achiever  (760 plus crowd ) thread. Very interesting and motivating. A ton of the utilization theory . This sounds good but seems tough to apply. Hard work is rewarded..of course. I would like to know how much utilization one can have and still have 750 plus credit.

My problem would be very normal, I imagine. I want to use the card and pay it back as I please. 

Also, to leave 1% of total available is .. I don't even want to do the math. BUT I WILL NEED AN ASSET LOAD OF CREDIT !!

Is there a happy median of revolving balance that I can hope to have?

If my AC is 10,000 and If Ieave 2,000 once in awhile, what might I expect ?

I am concerned about having to apply for 100,000 at least.

My scores are just above 700 and 750 would be nice.

I have about 12,000 AV . .2000 balance

Never missed a payment.

Low income.

my low income ( 32,0004/yr) might lead to denials which turn into inqs. (Vicious circle, I know)

Ideas?...

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I gather longer term you want the ability to report balances in the $2000 range while maintaining "optimal" utilization from a scoring perspective. As mentioned up thread, the key components are:

1) Keep aggregate utilization (all cards combined) under 9%

2) Don't let a card that reportts a balance exceed 30% of the credit limit on that card.

3) Report a balance on one card only for best results. (if you let more than one card report from time to time, it's really not a big deal. Just realize score may drop temporarily but it will bounce back when # cards reporting drops back down. No lingering effects)

Only the 1st 2 factors are needed to determine what aggregate credit limit you "require" for revolving CC accounts. A total credit limit of $30,000 is sufficient to meet criteria #1 and #2. You do not need anything close to $100,000 in total CL. Your $10k card has a high enough CL to stay under 30% on a card while allowing $2000 to report.

I would recommend increasing CLs on existing cards over time to get to $30k but, adding one more card to the mix won't hurt, particularly if the card has potential for a relatively high CL.

1a) $2000 balance/$30,000 AG CL = 6.67% (meets under 9% criteria)

A aggregate credit limit of around 1x annual income usually provides sufficient buffer for personal spend while keeping AG UT under 9%. Given a $32k income, a $30k aggregate CL might be a good initial target.

[Anonymous]

Yup.  As long as you keep your util under reasonable control, then there's no problem with using your cards however you like.

Of course, you'll need to not freak out if you see you scores drop when your utilization goes up to 35% or a particular card goes up to 65%.  It's just FICO temporarily dinging your score because the util has gone up.  You can get all those points back whenever you need them.  Just lower all cards to zero except one (and make that report something like $20 or so, whatever) -- but only when you really want to get every extra point you can.

In one of your early posts you said you personally felt very happy with four cards.  That's a good sign -- your personal comfort level.  So just stay wih four cards, especially since attempting to move beyond four is resulting in a lot of inquiries and refusals, which in turn is lowering your score more.

My advice is to stay with four cards for a year and allow that ton of inquiries to go away (they stop having FICO impact after 12 months).  Ask for soft-pull-only credit line increases every six months if you like.  After a year your AAoA will be higher and your inquiries will be gone (and your loan balance will be lower) -- and at that point you can implement the All Cards At Zero Except One plan.  Your score will go up, at which point you can apply for a fifth card you really like.  Etc.

Thanks for the kind word, btw.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yup.  As long as you keep your util under reasonable control, then there's no problem with using your cards however you like.

Of course, you'll need to not freak out if you see you scores drop when your utilization goes up to 35% or a particular card goes up to 65%.  It's just FICO temporarily dinging your score because the util has gone up.  You can get all those points back whenever you need them.  Just lower all cards to zero except one (and make that report something like $20 or so, whatever) -- but only when you really want to get every extra point you can.

In one of your early posts you said you personally felt very happy with four cards.  That's a good sign -- your personal comfort level.  So just stay wih four cards, especially since attempting to move beyond four is resulting in a lot of inquiries and refusals, which in turn is lowering your score more.

My advice is to stay with four cards for a year and allow that ton of inquiries to go away (they stop having FICO impact after 12 months).  Ask for soft-pull-only credit line increases every six months if you like.  After a year your AAoA will be higher and your inquiries will be gone (and your loan balance will be lower) -- and at that point you can implement the All Cards At Zero Except One plan.  Your score will go up, at which point you can apply for a fifth card you really like.  Etc.

Thanks for the kind word, btw.

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My pleasure.  I have read many of you posts as I research the archives here. Always informative and worthwhile.

I took a lot of dings to get the Citi DC. Didn't know which card to apply for and got many rejections. But now I am good.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. Sadly , Golden is big in the north and not here in San Diego. San Diego County CU has a good reputation  (maybe not the great card you mentioned,though). At least you pushed me in the right direction!

[Anonymous]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I just spent some time reading the high achiever  (760 plus crowd ) thread. Very interesting and motivating. A ton of the utilization theory . This sounds good but seems tough to apply. Hard work is rewarded..of course. I would like to know how much utilization one can have and still have 750 plus credit.

My problem would be very normal, I imagine. I want to use the card and pay it back as I please. 

Also, to leave 1% of total available is .. I don't even want to do the math. BUT I WILL NEED AN ASSET LOAD OF CREDIT !!

Is there a happy median of revolving balance that I can hope to have?

If my AC is 10,000 and If Ieave 2,000 once in awhile, what might I expect ?

I am concerned about having to apply for 100,000 at least.

My scores are just above 700 and 750 would be nice.

I have about 12,000 AV . .2000 balance

Never missed a payment.

Low income.

my low income ( 32,0004/yr) might lead to denials which turn into inqs. (Vicious circle, I know)

Ideas?...

---

I gather longer term you want the ability to report balances in the $2000 range while maintaining "optimal" utilization from a scoring perspective. As mentioned up thread, the key components are:

1) Keep aggregate utilization (all cards combined) under 9%

2) Don't let a card that reportts a balance exceed 30% of the credit limit on that card.

3) Report a balance on one card only for best results. (if you let more than one card report from time to time, it's really not a big deal. Just realize score may drop temporarily but it will bounce back when # cards reporting drops back down. No lingering effects)

Only the 1st 2 factors are needed to determine what aggregate credit limit you "require" for revolving CC accounts. A total credit limit of $30,000 is sufficient to meet criteria #1 and #2. You do not need anything close to $100,000 in total CL. Your $10k card has a high enough CL to stay under 30% on a card while allowing $2000 to report.

I would recommend increasing CLs on existing cards over time to get to $30k but, adding one more card to the mix won't hurt, particularly if the card has potential for a relatively high CL.

1a) $2000 balance/$30,000 AG CL = 6.67% (meets under 9% criteria)

A aggregate credit limit of around 1x annual income usually provides sufficient buffer for personal spend while keeping AG UT under 9%. Given a $32k income, a $30k aggregate CL might be a good initial target.

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Very sound advice. ( I read your thoughts on the high achiever thread, I think ). YOU ARE A TREASURE ..With a great creditime score!