@icyhot wrote:
Citi Forward- very first card, needed a new laptop in college and my mom said to get a credit card and she would pay the bill. It was my only CC for a long time and got me through it as a youngster
Delta Amex- heard about this on CK and MF forums. Heard it was "easy" to get and I wanted my first Amex. I've found it very useful as I fly to New York a lot and that's the airport of choice
QS- I originally had the VentureOne and liked that it was a no frills travel card. However learned from MF that the earning rates were better elsewhere so I PCd to QS and apped for a Venture
BofA cash- this one is my BABY! I got a mailer for a rebuilder card (not secured, but rebuilder) from BOFA and my mom told me they were a good bank to be with. As my credit and income got better, it grew from a $500 no rewards card to an $8000 cash rewards card in 8 months
CSP- Chase ALWAYS had attractive cards to me but they NEVER approved me for anything. Freedom, Slate, Amazon, SWRR, Marriott, all those, nothing. I had heard about the CSP from MF and loved the transfer partners but I looked away in awe. It seemed like a card for the elite. One day I just said, yanno what, why not? I been rejected for everything else. I actually got approved and was amazed. Glad I did cuz it was literally a week before 5/24 came into effect
Spark- wanted a business card cuz I have a side biz. Things like Google, mailing, business cards etc go here
Citi AA- I think this was my first "elite" card and I was souped when I got it. Didn't realize the Gold would be a waste but I think I apped just because I wasn't sure I'd get the Platinum Select. May be closing an moving some of the CL soon to Forward
NCSECU- has a low rate just in case I ever need one
PRG- my new best friend. I can't wait to get the bonus and use the travel transfers and having NPSL helps me manage my spending
Why dont u request a CLI on ur forward? Have you considered any other TYP earning cards?
6/13Care Credit - this was my very first card. had a huge bill at the dentist, also bailed out a few family members with this one. This card is actually a joint account with my partner. What doesn't make sense to me is, the only way u can make this 2 separate accounts, you have to close it, then reopen. Ok... but you have to wait a year from when you close a synch card to be eligible to reopen it I thought?
4/14Buckle - They started me off with $500 it was a proud moment getting approved with them. I think I may close it. I dunno I get free coupons at least.
9/14Commerce Bank - This was the bank sent me a prequalified offer, at the time I only had a credit one card with $500 limit. I couldnt believe the terms said min credit limit $1k, and they issued me $2k! They have grown nicely with me over time. Weird bank though! They pay points on interest charges...and make CLI's extremely difficult.
12/14Cap1 QS VS - this card is a joke. It was like pulling teeth to get it to this limit. No working with me on the 25.24% APR. This card will be going bye bye if no APR reduction by 12/2016. Cap1 SUCKS unless you are just starting out with nowhere else to go (although u would be better off with discover secure, boa secured, at least those grow with u over time) HOWEVER at least cap1 does call u back and honor your limit no matter what...
4/15Amazon PLCC - this is the card to blame all of the below cards on lol. They started me off at $850 and in 60 days got to its current limit. I will never forget this moment.
5/15Sam's PLCC - I was disappointed that I was not approved for the MC. I played my cards right, I knew I had history with synch bank and my chances were good. Initial limit $1200, got to its current limit in 90 days. Hoping for an MC upgrade on this one.
5/15AMEX ED - this is where I started getting cocky. I only applied for this one because credit karma said my odds were Very Good. And indeed they were! A 5k starting limit.
7/15AMEX PRG -these other two cards I did the following month of first amex approval. I knew in my eyes amex liked me or else they would not have issued me a 5k starting limit (not that its huge or folks dont get way more, I had just seen more 1-2k limits). decent sign on bonus as well, and is my most used card.
7/15 8.49% AMEX Delta Gold , - proof of amex at least trying, this card gets apr reductions all the time. I am excited for the summer when my ED is out of a promo to go for an APR reduction. I may be converting to the EDP and ditching the PRG but that is highly unlikely. I should have done my research because I only got the 30k $50 bonus on this card....and had I waited I could have 50/60. It did save me an inquiry though.
7/15 Citi DoubleCash - I got this one on a whim, I blame the forum if anything, jk jk. Lots of folks seemed to be using this card, and I kept getting crazy offers from chase that year. I remembered seeing 22.9% 0 for 9 months on a Diamond Preferred, then started seeing 0 for 12, then 19%.... then I saw 0 for 15 on a DC then 19.99%....then presto chango 0 for 21 then 12.99% on simplicity and 0 for 18 then 13.99 on DC. I snagged it up right away! Their cash back deposits very quickly into my checking which is nice. They are weird with limits on these cards though. I have one SP CLI. I am going to hope for a 5k+ limit soon and if not I'm taking the HP.
7/15 Chase IHG WMC - this was app'd for immediately post DC approval. Also appd for hyatt. What a joke that was. Denied on both. Took 4-6 recon calls just to get the IHG approved but I did it. Now we know had I just let it be it probably would have approved both!
9/15 BOA Amtrak WMC - my most difficult approval of them all. Started at their highest APR tier of 22.9%, which ended up being 23.24 post fed increase. I got this card in september, and I had to get a joint applicant to even get this card approved. But whatever I did must have worked because they gave me an APR reduction of 3% and also a huge CLI when the account was barely 4 months old. And its in the process of being converted into just my name only. Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10/15 Lenovo Preferred - this was done very late at night. Folks were talking about this one, with no HP and I impulse app'd. This is the only time I have ever really applied without thinking too much about it. I have to say this card was very appealing at first but they do not have the best pricing for Thinkpads....I would be better off earning rewards on another card then using this garbage. One day I might get desperate for a computer that costs more than $99 so I have this to use in case.
10/15 2.9% CU Visa- My bank offered me this so I took it. It also functions as a line of credit. Glad I got this one.
10 new accounts in the last year. I think that is pretty extreme but there are folks that have opened way more! Now I have focused more on helping others get their credit in order, and the high I get from it, is actually the same! In the interim I just work on CLI's and APR reductions. And if I get them some decent sign on bonuses I usually will get a free dinner or two, or sometimes even a free trip if we are talking multiple bonuses for one person! :-) :-)
I have even lately tried to shift away more from adding cards and bonuses to helping folks cosolidate their debt, snowball pay off cards, etc. I always encourage folks to look into credit unions. But BEWARE. Even credit unions can be VERY VERY SHADY. I have been to quite a few credit unions where they don't know any better and suggest folks consolidate their credit card debt with home equity loans. That is NOT a wise idea unless u have high income and its a quick way to save interest. There are FAR FAR FAR better, easier, and less risky ways to do this. I just was devastated to see a place with a 8% visa encourage this bad behavior. Weird!
In the last year, I have learned that Bank of America is by far the best bank and my favorite card. I think every app spree I have done with family and friends has included at least one card from them. I think that American Express has really went down the drain in the last year though. I am not so sure I would have even applied with them had I known all of this was going to happen to them. Alas at least they do not cap1 me and reduce my APR. Citi is the best with their citigold promos, and they are really doing a fine job of improving their site and appearance. And let us not forget Discover! I and honored that my partner has a Discover IT and they have the best customer service and deals. Seriously. Adding 12 months no interest, BT offers constantly, and also them doing APR reductions even whilst amidst a promo, ya cant beat that. I dont think any other banks even do that! For sure the top two cards right now on my radar for folks are the Discover IT Miles 3% then PC to categories, and the $200 AARP promo.
I also will say its not really a must to open a new card for a BT offer. If you are careful with your money handling you will always get BT offers from Disco, BOA, Citi. Keep a 0 BT fee card in your arsenal so you can always move money away and back to a card should you beging accruing interest but it also has a BT offer on it. The debt shuffle is my favorite move!
