Hi Everyone!
Long time lurker, first time poster 
Ive been reading for a while and finally have the courage/knowledge to join this game of yours
I have been planning for a few weeks now and this is what I came up with
Current Cards (Oldest to Newest)
Chase Amazon: $2k
Citi Dividend: $3k
Chase Freedom: $1k
Costco Amex: $9k
Chase Ink Plus: $8k (Business so it doesnt really matter. Got it for the 60k bonus and for 5x on utilities!)
Currently Credit Karma says 690, Sesame says 724. 17% Util. No baddies at all!
Wait until amex CLI shows up, and I have all my cards sitting at 0 or close to it (Costco was 3.5k, just did a SP CLI to 9k!)
AOR - Apply for the following and in this order all at once:
Sallie Mae 5% (Groceries and Gas)
Cap1 Quicksilver (Daily spender for misc)
CSP (Bonus rewards and 2x restaurants, downgrade to regular before AF hits)
Request Freedom CLI, use for all 5x bonuses only (maybe move some limit from the amazon card if possible)
I wont be cancelling any cards, but this is my goal:
Use Sallie Mae for Groceries and Gas
Use Freedom for all 5x (including GAS since I value UR the most)
Use CSP for restaurants (and maybe travel)
Use Costo for car rentals
Quicksilver for all else
Eventually I want to convert Costco to Amex BCE. I dont know if this is possible, first time I called (I am not renewing costco membership) they said this car can not be converted. Second time I did (and I have a secure message from them confirming this) I can convert it after one year (two months left). I wont use the card much outside of the awesome rental coverage (I use premium for $25 extra per rental) but I dont want to hang on to the costco one since I dont really like costco that much. Citi is sockdrawered unless a really good 5x bonus comes around, but I hate the card. So annoying to earn and spend ($50 increments only??? What a waste)
Any input? I put a lot of thought into this
@JohnWillyson wrote:Hi Everyone!
Long time lurker, first time poster
I have been planning for a few weeks now and this is what I came up with
Current Cards (Oldest to Newest)
Chase Amazon: $2k
Citi Dividend: $3k
Chase Freedom: $1k
Costco Amex: $9k
Chase Ink Plus: $8k (Business so it doesnt really matter. Got it for the 60k bonus and for 5x on utilities!)
Currently Credit Karma says 690, Sesame says 724. 17% Util. No baddies at all!
Wait until amex CLI shows up, and I have all my cards sitting at 0 or close to it (Costco was 3.5k, just did a SP CLI to 9k!)
AOR - Apply for the following and in this order all at once:
Sallie Mae 5% (Groceries and Gas)
Cap1 Quicksilver (Daily spender for misc)
CSP (Bonus rewards and 2x restaurants, downgrade to regular before AF hits)
Request Freedom CLI, use for all 5x bonuses only (maybe move some limit from the amazon card if possible)
I wont be cancelling any cards, but this is my goal:
Use Sallie Mae for Groceries and Gas
Use Freedom for all 5x (including GAS since I value UR the most)
Use CSP for restaurants (and maybe travel)
Use Costo for car rentals
Quicksilver for all else
Eventually I want to convert Costco to Amex BCE. I dont know if this is possible, first time I called (I am not renewing costco membership) they said this car can not be converted. Second time I did (and I have a secure message from them confirming this) I can convert it after one year (two months left). I wont use the card much outside of the awesome rental coverage (I use premium for $25 extra per rental) but I dont want to hang on to the costco one since I dont really like costco that much. Citi is sockdrawered unless a really good 5x bonus comes around, but I hate the card. So annoying to earn and spend ($50 increments only??? What a waste)
Any input? I put a lot of thought into this
BCP 6% 3% 1%. $75 AF thou. BCP also can used $25 premium rental car too.
Sallie Mae cap at $250.
CSP and maybe consider Discover too.
Starting Score: 560
Welcome to the forums!
It looks like a great plan for ongoing rewards. But just be aware that applying for all at the same time will put some big initial spending requirements in your hands. It seems like it will be somewhere near $4,000 in the first 90 days, so make sure you are prepared for that. If you aren't typically a big spender, then spacing out the apps a little may not be a bad idea.
Also, instead of the Quicksilver, you could consider the Barclays Arrival card which gives you a $400 sign up bonus and 2% on everything. The $89 AF is waived for the first year just like the CSP. But the rewards must be used for travel purposes (purchasing travel or redeeming for travel). After a year with that card you could try downgrading to the no AF version, and then applying for the Quicksilver or another 1.5% Cashback card. Totally up to you, but I've sockdrawered my CapOne for that Barclays card. And in fact, you wouldn't need the CSP with the Arrival. But I do understand that the addition of UR points is more valuable to most people.
It looks like a great plan for ongoing rewards. But just be aware that applying for all at the same time will put some big initial spending requirements in your hands. It seems like it will be somewhere near $4,000 in the first 90 days, so make sure you are prepared for that. If you aren't typically a big spender, then spacing out the apps a little may not be a bad idea.
Also, instead of the Quicksilver, you could consider the Barclays Arrival card which gives you a $400 sign up bonus and 2% on everything. The $89 AF is waived for the first year just like the CSP. But the rewards must be used for travel purposes (purchasing travel or redeeming for travel). After a year with that card you could try downgrading to the no AF version, and then applying for the Quicksilver or another 1.5% Cashback card. Totally up to you, but I've sockdrawered my CapOne for that Barclays card. And in fact, you wouldn't need the CSP with the Arrival. But I do understand that the addition of UR points is more valuable to most people.
Thanks!
I already have the $5k covered for the ink card (paying tuition!)
The sapphire I have an offer for $2k within three months, easily covered so I am not worried about the spend!
My biggest issue now seems to be I am having such a hard time holding off on applying to all the cards! My balances still arent reporting, and amex wont report til the end of the month, so my credit score increase is taking a while.
I want to pull the trigger now!
Barclays looks nice, but I am not interested in only redeeming against travel purchases, plus it will eventually have an annual fee. The quicksilver is a plain 1.5% so thats why I am interested. The fidelities dont interest me as it seems annoying with the redemption rules, plus its a BOA spinoff. BOA ticked me off years ago (they bought out fleet) and gave me such a hard time about stupid things I wont go back any time soon.