I am the money person in our home, and I try to do my job well. Sometimes I hold the title grudgingly, but it makes me feel like I am taking care of my family and that makes me happy. I am in the process of refinancing my husband's car and I will be in the process of comparing credit cards. E-loan gave my husband a rate of 7.59%. Better than his 10.69% that he has currently, I tells ya that! Now I applied to Peoplefirst to see if it can beat 7.59%. Tomorrow, he is going to apply to Pulaski Bank's beautiful credit card (5.5 % fixed APR with no balance fee - I know, I know, I know, APR doesn't matter if you paid it off every month, but I have to start slowly). If he gets denied by Pulaski, I may have to apply for him elsewhere. Currently, his interest rate is 24% (I almost swallowed my tongue; I got dizzy and had to lie down when I heard!). I am also in the process of negotiating with his current credit card company. I have read some people advising that one should hop from card to card if the latter card offers a better rate. (Again, I understand the "no interest if paid in full" thing; I know, I know.) Will all this comparison shopping -- going here and there -- all these inquiries harm his credit report, which took me so much time and effort to clean up? I mean Transunion's score on him now is 749. It used to be in the lower 600s. I had to take a friggin' brillo pad to his credit report, and it worked, thank gawd! (BTW, whose score do lenders rely on most?) Then again, the comparison shopping may save a lot of money. What do you think? Which is the better of two evils? Should I put a statement next to the inquiries on his credit report and explain these inquires away or not bother? Should I just try to negotiate with his current credit card company, hope for the best, and wait? How long do I wait? And if they refuse to negotiate, then what? Thank you very much! Belinda
Does he just have 1 card? If so, the creditor will know that and realize they have him trapped. Never carry a balaance without having somewhere to go if they decide to raise your rates. Yeah, apply for something else and try and get some competition.
