Should I apply? Amex Blue Cash Preferred w/ 750 CS?

[Anonymous]

Hi Folks, I'm new to the forums but have been poking around for quite a while. I am looking to add a credit card to my wallet just because the card I've hard for the past 3 years doesn't provide the rewards I am looking for. I currently have a Discover "Open Road" credit card with a $4,200 CL. It has no balance as I pay it off every month. I have never missed a payment on anything in my life (knock on wood) and have a FICO score of 753 according to my Discover Statement. I've had this card since January 2011 and it is my only Credit Card. My gross income is 60,000 per year as well. I am hoping to have about a $8-10k credit limit so I can charge my monthly expenditures to the card and gain all the rewards possible without going over the 30% credit utilization. 

My secondary concern is around the fact that it is a American Express card and quite a few merchants in my area don't accept the card. The only other card that has sparked my interest is the Chase Slate card but that doesn't have creat reviews. Any other thoughts? 

Any opinions are greatly appreciated so please, share away!

[mongstradamus]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi Folks, I'm new to the forums but have been poking around for quite a while. I am looking to add a credit card to my wallet just because the card I've hard for the past 3 years doesn't provide the rewards I am looking for. I currently have a Discover "Open Road" credit card with a $4,200 CL. It has no balance as I pay it off every month. I have never missed a payment on anything in my life (knock on wood) and have a FICO score of 753 according to my Discover Statement. I've had this card since January 2011 and it is my only Credit Card. My gross income is 60,000 per year as well. I am hoping to have about a $8-10k credit limit so I can charge my monthly expenditures to the card and gain all the rewards possible without going over the 30% credit utilization. 

My secondary concern is around the fact that it is a American Express card and quite a few merchants in my area don't accept the card. The only other card that has sparked my interest is the Chase Slate card but that doesn't have creat reviews. Any other thoughts? 

Any opinions are greatly appreciated so please, share away!

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If you are getting card just for gas and groceries. i think getting an sallie mae is better in almost every way. I am actually going to downgrade my BCP to BCE and pick up sallie mae in October. 

[TheFate]

Amex Blue Cash from what I hear is a great card!

Have you thought about a Chase Freedom?

[Anonymous]

I have heard of it but I never did any research on it. I'll go take a look now, thanks! 

[MT936]

I got my amex blue cash everyday last year at age 20 with a fico score of 730 so you should be good. It was my first amex too (no prior history with amex) and they still approved me with a $4000 limit

[Creditaddict]

Since you only have 1 card I would suggest actually picking up 2-3 so here you go in order:

American Express BCP as you originally wanted

Chase Freedom as it will be good filler during the 5% to go along with your Discover

Barclay Sallie Mae - Great when Amex not accepted.

[eagle2013]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi Folks, I'm new to the forums but have been poking around for quite a while. I am looking to add a credit card to my wallet just because the card I've hard for the past 3 years doesn't provide the rewards I am looking for. I currently have a Discover "Open Road" credit card with a $4,200 CL. It has no balance as I pay it off every month. I have never missed a payment on anything in my life (knock on wood) and have a FICO score of 753 according to my Discover Statement. I've had this card since January 2011 and it is my only Credit Card. My gross income is 60,000 per year as well. I am hoping to have about a $8-10k credit limit so I can charge my monthly expenditures to the card and gain all the rewards possible without going over the 30% credit utilization. 

My secondary concern is around the fact that it is a American Express card and quite a few merchants in my area don't accept the card. The only other card that has sparked my interest is the Chase Slate card but that doesn't have creat reviews. Any other thoughts? 

Any opinions are greatly appreciated so please, share away!

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Welcome to the forum! We need a bit more information in order to give you the best recommendation. What is your average monthly spend in stand-alone grocery stores (i.e., Safeway, Whole Foods, etc), dining and gas? Addtional monthly expenditures? How much do you travel, if any? Either way, you would need at least two more cards to maximize your FiCO scores. Without knowing your spend, off of the top of my head my suggestions would be:

Sallie Mae WMC (5% Gas/Groceries up to $250, 5% Amazon up to $750)

AMEX Everyday (2X membership rewards [MR] points on grocery stores, 20% MR bonus with 20 monthly transactions; Lock in member since date for future backdating)

US Bank Cash + (5% on categories of your choosing)

[-Cal-]

You should be g2g on the BCP. Also consider a PC to a Discover with rewards.

[TheFate]

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@Creditaddict wrote:

Since you only have 1 card I would suggest actually picking up 2-3 so here you go in order:

American Express BCP as you originally wanted

Chase Freedom as it will be good filler during the 5% to go along with your Discover

Barclay Sallie Mae - Great when Amex not accepted.

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Great suggestions!

Those are the exact same cards I'll be going for come Jan. With the exception of Sallie Mae for Discover IT but I'm thinking I might change that as I'm hearing great things about Sallie Mae

[Anonymous]

Well folks, I did a lot of research on the other cards out there but I still think the BCP is going to be the best card for me. My only concern is rather or not the merchants I shop at will accept the card. 

One more question for you though. What is the common AMEX starting CL for a person in my shoes. My current card has a $4,300 credit limit but I've never asked for a increase before. I would like to hae the card start at about $8k so I can charge all my monthly expenses to it without going over the 30% utilization figure.