Second Card for DW?

[SevenNEW]

I am looking for a second card for DW.

She has:

- Cap 1 platinum MC (3/2009 - CL 1,500 bal. $ 0)
- Cap 1 platinum MC AU (8/2008 - CL $ 2,750 bal. $ 0)
- Amex BCP AU (8/2011 - CL 12k bal. $ 425)
(She also has an Amex business card, which does not report)

Recent scores are good - EQ 743 and TU 751. No baddies or lates. AAoA is around 2 years, oldest TL 3 years.

We would like a Visa (preferably) or MC, no AF, a decent cash back. Possibly something whose rotating categories did not match my Chase Freedom.

I have looked at citi dividend and forward, BoA Visa Cash Back, and others, but cannot quite decide.

Thank you for your suggestions!

[bichonmom]

Have you looked into USAA? Even as a ltd member, you can get a CC. 

Another one to consider is PenFed, which you would need to join by joining a qualifying organization first. 

If you qualify via military, NFCU is good as well. 

You could also look into a local CU.

Beyond that, you're looking at Chase, Citi, B of A, primarily.

[KLGFCG]

What are her spending habits?

[SevenNEW]

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@KLGFCG wrote:

What are her spending habits?

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Good questions. She would use this as an alternative to our main card, Amex BCP, which we use mostly for groceries.

She does not do a lot of restaurants. I suppose it would be mostly gas and local shops...

[KLGFCG]

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@SevenNEW wrote:

Good questions. She would use this as an alternative to our main card, Amex BCP, which we use mostly for groceries.

She does not do a lot of restaurants. I suppose it would be mostly gas and local shops...

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Hmm, given that, I'd normally recommend Chase Freedom (6 mos. of 5% on gas in 2012, plus there are $300 bonus offers out there for new applicants!), but it sounds like you already have that one.

Citi Forward (5% on restaurants and entertainment, 1% on everything else) probably isn't a good fit.

You could wait and see if Citi Dividend's (or Discover More's, but sounds like you're not looking for a Discover card) rotating categories would fit her needs and complement your other cards.

Another option would be BofA 1,2,3 rewards which is a consistent 3% on gas (2% on groceries, 1% on everything else), but doesn't your BCP already beat that?

For non-category rewards, I think Fidelity might have a VISA that offers 2% on everything, but I'm not very familiar with the particulars there. Capital One's Cash Rewards (it's one of their prime cards) also effectively offers 1.5% on everything, though you only get 1% upfront then you receive an annual bonus of 50% of the total rewards earned throughout the year.  

Hopefully other members will chime in with more responses. It seems like you've got a lot of your bases covered already, so finding the right card to maximize the benefits for your wife is stumping me a little!

[Anonymous]

She looks like a good candidate for Penfed. Her scores are great and they seem to like thin, clean files. The Cash Rewards card gives 5% on gas and 1% on everything else.  Plus it  could be valuable to establish a relationship with them now if she might be interested in their other products in the future, Auto Loan, Loc, ect.

[KLGFCG]

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@Anonymous wrote:

She looks like a good candidate for Penfed. Her scores are great and they seem to like thin, clean files. The Cash Rewards card gives 5% on gas and 1% on everything else.  Plus it  could be valuable to establish a relationship with them now if she might be interested in their other products in the future, Auto Loan, Loc, ect.

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I've never been clear on this... to get Penfed's VISA, do you need to do any banking with Penfed, or can you just pay your membership to a qualifying organization, join Penfed, and get the card?

[Anonymous]

The opening of at least a share account is required to join - $5 minimum deposit or something like that.  Then it it possible to apply for a card right away. If I'm not mistaken, they will use the same credit pull that was used for membership.

[SevenNEW]

Thank you all for your advice! In the end, we decided that the best option would be the BoA 1-2-3. (There would be membership problems with PenFed because she is not yet a citizen). She applied and was approved with a CL of 25k, if I did heard well. Another MyFico success story!!

[Anonymous]

Wow, Great choice and great CL!  Congrats!!