Do you think this will work???

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Do you think this will work???
7
Thu, 12-09-2004 - 4:12pm

I wanted to get anyone's thoughts on this.


Okay,




my pet!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-1999
Thu, 12-09-2004 - 4:32pm

This is exactly how we got rid of MBNA (by getting a Citibank mastercard with 4.97% fixed APR). Citibank saved me a lot of money in interest.

I don't remember if you can apply for a credit card by phone but I think you can. If I were in your shoes, I would call Citibank and ask to apply for a credit card with a fixed 4.97% APR (or whatever the general deal is that is currently going) and explain to the person that you are applying so that you can do a balance transfer-not ring up more debt.

I found that they were **more interested** in giving me a new account when they knew I wanted to do a balance transfer because it meant that they would IMMEDIATELY start making money off of me. Even at the fixed 4.97 APR, they still made a lot of money from me (all while saving me money compared to the cards that I transferred balances from). I wanted to transfer about $4,500 but they only gave me $2K limit--so I filled the whole thing with balance transfer and paid the minimums on that card and focused all my money on paying off the remaining balance on the high interest card.

I applied for cards sometimes with less than 6 months since a previous application and I don't think it was a problem. I had high debt and low income too. I think perhaps living at the same address for several years worked in my favour, plus I had a great credit rating.

Go for it--you don't really have anything to lose but a lot of money in interest if you stay with MBNA--they were the most evil of about 5 credit card companies that I had to deal with; they would not work with us at all.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Thu, 12-09-2004 - 4:44pm

Thanks. I don't think I"ll get a lot either, but it's worth a try to get rid of what I can off that card, although, I'm wishing and hoping I could get something with more on it.


I'm debating on asking my mom to co-sign it. Ugh. That means she'll know, but that also means I could move it over.


Thanks. I prolly will call up Citibank. I am going to wait a few days to be 100% sure that my MBNA account is closed before applying. I can't see why I can't do an app over the phone, but you never know nowdays. =)


Thanks for the story. It at least gives me some hope to get that $7k off. Ugh.








my pet!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Thu, 12-09-2004 - 6:23pm

Does anyone know how long until the "closed account" will hit my credit reports? I want it closed for sure before I apply. JUST IN CASE IT HELPS =)








my pet!

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2004
Thu, 12-09-2004 - 7:08pm

They say it can take up to 3 months (they being the credit card companies). However, we closed our MBNA account (couldn't stand them!) and it showed on my credit report two weeks later. The only reason I know is because I did an online dispute and they sent a corrected copy and it was already on there as having been closed. I was shocked, MBNA actually reported correct information.

HTH,
Kellie

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Thu, 12-09-2004 - 7:34pm

Hmmm..............


How long do you suggest I wait to get a credit report then? I don't wan to keep getting one and waste my money.


***Scratch that. I'm signing up for Experian's Credit Manager. 30 days free, $10/mo thereafter, and I can cancel whenever I want. I think it'll be worth it, instead of getting a report every few weeks or something.





my pet!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 12-09-2004 - 7:47pm

Hi,

Sounds like you've got a good grasp on what you need to do. Your scores will improve before you know it, and you'll start getting great transfer offers in the mail. In the meantime, let me offer my perspective on getting family to co-sign.

We did this years ago with a loan that had a very high interest rate on it. My dad co-signed a consolidation loan. It was really humiliating. The loan officer looked at our credit report and said, "someone had fun," and Dad said, "mm-hm." He was a reasonably good sport about it, but I was feeling so humiliated that I had a hard time even managing to say thank you.

Then, when hard times hit a few years later with dh out of work, we had to ask Dad to cover the loan for us for a few months, because unlike the loans that were in our names only, his credit would have been affected had it gone into default.

All in all, the savings in interest was *NOT* worth the humiliation and complications. And my dad and I actually have a fairly good relationship.

That loan is now paid off (thank goodness!), and we owe Dad still for the times he paid the account, plus a significant amount he loaned us while we were out of work. That is currently the bulk of our debt (plus a few thou on ccs), but somehow it's not as humiliating, though I'm not sure why. Perhaps because when he loaned us the money it was due to serious financial straits, as opposed to the debt we ran up just because we were irresponsible. Perhaps it's because if anything ever happens again (crossing my fingers against it), I won't have to ask him to make payments for us--we can just add interest until I'm able to pay again. Perhaps because I know it's not on his public record. It might be because I'm paying Dad a fair amount of interest (10%) and substantial monthly payments, and so I feel like it's a fair business exchange and not a burden for him. Maybe I'm just more mature now.

I really don't know. All I know is, having Dad co-sign that loan was not worth it, and I wouldn't do it again.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do. Blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2004
Fri, 12-10-2004 - 11:14am

WAIT!