@JoeFontana wrote:Hey Themanwhocan,
Thanks! Exactly the type of response I was looking for.
On the BCP, part of the reason I went with it is that the starting bonus pays for 2 years (alternatively, the difference between the starting bonus for it and for BCE makes the first year's annual fee only $25 instead of $75), and that it gives higher credit limits than most cards, which can help me gain other cards. Since I was unable to get the Sallie Mae Mastercard, and my annual spend on groceries is probably roughly $5000, the BCP is a good bet for me at the moment I think. Once I get one Sallie card, I will probably drop it down to BCE right before renewal time, which on $420/month is $250@5%=$12.50+$170@3%=$5.10=about 4.2% overall cash back. 2 Sallies would be optimal, but harder to get I suppose.
As for gas, my plan would be to just buy a gas card with my discover/chase card and use it over the year. My gas expense is only about $800/year, even including any non-ordinary trip I might make, so the gas isn't a big problem. If I had two Sallie Mae cards I would just put it on that, but until then this should work fine.
As for the Huntington bank card, unfortunately I don't live in their service area.
I don't have many purchases under $10 (lunch is payroll deduct where I work which would probably be the bulk of my under $5 transactions) so I don't have much use for that 25-cent per transaction card, but it's good to know it exists.
I can try for the BoA cards, but how much is an approproiate charge for them? Would $100 a quarter work?
I general, yes, getting multiple cards can really help. With 2 Sallie Mae (3 would be even better in case I had a heavy month) I would have no use for my BCP. With 2 Cash+ cards I can have Restaurants on one card, and Cell Phone with Electronics or Furnitature on the other (since neither Electronics nor Furnitature are regular purchases, I can pick which I'll buy that quarter). I'm also wondering what is that discover card you have?
Generally, how do you get two of these cards?
And on the Amex CLI, are you saying I should ask for a CLI in 2 months, so in August, for 3x my credit limit, so to 21K? Or were you saying in 8 months to ask for it? Or what, I'm a bit confused. I don't want my CLs to get too high because I don't want my utilization to get down below 5%, which I hear is worse than something like 10%. Additionally, I don't really care about having more than 5K CL on any card, since I'm paying them off high CLs don't do much for me in themselves.
On the Amazon is books, I believe that's only on certain categories, right? Not everything on Amazon counts as books.
You can get two identical cards by either calling the number on your credit card and asking if the card can be changed to a different card. or you can just apply for the exact same card you already have.
For Barclaycard (they handle the Sallie Mae cards) you can just apply for a card you already have. Make sure you are likely to get an auto approval, since trying to convince a customer service rep to overide the computer to give you a card you already have, would be a tough thing to sell. But word on the Internet is that someone once had 4 identical Barclaycards, so more than 2 is possible. Just spread the applications at least 6 months apart, and show Barclaycard lots of steady spending and paying, at least until you get all the cards you want from them.
For US Bank, I asked them to convert my no rewards Platinum card, and thats how I got my second Cash+. You need a $5000+ limit on the card to get a Cash+, plus it has to have been reviewed and approved ahead of time. But its definitely doable.
Bank of America Better Balance Rewards you can get via either converting a card, or just by applying for it a second time. Someone here has 3 of those cards, once by each method. My plan is to obtain a BOA Cash Rewards card, mainly for the $100 sign up bonus. Then after 6-8 months or so, I will probably realize I don't use that card as much as I thought I would, and I'll call BOA to see if I can switch it to a Better Balance Rewards card...
On the BOA BBR card, $100 a month spend would equal 8.33% cash back every 3 months ($25 / $300). I plan to put a $46 DSL utility bill on mine, which is 18.1%, but at first I will show some good usage. Its the people that ask "wow, can I charge 15 cents a month and get $25 !!!" that concern me. Yes, yes you can. And yes, credit card companies can close your cards for any reason, as well as for no reason. I would think getting 8.33% cash back on things that you don't have a 5% cash back card to use on, would be a fine idea. Eventually get 2 or 3 cards, and be able to cover $200-$300 or so of utility bills, or maybe Walmart purchases, etc... Great way to fill in the gaps on your credit card 5% coverage. PS: $166.66 average spend per month equals 5% cash back on the BBR card.
There is a guide to the American Express CLI requests in the "helpful threads" in the green section at the start of these posts. Basically your very first request can occur at 61+ days, and at 6 month increments after that. they are soft pulls, so there is no reason not to ask. Maximum you can get is 3X your current limit, and the computer will automatically offer a lesser amount if they can't give the full 3X, so just ask for the 3X.
Sorry, but there is no such think as a card that gives cash back on books. The credit card company doesn't know what you are buying. They do know you charged a certain amount, and the transaction came from a Book Store. So, you can get cash back from all purchases made at Book Stores, but not specifically books. So, make sure you buy your books from Book Stores, and then it shouldn't be a problem...
@JoeFontana wrote:A few more questions Themanwhocan,
Should I apply now for the BoA card? Or should I wait and apply with the others in January?
Other than what I've said before and asking for the CLI on the Amex, is there anything else I can do that will help my odds of getting those cards in January?
And thank you, you've been a big help to me here.
Its best to wait on any more applications. 6 months of credit card history is absolute bare minimum, and you only have 7 months, and now a bunch of inquiries and a bunch of new cards to temporarily pull down your scores. And scores are not the only thing that matters.
Oh, and and as long as you have 6 months to kill, you should read this old post: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/How-do-I-play-the-1-9-Utilization-Game-Please-Help/m-p/...