AMEX BCE now or wait for BCP? Details inside...

[Anonymous]

Kind of new to the rewards cards thing and I have a thin file.

Experian has me at 759. Combined income is $126K.

I applied for a BCP and was denied. My inquiries are currently 7 including the hard pull from AMEX. Two of those should consolidate to 1 because of an auto loan we just obtained and that has yet to report. 

Since August I have a Cap1 Quicksilver with $500 CL and AU on my wife's QS for same. Credit1 since October for $600. Discover since March for $1000. 

I checked and do have a prequal equal offer for BCE which does not include any intro bells and whistles and is for a $500 SL. The offer terms say CLI after 5 billing cycles.

We spend a good amount on groceries and gas. Too many cards to track for max rewards is stressing my wife out hence the reason I applied for BCP. We have been running a good amount through the Cap1s and Discover and I pay them weekly. Always PIF or no more than 10%  by statement date. BCE would let us get more rewards of course.

Say I take the offer: can we still get the 3X CLI after 62? I understand we can PC to BCP after a year which is cool. Or should I wait for the auto loan to report and try again for BCE or BCP in a couple months hoping to get a higher SL and intro offers?  I've already incurred a HP and almost hate to let it go to waste if it will end up hurting me later. 

Thanks

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous.

I would wait.  For whatever reason, Amex denied you with your scores and income.  I was approved for the BCP with lower scores and lower income.  What baddies do you currently have on your report?   

I have an ED card with a $1K limit that I've had for almost 2 years that doesn't seem to grow.  Thought about rolling the limit into the BCP, but since I can combine points with my Platinum card, I've left it alone.

Yes, if approved you could request 3x the limit, but you also run the risk of the card remaining in toy limit hell.

[austinguy907]

I think it's time to pump the brakes here for a moment and reassess things.

1. your wife is having an issue tracking multiple cards for max rewards

- just how many cards do you have in your lineup already?  Seems to be excessive already if you can't keep track of what to use where.

2. you've already added 3 cards in the last year which is why you're probably hitting the wall with SL's under $1K

3. AMEX pre-qual for $500 and 5 statement is a good indicator that you need to stop apping and let things age for 12-24 months

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What's the real reason for doing any of this?  Score looks fine, income looks fine, but, what's pushing the app spree?

Getting rewards isn't a good reason to keep damaging your profile and financial health.  You could be putting $50/mo into a savings account instead of taking on things like Credit1 just to add another card to the mix.  It seems from the limited information here you're on the spend, spend, spend method of accruing savings instead of being more disciplined in your use of funds.  

[Anonymous]

That's it, really. No baddies. My credit file consists of an auto loan which was paid as agreed and closed 6 years ago and the three cards listed in my name and as an authorized user on my wife's. Utilization is under 10% for the last three months although we've easily spent 3x the limits each month. My AAoC is currently at 5 months not counting the closed auto loan. 

The Credit1 was a mistake. I honestly did not know how bad that card sucked until I had it a month. It's only purpose now is to add to my available credit and once the year rolls around its history. It doesn't even get used. 

The thing with my wife is this: I'm in full rebuild mode after not using my credit at all for over 6 years. And we are working on hers as well. We've gotten some rewards cards and use the hell out of them to reap the benefits. I'm somewhat neurotic about it. I know which card to use in which situation and she is probably tired of my reminders. My thought is if we get the grocery/gas benefits that simply makes it easy for her and me and we'll simply retire the Cap1s and keep them around for AAoC. And we get our foot in the door with AMEX. 

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@austinguy907 wrote:

I think it's time to pump the brakes here for a moment and reassess things.

1. your wife is having an issue tracking multiple cards for max rewards

- just how many cards do you have in your lineup already?  Seems to be excessive already if you can't keep track of what to use where.

2. you've already added 3 cards in the last year which is why you're probably hitting the wall with SL's under $1K

3. AMEX pre-qual for $500 and 5 statement is a good indicator that you need to stop apping and let things age for 12-24 months

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---

---

What's the real reason for doing any of this?  Score looks fine, income looks fine, but, what's pushing the app spree?

Getting rewards isn't a good reason to keep damaging your profile and financial health.  You could be putting $50/mo into a savings account instead of taking on things like Credit1 just to add another card to the mix.  It seems from the limited information here you're on the spend, spend, spend method of accruing savings instead of being more disciplined in your use of funds.  

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[Anonymous]

Let's talk about the 800lbs elephant in the room - AMEX pre-quals are notoriously not 100% reliable.

If they were, you would have been approved for the BCP with a $500 limit...after all, AMEX would be happier to have your annual fee than not, assuming they're willing to extend credit, which clearly they are not.

As another poster already suggested, your best move at this point would be to tap the brakes, fully assess, and likely hit the garden for a bit.

Good Luck!