Andrew W

You are a W2, regular, salaried employee with the same employer for 6 years. Sounds like you got a significant raise from 2011 to 2012. This is looked upon very favorably, and your pay stubs will be used to calculate your regular employment income. If your 2012 W2 included bonuses, OT, or commissions, you will likely require a two year history of receipt to demonstrate likelihood of continuance, and this additional income will likely be averaged. Underwriters look very closely at self-employed income. If you can't produce a 2012 1099, it will be a problem. Certain deductions, such as amortization/casualty losses, depreciation, and mileage, can typically be added back to the income. Good luck

Currently living in a very cheap area but am desperate to get out of it and into my own place, whether it be renting a studio / 1 bedroom apartment, or purchasing a home. Here's what I'm looking at: Current budget and expenses give me roughly $1000 in monthly excess monies I can sock away in an IRA or other savings vehicle. Great to have the feeling that I'm not strapped for cash; If I move out and rent elsewhere my monthly excess cash would be reduced from $1000 per month down to roughly $700 monthly; If I purchase a home, my monthly excess cash would be reduced to roughly $400 monthly; I have close to $100k in cash that I would be able to use as a down payment on a new home. I am only looking at a home purchase price between $200k-$250k. I am in my mid-twenties and looking to stay in the same area for at least the next 4-5 years. I'm not worried about my ability to qualify for a mortgage loan, just whether or not the $300 monthly difference is worth continuing to rent. Thoughts and suggestions appreciated.

Well I decided not to apply for the Penfed Amex.Apped first for US Bank, instant approval for $14k (pulled EX and was told I had a 772 EX FICO), instant approval for Fidelity Amex for $7500 (not sure which bureau pulled), and just for the heck of it apped for a CLI on my existing Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa. "Referred to a loan officer" and is pending. Current credit limit is $32.7k but apped with a squeaky clean EQ report, would be interesting to see how much more generous they are willing to be.

Thanks Repairer. Two new cards reporting would certainly make it tougher for me to get the Penfed Amex, and there is a chance that I may want to use it for travel expenses some time in the next 12 months. If I do not apply for it now and wait for the other two cards to start reporting, I think I'd be shutting myself out of any chance for at least another year. Decisions decisions...

I will be applying for several cards this weekend: US Bank Cash+, Fidelity Amex, and possibly the Penfed Amex. However, I question if I should hold off on the Penfed Amex. I will not be able to spend $2500 within 3 months to take advantage of the 20,000 point bonus offer. Yet, on the other hand, I fear that should I wait until a later date, my chances of approval for the card may diminish as I already have more than 2x in credit limits than I do income. I received no pre-approvals for Q2 from Penfed, I take that as a sign that Penfed has already extended me the max amount of credit that they feel comfortable based on my income and/or based on the amount of available credit I have with other creditors. I'm thinking if I can't get a pre-approval, then I'll try my hand at a cold app and take a hard inquiry for it. I currently have roughly $95k in available credit lines across 7 credit cards. I'm thinking that if Penfed is hesitant on giving me more credit now (as evidenced by the lack of Q2 pre-approvals), then they might be even less comfortable if they see I have additional open credit with Fidelity and US Bank (assuming I get approved for those). Thoughts? Apply for Penfed Amex and give up the 20,000 point bonus, or wait and risk not even getting the card because of excessive other available credit?

No offers here, though I'm not surprised...less than 12 months since I last accepted one of their pre-approvals. Looks like I'll have to app for the Penfed Amex cold.

This card caught my attention too. I question the longevity of the 2% though, especially as a Visa. Seems like it was originally a 1%, and just evolved into a 2% a year and half ago (or thereabouts). I remember the Schwab 2% card dying out, the Fidelity Visa not offering 2% until $15k in spending, though the Fidelity Amex still remains at 2% with no minimum spend requirements...I suspect because of Amex's higher interchange fees. Seems on a Visa, it's much more difficult to offer high rewards. As good as the Priceline Visa is right now, I'm leaning towards taking my chances with a 1.5% MC/Visa. I don't need another 1% card to be SD'd in a few years if it gets bumped back down to the 1% structure.

My credit limits are a little under 2x my income.

Perfect, thank you!

What is the minimum time needed between Penfed pre-approvals? I have heard 12 months, but is this from time of when the pre-approval was offered, or when it was accepted? IIRC, I last accepted a pre-approval in mid-late April of last year. If they go off of 12 months when it was accepted, it would seem that it would preclude me from receiving any pre-approvals for Q2 of this year? I am hoping this is not the case. Looking for others to chime in on their personal experience. (I am looking to add both the Penfed Amex and Fidelity Amex to my portfolio, and would like to apply for both simultaneously so that neither see a new account added. It would be nice to get the Penfed Amex via pre-approval, but I'm not going to wait until Q3 this year to get it, and would rather take a hard INQ.)

Does this mean we can finally cash out accrued dividends from various stocks without having to call in and wait for a check in the mail?

Well, Penfed has verified my income so they know how much I make. They asked for pay stubs when I requested a CLI several years ago. I'm actually making more now than what they have on file for me, so I may call and volunteer a few pay stubs in case it might help my chances with the Q2 pre-approvals. Granted, going through a home loan certainly has a lot more documentation involved.

I was very surprised last March/April'ish when Penfed gave me a CLI via pre-approval on my Platinum Cash Rewards CC to bring my total exposure to just about 75% of my annual income (at that time). I was expecting them to be a lot more conservative and it gets me thinking how much more they're willing to risk with me. Now having second thoughts about possibly holding off on this Fidelity Amex until I can see if I get any more pre-approvals in Q2 with Penfed, as the Penfed Amex with 5x airfare is something I figure might come in handy one day. Oh decisions decisions..

Obviously I won't know until I actually apply, but what do you think are my chances of being declined due to too much credit? I saw someone's comment in CP with a 748 FICO saying they were declined as they deemed they already had enough credit for their income level. I normally wouldn't fret about this, but it does seem that FIA seems to care more about income than credit from what I've been able to gather. Based on my own personal annual income, my total available credit is a little under 2x my annual income. I'm waiting for some cards to report a 0 bal before I apply in mid-February anyway, but comments in the meantime would be appreciated, thanks.