@Anonymous wrote:
Generous CLI
You can't rely solely on the card for this. While the creditor does determine the underwriting criteiria for its products that's just half of the equation. Your credit profile and income will determine what you qualify for.
@Anonymous wrote:
No Annual Fee
Don't consider AF on its own. Consider total cost/benefit.
What purpose is this card going to serve in your lineup? What's lacking with your current lineup? You've listed desirable traits but it's not clear what you specifically need/want from a new card. It sounds like you're just looking to get a new card. You've posted a list and that does narrow down the options somewhat but a better list of specific needs/wants will really help to narrow it down.
@Anonymous wrote:
My balance on my Amex is around $4.5K, will have it paid around middle of July hopefully. I pay more than minimum required, and my 0% APR expires in September this year.
The minimum doesn't matter aside from being the least that you have to pay to avoid going late. When your profile is assessed it's the revolving utilization that will matter and creditors will not be able to see that there is a 0% promo on the card. You can confirm yourself by looking at your own reports.
@Anonymous wrote:
I also have a chase freedom Card applied and approved in June 2014, so I only have 4 credit cards.
2-3 are generally advised for scoring purposes. Why do you need/want more? It seems like you're fixated on number of cards. IMO you should start with needs/wants to find specific products that suit you. You have to determine the gap that exists in your wallet and gap isn't about number of cards but a specific purpose that isn't being served by any of your current cards. Don't just app to collect cards.
If rewards do not matter then why do you have a card with 5% rotating categories? Just trying to get a better understanding of your overall strategy as there doesn't seem to be one to me currently. If you have clearly determined your needs/wants you should have exactly what you need to select a new card. However, it seems like you just want a new card and you're trying to justify it. Ultimately, how you appoach it is your call to make though.
@Anonymous wrote:
Should I also wait until I can lower my balance more from Amex? Util seems to be currently around 18%.
Lower is generally better but you have to determine how much gain there is to be had by dropping your revolving utilization from 18%. Keep in mind that the general advice to optimize when applying for new credit is to allow only one balance to report with very low revolving utilization. I would expect a bit of a gain from 18% to 1% but I can tell you number of points which would depend a bit on your profile and the scoring model as well.
