topic Re: What Card to Apply? in Credit Card Applications

What Card to Apply?

ZxMarsxZ — Tue, 14 May 2019 19:52:45 GMT

Hello all!!

I'm new to the game and also new here. I'm planning to travel abroad for a couple months in Feb 2020, so I'm trying to earn as much points and miles as possible from now until then. However, due to the fact that I did not pay much attention to establishing a thick credit history when I was younger, I'm now in a bit of a situation. I recently applied for the Citi and Barclay AAdvantage, both of which were turned down. My Chase Freedom app is in 30-day pending due to address verification since I just moved. I expect this app to go through tho. I don't know what to go from here to maximize the number of points for my travels next year. I would really appreciate some recommendations from you guys. Some stats about my current history:
Score ~750, 3 inquries with 1 in last 6 months from all 3 bureaus.
BoA CC 2013, 3k
Chase Freedom AU 2014, 5k
Chase SW Priority 2016 AU, 6.5k
BoA CC 2013 AU, 8k
Auto loan 2018, 15k/21k
Student loan 2018 paid off last month in one payment.

My oldest is over 5 years and just one under my own name, so it's not like a typical thin file. Yet it is still thin. Thank you for your advice.

Re: What Card to Apply?

pinkandgrey — Tue, 14 May 2019 20:24:27 GMT

Have you checked Capital One’s prequal site? The Venture has a good SUB and is a favored travel card.

Re: What Card to Apply?

Anonymous — Tue, 14 May 2019 21:20:06 GMT

@ZxMarsxZ wrote:

Score ~750, 3 inquries with 1 in last 6 months from all 3 bureaus.
BoA CC 2013, 3k - SP CLI since 5/2018, if you haven't asked for one it's a good idea to go ahead now
~~Chase Freedom AU 2014, 5k~~
~~Chase SW Priority 2016 AU, 6.5k~~
~~BoA CC 2013 AU, 8k~~
~~Auto loan 2018, 15k/21k~~
~~Student loan 2018 paid off last month in one payment.~~

W/ a 750 you're primed for approvals. The biggest players are going to be Chase and Amex. When you take away the AU accounts you only have 1 CC through BOA.

I would figure out which Amex and Chase cards make sense from the standpoint of points vs AF and go for 1 of each.

From there I would potentially check out other lenders for potential matches. If you fly AA Citi and Barclays have cards with them. Personally I would stay agnostic though for a particular airline as you can earn the same amount of points through either MR or UR and then transfer them as needed.

Re: What Card to Apply?

ZxMarsxZ — Tue, 14 May 2019 22:27:58 GMT

Looks like I'm prequal for the Venture. But I wanna save the slot for Chase with 5/24 and all. The triple pull also discourages me for that card. Maybe some time next year.

Re: What Card to Apply?

ZxMarsxZ — Tue, 14 May 2019 22:38:36 GMT

I signed up for the AA cards just because of the good SUB. I figured I could transfer the points to their partners. But Citi denied me even after recon. Just called Barclay, they said they needed verification docs unlike the online app status checker saying "Currently we are unable to offer you a credit card issued by Barclays Bank Delaware." So fingers crossed. I guess I'd wait for the Freedom and Barclay AA to pan out. After a month or two, I'd probably apply for the Amex Gold (saw it as prequalified when I checked) to get a foot in Amex's door.

Re: What Card to Apply?

KLEXH25 — Wed, 15 May 2019 01:33:27 GMT

Chase 5/24 is number of new accounts, not number of inquiries. I don’t think Venture would get in the way of that. Wait to see how Chase pans out first, since they’re sensitive to new accounts before AND after applying with them. But if you’re not getting a lot of offers, it’s worth considering Venture. What was Citi’s reason for denial?

Re: What Card to Apply?

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Wed, 15 May 2019 01:37:37 GMT

Chase will filter out your AU accounts. You're still thin in their eyes, but at least it's over 1 year old on your actual card.

Re: What Card to Apply?

xaximus — Wed, 15 May 2019 12:14:45 GMT

I think with just one card being your own, even though it's over a year old, that's still a pretty thin file. I would look into the BoA Travel Rewards card, since you already have BoA, they may extend you that card as well. With your current denials and possible denials, I would go with BoA since you have an existing relationship with them.

Re: What Card to Apply?

ZxMarsxZ — Wed, 15 May 2019 15:32:05 GMT

Thank you you all for your helpful comments.

I guess my game plan now would be to wait/recon for Chase and Barclay. If I get approved then I'd go on with the Amex Gold.

If the Freedom doesn't pan out so well, I will apply for the BoA Premium Rewards card since I've had the BoA Cash Rewards along with their checking for 5 6 years now, so BoA probably will approve me. I'll also try for the Freedom again after a couple months. My goal is to get the CSR at the end of the year.

Re: What Card to Apply?

KLEXH25 — Wed, 15 May 2019 17:30:38 GMT

I don’t think getting the CSR by the end of the year is realistic. Starting limits start at $10,000. They’ll probably want to see you already have experience at that credit level with other cards. I’m just basing it on what I’ve read around here, so someone else with firsthand knowledge might want to chime in.

Re: What Card to Apply?

ZxMarsxZ — Wed, 15 May 2019 18:07:59 GMT

Chase just approved me for the Freedom. Not sure what limit I got tho. I'll wait a few months before applying for another Chase card meanwhile, I'll do CLI on my BoA card. I think I can get it to 10k by the end of the year. I just graduated and started working full time so my income has increased a lot comparing to when I was still in school. That should help.

Re: What Card to Apply?

Anonymous — Wed, 15 May 2019 18:37:55 GMT

If you have a login for Chase the new card should be showing up already. Otherwise you will probably have the card in hand by this time next week. The CL might not be what you want but, it might be 5K on the otherhand.

Re: What Card to Apply?

KLEXH25 — Wed, 15 May 2019 19:26:57 GMT

Congrats on the Freedom! Let us know what your limit turns out to be.

Re: What Card to Apply?

simplynoir — Wed, 15 May 2019 20:08:59 GMT

@ZxMarsxZ wrote:
Chase just approved me for the Freedom. Not sure what limit I got tho

Call the Chase application status line and you can find out what your SL/APR is for your new card

Re: What Card to Apply?

ZxMarsxZ — Wed, 15 May 2019 22:16:38 GMT

Surprise surprise! SL $8200 on that Freedom! Looks like the CSR is coming to me sooner than I thought.

Re: What Card to Apply?

ZxMarsxZ — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:52:00 GMT

Another update:

So I applied for the Barclay AA biz and personal cards last week. They were both denied. However, I called recon this morning to explain my situation saying although I have a thin file, my credit score is high (TU 799 on the denial letter) and my AoOA is over 5 years. The CSR was very understanding. He said he could approve one of the two applications with a low SL of $1000 just to build a relationship with Barclay first. I opted for the biz card since it has 75k point SUB vs 50k on the personal. So yeah, good news!

Re: What Card to Apply?

FinStar — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:02:50 GMT

Congrats on the approvals @ZxMarsxZ.

Locking this thread as you have been approved. Feel free to start a new approval thread in the Approvals section (for the personal one) and the Business forum (for the biz approval) if you would like to do so.