How to stay in the garden

[itgirl74]

Well, it helps when your scores are low enough that you know you can't get just any card you want.

But seriously, as I'm planning an upcoming app spree and fighting the urge to add more and more cards to the list, I keep telling myself that it's better to get just a few cards at a time so that I can stagger the %0 APR intro periods. I don't plan on carrying balances normally, but I do have some relatively big items (furniture) to buy over the next several months.

[travisr0]

Just keep thinking how gratifying it is to get those fancy new signatures in your profile right. I have a silver right now and gets easier as time goes by. The first 60 days is the hardest !

[longtimelurker]

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@travisr0 wrote:

Just keep thinking how gratifying it is to get those fancy new signatures in your profile right. I have a silver right now and gets easier as time goes by. The first 60 days is the hardest !

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No really THAT fancy though.  Imagine how much better a brand new cc image (or three or four) would look in the sig!

[Anonymous]

Let me rephrase the question:

"How to stay in the garden when the Amazon store card is now offering 5% cashback and I shop a lot on Amazon"

[macuserftw]

The struggle is real.

[celluloid17]

I've been in the garden for nearly ten months now.  It's been relatively easy for me since I'm covered in terms of rewards potential with my current cards and I'm enjoying watching cash/points amass from using a few of my favorites most frequently.  I actually regret my last app (Fidelity Amex) and wish I had fewer cards in general.  After the initial thrill of apping and receiving the new card in the mail, it then becomes just another account to manage.  I have no plans to app for anything anytime soon unless a travel opportunity presents itself and I need a widely accepted card with no FTF (which I don't currently have) or if one my current cards gets nerfed to the point of being useless.  I'm still waiting to see what will happen with my Costco Amex as that might precipitate a new app next year...

[onstar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Let me rephrase the question:

"How to stay in the garden when the Amazon store card is now offering 5% cashback and I shop a lot on Amazon"

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LOL. That was my last reset of the garden start date. And stupid too because I had just canceled it in December, and Synchrony would not let me reopen a closed acct and made me re-app.

[Boragard]

The easiest way to garden is to not log onto this website.  The longest I have been able to garden was 5 months & that was because I did not log on here for 5 months.

[Tonya-E]

I just recently stepped out of the garden after 2 years.  I am right back in the garden now. It has helped me to stay in by freezing all my reports. This is because anything you app for once those reports are frozen is deliberate and requires thought.  I can't just walk in a store and app for a store card for a discount. I can't just app for anything. I have to lift those freezes. Most times before I lift the freeze, I find it's not worth it to me or it's something I don't really need.

[lhcole77]

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@onstar wrote:

1. It's impossible. Not true

2. Those who claim to be in the garden for over 30 days are lying.  Not true

3. #2 above might not be true, but keep telling yourself that it is true. True

4. App knowing that #1 is true. Um, not sure what this means

NOTE: I've been gardening since December but I'm still a seedling. Because every few weeks, I keep leaving the garden for a few minutes. Supposedly unintentionally.

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I say get cards when they suit your needs/have amazing bonuses. For some that'll be more frequently than others. 

I left the garden after almost 7 months for 100K American miles and 50K Avios. That was worth it to me.