topic Re: Best next cc to app for? in Credit Cards

Best next cc to app for?

Jamex — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 19:08:36 GMT

Hey team,

Just looking for any pearls of wisdom on the best next card to add to my wallet as I continue rebuilding. Right now I have 2: Citi Dividend Platinum Select (2500 limit) and Barclay's Rewards Mastercard (3000 limit). I just got approved for the Barclay's card a couple weeks ago, and I know they're INQ sensitive, but I have very few INQs across my 3 reports from the past year (1 EX, 0 EQ, 1 TU) so I think I can afford it. I'd like to try to grow my available credit to about 10k by the end of this year, so that I could carry a balance of up to 1k if needed without hurting my util.

My latest scores are in my signature. Income is 74k. I've tried a few pre-approval sites (though I know they're not always accurate) and had the best success with Chase (Freedom & Slate both showed up as pre-approved) and Amex (Green, Gold, and Blue Sky showed up). Each report has 3-4 baddies, most recent was from 2010.

Any thoughts on another good tool to add to my wallet? I'm not sure whether a charge card or a revolver would be best. I'd also like to ask Barclays for a CLI in September, so might be best to avoid any HPs on TU if possible.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Best next cc to app for?

BigBS — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 19:47:14 GMT

What are you looking for from your credit card? Cashback? Points? Do you travel (if so, with a particular airline)? Stay at a particular hotel? Lots of questions to answer before deciding what the best credit card would be. Perhaps you just want a credit card with a large balance for balance transfer?

Re: Best next cc to app for?

Jamex — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 20:05:56 GMT

Great questions - thanks for asking. I travel 3-4 times per year (typical trip involves a r/t flight out of Boston, and 2-3 nights in budget/mid-range hotels - like Best Western, Comfort Inn, or something similar). Best carriers for me out of Boston are Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest. Right now I usually just book whatever's cheapest, but I'm open to committing more firmly to an airline or hotel chain if their credit card allows me to get a couple free nights or at least one free flight segment per year.

My Dividend Select is already decent on the cash-back front (especially since they'll send me a check rather than just a statement credit). I don't usually carry a balance, so balance-transfer and 0% APR offers don't matter as much. I was maybe leaning more towards a revolver than a charge since I do want to get the score boost from low util, but open to feedback on that.

I do eat out a ton as well, so I'd say that means I'm looking for travel and/or dining rewards, and for a card that tends to give a reasonably generous CL and CLIs over time (I'd hope for a starting limit of at least 3k with scores in the 670s - 680s)

Does that help?