@Themanwhocan wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I have been working on a long term credit card plan. This is the best I could come up with. Critiques would be appreciated. I am currently in the process of buying a home, so everything is based off of the closing date on the house. I dont plan a big spree, my idea is to spread out bonuses and 0 percent offers so I can furnish the house and do what I want to it over time. After closing I will have significant rreserves for that purpose. I realize using the 40k bonus on the CSP as cash back is not the best use of the points, but it basically amounts to 10 percent off of the first 4k in furnisings I buy. I don't really travel on my own dime, so it makes sense to me to use it that way. Many people don't like the Upromise, but in my area many restaurants offer the 4% CB, and we regularly order 600 plus dollars of food from those restaurants /week at work. I can run 30k a year thru it that way and get cash from the others ordering (BONUS). My personal regular spend is relatively low, but with 0 percent offers and furnishing a house having a bit of padding for util makes sense. I honestly cant see myself using the AmEX basically at all, but I figure I may as well establish a MSD in case they do issue a card I am interested in. My scores in my sig are current as of today.
Date Card Bonus Plan
Current Discover N/A Keep
Current BOA 1-2-3 N/A Keep
Current US BANK Harley N/A Most likely close, possible PC
Current First Progress Sec N/A Close
Current Cap1 Sec N/A Close
Closing day CSP 40k miles after 4k Downgrade to saph after free year
Closing day BAR Upromise 50 after 500 Keep, basically use for ordering out at work
+6 mos AmEX Blue cash 100 after 500 Keep, basically SD opening for potential MSD
+6 mos Freedom 100 after 500 15mos 0% Keep
+1 yr BAR Sallie 25 1st Keep
+1yr Citi DC N/A Keep
This seems to fill all my catagories and should give me some util padding if I want to take advantage of 0% time to pay things off. Suggestions comments concerns? And yes I know I could probablygo a bit quicker, but this would seem to me to be a good logical plan to space out 0 percent times, spending etc. This really feels like about 2 too many (yeah nixon I know 12 too few) cards.
Holes:
Applying for the CSP just for the statement credit seems like a bad idea unless you are willing to consider either keeping it and paying the AF or closing it all together after the free year. The reason is that while downgrading to no AF Sapphire is possible right now, it will most likely not be there forever.
BoA 1-2-3: Convert to Travel Rewards if you want a no FTF EMV Chip card. Otherwise close, unless you are keeping it for the gas. If you are, look into one of the 5% Cashback cards on gas (PenFed etc..)
They will still have the option of transferring the credit limit from the csp to the freedom.
It might be worth applying for a US Bank Cash+ card once you have a few cards with $5000 credit limits. 5% fast food (capped spending) + 2% restaurants uncapped isn't a bad fall-back card when the upromise doesn't work at certain restaurants. Or one of these as backup:
Leave it to the man who can to poke a great hole!!
with charts no less!!
Starting Score : 575 May, 2013
@Themanwhocan wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I have been working on a long term credit card plan. This is the best I could come up with. Critiques would be appreciated. I am currently in the process of buying a home, so everything is based off of the closing date on the house. I dont plan a big spree, my idea is to spread out bonuses and 0 percent offers so I can furnish the house and do what I want to it over time. After closing I will have significant rreserves for that purpose. I realize using the 40k bonus on the CSP as cash back is not the best use of the points, but it basically amounts to 10 percent off of the first 4k in furnisings I buy. I don't really travel on my own dime, so it makes sense to me to use it that way. Many people don't like the Upromise, but in my area many restaurants offer the 4% CB, and we regularly order 600 plus dollars of food from those restaurants /week at work. I can run 30k a year thru it that way and get cash from the others ordering (BONUS). My personal regular spend is relatively low, but with 0 percent offers and furnishing a house having a bit of padding for util makes sense. I honestly cant see myself using the AmEX basically at all, but I figure I may as well establish a MSD in case they do issue a card I am interested in. My scores in my sig are current as of today.
Date Card Bonus Plan
Current Discover N/A Keep
Current BOA 1-2-3 N/A Keep
Current US BANK Harley N/A Most likely close, possible PC
Current First Progress Sec N/A Close
Current Cap1 Sec N/A Close
Closing day CSP 40k miles after 4k Downgrade to saph after free year
Closing day BAR Upromise 50 after 500 Keep, basically use for ordering out at work
+6 mos AmEX Blue cash 100 after 500 Keep, basically SD opening for potential MSD
+6 mos Freedom 100 after 500 15mos 0% Keep
+1 yr BAR Sallie 25 1st Keep
+1yr Citi DC N/A Keep
This seems to fill all my catagories and should give me some util padding if I want to take advantage of 0% time to pay things off. Suggestions comments concerns? And yes I know I could probablygo a bit quicker, but this would seem to me to be a good logical plan to space out 0 percent times, spending etc. This really feels like about 2 too many (yeah nixon I know 12 too few) cards.
Holes:
Applying for the CSP just for the statement credit seems like a bad idea unless you are willing to consider either keeping it and paying the AF or closing it all together after the free year. The reason is that while downgrading to no AF Sapphire is possible right now, it will most likely not be there forever.
BoA 1-2-3: Convert to Travel Rewards if you want a no FTF EMV Chip card. Otherwise close, unless you are keeping it for the gas. If you are, look into one of the 5% Cashback cards on gas (PenFed etc..)
They will still have the option of transferring the credit limit from the csp to the freedom.
It might be worth applying for a US Bank Cash+ card once you have a few cards with $5000 credit limits. 5% fast food (capped spending) + 2% restaurants uncapped isn't a bad fall-back card when the upromise doesn't work at certain restaurants. Or one of these as backup:
Your charts are basically what built my plan! Gas is basically an irrelevant category for me. Literally less than 25 dollars a month at 2 bucks a gallon. My last oil change was 3 months ago and I have less than 1k miles since then. 
The BOA will do the trick for the year I wait for sallie. The CSP is basically my ticket to higher limits, its sitting in my preapproved list at the moment. IF a downgrade is not possible in 12 months, I will simply shift line to the freedom and close it. One less card ( I know around here its sort of heresy) wouldnot bother me at all. If they will let me I would probably PC the BOA to BBR (limited successes being reported on this ATM). FTF card is not terribly important, the last 2 times I have been out of the country I believe I personally spent a combined total of 800 euro.