To chill or to open

[CivalV]

So in late June my only installment loan “Self Lender” closed in good standing. Mid July EQ & EX took major 35-40PT hits. TU took a small hit of 13PTs today.

Since my major PT hits I am slowly recouping those points back. So far I’ve gained 10 and 20 points back for EQ/EX. I will be making a $3000 payment towards 2 major cards in 2 weeks or less which will bring my overall *UTL to 34%* <correction

I am looking into leasing and would like to know if I should open a new self lender loan or just go for the Auto Lease and that can report as my installment to keep my mix in the excellent range.

Also is it bad to open new accounts before going for Auto leasing? Or is it best to do it after?

I am looking to open 1 last card which would be for Travel. I have gas, food, cash back in general and 2 useful store cards. All I want now is a travel card.

[Anonymous]

Well, Ideally 8.9% or less on 1 card that's with a major bank is where you'll get your most points from.

Auto loans are easier to get than a CC because they're collateralized by the car itselt.

Skip getting a self lender since the lease will fill the void.  Opening anything will hinder your score because of the inq/aaoa reduction.

As for cards.... I would work on CLI's instead of a new card so when you do go for a new card you're not stuck with a low limit under 5K or 10K.  The higher the limit the more breathing room you'll have if you use it to keep your scores up.  Not to mention it's hard to do anything significant when it comes to spending w/ a CL under 5K w/o making multiple payments.  Quit taking the bait on the store apps as well.  Not only do you get the normal dings from new accounts but you're also killing your insurance scores at the same time costing you more $ in the long run.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

What ^ said. I don't know if the credit mix boost would be offset by the other scoring penalties.

[SouthJamaica]

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@CivalV wrote:
So in late June my only installment loan “Self Lender” closed in good standing. Mid July EQ & EX took major 35-40PT hits. TU took a small hit of 13PTs today.

Since my major PT hits I am slowly recouping those points back. So far I’ve gained 10 and 20 points back for EQ/EX. I will be making a $3000 payment towards 2 major cards in 2 weeks or less which will bring my overall UTL below 50%.

I am looking into leasing and would like to know if I should open a new self lender loan or just go for the Auto Lease and that can report as my installment to keep my mix in the excellent range.

Also is it bad to open new accounts before going for Auto leasing? Or is it best to do it after?

I am looking to open 1 last card which would be for Travel. I have gas, food, cash back in general and 2 useful store cards. All I want now is a travel card.

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1. No there's no point in getting the self lender since you're getting the auto lease; that covers you on installment loans for your credit mix.

2. Yes it's bad to open new accounts before applying for the auto loan/lease.  It's better to do it after.

[CivalV]

Thank you!

I’ll go for the auto lease and forget about applying for anything else. Ive been putting extremely large payments on my Cap 1 account because of the low $2750 limit. No CLIs since Nov. 17’. I am finally closing the 2 prem cards and I do not want anymore store cards. I have the 4 store cards that benefit me perfectly. Target/HSN/VS & Kohls. I shop heavily with these companies and paying them off is easy.

Thankfully my insurance is $200 for the vehicle I am interested in leasing. About a year ago insurance wanted $10,000 6 month premium!! Insane lol

No new accounts since Dec 18’, inquiries dropped like flies from 22 in the past 2 years to 10. The inquiries counted in myfico report today show EQ-4 TU-1 EX-2. Overall profile age - a little over 7 years. Age of accounts finally hit 2 years 3 months! Finally. Only thing holding my scores back now is age of accounts and UTL. Once I pay $3300 to my balances I will be at overall 34% UTL. I will then be throwing another $2K and leaving one bankcard with an 8.9% UTL as you stated.

[CivalV]

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Ive been putting extremely large payments on my Cap 1 account because of the low $2750 limit. No CLIs since Nov. 17’. Bucketed card.... need to apply for a new one once your scores are up

Thankfully my insurance is $200 for the vehicle I am interested in leasing. About a year ago insurance wanted $10,000 6 month premium!! combo of the weaker profile and the store cards..... 10K is a little extreme but, I do still get quotes from some companies that are just insane... I think the highest ones lately are in the 3K range for a year... I check at every renewal and try to keep it under $1500/yr since it's a sports car it's hard to get it under 1K/yr...tires alone avg $250/ea

Keep gardening and focusing on the CLI's and let the dust settle before picking up more cards.  When you do pick up more cards I would suggest 1 approval, 2 store cards get killed off in the process.  Time for Quality over Quantity.

[jamie123]

Have you done some research on what kind of scores it takes to be approved for a lease? If I remember correctly it takes a scores around 680 minimum for a lease to be approved.

[CivalV]

Yes I have. To be approved my scores have to be 680+. I am not leasing until my overall UTL is 30% or less. I dont want DTI to be an issue. Also by bringing my UTL down to 30% I will see a score increase. UTL has kept my scores down for some time now