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Looking for one more card

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Looking for one more card

Hi everyone, 

 

I have been lurking on the forums for a while and it really helped me building my credit pretty fast which i really appreciate!

 

I'm looking to get one more card and then i start gardening and build my profile.

I just received my Fico through the Experian site 683 and the Discover score card a couple of days ago. I'm building credit since 6 months ago so pretty new to all of it.

 

My current cards are:

 

Capital One Quicksilver $750

Credit One Bank $400 (i know, i know, they helped me out a lot though)

Discover IT cashback card $2000

AMEX BCE $1200

 

At the end of the year i will most likely get rid of the Credit One card since i don't expect the limit to grow insanely.

 

Which card should i add before i start "gardening" ? I'm leaning towards a Walmart Card since we're there at least twice a week. ( They denied me on December 9th though, but my AAoA was 5 months and now i passed the 6 months mark and received my fico )

 

A suggestion for a different card is always welcome, i plan on only having my TU and/or EQ pulled. My EX has had some inquiries so i prefer leaving that one alone.

 

Scores today:

 

647 TU (Credit Karma)

648 EQ (Credit Karma)

671 EX (FICO Experian website)

 

I'm not sure if it would help having one Retail Store card along with my regular bank cards.

 

EDIT: Or perhaps the Amazon Store Card, which i'm a frequent buyer of.

My overall utilization is 23% (The AMEX BCE has not been added to the account yet)

 

Thanks in advance!!

Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
Adkins
Legendary Contributor

Re: Looking for one more card

I recommend going to credit check total and getting your real FICO scores (credit karma is good for monitoring but absolutely useless for any type of score) first, then let us know your numbers. Cancel your credit check total membership immediately. I really think you need to Garden for six months before applying for anymore cards though. 


Last HP 08-07-2023



Message 2 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Looking for one more card

Personally I'd suggest you try out the us bank prequal page, select cash back as your interest, and see if you get a hit for cash + with a single APR. The reason I say this is because unlike pretty much every other card I've seen with a grocery category, the 2% grocery category on cash + includes walmart and target. On top of that you can also pick two 5% categories including fast food (I've had some issues with potbelly not coding correctly as fast food even though it's listed under the category details so I'm not sure how that'll pan out at this point as I haven't called about it yet - therefore if you do get this card you should definitely check when your statement cuts that everything is paying out properly - but I did do a test purchase at walmart and it did code properly and give me the 2% cash back). There's also a SUB if you spend $500 in the first 90 days, I wanna say it's $100 statement credit? I'd have to double check though, maybe someone else can chime in here and beat me to it - it's either $100 or $150 iirc. They pulled TU for me, which was 648 when they approved me I believe, so I think you've got a pretty good chance with them (it is very possible they give you a toy limit - like $500 lol and yes it IS a visa signature so I guess they just ignore the whole $5000 minimum thing - but they DO recon and I've seen a few people here have success with that route, i.e. raising their starting limit on recon).

 

Also if you do go this route keep in mind that us bank VERY frequently does manual UW and the 7-10 day message when you apply is totally the norm and it does NOT mean denied - I got this message and called the automated line to find out I was approved within like 2 days from when I app'd.

 

Not sure about the walmart card as I don't have one but there's never anything wrong with getting a card that will be useful to you, if you shop there frequently it's definitely worth looking into, and good luck with whatever you decide on! Cat Very Happy

 

(And congrats on building your credit! Heart)

 

Edit - yes, and that! ^^^ get your real FICOs! (Lol I can't really say anything as I've gone the same route as you with only checking the free ones haha and I haven't been able to find a free EQ anywhere so I don't even know my EQ, but thankfully the 2 cards i picked up lately pulled TU and EX respectively- but as parents love to say "do what I say and not as I do" (lol when i was a kid my dad messed that up once and said it backwards, 'do as i do and not as i say' haha I had a field day with that one) anyway that CCT $1 trial seems to be where it's at, honestly I'm much past due on doing it myself so I say we both get our butts over there Smiley Happy )

Message 3 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Looking for one more card

Personally I stay away from store cards. You can just as easily use Visa and MC with a lot less interest.

Message 4 of 7
coldfusion
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Looking for one more card



AMEX cards typically do not start reporting until after the 3rd statement is cut.

 

You can get your monthly-updated EX FICO 8 score online via your AMEX account and TU FICO 8 score via your Discover account. FAKO scores are essentially meaningless as issuers don't use them and they can vary by over 100 points from your FICO 8 and FICO 9 scores - a fact to which I can personally attest to, as can others here.

 

IMO you should not app for any additional card at this time, as you now have 3 decent cards.  Garden for 6 months, get in the habit of PIF, and establish a bit of positive history with these issuers while asking for SP CLIs on the Discover and AMEX cards.

 

In 6 months you will still be at 4/24 so leave the garden and apply for a Chase Freedom; normally I'd suggest a Freedom Unlimited but its benefits overlap those of the Quicksilver.  A Freedom will still allow you to also establish positive history with Chase, gives you additional 5% rotating CB options dovetailing those you get with Discover, and comes with the potential for later online offers for FU and CSP cards that bypass the Chase 5/24 limitations. 

 

As a general rule I suggest you avoid all store cards until you have a thicker profile.  Even then, acquire them sparingly and only if the card in question provides a specific and significant meaningful value which offsets their limited uses and high APRs.

 

(3/2024)
FICO 8 (EX) 846 (TU) 850 (EQ) 850
FICO 9 (EX) 850 (TU) 850 (EQ) 850

$1M+ club

Artist formerly known as the_old_curmudgeon who was formerly known as coldfusion
Message 5 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Looking for one more card

Thanks for all the information! Really appreciate it!

Taking all advice and will be on lockdown until the summer! Wish me luck :-))
Message 6 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Looking for one more card

Best of luck to you!

Message 7 of 7
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