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Happy Thanksgiving everyone. In the spirit of that I want to thank all of you for the advice and information I've gotten from this forum during my credit journey. This forum really helped me undestand how things work! Thank you.
I got hired by my US employer in August 2014, and moved to the US in October. At that time I had no credit history in the US at all--a good set of Canadian credit cards and a morgage, but nothing in the US. So I was starting out from zero here.
Aug 2014 - RBC Visa Card, applied while in Canada, US subsidiary of my Canadian bank -- my first and oldest US credit card
Nov 2014 - Amex Blue Cash Everyday, via the Amex Global Transfer program, moved my Cdn Amex to the USA -- I *love* Amex for this
Nov 2014 - Bank of America, Cash Rewards (since PC'd to Travel) -- went to the branch associated with my employer, showed my offer letter - no US credit history!
Nov 2014 - First BIG MISTAKE -- got over confident after the above, applied for a Chase card before I even had a FICO. HP -> DECLINED. Ouch.
Jan 2015 - First Tech CU, Rewards Visa, a CU associated with my employer -- I regret this one, NEVER use it.
Apr 2015 - Amex PRG - my first actual app based on my credit score, finally something approved based on my own history!
Apr 2015 - Amazon Store Card - applied after Amex PRG approved - gaining confidence!
-- long stretch in the garden --
Nov 2015 - BECU Personal Line of Credit - I base my entire approach to banking on having a PLOC backstopping my checking account, finally safe from any NSF!
Nov 2015 - Discover Travel 1.5 miles card - I travel to China, these guys are the only US issuer that integrates with China's Union Pay. Yay!
Nov 2015 - CITI Double Cash - applied today - going to use this in place of my BoA
And I'm done. From here on in I will only be doing CLI's and ***closing*** accounts. I'll close two: The RBC Visa and the Amex PRG. The RBC Visa is really not a good card, it was a great way to kick start my credit history but I will NEVER use it again, and at this point it's only 4 months older than the BCE which I will keep for life. The Amex PRG is a nice card, but when the annual fee comes due I will close it rather than pay. That FirstTech visa that I never use will eventually change to a MasterCard (they are migrating from Visa to MC) so I will keep it just in case I ever shop somewhere that only takes MC, otherwise, I'll never use it.
And with that... I'm done! I will emerge partly from the garden periodically to try CLI's on my cards at every 6 month interval, which I understand for the CITI may sometimes generate a HP, otherwise, I'm just sitting in the garden from here on in. No mortgage app for the near future--we already own a home in Canada (now rented out) with a mortgage that will be paid off in 2 years. We have decided to wait and pay that off before applying for a new mortgage, so for the next 2 years I am in the garden!
And again thank you everyone for all the advice and information I've gotten, it really helped me plan my moves and get set up with the right cards.
Congrats on your awesome successes, my friend!
We can hang out in the garden together... I hear they have a bar - first round's on me!