topic To garden or not to garden? in Credit Cards

To garden or not to garden?

rgd51 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 06:11:38 GMT

I use the chase freedom unlimited as my daily driver due to its solid all around rewards structure. For inquiries I am 0/6 6/12 and 12/24 with experian. I got denied for the citi DC back in November for too many inquiries. My fico 8 is 759 and fico 9 is 781. I'm tempted to get a flat rate 2% card but not sure if my inquiries are low enough for citi and I have no desire to do business with Wells Fargo. Torn between if I should apply for the DC again or just garden for awhile in the hopes that Amex or any of the other major banks increase their 1.5% cards to 2% and add a SUB to compete with the new wells fargo card.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 06:52:19 GMT

@rgd51 wrote:
I use the chase freedom unlimited as my daily driver due to its solid all around rewards structure. For inquiries I am 0/6 6/12 and 12/24 with experian. I got denied for the citi DC back in November for too many inquiries. My fico 8 is 759 and fico 9 is 781. I'm tempted to get a flat rate 2% card but not sure if my inquiries are low enough for citi and I have no desire to do business with Wells Fargo. Torn between if I should apply for the DC again or just garden for awhile in the hopes that Amex or any of the other major banks increase their 1.5% cards to 2% and add a SUB to compete with the new wells fargo card.

Consider submitting your info on the FNBO pre-qual site to see if you qualify for the 2% FNBO Evergreen CC. Before applying, do a little research to get some data points on the accuracy of the pre-qual site. I think there's a thread about the pre-qual site on myFICO.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 07:23:02 GMT

0/6 is usually enough for Citi. YMMV though obviously. If you really want the card, I would just say go for it.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

rgd51 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 07:35:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
0/6 is usually enough for Citi. YMMV though obviously. If you really want the card, I would just say go for it.

The thing I wonder about is if lenders like Amex will increase their flat rate to 2% and then add a SUB in that case it might seem like worth waiting for. I also worry that chase might cancel my FU due to credit seeking. For USB don't you usually need to be 1/12?

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 12:32:14 GMT

I tossed an app at Elan/USB in April because I knew I was about to 'garden' and one extra inq wouldn't make much practical difference . . . I was surprised to get an approval with 2/6 and 3/12 inquiries. I don't think that rule is as 'hard' as chase's 5/24.

edit: in terms of actual new accounts, I was 0/12 when Elan/USB approved me (managed to get the approval before HSBC reported).

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Citylights18 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 14:19:50 GMT

If you already have the CFU you might want to add the CSP if you under 5/24 because then you can move your CFU points over to CSP and then on to transfer partners like Southwest, United, Jet Blue etc.

I'm not sure what you are thinking with a 2% DC card here? Are you planning to put bills on it? What you could do is keep your bills on the CFU and go out and get a CFF which has the 3x categories of the CFU plus the 5x rotator. The grocery bonus is worth up to $480 on the CFF in addition to the standard $200 dollar bonus.

Unless you just want to get started in the Citi ecosystem. Citi Premier is important if you want to maximize value of your points to the travel partners.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

rgd51 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 15:56:46 GMT

I'm not under 5/24 so I'm not eligible for another chase card at this time. I'm also not a big traveler or fan of AF cards. For a 2% card it would just be to put non category spend on but I don't have a whole lot of non category spend especially since I use the Amazon and target cards at those places.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:33:23 GMT

@rgd51 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
0/6 is usually enough for Citi. YMMV though obviously. If you really want the card, I would just say go for it.
The thing I wonder about is if lenders like Amex will increase their flat rate to 2% and then add a SUB in that case it might seem like worth waiting for. I also worry that chase might cancel my FU due to credit seeking. For USB don't you usually need to be 1/12?

If I held back on every app out of FOMO I would never end up with any new cards. That's why I shop for what suits my needs in the present, not what might exist in the future.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

rgd51 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:47:03 GMT

What do you mean by FOMO?

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Citylights18 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:50:43 GMT

@rgd51 wrote:
I'm not under 5/24 so I'm not eligible for another chase card at this time. I'm also not a big traveler or fan of AF cards. For a 2% card it would just be to put non category spend on but I don't have a whole lot of non category spend especially since I use the Amazon and target cards at those places.

The credit card spend shows up as utilization and impacts your credit score.

I don't know what level of SL you can on a credit card expect but if you are just looking for 2% cash back you can get that in a debit card. Unless you have another reason for getting a credit card such as paying off an existing balance with a 0.0 APR promotional offer. That was a big part of the reason I added to my credit portfolio a year or two ago. I was in 100k of credit card debt and new products gave me wiggle room.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Citylights18 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 18:07:56 GMT

Another reason I apped was my earn rate was so bad. I left the run up tread mill with a card to put my daily expense on that I already had but was paying me out only 1%.

Then I got the CFU and that put me up to 1.5% everything spend. The CSP bumped my travel and dining up to 2%. I worked my way up from the bottom in the rewards game.

Right now I'd put Chase #1 because of its travel partners on the hotel side and Citi might be the best for airlines. You can get 5x dine with them no-AF now with the Custom Cash. If you are daily driving a CFU but want another card to put bills on you can put bills on the CFU and use the Custom Cash for dining out. That is probably better than putting a few items on a Double Cash once in a while in terms of accruing points.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 18:10:19 GMT

@rgd51 wrote:
What do you mean by FOMO?

FOMO = fear of missing out

Re: To garden or not to garden?

sarge12 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 18:51:43 GMT

@rgd51 wrote:
I use the chase freedom unlimited as my daily driver due to its solid all around rewards structure. For inquiries I am 0/6 6/12 and 12/24 with experian. I got denied for the citi DC back in November for too many inquiries. My fico 8 is 759 and fico 9 is 781. I'm tempted to get a flat rate 2% card but not sure if my inquiries are low enough for citi and I have no desire to do business with Wells Fargo. Torn between if I should apply for the DC again or just garden for awhile in the hopes that Amex or any of the other major banks increase their 1.5% cards to 2% and add a SUB to compete with the new wells fargo card.

I am conservative in my approach, and if I am asking myself that question, it is to garden. I have a self imposed limit of 3 inqueries annually, but I usually only have 1, and wait a year to apply for another. Even then, I have about reached the limit of the number of cards I can feel comfortable monitoring(20). Only 2 cards see frequent use anyway...my Amex Blue Cash preferred, for groceries, and my Chase Amazon Prime card for most other purchase. Others see occasional use or use for certain utilities or insurance bills. I have the Citi DC, but most purchases I get more than 2% cash back. I have 2 BofA cards with one set for gas as the 3% catagory, and the other for online shopping for non-Amazon purchases. I have several cards that have 3% on dining. I also have one that is 3% for utilities such as AT&T(home phone cell phone and Uverse), power, and water. I have a USbank State Farm card for 3% on insurance. The Amazon card sees a lot of use with 5% cash back.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

MrDFinance — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 18:58:01 GMT

Citi did me the same so I got added as a authorized user on one with the thinking it will help my chances down the line but then I applied for the PayPal MasterCard 2% cashback and it's been serving me well and now I don't think I will ever apply for my own Double cash card ...

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Remedios — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 19:08:31 GMT

Garden.

If you know what you need, apply for it.

If you are experiencing this much hesitancy over a single app, then perhaps you should wait till it's more clear to you how you want to proceed instead of us trying to convince you.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

rgd51 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 19:11:40 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
Garden.
If you know what you need, apply for it.
If you are experiencing this much hesitancy over a single app, then perhaps you should wait till it's more clear to you how you want to proceed instead of us trying to convince you.

Yeah the previous denial for the DC as well as the $25 minimum redemption are holding me back because I don't have a lot of non category spend and having a 2% card for non category spend over getting 1.5% on the FU would only save me about $50 per year best and the redemption minimum would mean I wouldn't get to redeem my rewards very often.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

FalconSteve — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 19:48:25 GMT

Personally, I lean towards garden. Would I want to? No. Do I think you are on the cusp? Yes. However, that's where I would lean. If trying is worth it to you, please report back.

Re: To garden or not to garden?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 20:02:40 GMT

@Citylights18 wrote:

I don't know what level of SL you can on a credit card expect but if you are just looking for 2% cash back you can get that in a debit card.

What debit card(s) is 2% cashback? I know of 1% but not more

Re: To garden or not to garden?

FalconSteve — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 20:14:45 GMT

Same here (never heardof more than 1% debit)

Re: To garden or not to garden?

rgd51 — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 20:11:21 GMT

The target debit card gives a 5% discount but only on target purchases. Can't think of any others.