the mystery of credit
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I bit. "Get $200 when you spend $1000!"
My rationale is I always avoid these "pre-approved" offers. I don't need them.
But some unexpected auto repairs, I said lemme recoup $200.
My Experian 9 FICO is 848.
Take the offer, and it's we'll let you know in 10-14 days by mail (rejected).
What I think it is, and there are forums on this, is not owing anything on installments, is a serious risk to a new creditor. Such an individual likely is sneaky and not trustworthy. Owing a lot, and paying a lot, every month on time, for a long time, is desirable. When I paid off the house, my score barely was above 800. Ironic, it got crushed by the payoff, and did not recover for over 1 year.
But what steams me is this is on my credit history for 2 years. We oughta know by our ages how to handle things--but we're human and we often fall for stuff!! btw I'm not retired either so I have verifiable income.
It's unimportant, just sharing. The score is irrelevant, but for some reason, we just like to think things are fair and make sense haha
I wouldn't bother with a
I wouldn't bother with a $200 offer unless there was some other significant perk.
Two years ago opened a chase ink account, $900 for spending $3K in the first 3 months. Had an hvac to replace, so that covered it nicely. Also got 1.5% back on the purchase amount.
I don't open new accounts often, but when I do, the perk has to really be worth it.
hello
hello
agreed
I look at it the same way, but thought, wouldn't it be nice to take 30 sec and have $200 against an unexpected car repair this week.
At work, I got an offer $500 for a 45 min recorded focus group. One, that's not allowed, two, recorded? No thanks. But I'd like $500. They used to give $100 all the time for a survey that takes 15 min, those I did.
So anyone reading this, don't bother, and don't be fooled with the words, "pre-approved."
It's pre-approved, unless you don't have debt and don't pay installments. Now, it's we don't want you lol
this
credit card was approved.
Who knows why.
I got a letter we cannot continue processing your application unless you call us.
They wanted:
Name
last 4 of SS
DOB
address
then to read back a number of a text to the cell on the application
then told I'm approved.
WHY?
I had perfect credit until this inquiry ruined it lol
I do feel "bad" that I would go through this to get $200. Grow up, is what I tell myself. Don't fall for this again. You're not a spring chicken anymore.
Wrap your head around this
Wrap your head around this insanity;
I have a money market account at cfg bank. I push some funds in there from another bank to open a CD.
Go through the CD opening process, get to the funding part. It wants an ach/routing number. Call up support. Yes, even though the funds are coming from their bank, they still go through ACH to fund the new acct!@#!#!@#!#!@#
https://www.cfg.bank/personal-banking/personal-deposit-rates...
Last time I opened cd's here a rep moved funds form the MM to the CDs; all done in the same day.
Now, because of their insanity, I will lose 3-4 days of interest. Fortunately the amount is not huge so it's tolerable and the rate isn't terrible; 3.78% APR for 3 years. I'd be more pissed if it was a larger dollar amount where the lost interest could amount to $100+.
This is supposed to be progress. Probably the last CD I ever open with them unless they change their process next time around. Who comes up with these insane policies.
A different bank works completely opposite. As an existing customer, you go through the acct opening. At the funding stage it recognizes you are a customer with accounts so an so with such and such balances. Would you like to fund the cd from one of those accounts? Yes.. Great, how much? Done. It literally takes 5 minutes to open and complete the process.
For the retarded cfg bank, they claim their system won't allow them transfer funds from an existing account. Pushed to speak with a supervisor who gave me the same spiel.
My guess is they use a third party verification when opening accounts and the funds flow through that third party first. Not sure how much verification was done given I got everything frozen including the credit bureaus, chex, lexisnexis and innovis. I'd freeze EWS if such an option was available.
/rant off
Yeah, I had something
Yeah, I had something similar happen. I think they use not just a credit score but another score (I forget what it's called) and that tells them what is the probability someone will payoff the balance in full during the grace period before any interest charges are accrued. This is a score that you will never know as they are not required to disclose or in most cases won't even admit they have other qualifying criteria. If you have good credit don't take these offers as a hard pull on your credit will lower your credit score, not a lot unless you have more hard pulls and considering you may be rejected based on the "other criteria". If you want another credit card look for offers that will not do a hard pull unless accepted.
Possible they thought you would just pay it and they make no $$.
My FICO Score 8 is 850 and others its 834. The teaser is $$ off but they're hoping you make installments and they collect interest off you. Some credit score models use 850 and some 900 and depending on what credit reporting agency your score can be different because not every creditor reports to all 3. If your score goes from 850 to 800 it really won't make any difference. Depending on the model and who's pulling it (auto loan vs a new credit card) different categories are given different weights in how they effect your score. A new card every few years isn't going to ding your score to much. Do it 3-4 times in one year and some creditors might get nervous. If I'm looking at a sizeable purchase and someone offers me $200-$400 off for opening a line of credit I'll take it.
Here's a take from CNBC website, A perfect FICO credit score is 850, but experts tell CNBC you don’t need to hit that target to qualify for the best credit cards, loans or interest rates. “If you’re at 760, or 780, you’re already getting the best you can get,” Jim Droske, president of the credit counseling company Illinois Credit Services, said. “You’re already hitting that pinnacle of what lenders care about. Anything above that is just pride.” In fact, according to the most recent survey from FICO, taken in April 2023, only about 1.7% of the scoreable U.S. population had a perfect 850."
about
Wrap your head around this insanity;
I have a money market account at cfg bank. I push some funds in there from another bank to open a CD.
Go through the CD opening process, get to the funding part. It wants an ach/routing number. Call up support. Yes, even though the funds are coming from their bank, they still go through ACH to fund the new acct!@#!#!@#!#!@#
https://www.cfg.bank/personal-banking/personal-deposit-rates...
Last time I opened cd's here a rep moved funds form the MM to the CDs; all done in the same day.
Now, because of their insanity, I will lose 3-4 days of interest. Fortunately the amount is not huge so it's tolerable and the rate isn't terrible; 3.78% APR for 3 years. I'd be more pissed if it was a larger dollar amount where the lost interest could amount to $100+.
This is supposed to be progress. Probably the last CD I ever open with them unless they change their process next time around. Who comes up with these insane policies.
A different bank works completely opposite. As an existing customer, you go through the acct opening. At the funding stage it recognizes you are a customer with accounts so an so with such and such balances. Would you like to fund the cd from one of those accounts? Yes.. Great, how much? Done. It literally takes 5 minutes to open and complete the process.
For the retarded cfg bank, they claim their system won't allow them transfer funds from an existing account. Pushed to speak with a supervisor who gave me the same spiel.
My guess is they use a third party verification when opening accounts and the funds flow through that third party first. Not sure how much verification was done given I got everything frozen including the credit bureaus, chex, lexisnexis and innovis. I'd freeze EWS if such an option was available.
/rant off
On missed interest.....
My wife and I are a little remiss when it comes to accounts (both of us changed our cells and never notified our retirement plans which use them for 2 factor authentication--for my wife, discovered 2.5 years later when she got an abandonment letter from one of them--log in or call us to avoid).
So for whatever reason, even though I have all my accounts setup to autopay balance in full, I like to pay manually in full, ahead of time. Lately, 2 of them, I'll dime them out, BAC and CITI, double paid. This means that although I had made a full payment manually, the autopay still kicked in, paying the balance twice.
Here's the other place I am remiss. I have money earning no interest in checking. These are the 4 direct deposits from my work. To fight the lost interest (what a disaster--to go from using someone else's money, to not), I take the amount I double paid ($1400 for CITI), double that, round up, and move $3,000 into a 3.8% savings.
These are all mental gymnastics, if I were the treasurer of a co. doing the above, I'd be fired. Essentially I've moved $3k that's earning 0%, into earning 3.8%. But why is it earning 0% to begin with lol
Pretty sure that as we get older we act more and more irrationally only to satisfy our minds....
Again some of this is simply what my dad taught me. One pays their debts. He used only cash until around 1990. One thing I never learned from him is to never have anything more than liability insurance on cars. Our 2006, 2007, 2011 have full coverage. What a dope!! From age 16 to today? I've only had 1 claim for about $2800. Subtract that from all the premiums paid and that is moronic. I do feel differently about homeowners which I could have dropped, but feel I should not. But never a claim in 22 years. That's almost $20k for nothing. Now imagine those in FLA. It's not 20k, it's likely six figures.
btw
On this credit card, I was told I am not eligible for the $200. After opening the account, and spending about $1300 ($1000 was the requirement) within 90 days.
A former me, would "burn the house down."
The current me, in my mind, says how long does it take for me to earn $200, is it worth the time it takes to "burn the house down?" It is not. I have better things to do with my time, such as watching, "The Rockford Files." Seeing Jimmy get beat up, stiffed by his clients,
yet knowing he's a good person, gives me pleasure.
Do a google on this credit card offer, and others say the same thing. They did everything yet no $200.
In my life, I have never not gotten the "premium" that is promised. I even got another "you are preapproved" offer in the mail.
Those of you who say ho hum I couldn't be bothered opening an account for $200, you have it right! I thought the same for years, yet bit on this one around XMAS time.
I just think if one person reads this, and rips up a single credit card offer with a promise of free money, then I am glad. The end.
I get offers like this all the time
Either in my inbox or through snail mail. The inbox ones get deleted right away. The snail mail ones get shredded. If I get a 0% offer on an existing credit card and it’s a 2 or 3% transfer fee, I may take them up on it, but other than that, it’s no thanks!
"Everything I need can be found in the presence of God. Every. Single. Thing." Charley Hartmann 2/11/1956-6/11/2022
I think
more and more, today, it's acceptable to be a bad actor, because the entities aren't going to be around long enough to have any consequences.
Think about it....I say, open an account, spend $1000, we'll give you $200.
If I don't give you $200, what recourse do you really have? Slam me on social media? Spend 20 minutes on hold at a time to scream and someone who doesn't even know what the caller is talking about? When I got transferred, actually dropped on another line, the prompt said, "This line is only to be used if the customer insists on speaking to someone in the United States." I'm not making this up--how stupid is that? I'm sorry but the call center doesn't really speak English--I had thought that was a thing of the past too, that jobs were either back in the USA, or, calls went to countries where people actually do speak English well, example, Philippines. Not sure where my call was handled but in calling this co. 4X, it was always the same. They don't understand what I am talking about and said to call back tomorrow. Really! That's how pathetic it really is--so how worked up should I get? Just move on.
It's sorta like we're trained at work to avoid phishing schemes and fake offers.
Anyway back in Dec, just applying dropped my FICO Experian 9 by 19 points. It's completely recovered and 2 higher than November. No longer 850, but 3 points shy. So I'll be a target again, but I won't bite. The stuff I get in the mail says pre-approved. I thought that all stopped and it became some other word like pre screened or something. But at the end of the day it's a con job. Who would name their company "Bread?" That's silly.
Yep
I agree!!
"Everything I need can be found in the presence of God. Every. Single. Thing." Charley Hartmann 2/11/1956-6/11/2022
no more unsolicited cc offers
I haven't received an unsolicited snail mail credit card offer in years. That's just fine with me. I'm not sure exactly when they stopped, but I immediately froze my credit report with the big three credit bureaus after the huge Equifax data breach 7 or 8 years ago. It could have been related to that, but I no longer have sufficient brain cells to remember that kind of detail more than a few minutes ago.
What was I talking about again?
.
~snip~ No longer 850, but 3 points shy. ~snip~
So explain to me the formula to get to 850.
I hover between 810 & 820. I have three cards, two with total available limits of less than $5000 and one just under $30,000. I use & pay them off every month but have never gotten to the 850 mark. I don't have a clue why they will go up and down by a few points from month to month. My spending habits are pretty much the same all the time.
On topic, I get the offers all the time and ignore them, I have no idea how inticing they may be as I just toss them away.
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .
Yup...
I agree with you.
RKF (Brookeville, MD) Garmin Nuvi 660, 360 & Street Pilot
only the shadow knows
~snip~ No longer 850, but 3 points shy. ~snip~
So explain to me the formula to get to 850.
Not trying to be funny but I don't think that anyone knows. For example, what's the difference between Experian FICO 8 and 9? I thought I once googled it and maybe I got it wrong but medical debt not on 9 or something. At any rate I remember when I paid off the home loan (heloc not mortgage) my credit score took a severe hit for over 1 year. No loans is a bad thing. Owing a lot on an installment loan and paying it on time is a good thing.
I just think we live in a time where things are now the wild wild west. It's altogether possible to offer something, like $200, get people to open accounts, and we're not going to give the $200. That's never happened until now--2025. Because folks are in it for the short run. No different than text messages saying there's a problem with E-ZPass, i.e. phishing.
At the end of the day, these are the boring things in life, that potentially aggravate us.
$200 is not nothing, but, we shouldn't let it bother us.
Who would ever name a financial company after an ingredient in a sandwich? That's not bright imho. They got me.
the bit about the license
text messages saying there's a problem with E-ZPass, i.e. phishing.
I've gotten about half a dozen of those text messages claiming I have a problem with unpaid tolls. They would look a bit more plausible if they didn't threaten that I needed to do something within 12 hours or have the risk of losing my license.
personal GPS user since 1992
Yeah!
text messages saying there's a problem with E-ZPass, i.e. phishing.
I've gotten about half a dozen of those text messages claiming I have a problem with unpaid tolls. They would look a bit more plausible if they didn't threaten that I needed to do something within 12 hours or have the risk of losing my license.
Plus the fact that they don’t have a clue as to who or where you are. I got one last week supposedly from the Ohio State Turnpike. I have never driven on the turnpike in my life. It’s at the complete opposite end of the state where I live. The other one that gets me is health insurance deductibles. My brother once asked an insurance person in a doctors office how deductibles worked. She looked at him and said that she didn’t know. Only the insurance companies know. Go figure!
"Everything I need can be found in the presence of God. Every. Single. Thing." Charley Hartmann 2/11/1956-6/11/2022
up & down
~snip~ No longer 850, but 3 points shy. ~snip~
So explain to me the formula to get to 850.
I hover between 810 & 820. I have three cards, two with total available limits of less than $5000 and one just under $30,000. I use & pay them off every month but have never gotten to the 850 mark. I don't have a clue why they will go up and down by a few points from month to month. My spending habits are pretty much the same all the time.
On topic, I get the offers all the time and ignore them, I have no idea how inticing they may be as I just toss them away.
Mine is up around 850. I think it varies between about 830-850. I think I determined it is based on the amount on my credit cards at the time they evaluate it. Even though the only time I carry a balance is when I get no interest for 12 months on a credit card other than my mortgage. It is affected by credit inquiries for a new account, the % of your total credit used, your total credit, the length of your history of on time payments. Wouldn't it seem like the inquiries would be offset by an approval of more credit.
Maybe, try to go a month without using any credit and see what happens.
But, in reality I think, any score over 785 is considered Excellent, so it is only for your self-esteem to improve it.
It is interesting that paying off a mortgage significantly impacted a previous poster. I may not live long enough to have mine paid off, but I will be interested to see what happens. I could pay it off now, but I only have 2.5% interest on it. I get more than that from my online saving accounts.
Here's what i was told about FICO scores..
So explain to me the formula to get to 850.
I hover between 810 & 820. I have three cards, two with total available limits of less than $5000 and one just under $30,000. I use & pay them off every month but have never gotten to the 850 mark. I don't have a clue why they will go up and down by a few points from month to month. My spending habits are pretty much the same all the time.
Don't take this as gospel, but when I was working, I worked with several of the credit reporting breaues. I asked the question about credit scores and I was told the best way was to pay off your credit card 2 weeks before it closed every month.
I've been doing that for years and I stay well above 840 - 870 depending on the breaue.
As for cards, all my cards have a fairly high lin of credit, $30k o highr.
Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!
different way to look at it
~snip~ No longer 850, but 3 points shy. ~snip~
So explain to me the formula to get to 850.
I hover between 810 & 820. I have three cards, two with total available limits of less than $5000 and one just under $30,000. I use & pay them off every month but have never gotten to the 850 mark. I don't have a clue why they will go up and down by a few points from month to month. My spending habits are pretty much the same all the time.
On topic, I get the offers all the time and ignore them, I have no idea how inticing they may be as I just toss them away.
...I may not live long enough to have mine paid off...
That's an interesting scenario. I felt quite the opposite, I wanted to get that thing paid off like it were a gorilla on my back.
I'd riddle this.... 2.5% is not the median interest rate over the last 50 years, which implies refinancing. Other than home equity loans, mortgages necessarily have title insurance, which is significant. I get that many wouldn't believe it, but there is a break-even when it comes to refinancing. In my case, it was a true $0 fee because there was no title insurance--it wasn't a mortgage, it was a first lien position home equity--do not believe this product exists today--the rate was higher than a 15, lower than a 30, and amortized over 120 mos. Borrowing limit was $100k, so it was a product that fit very few people's needs. In this scenario, there is a borrowing limit, that was $100k.
In other words, just using common sense, say the median home is $1 mil. today. There is no way to finance it generally speaking, and refi it, with a $0 fee, until it gets down to $100k principal.
my .02 ymmv
.
Don't take this as gospel, but when I was working, I worked with several of the credit reporting breaues. I asked the question about credit scores and I was told the best way was to pay off your credit card 2 weeks before it closed every month.
I've been doing that for years and I stay well above 840 - 870 depending on the breaue.
As for cards, all my cards have a fairly high lin of credit, $30k o highr.
I've tried paying it off when the bill comes, which is more than two weeks, I've tried paying it on the due date, and everything in between, it doesn't appear to make a difference.
I thought 850 was the highest it goes, at least it seems that way on the individual cards website.
I really can't complain though, today one card says it's 814, the other says it's 816, not bad for someone who had a bankruptcy back in 2001.
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .
Me, too
Either in my inbox or through snail mail. The inbox ones get deleted right away. The snail mail ones get shredded. If I get a 0% offer on an existing credit card and it’s a 2 or 3% transfer fee, I may take them up on it, but other than that, it’s no thanks!
I do the same thing - I ignore these offers. I worry that the email offers are scams and just phishing for information.
my wife
just got the very same offer. $200, "PRE APPROVED."
That co. should be stopped from doing sending those mailers when it's all over the web people not getting the $200.
I use my Fidelity Rewards
I use my Fidelity Rewards credit cards to pay utilities, telephone, groceries, gasoline, natural gas in order to make the 2% cashback reward payments. The dollar reward adds up over time. Of course, the caveat is to pay off the card in full every month, otherwise it would be like shooting yourself in the foot. I have two credit cards and I'm not looking to get more.