topic Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding? in Credit Card Approvals

Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

gamegrrl — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:17:51 GMT

With the help of myFICO over the years, I finally settled into a comfy spot a couple of years ago. Scores all between 811 and 830. Use my primary credit card for every possible purchase (NFCU $40k limit, 1.5% cash back) and pay it off in full every month. Auto loans paid off. Student loans gone. I do have a HELOC that some of the CRAs see as "revolving credit", but I stopped using those funds several years ago and converted the balance to a fixed interest, fixed payment kind of thing. I'm hoping that once the draw period ends in March, the "revolving credit" aspect of the account will change and it will be viewed differently by the CRAs.

Anyway, I don't open a lot of new accounts. I have a great relationship with NFCU, and they had a $150 Cash Bonus offer in May and I took advantage of it, partly for the cash and partly because I had no Mastercards, just Visas. That is the one inquiry on my credit report.

I am retired due to health issues. My husband is of retirement age, but had to give up his job due to COVID. We are fairly healthy financially and have no large purchases (remodeling, autos, etc) planned.

Today I got an email from Capital One for a $200 cash bonus if I get a Quicksilver card. I no longer have any Capital One cards. I have no store cards. I only have bank-issued cards and an Amex card.

Here is the offer:

A 0% intro APR for the first 15 months on all purchases, 15.49%–25.49% variable APR after that
Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day
A $200 one-time cash bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening*
No annual fee
No foreign transaction fees

I already have the $500 purchase planned: I'm getting my husband an Xbox Series X when it's released in a couple of weeks. Purchase price: $500. Between the 1.5% cash back and the $200 cash bonus, I would end up being $292.50 out-of--pocket for the Xbox.

Given all the parameters, is this worth the ding? Coming from a history of being severely credit-damaged has left a mark on me. I worked very hard to change my habits and my mindset, to the point that I fear the slippery slope maybe more than I should.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

randomguy1 — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 17:06:21 GMT

@gamegrrl wrote:

I am retired due to health issues. My husband is of retirement age, but had to give up his job due to COVID. We are fairly healthy financially and have no large purchases (remodeling, autos, etc) planned.
Given all the parameters, is this worth the ding? Coming from a history of being severely credit-damaged has left a mark on me. I worked very hard to change my habits and my mindset, to the point that I fear the slippery slope maybe more than I should.

Ultimately, this is a subjective decision. To some a hard pull (1 on each credit bureau in this case for Capital One) isn't worth it. In light of your retirement, financial status, and no large purchases planned, I say go for it. Also, your FICO score is high enough it will not affect you in the event you need more credit in the near future.

Personally, I would look into other offers. Chase's Freedom Unlimited by far beats this with the exception there are foreign transction fees. If you don't care about that, I would rather have their offering. Chase typically does one pull on Experian and sometimes another pull on one of the other credit bureaus (vs one on each for Capital One).

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/freedom-unlimited/FUN2020?CELL=6PH2

EARN $200

Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.same page link to offer details*

PLUS 5% CASH BACK

GROCERY STORE OFFER

Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases)same page link to offer details* on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.same page link to offer details*

This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

LOW INTRO APR

0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases.same page link to pricing and terms reference† After that, 14.99% – 23.74% variable APR.same page link to pricing and terms reference†

on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®same page link to offer details*

on drugstore purchasessame page link to offer details*

on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery servicessame page link to offer details*

1.5%

on all other purchases.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

SouthJamaica — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 18:21:04 GMT

@gamegrrl wrote:
With the help of myFICO over the years, I finally settled into a comfy spot a couple of years ago. Scores all between 811 and 830. Use my primary credit card for every possible purchase (NFCU $40k limit, 1.5% cash back) and pay it off in full every month. Auto loans paid off. Student loans gone. I do have a HELOC that some of the CRAs see as "revolving credit", but I stopped using those funds several years ago and converted the balance to a fixed interest, fixed payment kind of thing. I'm hoping that once the draw period ends in March, the "revolving credit" aspect of the account will change and it will be viewed differently by the CRAs.

Anyway, I don't open a lot of new accounts. I have a great relationship with NFCU, and they had a $150 Cash Bonus offer in May and I took advantage of it, partly for the cash and partly because I had no Mastercards, just Visas. That is the one inquiry on my credit report.

I am retired due to health issues. My husband is of retirement age, but had to give up his job due to COVID. We are fairly healthy financially and have no large purchases (remodeling, autos, etc) planned.

Today I got an email from Capital One for a $200 cash bonus if I get a Quicksilver card. I no longer have any Capital One cards. I have no store cards. I only have bank-issued cards and an Amex card.

Here is the offer:
A 0% intro APR for the first 15 months on all purchases, 15.49%–25.49% variable APR after that
Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day
A $200 one-time cash bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening*
No annual fee
No foreign transaction fees
I already have the $500 purchase planned: I'm getting my husband an Xbox Series X when it's released in a couple of weeks. Purchase price: $500. Between the 1.5% cash back and the $200 cash bonus, I would end up being $292.50 out-of--pocket for the Xbox.

Given all the parameters, is this worth the ding? Coming from a history of being severely credit-damaged has left a mark on me. I worked very hard to change my habits and my mindset, to the point that I fear the slippery slope maybe more than I should.

In my opinion, no it isn't.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

gamegrrl — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 20:52:18 GMT

@randomguy1 wrote:
Personally, I would look into other offers. Chase's Freedom Unlimited by far beats this with the exception there are foreign transction fees. If you don't care about that, I would rather have their offering. Chase typically does one pull on Experian and sometimes another pull on one of the other credit bureaus (vs one on each for Capital One).

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/freedom-unlimited/FUN2020?CELL=6PH2

Thank you for the heads-up on the Chase cash bonus offer. We had a truck loan through Chase that we paid off early a few months ago, and I have an Amazon Prime card through Chase, both with perfect payment histories of course.

You've certainly given me something to think about!

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

Jordan23ww — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 21:11:44 GMT

@randomguy1 wrote:
@gamegrrl wrote:

I am retired due to health issues. My husband is of retirement age, but had to give up his job due to COVID. We are fairly healthy financially and have no large purchases (remodeling, autos, etc) planned.
Given all the parameters, is this worth the ding? Coming from a history of being severely credit-damaged has left a mark on me. I worked very hard to change my habits and my mindset, to the point that I fear the slippery slope maybe more than I should.

Ultimately, this is a subjective decision. To some a hard pull (1 on each credit bureau in this case for Capital One) isn't worth it. In light of your retirement, financial status, and no large purchases planned, I say go for it. Also, your FICO score is high enough it will not affect you in the event you need more credit in the near future.

Personally, I would look into other offers. Chase's Freedom Unlimited by far beats this with the exception there are foreign transction fees. If you don't care about that, I would rather have their offering. Chase typically does one pull on Experian and sometimes another pull on one of the other credit bureaus (vs one on each for Capital One).

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/freedom-unlimited/FUN2020?CELL=6PH2

EARN $200

Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.same page link to offer details*
PLUS 5% CASH BACK

GROCERY STORE OFFER
Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases)same page link to offer details* on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.same page link to offer details*
This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

LOW INTRO APR
0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases.same page link to pricing and terms reference† After that, 14.99% – 23.74% variable APR.same page link to pricing and terms reference†

5%
on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®same page link to offer details*

3%
on drugstore purchasessame page link to offer details*

3%
on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery servicessame page link to offer details*

1.5%
on all other purchases.

Piggy backing off of this reply, if the original poster did go with the Chase Freedom Flex or Unlimited they could go to the grocery store and buy a gift card to the store they plan to buy the Xbox from and get 5% back on that amount. That's what I did! I bought a Best Buy gift card from a grocery store using my Amex Blue Cash preferred and got back $29 off of the transaction.

Also for this last quarter Walmart and Pay Pal are also 5% back categories on the Freedom Flex. So that's another option if they want to purchase the Xbox from either Walmart or a place that takes Pay Pal.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

Andypanda — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 22:49:35 GMT

If it was me, i do not plan on getting a mortor auto loan in the next few years, so I would go for it. Finance 9ver FICO. Thatsthe whole point, I believe, in raising ones score befor a major loan.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

sxa001 — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:27:15 GMT

While some really do strive to have that 850 score and put in the time and effort to make that happen including being very very careful about what types of credit they apply for and I do not want to discount those opinons or the work that they put in, but the reality is once you are around 800 the occasional inquiry isn't going to hurt you, especially if you aren't planning to buy a house.

Now in this case, the card isn't worth the $200 bonus because I woudn't want to use the card after. But that is a personal opinion if it makes sense for your spend then sure but I agee with the other posters to look at CFF.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

gamegrrl — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:44:56 GMT

@sxa001 wrote:
While some really do strive to have that 850 score and put in the time and effort to make that happen including being very very careful about what types of credit they apply for and I do not want to discount those opinons or the work that they put in, but the reality is once you are around 800 the occasional inquiry isn't going to hurt you, especially if you aren't planning to buy a house.

Now in this case, the card isn't worth the $200 bonus because I woudn't want to use the card after. But that is a personal opinion if it makes sense for your spend then sure but I agee with the other posters to look at CFF.

This comment (bold, italic emphasis mine) really hit home. Honestly, I won't use the card again. I'm starting to think that getting another card JUST for the cash back is a bad idea for me.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 01:19:39 GMT

Getting the CapOne card just for the cash back isn't a great idea. You alrwsdy get 1.5% back on Navy, so it's a duplicate for rewards. The QS will cost you three HPs which may not matter, but it's a relatively weak card without much going for it, and CapOne isn't growing much at all these days - again, that may be irrelevant but any card I open, I'd want the ability to grow.

As stated above, the Chase card for the cash back would be worth more than the CapOne, as it has better incentives and categories that Navy doesn't cover in as high a value. I can see the value in getting that one for the Series X because you likely will be able to use it to your benefit much more easily.

Anymore I tend to see CapOne as a great way to start building or rebuilding credit, but beyond getting a foothold that allows approval of better cards, they're forgettable and more or less useless.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

gamegrrl — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 01:27:37 GMT

Yeah, the CapOne kind of squicked me out a bit, as I was so proud when I 'graduated' from them to bank cards. I was, frankly, not excited about getting a CapOne card, specifically.

The whole thing is about the $200 cash bonus anyway, so I'm looking at the Chase offer(s) and elsewhere to see what's out there while I decide if I want to do it.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

AllZero — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 01:36:09 GMT

If you are interested in SUB Sign Up Bonus, check DOC.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-current-credit-card-sign-bonuses

ETA It's not a complete list. It's missing a BoA Cash Rewards sub for $200. It's missing credit unions too.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

NoHardLimits — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 01:44:33 GMT

@gamegrrl wrote:
Yeah, the CapOne kind of squicked me out a bit, as I was so proud when I 'graduated' from them to bank cards. I was, frankly, not excited about getting a CapOne card, specifically.

The whole thing is about the $200 cash bonus anyway, so I'm looking at the Chase offer(s) and elsewhere to see what's out there while I decide if I want to do it.

Is $4000 in spend over 3 months feasible for you? I ask because the Chase Sapphire Preferred currently has its highest signup bonus ever at 80,000 points. That's equivalent to $800 straight cash back or $1000 with the travel portal and pay-yourself-back redemptions. The $95 annual fee is NOT waived the first year. After the first year, if you decide that it's not useful to keep, you can ask Chase to reallocate the credit limit to your Amazon card or downgrade it to Freedom Flex.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

gamegrrl — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 16:24:20 GMT

That Chase Sapphire looks like a great offer, and $4k would be doable, but I passed over it due to the $95 annual fee.

However, I did end up pushing the button on the Chase Freedom Unlimited this morning. It felt like a good card for me. One that I would keep and use. Also, I've had very good experiences working with Chase in the past with both my Amazon Prime card and my auto loan. Approved. They pulled Transunion and Experian. $16.5k limit.

Thank you to the poster who suggested this, and thank you all for your input!

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

AllZero — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 16:33:36 GMT

Congratulations on your approval!

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

SouthJamaica — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:01:28 GMT

@gamegrrl wrote:
@sxa001 wrote:
While some really do strive to have that 850 score and put in the time and effort to make that happen including being very very careful about what types of credit they apply for and I do not want to discount those opinons or the work that they put in, but the reality is once you are around 800 the occasional inquiry isn't going to hurt you, especially if you aren't planning to buy a house.

Now in this case, the card isn't worth the $200 bonus because I woudn't want to use the card after. But that is a personal opinion if it makes sense for your spend then sure but I agee with the other posters to look at CFF.
This comment (bold, italic emphasis mine) really hit home. Honestly, I won't use the card again. I'm starting to think that getting another card JUST for the cash back is a bad idea for me.

Now you're talking.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

SouthJamaica — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:02:47 GMT

@gamegrrl wrote:
That Chase Sapphire looks like a great offer, and $4k would be doable, but I passed over it due to the $95 annual fee.

However, I did end up pushing the button on the Chase Freedom Unlimited this morning. It felt like a good card for me. One that I would keep and use. Also, I've had very good experiences working with Chase in the past with both my Amazon Prime card and my auto loan. Approved. They pulled Transunion and Experian. $16.5k limit.

Thank you to the poster who suggested this, and thank you all for your input!

Enjoy it. It's an excellent card.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

M_Smart007 — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:30:12 GMT

@gamegrrl wrote:
That Chase Sapphire looks like a great offer, and $4k would be doable, but I passed over it due to the $95 annual fee.

However, I did end up pushing the button on the Chase Freedom Unlimited this morning. It felt like a good card for me. One that I would keep and use. Also, I've had very good experiences working with Chase in the past with both my Amazon Prime card and my auto loan. Approved. They pulled Transunion and Experian. $16.5k limit.

Thank you to the poster who suggested this, and thank you all for your input!

Congratulations on your Chase Approval..

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

CreditAggie — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:10:12 GMT

@gamegrrl wrote:
That Chase Sapphire looks like a great offer, and $4k would be doable, but I passed over it due to the $95 annual fee.

However, I did end up pushing the button on the Chase Freedom Unlimited this morning. It felt like a good card for me. One that I would keep and use. Also, I've had very good experiences working with Chase in the past with both my Amazon Prime card and my auto loan. Approved. They pulled Transunion and Experian. $16.5k limit.

Thank you to the poster who suggested this, and thank you all for your input!

Congratulations on your Chase Freedom Unlimited approval!

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

addicted_to_credit — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:22:09 GMT

As @randomguy1 pointed out the chase freedom cards are a better option along with the us bank cash+ both have 200 dollars for spending 500. I use my cash+ for every household bill and then some, you can get 5% back on that too. I think you'd be happy with either one and could continue to use them to gain a more cash back after the Xbox purchase.

Re: Is a $200 Cash Bonus Worth an Inquiry Ding?

randomguy1 — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 19:23:20 GMT

Congrats on your approval and great SL.