topic Re: Need help on picking 5th card in Credit Card Applications

Need help on picking 5th card

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 14:14:03 GMT

Hello,

I currently have 4 cards:

Discover Secured: June 17 - (The only card I could get)

Chase Unlimited: Dec 17 - (First real card)

Citi Double Cash: Feb 18 - (Solid Cash back card)

Amazon Signiture: May 18 - (I do a ton of shopping on Amazon)

AAoA: 5.6 months

Total-CL: $8,400

I'm trying to establish a solid 5 card base before entering the garden. I firgure a decent Food/Travel card is the best choice since those are two key components of my spend. I just applied for and was denied (even with recon) the Chase SP. The reason for denial was that my AAoA was too low, everything else was fine. I know I'm up against the 5/24 rule so my next card needs to selected carefully.

So, should I apply for the Uber card or wait 6-8 to grab the CSP? Other solid Travel/Food cards?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions! (BTW my first post!)

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

FinStar — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 17:57:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello,
I currently have 4 cards:
Discover Secured: June 17 - (The only card I could get)
Chase Unlimited: Dec 17 - (First real card)
Citi Double Cash: Feb 18 - (Solid Cash back card)
Amazon Signiture: May 18 - (I do a ton of shopping on Amazon)
AAoA: 5.6 months
Total-CL: $8,400
I'm trying to establish a solid 5 card base before entering the garden. I firgure a decent Food/Travel card is the best choice since those are two key components of my spend. I just applied for and was denied (even with recon) the Chase SP. The reason for denial was that my AAoA was too low, everything else was fine. I know I'm up against the 5/24 rule so my next card needs to selected carefully.

So, should I apply for the Uber card or wait 6-8 to grab the CSP? Other solid Travel/Food cards?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions! (BTW my first post!)

Hi & welcome to the forums OP!

Unless you absolutely need a 5th card at this point, you can likely do just fine with the 4 listed in your line up. The Uber card would seem like a decent choice, but then again your short AAoA and "newish" accounts might prove trivial as far as an approval. The CSP would likely require a previously established history with an account >$5K CL (not always the case but in most instances).

What is your current utilization and FICO scores? How often do you travel?

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 18:33:26 GMT

I'd go with the Uber. It's an excellent dining and travel card. No fee and 4% on dining with 3% on travel can't be beat. Plus no ftfs.

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 18:43:40 GMT

My FICO Scores: Transunion - 701, Equifax - 716

Util: 6%

I have 11 inquries because I didn't understanding how credit applications worked (this forum help correct my bad behaviors)

I travel 4-5 times a year, but tend to do many shorter drives that require staying the night or two at a hotel

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

FinStar — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 18:44:37 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
My FICO Scores: Transunion - 701, Equifax - 716
Util: 6%
I have 11 inquries because I didn't understanding how credit applications worked (this forum help correct my bad behaviors)
I travel 4-5 times a year, but tend to do many shorter drives that require staying the night or two at a hotel

Are the 11 inquiries on TU or spread out?

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 19:39:12 GMT

I have 11 on TU only, I believe another 3 on Equifax, unsure about the third. Majority of the places I've applied pull from TU =/

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

FinStar — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 19:47:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have 11 on TU only, I believe another 3 on Equifax, unsure about the third. Majority of the places I've applied pull from TU =/

Then I'd say hold off for a while if you're looking at the Uber card. They typically pull TU. However, if you want to roll the dice and see how things fare, you're welcome to try. Sometimes, if declined, they can be flexible with reconsideration requests, but YEMV.

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:54:34 GMT

Thanks! I think I might enter the garden for a couple months are see how my scores improve! Any last notes on 5/24 cards I should keep in mind?

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

rbentley — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 21:16:43 GMT

You don't give us the time period of you 11 inquires, i.e., how many were in the last 6 months but with your scores, low AAoA and that many inquiries I don't see you getting approved for Uber or any really good card. You need to garden for more than just a few months. You need a year since your last inquiry to be "good to go."

As has been said, don't worry about a 5th card yet. It won't help your scores and you will take a significant hit with the additional inquiry and 20% reduction to your AAoA. A recent story on CNBC said that the average number of open cards that those with a perfect 850 score had was just 3. Resist the pressure to get a lot of cards!

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

601flyguy — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 21:31:40 GMT

I think amex would be good for you. Hotel card maybe?
How many of those inq show on experian??

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

kerplunk — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 21:49:50 GMT

What is your goal? If it's just to increase your credit score, then I would simply let your current four cards grow.

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 06:19:25 GMT

Are those FICO scores, or from credit karma? You should get your Experian report as most of the big guns like amex and Chase use it. You can go directly to Experian to get your score and report for free.

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 14:04:27 GMT

Just checked my Experian score and its 680 with 10 inquires (mostly credit card applications from Feb-July 2017 when I had no clue what I was doing).

So, I have:

4 in the last 6 months

8 in the last 12 months

I appreciate the advice, definitely think I should wait till Feb '19 at the very least. My goal is just to have a good mix of credit cards, because I recenetly went full-time as a software developer so my income and spend have drastically changed in the last 6 months.

Re: Need help on picking 5th card

joltdude — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 15:26:19 GMT

You should not get any more cards and garden a bit...

-J