topic Re: Top 5 cards to have? in Credit Cards

Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:14:39 GMT

About 2 years back my credit score was under 500.. there were few delinquencies, also a flag on Early Warning System. Fast forward to today, I have paid up all my defaulted accounts, and within 1 year my credit score shot up to close to 700 TU is up to 749

I started off with a Discover IT pre-paid card, and worked my way up. Got approved for Capital One Platinum for 3000 USD limit.

In 6 months I got approved for Amex Gold with 7000 USD limit.

Yes you do not need credit repair agencies, sign up for credit report monitoring, and start paying off your dues in full, not partial or not even settlement.. soon you will see the records fall off, and with a pre-paid card, your scores will start getting better.

Now that i have the above mentioned 3 cards, i would like to add more cards to my portfolio.. yes i am more responsible now, and wont repeate those blunders. I earn well as well.

But I do know I wont be able to secure any Chase cards, as i have a Chase flag on my Early Warning System, though the Bank Over Drafted account is fully paid and closed.

SO each time i try to check pre-qualification site for chase, they say that they cannot find a suitable card for me atm.

So other than chase what other cards do you recommend (i already have Discover IT silver, Amex Gold, and Capital One Platinum).

I was thinking of getting one PedFed CC. If you recommend this one also...so.. which one.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:31:32 GMT

Without knowing your spending habits specifically, you probably would do well with a flat 2% cash back card. Since you are already considering PenFed, I would try for their Power Cash Rewards which when paired with their checking (minimum balance of $500 to avoid a monthly fee) gives 2% back on all purchases.

Otherwise the Citi Double Cash, Alliant Visa Platinum Rewards, and PayPal Cashback are all solid 2% choices that have their own quirks.

I opted not to deal with quirks and so I use my Capital One QuickSilver and NFCU cashRewards cards for 1.5% instead.

Any other recommendations, we will need to know what your spend looks like.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:29:17 GMT

Thanks for your replies. Honestly speaking.. I have not thought about what kind of card i should get, wether I should pay emphasis to Cash back, or travel, etc.

Yes being a family man, we shop around a lot both at local stores and supermarkets.

We do travel as well, atleast one foreign trip one year, and probably two domestic ones.

There is no preference to which airlines we travel in, the one that provides us the lowest fares we choose.

So i guess an airline branded card will not work good for me.. i used my amex gold points to travel to Australia recently, and I paid 400 usd less. That was sweet, I dont know if there are other cards that offers better travel points.

Other than that.. as i said, i have no preference.. wiht the above spending habits, what do u think i should choose.. Please feel free to brainstorm and ask more questions if you have.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:39:04 GMT

If you have military affiliation, the NFCU Flagship gives a flat 2X on all purchases which makes it a 2% cash back card if you redeem for cash, 3X on travel also but it has a $49 AF after the first year so you have to do the math to see if it works for you.

I am not very fond of PenFed, they have earned the name PenDread to some of us around here, but NFCU is amazing. I have their cashRewards card and use it more than my PayPal Cashback even though it’s only 1.5% because it’s a superior card in every other way than that .5%.

I am not great with the travel options though so someone else would have to chime in here.

Since you already have the Amex Gold, I assume you’re covered on grocery spend.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:43:12 GMT

No military affliation.

2% seems normal with many cards now. I was thinking about BoA Premium Rewards?

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:48:44 GMT

If you have the assets in BoA, you can’t beat the 2.625% on all purchases that the Premium Rewards offers.

But you have to have $50K or more in BoA or Merrill accounts before you will beat a 2% card (2.25% for $50K+, 2.625% kicks in at $100K+). If you have that there already, it’s definitely a no-brainer.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 12:04:58 GMT

You already have gold and IT, get a DC and call it.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Andypanda — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 14:53:35 GMT

If you have a Costco membership, I believe the Citi Costco Visa is worth. If yoiu do not mind getting the Cash back once a year. 2% back at costco (PP and DC are MC which Costco does not accept). 4% back on cash. 3% back on resturants and tracel. If you book travel through costco travel and have an exuctive membership, you can 3% back on the visa, and 2% back from coscto exective membership, pretty much givving you 5% back on travel.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 15:20:02 GMT

@AndyPanda, great feedback. Costco credit card is on my list. I am a costco member. SO yes.

I just want to raise my credit worthiness and have multiple lines. Not wanting to content with one or two cards. Its not like I will be using them like cats and dogs.. but every once in a while I will log in few hundred dollars on each card for spiking up my credit scores.

Anything else you recommend? Especially for travel. I dont think Amex Gold is all that great for travel. I mentioned i travel to an international destination once a year, and about 2 times domestically. Not a fanboy of any specific airlines.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

kdm31091 — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 16:15:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Anything else you recommend? Especially for travel. I dont think Amex Gold is all that great for travel. I mentioned i travel to an international destination once a year, and about 2 times domestically. Not a fanboy of any specific airlines.

Amex Gold earns MR points, which IMO are actually only really useful for travel. You can redeem for a limited selection of gift cards, but anything else is far below 1 cent per point, which means you're better off with cash back. If you aren't redeeming your Amex points for travel / transferring to partners, it's likely not worth the AF for the Gold.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

randomguy1 — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 16:46:52 GMT

Here's my list of cards I either have or are on my radar excluding Chase due to your request.

Uber Visa - cell phone insurance perk is nice. Dining perks 4%, 3% streaming, 2% online, 1% everything else

Amex Blue Cash Preferred or Everyday

US Bank Cash Plus - The bonus categories YOU get to choose can really help you out here since you have other 5% cards. For example, you can choose Cell phone and Utilities if you want to just reduce your regular spendings.

Capital One Venture - Travel card

Wells Fargo Propel, cell phone insurance perk, 3x on Gas, rideshares, and transit;
Flights, hotels, homestays, and car rentals;
Popular streaming services

Alliant Signature $99 annual fee that's waived the first year, then you can PC change down to a card without a PC if you can't make enough money back to cover the annual fee.

randomguy1Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 17:03:21 GMT

@randomguy1, you are the second one here on the thread recommending Alliant card. I never heard of this one before. What is PC? What are the benefits of getting the Alliant Card?
Also, is it ok to apply for multiple cards at the same time (one after another), for eg:- Costco Visa Card, Well's Fargo Propel and one travel card, i am still researching the best one.

Or i should give some break time between applying for all the 3 cards?

Re: randomguy1Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 17:19:03 GMT

The Alliant card is only worth it if you’re going to make it your primary card. The value decreases massively if you add other cards into the mix but the 3% for the first year is attractive either way.

PC = product change. Basically call and ask them to downgrade you to their visa platinum rewards I suggested as the first response to this thread. It’s a 2% card with no annual fee.

As for applying all at once, I wouldn’t do that with your thin file. Grab two at once and the third in a minimum of 3 months.

Re: randomguy1Re: Top 5 cards to have?

randomguy1 — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 17:32:09 GMT

Saeren pretty much answered it all. I had the card on my list but since I am going to go to the Chase UR ecosystem, it probably won't make my list anytime soon unless I'm chasing some sign up bonuses.

This abbreviation thread might come in handy:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 17:48:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
No military affliation.
2% seems normal with many cards now. I was thinking about BoA Premium Rewards?

The underwriting on the BofA Premium Rewards card is fairly strict; so you'd probably be better served by looking at another card. If you search these forums you'd see that a fairly high number of denied applications for this card. And if you don't have assets on deposit with BofA/Merrill/U.S. Trust or any other BofA affiliate your chances of approval are really slim.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

KJinNC — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:04:16 GMT

Since you are a Costco member and are interested in travel, I would look long and hard at the Costco Citi card. It might fit your needs perfectly. The main drawback is that rewards are paid out in the form of a paper check after 12 months, and you need to be a Costco member at that time or the rewards are forfeited.

Other cards I would consider:

- Citi DC, Paypal MasterCard, for 2% on everything

- Cap 1 Venture, or Venture One, I forget which is which, as a general-purpose travel card

- Ducks Unlimited for 5% gas cash back (also 5% sporting goods)

- You could decide to pick airline and hotel brands to be loyal to, and get cards aligned with them - I had no loyalty until I got a Delta card and a Hilton card, now I'm loyal simply to take advantage of the cards

I think you are at, or near, a point of diminishing returns as far as raising your credit score by getting more cards, though. I would think primarily in terms of the rewards at this point, vs assuming each card will boost your score.

Just my opinion. Good luck!

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:22:49 GMT

@MaizeandBlue, thanks for the tip. Actually i got pre-approved for various boa cards, this was based of boa's preapproval portal. I wonder if they deny the application when submitting and during HP. I also have a bank account with them, and this preappoval was based after logging in to the portal with my user/password.. and submitting the last 4 digits of SSN.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:24:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@MaizeandBlue, thanks for the tip. Actually i got pre-approved for various boa cards, this was based of boa's preapproval portal. I wonder if they deny the application when submitting and during HP. I also have a bank account with them, and this preappoval was based after logging in to the portal with my user/password.. and submitting the last 4 digits of SSN.

BoA’s prequalification site is well known for not being accurate. I wouldn’t trust it.

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

FieryDance — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 20:56:35 GMT

The BoA Premium is one of only 2 cards that I acquired during my recent card acquiring spree that I intend to keep long term. Even if you have to move some asset around (for free) to qualify for a higher Preferred Rewards status it is totally worth the trouble. I would recommend going for at least the Platinum level with a brokerage or a retirement account. (Don’t use savings because BoA has dismal rates).

Re: Top 5 cards to have?

Aim_High — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 21:22:48 GMT

@FieryDance wrote:
The BoA Premium is one of only 2 cards that I acquired during my recent card acquiring spree that I intend to keep long term. Even if you have to move some asset around (for free) to qualify for a higher Preferred Rewards status it is totally worth the trouble. I would recommend going for at least the Platinum level with a brokerage or a retirement account. (Don’t use savings because BoA has dismal rates).

Great advice. I recently went through adding multiple Chase cards to fill out my UR options. However, I'm a long time Bank of America banking and/or credit customer so one of my next plans was to transfer assets so that I could have up to the 2.625% cash back returns on Preferred Rewards for diversification. If you can afford to move the assets, you really can't beat that return anywhere.