Looking to get a new card or cards

[Tsuyoi]

So I've been gardening and repairing for the past year and finally got to a "clean" slate where I can expand my credit.  My current situation:

Installment:

$45k in Student Loans deferred until January, 2014

Credit:

Capital One (Opened 2/2012, CL $1k, Balance: $69)

Checking/Savings:

Chase

Park Federal Credit Union

History:

2x ~$200 Collections PAID

FICO Scores:

EQ - 692 (Pulled 9/18)

EX - 646 (Pulled 9/25)

TU - 700 (Pulled 10/31)

Current Salary:

$50k

The EX is lower due to an old car loan not being reported thus giving me a lower Oldest Account and AAoA.

So my question is: Which cards do you think I could get, probably *should* get, and should I apply for a couple (no more than 2 or 3)?

Any input would be greatly appreciated! 

[coldnmn]

Welcome to the forum. IMO Chase Freedom seeing as you bank with them. Also the Discover It and possibly a Barclay card. If you apply for a Barclay card apply for that first they are Inq sensitive. Barclay has started to give a free TU Fico 08 score.

[Tsuyoi]

Thank you for the quick reply!  

On the Barclay, I was looking at Sallie Mae (the servicer of my student loan) and noticed that they card is somehow tied to Barclay.  Would it be wise to go through Sallie Mae since I have a loan being serviced through them, or through Barclay directly?

Also, do you think applying for all 3 (Barclay then Chase then Discover) would be unwise?  I'm not looking to expand my credit in order to max it out on large purchases, but rather to build up accounts and relationships with different institutions in order to further expand my credit down the road.

[Creditaddict]

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@Tsuyoi wrote:

Thank you for the quick reply!  

On the Barclay, I was looking at Sallie Mae (the servicer of my student loan) and noticed that they card is somehow tied to Barclay.  Would it be wise to go through Sallie Mae since I have a loan being serviced through them, or through Barclay directly?

Also, do you think applying for all 3 (Barclay then Chase then Discover) would be unwise?  I'm not looking to expand my credit in order to max it out on large purchases, but rather to build up accounts and relationships with different institutions in order to further expand my credit down the road.

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no matter where you go first when you click to apply you will be over on Barclay.

I would apply for all 3 at once.

[Themanwhocan]

Don't accidentally apply for the Sallie Mae Upromise card. You want the Sallie Mae World Mastercard, that you apply for here: https://www.salliemae.com/landing/WorldCreditCard/

I agree with the previous recommendations, Sallie Mae, Chase Freedom (if you can get that), and Discover IT are a good start. Assuming you want cash back.

Fidelity Amex for 2% cash back on all puchases might be something to look into. Maybe 6 months later would be best. You have to create a Fidelity account though.

[Tsuyoi]

Thank you everyone for your help and recommendations. Based on what you've said I've done the following:

- Applied for the Sallie Mae World MasterCard [STATUS: Approved (Platinum) for $2,500]
- Applied for the Chase Freedom [STATUS: Approved for $1,000]

I think I will hold off and garden for 6 months or more before any other moves. As a follow up question, is it a bad idea to ask for a recon for a higher limit on the Chase Freedom or could it have negative effects like getting my account rejected or another hard pull? I'm fairly satisfied with the results, so I think I could survive either way.

[acb5456]

You could also apply for the Discover IT card (shameless spam to your thread haha) [mod cut] Cheers and way to go with the approvals!