Need advice with credit cards for credit score

[Anonymous]

Hello guys,

I've been a permenant resident in the US for over 1 year.

I've started with the BoA secured credit card that was converted to unsecured just now with 1.8k credit line.

My current credit score is ~740 as I've been paying everything on time.

I'm wondering what is be best course of action to get my credit score higher.

I'm not a big spender (expecting ~$300 avarage on the card).

I want to apply for the Discover card as thier Amazon cashback and black friday price match appeals to me.

Also, I'm wondering if I should apply for the bankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Card?

If so, Should I conver my current BoA card to this? or get an additional one? (I rather have as less cards as possible)

If I convert my current one would the card history remain? (I know it is very important to keep th oldest card - as this has big impact on the credit score)

Another question -  Does higher credit line nesserally mean higher credit line on the long run? Even for someone how is not a big spender?

Thanks , any advice would be much appriciated!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello guys,

I've been a permenant resident in the US for over 1 year.

I've started with the BoA secured credit card that was converted to unsecured just now with 1.8k credit line.

My current credit score is ~740 as I've been paying everything on time.

I'm wondering what is be best course of action to get my credit score higher.

I'm not a big spender (expecting ~$300 avarage on the card).

I want to apply for the Discover card as thier Amazon cashback and black friday price match appeals to me.

Also, I'm wondering if I should apply for the bankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Card?

If so, Should I conver my current BoA card to this? or get an additional one? (I rather have as less cards as possible)

If I convert my current one would the card history remain? (I know it is very important to keep th oldest card - as this has big impact on the credit score)

Another question -  Does higher credit line nesserally mean higher credit line on the long run? Even for someone how is not a big spender?

Thanks , any advice would be much appriciated!

---

I cant really instruct you on when to apply, but I would say unless you spend a lot and bank exclusively with BOA, the cash rewardscard is not that great. You would be better off applying for a better balance rewards as it pays you 100-120 a year.

discover cash back should not be used on amazon. it is a waste. you can get twice the value on car rentals or gift card specials. amazon maybe a one time deal if they gave you a little extra.  now discover earning cash back at amazon would be great and I think thats what you are talking about.

my advice would be to take things slow. ideally you want to have 3 credit cards and only carry a small balance on one card. if you have a debit card do not use this unless you have to. run everything through the credit card and pay off weekly if you have to.

figure out what cards mest match your spending to make you the most money. for me, its a 2% card for general spend, MR points on groceries, restaurants, and gas, and using partners discover as needed.

you should list your three ficos if possible, your average age of accounts (assuming it will be 1 year?), and number of inquiries, assuming it will be 1 also

[ddemari]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello guys,

I've been a permenant resident in the US for over 1 year.

I've started with the BoA secured credit card that was converted to unsecured just now with 1.8k credit line.

My current credit score is ~740 as I've been paying everything on time.

I'm wondering what is be best course of action to get my credit score higher.

I'm not a big spender (expecting ~$300 avarage on the card).

I want to apply for the Discover card as thier Amazon cashback and black friday price match appeals to me.

Also, I'm wondering if I should apply for the bankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Card?

If so, Should I conver my current BoA card to this? or get an additional one? (I rather have as less cards as possible)

If I convert my current one would the card history remain? (I know it is very important to keep th oldest card - as this has big impact on the credit score)

Another question -  Does higher credit line nesserally mean higher credit line on the long run? Even for someone how is not a big spender?

Thanks , any advice would be much appriciated!

---

Your credit score is very, very good! congrats on that! 

1- definitely call boa and ask them to add cash rewards to your credit card. they will. also, ask them if they have any soft pull credit limit increase offers for you, they have been giving out a lot of soft pulls recently. 

2- your boa card will keep the history with cash rewards added to it 

3- higher credit lines definitely help your chaces of getting approved forhigher credit lines in the future. 

4- with your scores and 1 year of history, you are pretty much a great customer for a lot of cards out there! 

5- income does matter, keep that in mind with approvals and limits. 

good luck and excellent work! 

[newhis]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello guys,

I've been a permenant resident in the US for over 1 year.

I've started with the BoA secured credit card that was converted to unsecured just now with 1.8k credit line.

My current credit score is ~740 as I've been paying everything on time.

I'm wondering what is be best course of action to get my credit score higher.

I'm not a big spender (expecting ~$300 avarage on the card).

I want to apply for the Discover card as thier Amazon cashback and black friday price match appeals to me.

Also, I'm wondering if I should apply for the bankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Card?

If so, Should I conver my current BoA card to this? or get an additional one? (I rather have as less cards as possible)

If I convert my current one would the card history remain? (I know it is very important to keep th oldest card - as this has big impact on the credit score)

Another question -  Does higher credit line nesserally mean higher credit line on the long run? Even for someone how is not a big spender?

Thanks , any advice would be much appriciated!

---

So you only have 1 card?

I will say:

- PC your regular card to Cash Rewards, is not the best card but something is better than nothing. After you get your card, call the back door number and ask for APR reduction and remove the AF

- go for Discover, use it for 5% categories

- go for Amex with no AF, the limit can grow, so down the road you could get better cards, check the pre-qual site

Because you don't want a lot of cards, then just keep 3. Keep paying on time and your score will slowly go up. My DW is reaching 760 after 1.5 years credit history. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the invormative advice!

Few follow up questions:

1. What does PC stand for? ( excuse me for my ignorance ) 

2. If I apply for the cash rewards on-line will my BoA card keep the history? or should I explicitly ask for the cash rewards to be added to my CURRENT card? Do they send me a new card instead of my current one? (I'm affraid to lose my current card history, as it is my first and oldest one)

3. Should I ask for a credit line increase for that card (1.8K currently)? will that help help for credit score in the long run even that I'm not a big spender?

4. newhis, recommended to get a no AF AMEX, I saw there are a few options. which would be the best for my situation?

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the informative advice!

Few follow up questions:

1. What does PC stand for? (excuse me for my ignorance  )

2. Can I apply for the cash rewards on-line? If I do so, will that keep my current card history? Will they send me a new card instead of my current one? or should I explicitly ask to add cash rewards to my current card? (I'm worried about losing my current card history as this is my first and oldest card)

3. Should I also ask for a credit line increase (Currently 1.8K)? will that help my credit score in the long run even if I'm not a big spender?

4. newhis recommended to apply for no AF AMEX card. I saw that there are few options with AMEX cards. what would be the recommended card to apply for in my situation?

Thanks again, your advice is much appreciated!

[coldnmn]

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/m-p/88458

[Anonymous]

Thank you.

I'm still unclear about how I should apply for the cash rewards PC. 

if I apply online would that be cosidered as Product Change on the same card and my card history will be kept (which is what I want)? Fo they send a new card with the same number to replace the current one?

[Anonymous]

PC means product change.   Changing an account from one card to another.  In your case it would be changing from the secured card to the unsecured rewards card.

If you apply for the cash rewards card online it would NOT be a product change, it would be an entirely new account, so you would still have your secured card AND the new cash rewards card.   What you should do first is call BOA and see if they will upgrade your secured card to the cash rewards card that way you will keep the history.   (Product Change)

[Anonymous]

So I've called BofA to ask whether Cash Rewards can be applied to my current card, and the answer was no

The representative told me that I'm eligible for cash rewards but they will need to send me a new card with a new number - and I'm not interested in that.

Is there any way to workaround this? I don't want to have a card I'm not using (I'll need to keep my current card to keep my credit history), and the cash rewards program seems tempting ...