topic Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please... in Credit Cards

Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 17:28:12 GMT

Here is here credit profile:

1 CC, a Capital One card with $4,000 limit, $0 balance. Roughly 5-7 years old.

1 care credit account with ~$700 balance, roughly $4,000 limit or so. Signed up when her dog got hit by a car so not sure of exact amount. It's still on a 0% promotional rate so not in a rush to pay it down to zero.

1 Auto loan, 0% thru Hyundai, roughly $22,000 left.

She has no lates or derogs on her profile. Guessing her score would be 750+. No relationship history with any other major CC companies.

Which direction should I take her credit? Thinking of going the Chase route for CSP/Freedom then Amex. Penfed another possibility but since they've tightened up their strings of late not sure I want to go that route first. She doesn't like the idea of credit (I'm trying to change that now) and I'd hate to spook her with the possibility of denial for too small of a profile for Penfed. Hoping to get a high limit somewhere then go AmEx so she has a higher SL there. Anyway, anybody have thoughts of where I should take her credit? Thanks!

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

HeavenOhio — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 17:43:15 GMT

I think she's probably fine for one of the Chase Freedom products as long as her CareCredit card is a least three months old. The CSP has a $5,000 minimum credit limit, though, and Chase usually doesn't feel inclined to give people their highest limit. If she has a Freedom card for a while, she'd probably be good for the CSP at that point.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Adkins — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 17:45:37 GMT

Credit cards should work for someone and compliment their spending patterns and lifestyle. What does she want out of her cards? Cashback? Points?

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 17:50:19 GMT

Cash back mainly then travel rewards. Thoughts on Penfed approving her for the power cash? She does not have any inquiries in the last 12 months.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Adkins — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 18:04:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Cash back mainly then travel rewards. Thoughts on Penfed approving her for the power cash? She does not have any inquiries in the last 12 months.

Having a true fico score would be helpful. (Discovers' scorecard will give her a free one.) There are a couple of sites you can get them for free also. Or spend $1 on credit check total to get all three and cancel immediately afterwards. No idea on Penfed, no recent apps is very good but they've tightened up their lending qualifications lately. I do agree with the PP and I'd try for the freedom first, to get in with Chase.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Kforce — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 18:13:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Here is here credit profile:

1 CC, a Capital One card with $4,000 limit, $0 balance. Roughly 5-7 years old. (OK age & CL but low cc count, PS she should let just a few dollars report every month for 1 or 2 before new application to help "Fico".)

1 care credit account with ~$700 balance, roughly $4,000 limit or so. Signed up when her dog got hit by a car so not sure of exact amount. It's still on a 0% promotional rate so not in a rush to pay it down to zero. (Helps with Credit Mix and payment history)

1 Auto loan, 0% thru Hyundai, roughly $22,000 left. (Helps with credit mix but the high balance is not necessary good)

She has no lates or derogs on her profile. Guessing her score would be 750+. No relationship history with any other major CC companies. (Good history but thin file)

Which direction should I take her credit? Thinking of going the Chase route for CSP/Freedom then Amex. (Need to look at her spend and needs, just because you like/use/need Amex & Chase does not mean they are a good fit for her. Don't let your personal likes over influence which cards are best for her.) Penfed another possibility but since they've tightened up their strings of late not sure I want to go that route first. She doesn't like the idea of credit (I'm trying to change that now) and I'd hate to spook her with the possibility of denial for too small of a profile for Penfed. Hoping to get a high limit somewhere (CL's come with time, "Util" can be controlled by payments. I believe CC benefits & rewards outweigh CL's. Give me 5% cashback, over a 10K CLI) then go AmEx so she has a higher SL there. Anyway, anybody have thoughts of where I should take her credit? Thanks!

Look at her real spend over the last 6 months and talk over options. Many people prefer cash back as compared to travel points. Others travel 3 times a week and Amex and Chase are excellent options. Just not for everyone. With a little more info on where she spends, how much, and how she would like to receive rewards will help many here suggest options.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

SouthJamaica — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 18:16:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Here is here credit profile:

1 CC, a Capital One card with $4,000 limit, $0 balance. Roughly 5-7 years old.

1 care credit account with ~$700 balance, roughly $4,000 limit or so. Signed up when her dog got hit by a car so not sure of exact amount. It's still on a 0% promotional rate so not in a rush to pay it down to zero.

1 Auto loan, 0% thru Hyundai, roughly $22,000 left.

She has no lates or derogs on her profile. Guessing her score would be 750+. No relationship history with any other major CC companies.
Which direction should I take her credit? Thinking of going the Chase route for CSP/Freedom then Amex. Penfed another possibility but since they've tightened up their strings of late not sure I want to go that route first. She doesn't like the idea of credit (I'm trying to change that now) and I'd hate to spook her with the possibility of denial for too small of a profile for Penfed. Hoping to get a high limit somewhere then go AmEx so she has a higher SL there. Anyway, anybody have thoughts of where I should take her credit? Thanks!

If she doesn't like credit, let her be. Maybe she's smarter than us.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Kforce — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 18:37:02 GMT

My daughters first CC after a secured was the City-DC. Her credit was about like this. (not a large Cl but nice rewards for a first CC) At this stage of her credit journey I would pick either cashback or travel but not try to shotgun and get both. It looks like her credit supports a 2% cashback card and/or one of the revolving 5% cards. I have no expertise on travel cards, so will leave suggestions to others. Maybe a 2% cashback would be like a gateway drug and lead her down this dark path.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:02:59 GMT

I got approved for the PenFed power cash with no open CCs and a thin file. No derogs either.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

SunriseEarth — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 22:54:59 GMT

If your DW doesn't like credit, you can definitely plug the perks of using credit cards, such as safety, rewards, and convenience.

What is her spend typically like? Are there any stores that she frequents? Is she (or you) a member of any warehouse clubs? Does she make foreign purchases?

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

SunriseEarth — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 22:58:56 GMT

@Kforce wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Here is here credit profile:

1 CC, a Capital One card with $4,000 limit, $0 balance. Roughly 5-7 years old. (OK age & CL but low cc count, PS she should let just a few dollars report every month for 1 or 2 before new application to help "Fico".)

Because she only has two CCs, and because less than half your revolving accounts should have balances for optimization, letting a balance post on both CCs may cause a score dip, so I will have to disagree with this remark. Optimization will be easier with 3 or more CCs.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

AppHappyTog — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 23:13:40 GMT

Have her check on Chase to see what she prequalifies for. They recently had some decent SUB for CSP and my friend just got the FU with the $300 statement credit after her initial first $500 spend within 3 months.

Amex has some pretty competitive travel based cards with perks, depending on how she feels about some of the AF’s and if they suit her needs.

If her profile is clean and her EQ9 is decent I wouldn’t doubt PenFed would take her, obviously I’m just a stranger on the interwebs so I wouldn’t hold me to it but I think she’s got a decent shot at it.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Kforce — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 00:13:26 GMT

@SunriseEarthwrote:
Here is here credit profile:

1 CC, a Capital One card with $4,000 limit, $0 balance. Roughly 5-7 years old. (OK age & CL but low cc count, PS she should let just a few dollars report every month for 1 or 2 before new application to help "Fico".)

ecause she only has two CCs, and because less than half your revolving accounts should have balances for optimization, letting a balance post on both CCs may cause a score dip, so I will have to disagree with this remark. Optimization will be easier with 3 or more CCs.

The one or two is months to see higher fico, one card reporting is better than none reporting. Two reporting would not be good either. Don't know which would be worse, but 5-10 on "one" card is best.

Re: Suggestions on cards for my better half please...

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 01:05:31 GMT

Well we preq her on Citi & AmEx. She was preapproved at everything for Citi but we didn’t apply. Then went to AmEx and preq for BCE and Everyday/EDP. I wanted to get the BCP so we applied for it..approved for $4k. Then decided to go for 2 in 1 day AmEx app, so we tried for the Delta Gold since we are a Delta hub and..approved for $10,000! The sl there was a pleasant surprise.