topic Re: Second Card for DW? in Credit Cards

Second Card for DW?

SevenNEW — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:16:51 GMT

I am looking for a second card for DW.

She has:

- Cap 1 platinum MC (3/2009 - CL 1,500 bal. $ 0)
- Cap 1 platinum MC AU (8/2008 - CL $ 2,750 bal. $ 0)
- Amex BCP AU (8/2011 - CL 12k bal. $ 425)
(She also has an Amex business card, which does not report)

Recent scores are good - EQ 743 and TU 751. No baddies or lates. AAoA is around 2 years, oldest TL 3 years.

We would like a Visa (preferably) or MC, no AF, a decent cash back. Possibly something whose rotating categories did not match my Chase Freedom.

I have looked at citi dividend and forward, BoA Visa Cash Back, and others, but cannot quite decide.

Thank you for your suggestions!

Re: Second Card for DW?

bichonmom — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:21:21 GMT

Have you looked into USAA? Even as a ltd member, you can get a CC.

Another one to consider is PenFed, which you would need to join by joining a qualifying organization first.

If you qualify via military, NFCU is good as well.

You could also look into a local CU.

Beyond that, you're looking at Chase, Citi, B of A, primarily.

Re: Second Card for DW?

KLGFCG — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:33:04 GMT

What are her spending habits?

Re: Second Card for DW?

SevenNEW — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:24 GMT

@KLGFCG wrote:
What are her spending habits?

Good questions. She would use this as an alternative to our main card, Amex BCP, which we use mostly for groceries.

She does not do a lot of restaurants. I suppose it would be mostly gas and local shops...

Re: Second Card for DW?

KLGFCG — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:44:05 GMT

@SevenNEW wrote:
Good questions. She would use this as an alternative to our main card, Amex BCP, which we use mostly for groceries.
She does not do a lot of restaurants. I suppose it would be mostly gas and local shops...

Hmm, given that, I'd normally recommend Chase Freedom (6 mos. of 5% on gas in 2012, plus there are $300 bonus offers out there for new applicants!), but it sounds like you already have that one.

Citi Forward (5% on restaurants and entertainment, 1% on everything else) probably isn't a good fit.

You could wait and see if Citi Dividend's (or Discover More's, but sounds like you're not looking for a Discover card) rotating categories would fit her needs and complement your other cards.

Another option would be BofA 1,2,3 rewards which is a consistent 3% on gas (2% on groceries, 1% on everything else), but doesn't your BCP already beat that?

For non-category rewards, I think Fidelity might have a VISA that offers 2% on everything, but I'm not very familiar with the particulars there. Capital One's Cash Rewards (it's one of their prime cards) also effectively offers 1.5% on everything, though you only get 1% upfront then you receive an annual bonus of 50% of the total rewards earned throughout the year.

Hopefully other members will chime in with more responses. It seems like you've got a lot of your bases covered already, so finding the right card to maximize the benefits for your wife is stumping me a little!

Re: Second Card for DW?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:53:51 GMT

She looks like a good candidate for Penfed. Her scores are great and they seem to like thin, clean files. The Cash Rewards card gives 5% on gas and 1% on everything else. Plus it could be valuable to establish a relationship with them now if she might be interested in their other products in the future, Auto Loan, Loc, ect.

Re: Second Card for DW?

KLGFCG — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:01:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
She looks like a good candidate for Penfed. Her scores are great and they seem to like thin, clean files. The Cash Rewards card gives 5% on gas and 1% on everything else. Plus it could be valuable to establish a relationship with them now if she might be interested in their other products in the future, Auto Loan, Loc, ect.

I've never been clear on this... to get Penfed's VISA, do you need to do any banking with Penfed, or can you just pay your membership to a qualifying organization, join Penfed, and get the card?

Re: Second Card for DW?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:10:37 GMT

The opening of at least a share account is required to join - $5 minimum deposit or something like that. Then it it possible to apply for a card right away. If I'm not mistaken, they will use the same credit pull that was used for membership.

Re: Second Card for DW?

SevenNEW — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:30:29 GMT

Thank you all for your advice! In the end, we decided that the best option would be the BoA 1-2-3. (There would be membership problems with PenFed because she is not yet a citizen). She applied and was approved with a CL of 25k, if I did heard well. Another MyFico success story!!

Re: Second Card for DW?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:38:07 GMT

Wow, Great choice and great CL! Congrats!!