@Anonymous wrote:
Hi everybody,
A quick snapshot of my credit... Hovering around 750 credit scores, I have a BoA Rewards card and two others that don't really have any rewards. I just bought a home in the past two months or so, hasn't shown up on my credit report. I have a lot of work that I will be starting, so I will be spending a fair amount of money and would love to take advantage of signup bonuses.
Two things that I 'think' are important for me are 1) I don't really use credit cards a whole lot, so the ones that have big annual costs are a turnoff for me. I use my BoA rewards card for all my monthly re-occuring costs. 2) I suppose I would love a card that has a hidden trade line, just because it would be my only CC that has that feature. But, that's probably not a deal breaker if it isn't hidden....
The amount of money will be in the thousands, easily... new electrical, new windows, some appliances, furniture, etc.
Thanks!
Big hidden TL? Wait for diners card app to resume. Not sure when that will be. Aside from that... gotta consider total amount you plan to spend, and how long you need to pay for it. Rewards are usually erased by paying even the smallest amounts of interest.
If you are going to shop at lowes, buy lowes gift cards from online, so you save at least 10 percent. Then, try to use a lowes coupon...usually USPS address change kits from the post office have a coupon, just go ask for a few of them. Use a general spend cash back card to pay for these lowes gift cards to save an addtl 1.5-2%.
Lowes cards are great if you can do a no interest promo, but I would never advocate a person get lowes specifically for the 5% off!
Not really sure how this would work for home depot, I think it would be the same. Lowes has a great coupon thread at slickdeals.
Also, check prices online for things! I was able to score the same 1700 sink from lowes, for only $675 from bluebath. And, I got a $300 faucet for $100 from jet.com! Used coupons and cash back for both.
You can always try to get a nice sign on bonus. Have some free plane tickets for work or pleasure in the future. Or cash back. The AMEX Bce has a $500 off $3k offer that ends tomorrow. It is not guaranteed to get but you have to call in and pention a POID number, worth a shot. Think about what places you will be buying from/having work done before hand and make sure they take it. Also combine that amex credit card with the PRG 50k offer ($200 in airline gift cards plus roughly $1k in travel value when transferred to delta) after 1k spend in 90 days. Barclay Arrival plus $400, Venture $400... could try a cap1 Spark $500 after $5k spend.
Whatever you do, dont go get a 20k limit venture, spend 10k on it thinking you got a great bonus, then pay interest on it for a year. Not the best scenario. Also you can always have Lowes pro's do the labor and pay for that with any mjaor CC...but they can be costly. Lowes also can offer pretty high credit limits fairly quick. Ask for 20-30K after approval. Maybe get a credit union CC as well.
Also lowes has a cool new design feature. You can work 1 on 1 with an interior designer, I believe there is no fee, so long as you are ordering from 3 different departments (eg electrical, cabinets, plumbing). The come in to measure, collab w/ installers, help you focus on design choices. Again I'm not sure but I believe its free, and these are credentialed interior designers.
Or ya know, buy some stuff from used appliance place that warranties the work and has good repair people.
I think you can get 5% off furniture like at Ikea using the US Bank cash+ but I am not certain about that either. Also home improvement.
