topic Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score) in Credit Cards

Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 07:20:03 GMT

Hello everyone!

I wanted some advice on figuring out what options I have in terms of applying for higher tier cards like the chase reserve.

Current background:

TU: 745

EQ: 735

Annual income: 250 - 350k

Current cards: 1 : From a local credit union with 15k limit

Other accounts: A car loan for ~70k

Age of credit history: 9 months

In terms of my background, I moved to the US around March 2017 for work. My scores seem to be decent (based on what I read) but my biggest problem is age of accounts. I had applied for the reserve a while back and chase rejected it (which in hindsight should have been obvious). Since I wanted the reserve specifically, I got an account with chase and have ~20k in it. I then applied for the freedom card but surprisingly they rejected that too, with the reason being my age of accounts.

Right now I have prequal for Amex Gold, Green and Blue. But no prequals on Chase right now

Credit seems to be a very complex beast here, and I wanted to get advice on what next steps should I take.

(1) Apply for a Chase Reserve after the average age of accounts > 1year

(2) Apply for a Chase Preferred after the average age of accounts > 1year

(3) Dont do anything for another year, apply once my accounts are older, 2+ years

I have sufficient credit right now and dont mind waiting it out. The main reason for the sapphire is that I travel a lot and it seems like a good fit for that. What I am wondering about is how long would it be before I can get the chase. And if that is too long if it would be better to get another similar card.

Any advice would be welcome. Thank you in advance!

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 08:00:19 GMT

Good work so far on your credit sir!

Your problem is simple you just don't have much age yet your credit journey is just beginning. Your file is thin as well. Get a couple more starter cards and maybe get a small personal loan just to pay it off and have at least 1 positive closed account. But I'd say get a couple accounts to thicken your file, garden for 6 months, and you should be able to get the cards you're after.

Re: Top tier cards with low Age of accounts

SBR249 — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 09:21:26 GMT

There are a few things you can do:

1. You can go in to a Chase branch and ask a personal banker whether you have any pre-quals, since you already have a relationship with them, it's possible that there are offers already in the system and you can only check them in person.

2. You've already got a high limit card which is good because Chase doesn't like to be the first high limit card in your wallet but since you only have 1 card, your file will always be thin and Chase isn't known for being friendly to thin files. Since you were already planning on waiting for a bit, you can app with a company that is friendly to thin files and then let those 2 cards age for a year. It'll bring your account age down to 5 months, but you'll have a thicker file at the end of a year. I'd suggest either Discover or AmEx.

3. Wait another 3 months until your accounts are 1 year old and then app again for a freedom or a freedom unlimited.

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Shadowfactor — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 12:04:13 GMT

Did you ever try to recon the chase app ?

Try US bank. See if you have any Prequalified Offers for them. If you can get a solid fixed APR offer on a FlexPerks card or Cash card. You should be able to qualify for the Altitude Reserve.

Chase just doesn’t bend when it comes to the minimum SL on the Sapphire cards.
CSR= 10K SL
CSP = 5k SL.

Us Bank seems to allow a lot more leeway with SL below the minimum.

They have many of the same benefits. Anything the CSR offers the Altitude Offers. With a little higher travel credit. And $50 less AF. Only caveat is that the priority pass membership only allows 4 visits per year. After that it’s $27. But you get free WiFi 12 times a year on Gogo unlike the CSR.

The 3X on mobile wallet is also killer. Much better then 3X on restaurants in my opinion.

You do have to be a customer of US bank for 5 days before applying for the Altitude. That’s easy enough to solve though.

Re: Top tier cards with low Age of accounts

SouthJamaica — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 12:37:30 GMT

wrote:
Hello everyone!

I wanted some advice on figuring out what options I have in terms of applying for higher tier cards like the chase reserve.

Current background:
TU: 745
EQ: 735
Annual income: 250 - 350k
Current cards: 1 : From a local credit union with 15k limit
Other accounts: A car loan for ~70k
Age of credit history: 9 months

In terms of my background, I moved to the US around March 2017 for work. My scores seem to be decent (based on what I read) but my biggest problem is age of accounts. I had applied for the reserve a while back and chase rejected it (which in hindsight should have been obvious). Since I wanted the reserve specifically, I got an account with chase and have ~20k in it. I then applied for the freedom card but surprisingly they rejected that too, with the reason being my age of accounts.

Right now I have prequal for Amex Gold, Green and Blue. But no prequals on Chase right now

Credit seems to be a very complex beast here, and I wanted to get advice on what next steps should I take.

(1) Apply for a Chase Reserve after the average age of accounts > 1year
(2) Apply for a Chase Preferred after the average age of accounts > 1year
(3) Dont do anything for another year, apply once my accounts are older, 2+ years

I have sufficient credit right now and dont mind waiting it out. The main reason for the sapphire is that I travel a lot and it seems like a good fit for that. What I am wondering about is how long would it be before I can get the chase. And if that is too long if it would be better to get another similar card.

Any advice would be welcome. Thank you in advance!

Generally Chase likes to see > 1 year of credit history, so no surprise that your 2 applications were rejected. If I were you I would wait 4 months and apply for the Sapphire Reserve.

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

iced — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 14:32:32 GMT

wrote:

They have many of the same benefits. Anything the CSR offers the Altitude Offers. With a little higher travel credit. And $50 less AF. Only caveat is that the priority pass membership only allows 4 visits per year. After that it’s $27. But you get free WiFi 12 times a year on Gogo unlike the CSR.

The 3X on mobile wallet is also killer. Much better then 3X on restaurants in my opinion.

You do have to be a customer of US bank for 5 days before applying for the Altitude. That’s easy enough to solve though.

Does the Altitude offer airline/hotel partner point transfers? This is one of the 3 biggest perks of the CSR (along with 3x dining/travel and $300 travel credit). For the frequent travelers, the transfer partners are perhaps the most important perk as that's where most of the reward value is derived.

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 14:42:02 GMT

I believe they still don't have any transfer partners so the value is less than Chase URs transferred. For booking travel direct through USBank, it's the same 1.5cpp as Chase.

I considered this card since I am 8/24 with Chase and no offers for CSP to override that, but I can't figure out what codes as travel with USBank. The CSP/CSR code a lot of things as travel including some public transportation and toll charges, etc. That's got a lot of value even if you don't transfer to loyalty programs.

Also, no dining category on the US Bank card.

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Shadowfactor — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 15:39:20 GMT

No the Altitude Reserve does not have transfer partners at this time. Points are worth 1.5 cents through the travel portal which is powered by travelocity or Expedia.
So any deals or packages you find on those sites, you can get through USB at the same prices too.

Still haven’t quite figured out how to get the best value out of transferring to partners. Every time I’ve looked at award tickets. I’m not getting any better then 1.3-1.7 cents.

Uber is considered Travel according to a CSR. Haven’t asked about tolls or anything since we don’t have any toll roads where I live.

No dining category per se with the altitude but tons of restaurants around me accept Apple Pay so I get the 3X most of the time.
The amount of points I loose in the restaurants that don’t take Apple Pay, is more then made up for in other places that do accept Apple Pay. My big spends are Grocery stores, RX’s , gas, clothing stores. All get 4.5% return plus tons of other places since they take Apple Pay.

A lot of places don’t advertise that they accept mobile payments or have signs for it. A lot of them do though. Just have to ask. If they accept contactless payments. More then likely they accept mobile payments as well. The list of places on apples website is very very incomplete.

Re: Top tier cards with low Age of accounts

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 17:07:41 GMT

Since the impact to your AAoA is 1/N% I suggest not waiting but getting a couple of cards now. With low AAoA you haven't got much to lose and later the larger number of cards will reduce the impact of any new account.

Don't go nuts, keep the Chase 5/24 rule in mind, but maybe pick up two more.

I know you want a top tier card by which you presumably mean one with a big fee.

But look into getting a couple of good daily drivers. Amex BCE, BoA cash rewards or travel, CITI DC and Costco Visa should all be possible.

Also try going into a branch and using a relationship manager to open the account. They can take your situation into account. That is how I got my BoA card as one of my first.

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 19:46:43 GMT

wrote:
Hello everyone!

I wanted some advice on figuring out what options I have in terms of applying for higher tier cards like the chase reserve.

Current background:
TU: 745
EQ: 735
Annual income: 250 - 350k
Current cards: 1 : From a local credit union with 15k limit
Other accounts: A car loan for ~70k
Age of credit history: 9 months

In terms of my background, I moved to the US around March 2017 for work. My scores seem to be decent (based on what I read) but my biggest problem is age of accounts. I had applied for the reserve a while back and chase rejected it (which in hindsight should have been obvious). Since I wanted the reserve specifically, I got an account with chase and have ~20k in it. I then applied for the freedom card but surprisingly they rejected that too, with the reason being my age of accounts.

Right now I have prequal for Amex Gold, Green and Blue. But no prequals on Chase right now

Credit seems to be a very complex beast here, and I wanted to get advice on what next steps should I take.

(1) Apply for a Chase Reserve after the average age of accounts > 1year
(2) Apply for a Chase Preferred after the average age of accounts > 1year
(3) Dont do anything for another year, apply once my accounts are older, 2+ years

I have sufficient credit right now and dont mind waiting it out. The main reason for the sapphire is that I travel a lot and it seems like a good fit for that. What I am wondering about is how long would it be before I can get the chase. And if that is too long if it would be better to get another similar card.

Any advice would be welcome. Thank you in advance!

I agree that you need a few more accounts that show good management. I just don't think Chase is going to budge right now with just the one card and the auto loan to go on. Those premium cards have some tougher UW because of the higher limits they grant, and I think you'd be better served by getting another card (maybe that Amex Gold would be a good option since you travel), gardening for a while, and trying again in 6 months to a year after you have some positive history generated on the new accounts. Good luck!

Re: Top tier cards with low Age of accounts

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 02:04:00 GMT

I’m going to reiterate what others have said in that Chase does seem to generally like seeing at least a year’s worth of history for their cards. However, once you do hit a year, you will more than likely be approved for the Freedom.

As a college student with a part time job (read: low income), I opened my first account with Discover in October 2013 with a $500 SL that was raised to $1250. In December 2014, I opened my second card (a Costco Amex) with a $4000 SL. Later that same month (before the Amex started reporting), I opened my Chase Freedom with a $1200 SL. My point being that hitting a year of credit history will open a lot of doors for you- especially at your income level. (I’m not sure that your AAoA would necessarily have to be a year.) I would hold off on any credit applications up to that point however.

Chase does like to see a more established credit history for their Sapphire, Marriott, Southwest, and United cards. I might not be the best person to ask as to when you’d get approved for the CSP or CSR, as the CSP is my newest card in a decent-sized portfolio. You can see in my signature what my portfolio looked like at the time (I have no bad marks either), and I got approved for the lowest APR (which indicates that I was approved pretty easily). My friend also got approved for the lowest APR with a similar-length history to mine, but only two open cards (one of which being a Freedom) and two closed cards.

So, if I were you, I’d apply for the Freedom once you have a year of credit history. This will establish your relationship with Chase, and it’s also a very good cashback Card that becomes excellent when you pair it with a CSP/CSR. As for the CSP/CSR, I’d say you’d want at least two years of history. Also keep the 5/24 rule in mind, in case you do decide to open more cards in that time.

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

MrCollector — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 03:11:25 GMT

If you're prequal for the Amex Gold, you can pick up the Platinum (same underwriting, someone correct me if I'm wrong) and run travel through that (5x airfare, 5x hotels booked through amex travel, plus a bunch of status). That should offer a great return until you're able to get your AAoA up and pick up the Reserve.

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

gdale6 — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 04:00:12 GMT

2 threads on same topic merged into one. OP please refrain from posting multi threads on the same topic and welcome to the board

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 04:36:09 GMT

- 2 threads on same topic merged into one. OP please refrain from posting multi threads on the same topic

Sorry about that, tried to delete the other thread but could not figure it out.

- welcome to the board

Thank you! Its been < 24 hours and this forum has already been super helpful!

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 04:49:59 GMT

Thank you so much for all the help everyone!

Based on all of the inputs people have given I guess I have two options:

(1) Wait for 3 months and then apply for the chase card (Uncertainity and will lose out on the points for my travels till then which will be about 5,000 dollars)

(2) Get the Amex Gold right now and build up my file (Not the ideal card, but will get something right now and not miss out on the points)

Right now I am leaning towards option 2 and dont see a major downside to it. Any opinions?

Re: Chase Reserve / other higher tier cards with (short history + high income + good score)

Shadowfactor — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 16:12:32 GMT

It’s never a good idea to get a card just to have something. I agree on building your file but there’s so many credit cards on the market. Find something that will work for you and build with that.

Did you check out the US bank Prequalified site ? Look for a fixed APR on the offer.

The flex perks Visa is a good card. I have one. It also offers free Gogo WiFi. If you fly 3 times and use it for day passes. The card is free after the WiFi credit and then some.

Also have the Amex PRG “Gold”
This is a charge card. Must be paid in full every month.
The rewards categories is a bit better on this card vs Flex Perks. But the annual fee is $50 more after airline credit. Also the extra points are only for US purchases. You will not receive any extra points for purchases overseas. Standard 1 point for $1.

Both are solid cards. Although Amex coverage is poor outside the US. Not sure if you intend to use it as your primary card overseas, but bring a NO-FTF Visa/MC backup.

Bank Of America ? They have a travel card with no FTF, no AF, 1.5X everything.

I normally don’t recommend cap 1, but in your case the QS or QS1 might be a good choice. Zero or $39 AF. 1.5% cash back on everything. NO-FTF.
They have a Prequalified site as well.

Just a side note.
What counts as travel in terms of rewards is very card specific. Amex PRG only counts travel as airlines booked directly through the airline and hotels booked through Amex travel portal.

Chase and USB are more relaxed on what counts as travel compared to Amex.

Some people think that any purchase overseas or out of state would count as travel. Unfortunately it does not. I wish it did though!