Deck of cards

westernpromise

deemy2004 wrote:

The overall credit limit is likely to be lower than when the cards are spread out, so you get more credit by spreading out applications.

Indeed, but is it worth it? £50k credit spread over 4 years is nowhere near as good as £40k over the first 6 months, and in the latter case you can reapply after a decent interval. By waiting you also assume that the 0% deals will continue to be available, which they may not be.

Galstonian

g002ahe wrote:

I havnt yet touched mint, first direct or IF

But as I have said before, you need to treat some of these as groups. Mint is part of RBS, First Direct is HSBC and IF is HBoS. I can already see a potential problem with Mint as you hold a One Account; the different brands have been improving the communcation between their owb divisions and are sometimes reluctant to extend borrowing where a facility already exists.

I hope you don't run into problems but whetwever happens, please let us know how you got on.

g002ahe

good news re mint as my one account is in credit (only slightly of course as 2.75% interest isnt too good!)

My main point is that - there are different paths - and no-one knows the best path to take in terms of £ earned.

getting high credit now I feel is a good idea - 'Grab it while you can' mentality - who knows if these deals will last more than 12 months into the future.

Galstonian

You miss the point (again), its not necessarily good news. You have a facility to borrow (regardless of it being in credit) with RBS and are going to ask for it to be extended with further unsecured debt.

The grab it while you can mentality is one which carries all the signs that lenders use to determine a bad credit risk which is why I consider it a flawed plan. Even if the deals are still available in 12 months I believe you will start finding it hard to take advantage of them and it will take a further year (or more) before your credit history returns to a point where you can.

I'd like to be wrong and because credit scoring is not always predictable its possible I might be in your case but that does not mean it is good advice to adopt your strategy. Personally I think there is a good chance you have wrecked your credit history for the sake of a short term gain, if you are happy with that then fine but you need to tell others about the potential downside as well as the gains.

g002ahe

I'm not sure that I am missing your point, and I know that you have been doing this for a long time and have built up the experience. And I read your comments with interest.

I understand that
- credit checks are bad
- credit limit is bad
- exposure is bad
- poor payment history is very bad
- income, geography
- The commercial interests & intent of the lending company.
All play a big part.
But I don't believe that there is a one 'solve all' formula for sucess at this game.