topic Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION in Credit Card Applications

NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Gmv — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 20:04:02 GMT

My wife is seeking to upgrade her credit card profile and I am coming to you all on suggestions for what she should apply for next?
Credit profiles reads as follows:

middle score for 3 bureaus - 750

payment history - no missed payments

AAOA- 7 years ( police union credit card -1000 limit)

credit utilization- under 10%

hard inquiries - 0

installment loan of 5k was paid off two years ago with no late payments.

any suggestions would be appreciated!

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

markhs777 — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 20:26:44 GMT

Your question is sort of like asking what kind of car should I buy. It all depends on your needs. Do you travel, eat out, shop at particular stores, use much gas, have business expenses etc etc? Depending on your spending habits will determine what card to apply for. Best of luck.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Gmv — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 22:13:57 GMT

Yeah I immediately thought of that after sending. Traveling and shopping at certain stores is at the top of her list.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Anonymalous — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 22:29:07 GMT

@Gmv wrote:
Yeah I immediately thought of that after sending. Traveling and shopping at certain stores is at the top of her list.

Which stores? And what cards does she already have?

The new US Bank Shopper card might be worth a glance -- it's has a $95 AF, but it does give 6% back at a choice of 2 from a list of specific stores.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Gmv — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 00:01:55 GMT

Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase.
She is fan of chase bank as well.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Anonymalous — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 01:16:20 GMT

@Gmv wrote:
Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase.
She is fan of chase bank as well.

Then the US Bank Shopper card is definitely worth a look, because the list of 6% stores includes both both Amazon and Target. For just Target, a lot of people like the Red Card. For Amazon, the obvious choice is the Amazon Prime card (the VISA issued by Chase, not the store card), which gives 5%. Though if she wants to make some extra effort to join, the Affinity CU's Cash Rewards also gives 5% at Amazon, plus it has rotating categories that sometimes stack on top of that 5%. The US Bank Cash+ is one of the few cards that specifically targets utilities (5%), and the Max Cash Preferred is basically the same card except it's issued via Elan in partnership with smaller financial institutions across the country -- check your local or regional banks and credit unions, and you're bound to find a couple that offer the card. Chase has the Freedom Flex, which typically gives 5% back from Amazon 1 quarter of the year (the Discover It is similar).

But a few caveats -- while she has a decent age and apparently has good scores, she has a very thin file, and that's a very low credit limit. Lenders might be hesitant to issue her a card, or to issue her a card with a high limit. Secondly, US Bank is a very conservative lender, and generally won't issue a card to someone who has opened more than 1 card in 12 months.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

SouthJamaica — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 01:14:51 GMT

@Gmv wrote:
Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase.
She is fan of chase bank as well.

I would suggest:

-Chase Freedom Unlimited or Amazon Prime Card,

-Amex Blue Cash Everyday, or

-Citi Custom Cash or DoubleCash

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

GZG — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 02:48:14 GMT

@Anonymalous wrote:
@Gmv wrote:
Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase.
She is fan of chase bank as well.
But a few caveats -- while she has a decent age and apparently has good scores, she has a very thin file, and that's a very low credit limit. Lenders might be hesitant to issue her a card, or to issue her a card with a high limit. Secondly, US Bank is a very conservative lender, and generally won't issue a card to someone who has opened more than 1 card in 12 months.

Pay off that card to 1-2% imo.

No reason to apply with extra utilization if the other parts of the file aren't as good as they can be. It's less than $100.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Gmv — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 03:53:27 GMT

Yes thanks for the advice that's precisely why I asked cause her profile is not that strong currently even with the great scores. We will pay it off to 1%. She did have a personal loan for 5k that she paid off if that helps any.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

GZG — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 04:40:43 GMT

@Gmv wrote:
Yes thanks for the advice that's precisely why I asked cause her profile is not that strong currently even with the great scores. We will pay it off to 1%. She did have a personal loan for 5k that she paid off if that helps any.

the fact that the loan went from having a low balance to $0 probably hurts, if you have access to NFCU consider getting a SSL if there's no plans to get another loan for her file any time soon

not that big of a deal though, getting a 2nd and 3rd card will be big for her profile

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Vegasr — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 14:21:36 GMT

Really good suggestions so far. I'd add that she should apply for 3 cards, one right after the other. Choose the cards that pull from different credit bureaus (research what cards pull from which cb in your area, but never 100% guarantee) That way each will see no HPs when applying, and then go from there.
Discover It

Amazon Prime Visa
Chase Freedom Flex or Unlimited

AMEX Blue Cash Everyday

Citibank Cash Back

Target MC

Some of these will have really good sign up offers right now and also a chance to see if she's pre-approved (again no guarantees)

I'd think less than 10% utilization is fine and don't see getting below 5% would matter. And of course use both of your incomes when applying too.

Good luck and post updates.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Hoben02 — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 15:21:13 GMT

If travel take a look at the chase sapphire preferred/reserve and see if the transfer partners are useful it's about the best travel card if you can use the travel partners. If your wife loves southwest they currently have great deals on their cards and you cannot go wrong on their cards with the annual bonus which covers the annual card fee

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

OmarGB9 — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 17:27:04 GMT

@Vegasr wrote:
Really good suggestions so far. I'd add that she should apply for 3 cards, one right after the other. Choose the cards that pull from different credit bureaus (research what cards pull from which cb in your area, but never 100% guarantee) That way each will see no HPs when applying, and then go from there.
Discover It
Amazon Prime Visa
Chase Freedom Flex or Unlimited
AMEX Blue Cash Everyday
Citibank Cash Back
Target MC

Some of these will have really good sign up offers right now and also a chance to see if she's pre-approved (again no guarantees)
I'd think less than 10% utilization is fine and don't see getting below 5% would matter. And of course use both of your incomes when applying too.

Good luck and post updates.

It should be noted that some lenders pull more than one bureau. Chase for example tends to double pull, typically EX and EQ.

Amex has also been known to double-pull on occasion (EX and TU) for borderline applications.

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Anonymalous — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 17:35:12 GMT

This is the best source for which report the different credit card issuers will pull:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Which-Report-Will-They-Pull-Part-2/td-p/6379773

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

Gmv — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 00:57:02 GMT

Thank you all this forum is awesome!

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

805orbust — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 02:34:04 GMT

REALLY wanna +1 the Chase Amazon card. Just add it to your Amazon account, set it as your preferred way to pay. And forget it... 5% on everything. Easy peasy. You also get the 5%at Whole Foods so...

Re: NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

SouthJamaica — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 02:51:35 GMT

@Hoben02 wrote:
If travel take a look at the chase sapphire preferred/reserve and see if the transfer partners are useful it's about the best travel card if you can use the travel partners. If your wife loves southwest they currently have great deals on their cards and you cannot go wrong on their cards with the annual bonus which covers the annual card fee

It is believed that for the CSP and CSR Chase needs to see a track record of managing accounts with higher credit limits than what OP's wife has in her profile.