Author Topic: Credit Card Question  (Read 4622 times)

TheInsuranceMan

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Credit Card Question
« on: May 24, 2016, 02:25:52 PM »
Hey MMMer's

So, here is what I have going on, and what I'm wondering.
The wife and I purchased a new house about 3 months ago.  The house had an existing fuse box, which isn't exactly insureable any more.  Anyways, long story short, we had the fuse box replaced with a breaker box, moved from 100 amp service to 200 amp service, and had some other housekeeping work completed as well.  The majority of the extra work was pulling knob and tube wiring from the attic that ran the 2nd floor, and replacing it with new wire.

Anyways, the bill came in just over $6k, which is something we had planned for.  What I'm curious of, instead of liquidating these cash funds I have, I want to know your thoughts on a 0% APR credit card?
Wife and I are both about 770 credit scores (she's at 785, damn her!), and I think leaving us a little more liquid might be the better option (just had baby #2 13 days ago).

Thoughts?  Card ideas?
I'm looking at the Chase Freedom unlimited card right now, but that's just because I don't know where to look

**To note, I don't care about miles - and I'd want to have a 7k limit right away, or is that to much to get on a brand new card?

HPstache

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2016, 02:37:30 PM »
How long is the card 0% APR?  I'm assuming that's an introductory rate that changes?  What is your plan for paying down the credit in time?

If it were me, I'd ask if they have a cash discount and pay in full... in fact I did this with a complete house re-flooring project that cost $7K right before our son was born in May of last year.  I don't regret doing it that way for a minute... and yes they gave me a ~4% discount paying with cash.

Mr Saver 2000

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2016, 02:57:52 PM »
Assuming you are able to pay off the balance before the 0% APR expires I would use the credit card.  We signed up for a discover card a while back that came with 2% cash back on all purchases and 0% APR for 12 months.  You are getting a 2% discount and a free 12 month loan.  You can always pay the balance off faster if you wanted.


slappy

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2016, 03:07:33 PM »
Will the electrician accept a credit card payment?

TheInsuranceMan

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2016, 03:08:32 PM »
That card was 15 month 0% APR on new purchases or transfers.
Yes, I could write the check to the electrician, and no, there isn't a paid in full discount, or cash discount, I tried that.

That chase card at $150 bonus if you spend $500 in the first 3 months, so we'd get that
And 1.5% cash back

TheInsuranceMan

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2016, 03:08:55 PM »
Will the electrician accept a credit card payment?

Yes, they will.
Discover, Visa, or Mastercard.
Appears, not Chase?

Or I'm confused, I can't tell if it's a Visa or Mastercard...thoughts?
« Last Edit: May 24, 2016, 03:11:17 PM by TheInsuranceMan »

HPstache

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2016, 03:20:26 PM »
Sounds like you've already made the decision.  I have heard good things about the Chase Unlimited Freedom

daverobev

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2016, 03:26:32 PM »
Will the electrician accept a credit card payment?

Yes, they will.
Discover, Visa, or Mastercard.
Appears, not Chase?

Or I'm confused, I can't tell if it's a Visa or Mastercard...thoughts?

Chase cards are, AFAIK, mostly VISAs.

Do yourself a favour - find the best card you can for a nice $6k lump sum. Check out reddit.com/r/churning - you'll probably get $500+.

TheInsuranceMan

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2016, 03:40:27 PM »
Thanks everyone for the advice.  Just have to explain how it all works to my better half. 
She's on maternity leave for the next 10 weeks, and most of that is on disability, and the last month, I believe, will be unpaid (unless she decides to go back earlier).
Now, we won't have any issue covering our regular bills with my income, so that isn't of concern.  I just don't wan to leave ourselves strapped with cash if I can take advantage of a 0% card, knowing that I have to have it paid off by "x/x/xx". 

Just seems like it would be dumb not to do it that way.

Now, how do I go about getting such a high limit?  I have one card that I carry that has a $7k limit on it, but that's certainly not 0%, so I don't want to put it there and pay what, 14-18% interest?  No chance!

merula

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2016, 04:00:23 PM »
I would not worry about limit. If they don't give you one that's sufficient for the purchase, call and ask for exactly what you want.

But, frankly, I would be very surprised and a little worried about your income if you didn't get at least a $6,000 limit.

Jaguar Paw

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2016, 06:53:50 AM »
My wife got the chase sapphire preferred last week (mostly for the sign up bonus) and got approved for 24k with our 160k combined household income, no car payments, and owing 100k on house. Hope this helps!

zephyr911

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2016, 06:59:50 AM »
I have used 0% offers extensively to ride out such nasty surprises without having to withdraw invested funds, or to lean forward on home improvement projects. Over the past year my utilization got a little high as I used ... now down to a manageable <$4k with plans to zero it all out this year before any interest kicks in. It's a good approach if you have invested assets, generally maintain a high SR, and have a plan to pay it off, with safety margin / backup plan etc.

boarder42

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2016, 07:46:14 AM »
yeah i'd get teh sapphire preferred if i were you and if they can split it up to 2 CC's and you each get one and double your bonus.  sapphire preferred is worth 600 cash back each or travel is a bit better if you do any of that.

Uturn

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #13 on: May 25, 2016, 07:53:15 AM »
For me, not carrying a balance and having to be concerned with managing another bill and not going past the intro period carries a lot of weight. 

Basically, (pay in full/don't worry about playing CC games) > (benefits of using CC) 

PatronWizard11

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #14 on: May 25, 2016, 08:06:21 AM »
Hey MMMer's

So, here is what I have going on, and what I'm wondering.
The wife and I purchased a new house about 3 months ago.  The house had an existing fuse box, which isn't exactly insureable any more.  Anyways, long story short, we had the fuse box replaced with a breaker box, moved from 100 amp service to 200 amp service, and had some other housekeeping work completed as well.  The majority of the extra work was pulling knob and tube wiring from the attic that ran the 2nd floor, and replacing it with new wire.

Anyways, the bill came in just over $6k, which is something we had planned for.  What I'm curious of, instead of liquidating these cash funds I have, I want to know your thoughts on a 0% APR credit card?
Wife and I are both about 770 credit scores (she's at 785, damn her!), and I think leaving us a little more liquid might be the better option (just had baby #2 13 days ago).

Thoughts?  Card ideas?
I'm looking at the Chase Freedom unlimited card right now, but that's just because I don't know where to look

**To note, I don't care about miles - and I'd want to have a 7k limit right away, or is that to much to get on a brand new card?

7k shouldn't be too much for a new cc. You should do split payment for that 6k job so that you can meet one minimum spend on a card for the bonus and half of another. have your wife also get the CSP and y'all will bank over 100K Ultimate Reward points for almost no work at all; those are very valuable.

they will also 2 day air your card for free if you call and ask once you get the approval, in case you need these cards soon. feel free to use my referral if you'd like:
If you email me (weyer36@gmail.com) before you use my link, I would trade you an Amazon GC for the referral as a thank you.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

TheInsuranceMan

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #15 on: May 25, 2016, 08:36:30 AM »
I applied for the Chase Unlimited Card, got approved at $4,500 though.
Put a call in to see if they could increase it, and will hear back in the next week - the customer service lady said it shows the request to increase as "pending", which means it's being reviewed by someone else.

I'm not one of your high wage earners that we see on this site.  Between my full time job and a seasonal job, I make around 45k a year, wife around 40k. 
However, we only have a mortgage payment of $309 a month, student loan payment under $200 a month, and no credit card debt or car payments.

And while I could use cash to pay for the bill, I'd just rather not, as reasons I've explained earlier.
Thank you all for your input!

boarder42

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Re: Credit Card Question
« Reply #16 on: May 25, 2016, 08:42:00 AM »
I applied for the Chase Unlimited Card, got approved at $4,500 though.
Put a call in to see if they could increase it, and will hear back in the next week - the customer service lady said it shows the request to increase as "pending", which means it's being reviewed by someone else.

I'm not one of your high wage earners that we see on this site.  Between my full time job and a seasonal job, I make around 45k a year, wife around 40k. 
However, we only have a mortgage payment of $309 a month, student loan payment under $200 a month, and no credit card debt or car payments.

And while I could use cash to pay for the bill, I'd just rather not, as reasons I've explained earlier.
Thank you all for your input!

you really should look into the sapphire cards as it would net you more money.