topic Re: Newbie Needs Advice in Credit Card Applications

Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 23:01:13 GMT

I'm pretty new to this, though I did lurk here for a bit when shopping for my very first CC and it was hugely helpful. Now I need advice on what's next. I don't know all the lingo yet, but here's an idea of where I am:

So two years ago, I applied for my first credit card, a Capital One Journey card with a $250 CL. Been using it regularly and have had 2 increases, the current CL is $500.

My credit score has increased quite a bit since then and according to CK my score is 680. I have students loans that are being paid on time. One bad mark from an old medical bill in 2013 that has since been paid and closed. 2 inquiries, one expiring in Dec. (Should I wait to apply for a new card?)

Anyway, now I'm looking to get more credit cards and move away from using my debit card. But I'm not sure which cards to apply for or what my chance of approval would be. Here are the ones I was looking at and why:

Target Red Card - I do all my shopping at Target and I want the 5% off, but if this isn't a good one I suppose I could just get the debit.

Capital One Quicksilver Rewards and/or Venture Rewards - Prequalified for both. I read its common to apply for both at the same time? But I'm not a fan of the AF on the Venture after the first year. I will be traveling about 2-3x/year over the next few years so it might be worth it?

Chase Freedom - Prequalified. Also, prequal for Slate but I don't think I'm interested in that one. I bank with Chase, if that matters.

I need some guidance in terms of if I should apply and which card(s) I have the best chances at. Also, is there any other cards I should look at? The prequal sites for AMEX or Discover didn't leave me feeling very confident... Thanks for any insight anyone can possibly provide!!

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 23:29:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm pretty new to this, though I did lurk here for a bit when shopping for my very first CC and it was hugely helpful. Now I need advice on what's next. I don't know all the lingo yet, but here's an idea of where I am:

So two years ago, I applied for my first credit card, a Capital One Journey card with a $250 CL. Been using it regularly and have had 2 increases, the current CL is $500.

My credit score has increased quite a bit since then and according to CK my score is 680. I have students loans that are being paid on time. One bad mark from an old medical bill in 2013 that has since been paid and closed. 2 inquiries, one expiring in Dec. (Should I wait to apply for a new card?)

Anyway, now I'm looking to get more credit cards and move away from using my debit card. But I'm not sure which cards to apply for or what my chance of approval would be. Here are the ones I was looking at and why:

Target Red Card - I do all my shopping at Target and I want the 5% off, but if this isn't a good one I suppose I could just get the debit.

Capital One Quicksilver Rewards and/or Venture Rewards - Prequalified for both. I read its common to apply for both at the same time? But I'm not a fan of the AF on the Venture after the first year. I will be traveling about 2-3x/year over the next few years so it might be worth it?

Chase Freedom - Prequalified. Also, prequal for Slate but I don't think I'm interested in that one. I bank with Chase, if that matters.

I need some guidance in terms of if I should apply and which card(s) I have the best chances at. Also, is there any other cards I should look at? The prequal sites for AMEX or Discover didn't leave me feeling very confident... Thanks for any insight anyone can possibly provide!!

Welcome to the forums.

It would help if you knew what your Fico scores are. CK is great for some things but their credit scores are pretty much useless when applying for credit scores because they are Vantage scores. Nevertheless the pre approvals are helpful and an indicator that your Fico scores are probably high enough to get approved for some great cards. For now I would stick with the major credit cards and steer away from the Target card. You can get the 5% discount at Target with th use of their debit cards. The Capital One canards are very popular here and tend to give some nice limits, especially on the Venture. The Chase Freedom is an excellent card. Don't be discouraged by the prequalified sites for Dizcover. That one is basically useless. The American Express one can be hit or miss. It's very possible that you would be approved for any of the Discover or Amex cards as well. A lot comes down to your spending habits and what rewards programs interest you..

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 23:27:26 GMT

First, you can ignore the CK score. It's generated using a model that none of the credit card issuers use.

Since you do your shopping at Target, the Red Card is one you should go ahead and grab. The Quicksilver is a great card for non-category spend. Add the Chase Freedom to that, and you have pretty good spend coverage with those three cards. As for the Venture? You'd need to thoroughly crunch the travel numbers to decide on that one. Don't grab it just because it could be a twofer with the QS.

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 23:30:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
First, you can ignore the CK score. It's generated using a model that none of the credit card issuers use.

Since you do your shopping at Target, the Red Card is one you should go ahead and grab. The Quicksilver is a great card for non-category spend. Add the Chase Freedom to that, and you have pretty good spend coverage with those three cards. As for the Venture? You'd need to thoroughly crunch the travel numbers to decide on that one. Don't grab it just because it could be a twofer with the QS.

Disagree about the Red card. Limits given usually are very low and you can get the 5% discount by using their debit cards. I'd stick to major cards for now.

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

KSK1912 — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 04:44:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
First, you can ignore the CK score. It's generated using a model that none of the credit card issuers use.

Since you do your shopping at Target, the Red Card is one you should go ahead and grab. The Quicksilver is a great card for non-category spend. Add the Chase Freedom to that, and you have pretty good spend coverage with those three cards. As for the Venture? You'd need to thoroughly crunch the travel numbers to decide on that one. Don't grab it just because it could be a twofer with the QS.
Disagree about the Red card. Limits given usually are very low and you can get the 5% discount by using their debit cards. I'd stick to major cards for now.

Target card is a.... well.. it's a target card. If you had no revolving account going, starting from 0, yeah get whatever you can to build up some revolving history. But in your case you seem to have the chance to grab some nice cards. And one advise, don't go for any card just because it's name. Try to get a card that will eventually grow, and fairly quick. Discover is very picky and unpredictable when it comes to credit limit increase. So if you get it today with a $5K starting limit, and 2 years later you are at $5500, i would not consider it the best decision. Now if you can Target Amex, then that would be a win-win situation.

Edit: Sorry i got confused with Macy's for a second. Target has no Amex.

And i agree with Irish80, once you get your major cards, you can always go to target, buy a soda and apply for credit. But at this moment, i would not waste a hard inquiry on a $250/$500 store card.

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 04:58:22 GMT

Thanks everyone for your input!

Yeah... I realize CK isn't the best resource for scores. My Journey card comes with a free tracker as well, anyone know how accurate that is? Apparently it is powered by TransUnion, and it matches up to what CK is telling me: 680.

So I'm leaning towards the Quicksilver and the Freedom. Is it wise to go ahead and just apply for them on the same day? Or better to to get one, wait, then get the other a few months later? Does it make a difference?

Edit: My concern with the Traget card is, if its a lower limit, I usually spend about $200-$400 per trip (I buy everything there). I would end up with a fairly high utilization % for that card.

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

KSK1912 — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 04:58:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks everyone for your input!

Yeah... I realize CK isn't the best resource for scores. My Journey card comes with a free tracker as well, anyone know how accurate that is? Apparently it is powered by TransUnion, and it matches up to what CK is telling me: 680.

So I'm leaning towards the Quicksilver and the Freedom. Is it wise to go ahead and just apply for them on the same day? Or better to to get one, wait, then get the other a few months later? Does it make a difference?

I would definitely recommend apping on the same day. Most people believe you will have a better chance if you do it at the same time or on the same day then wait for one to start reporting to app for the next one, unless your wait time between 2 apps is like 6 months to a year. I just did the same with barclays, and got one card in the morning and the second one later in the evening. Just make sure you dont wait till midnight so that the time difference will not make your second app a Next Day app.

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 05:19:59 GMT

@KSK1912 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks everyone for your input!

Yeah... I realize CK isn't the best resource for scores. My Journey card comes with a free tracker as well, anyone know how accurate that is? Apparently it is powered by TransUnion, and it matches up to what CK is telling me: 680.

So I'm leaning towards the Quicksilver and the Freedom. Is it wise to go ahead and just apply for them on the same day? Or better to to get one, wait, then get the other a few months later? Does it make a difference?
I would definitely recommend apping on the same day. Most people believe you will have a better chance if you do it at the same time or on the same day then wait for one to start reporting to app for the next one, unless your wait time between 2 apps is like 6 months to a year. I just did the same with barclays, and got one card in the morning and the second one later in the evening. Just make sure you dont wait till midnight so that the time difference will not make your second app a Next Day app.

Ok, awesome! Then I will likely go ahead and apply for those 2 tomorrow then. Fingers crossed for approvals!

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 06:10:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@KSK1912 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks everyone for your input!

Yeah... I realize CK isn't the best resource for scores. My Journey card comes with a free tracker as well, anyone know how accurate that is? Apparently it is powered by TransUnion, and it matches up to what CK is telling me: 680.

So I'm leaning towards the Quicksilver and the Freedom. Is it wise to go ahead and just apply for them on the same day? Or better to to get one, wait, then get the other a few months later? Does it make a difference?
I would definitely recommend apping on the same day. Most people believe you will have a better chance if you do it at the same time or on the same day then wait for one to start reporting to app for the next one, unless your wait time between 2 apps is like 6 months to a year. I just did the same with barclays, and got one card in the morning and the second one later in the evening. Just make sure you dont wait till midnight so that the time difference will not make your second app a Next Day app.
Ok, awesome! Then I will likely go ahead and apply for those 2 tomorrow then. Fingers crossed for approvals!

good luck

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

KSK1912 — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 06:45:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@KSK1912 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks everyone for your input!

Yeah... I realize CK isn't the best resource for scores. My Journey card comes with a free tracker as well, anyone know how accurate that is? Apparently it is powered by TransUnion, and it matches up to what CK is telling me: 680.

So I'm leaning towards the Quicksilver and the Freedom. Is it wise to go ahead and just apply for them on the same day? Or better to to get one, wait, then get the other a few months later? Does it make a difference?
I would definitely recommend apping on the same day. Most people believe you will have a better chance if you do it at the same time or on the same day then wait for one to start reporting to app for the next one, unless your wait time between 2 apps is like 6 months to a year. I just did the same with barclays, and got one card in the morning and the second one later in the evening. Just make sure you dont wait till midnight so that the time difference will not make your second app a Next Day app.
Ok, awesome! Then I will likely go ahead and apply for those 2 tomorrow then. Fingers crossed for approvals!
good luck

MAke sure you come back here and give us an update This also helps everyone in similar situation for data points. For example, which one(s) you got approved for, what is the starting credit limit, and if you can find out your fico scores when you apply. This will create a sample for other to look and judge their own situation.

Good Luck with the apps.

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 17:08:40 GMT

Did you app yet?

(Note: The above is neither a recommendation nor a solicitation of an application of the credit card being discussed herein. An application should only be made after thoroughly reviewing the material, both benefits and terms of service, provided by the credit card issuing entity. You should read the provided material carefully in order to understand fully all of the implications and risks of the offering of the credit card to which it relates. The achievement of any or all goals is not guaranteed. There is no assurance that the value or benefits of the credit card will be sufficient to justify the application for same. It is just a question.)

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 17:22:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Did you app yet?

(Note: The above is neither a recommendation nor a solicitation of an application of the credit card being discussed herein. An application should only be made after thoroughly reviewing the material, both benefits and terms of service, provided by the credit card issuing entity. You should read the provided material carefully in order to understand fully all of the implications and risks of the offering of the credit card to which it relates. The achievement of any or all goals is not guaranteed. There is no assurance that the value or benefits of the credit card will be sufficient to justify the application for same. It is just a question.)

A+ disclaimer

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 22:03:50 GMT

I have not apped yet! I was waiting till my break at work.

Quick update, I decided to go ahead and get my actual scores...

Equifax: 738
TransUnion: 667

Experian: 668

Will update on the app results. Hopefully I'm not aiming too high since the other two are not really 680 like I had thought.

Re: Newbie Needs Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 23:19:00 GMT

Got a declined message for the Cap1 Quicksilver. Super frustrating since I got the Congrats message on the prequal and I already have a card (and perfect payment history) with them. I called the automated system to see if it would give a reason, and it said it was being reviewed still. Don't know if I should call and speak to someone or just wait for the letter

Chase says its needs further review for the Freedom and they'll send a letter. Called the automated system and it said 7-10 days. So not feeling to confident on that one either. Ugh.

EDIT: Alright guys. I'm embarrassed to post this. I was considering trying to apply for the Venture when I realized I had put in my monthly income, instead of my yearly income on my Quicksilver app. I know, I know. So I reapplied for the Quicksilver because I knew that had to be the reason for the denial and was instantly approved! $3k credit limit. Hopefully, they don't revoke it for my being an idiot.

EDIT#2: Is it preferable to keep editing or double post?? This day really turned around. Approved for Discover It card $6k limit. Even if I'm declined on the Chase, because I really can't remember what I put for my income on that one, I'm pretty pleased with the results.