Advice for next steps

[dahx]

So I enjoyed a mini app spree last month. Snagged an amex BCE and an amazon chase. I also won a cli from bofa from 1.4k to 5k. 

Looks like amex will be on my CRs by 3/16th, and chase will begin in april, assuming I understand correctly that they will be added when first statement closes.

I don't travel much, maybe once a year. Income less than $70k. I run roughly $500-600 a month thru CCs. I'm just a small fella.

Roughly 7 year credit history, nothing bad, just 2 CCs currently on CRs with the two new ones soon to report.

Initially I was going to garden for the next few months and then try for some additional CLIs, but then again, maybe it's  a good time for a US bank card. My plan is to wait for bofa to report with the new credit increase, which should happen by 3/12, and then app for the US bank in hopes for a better SL.

Any thoughts as to my next steps? Should I simply wait, garden, and increase my TL, or should I go for US bank or some other card like another amex or chase? My goal is to diversify my portfolio and increase my TL. Current TL with the 4 cards I have now is about 16k.  

[dahx]

 I should mention that I've been putting most spend on my bofa cash rewards card for at least a year, which is going to be mostly shifted toward amex for the next few months. I wonder if they'll reward me with a good SL for say their travel rewards card before they notice my spend cools down?

[JoeRockhead]

Congratulations on your recent approvals. If you're really wanting to add a USB card I'd say now isn't the time to do it as they are pretty sensitive to inquires and new accounts. They're also pretty conservative when it comes to starting limits so I wouldn't count on any kind of significant SL with them. 

It's a great idea to diversify the cards in your wallet but, I'd encourage you to research what cards best suit your spending needs and habits and be more strategic in your future applications by learning the tendencies of the lender you're looking at to ensure you increase your chances of approval and securing the cards that are most useful to you.

Sometimes adding more cards too quickly can potentially become more of a hindrance than it helps, and there's nothing wrong with waiting, building your CLs through CLIs and being more strategic in the new accounts you add.

[dahx]

1 inquiry on TU. 2 on EX. 0 on EQ.

I was under the impression that USB won't see the new accounts until they hit the CRAs. Now if there's risk of AA when USB (or chase, etc) discovers them after already being approved, that'd be an issue for sure. The cash+ from them seems to be a good general card.

DP: I noticed amex has me at 28.2% apr with a 2k sl. Not that I intend on paying interest, but I feel like they don't like me much yet. 

FICO 8: 770-790 across the CRAs. Low balances on cards, just zeroed them except for one.

[JoeRockhead]

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@dahx wrote:

1 inquiry on TU. 2 on EX. 0 on EQ.

I was under the impression that USB won't see the new accounts until they hit the CRAs. Now if there's risk of AA when USB (or chase, etc) discovers them after already being approved, that'd be an issue for sure. The cash+ from them seems to be a good general card.

DP: I noticed amex has me at 28.2% apr with a 2k sl. Not that I intend on paying interest, but I feel like they don't like me much yet. 

FICO 8: 770-790 across the CRAs. Low balances on cards, just zeroed them except for one.

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It's true that they won't see the new accounts until they show up in your reports but they're recent inquiry sensitive as well so I was just cautioning you where your X/6 is concerned... I don't know how prevalent AA is from USB. It may come into play when for example you ask for a CLI down the road just a bit. Chase on the other hand, is well known for AA for adding too many accounts, too quickly (three or more would be treading into murky waters). 

Your DPs look great... it's just the tendencies of USB and timing that are the question marks for me. 

[dahx]

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

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it's just the tendencies of USB and timing that are the question marks for me. 

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I think I see your point. Given the inquiry will be less than one month old if I apply per my plan, they'll probably assume it's a new account.   Appreciate your feedback. 

[CorpCrMgr1]

Congratulations on your mini app success! Good luck on your USB!

[dahx]

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@CorpCrMgr1 wrote:

Congratulations on your mini app success! Good luck on your USB!

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Thanks.

Folks on reddit speak of approvals with $500 no-prior-relationship SLs instead of outright denials (iirc from 1-2 years ago). I may try for a business&personal bank account with USB in the coming months, and that should hopefully help the odds in a future app. So gardening it is. 

I just don't want to go another 7 years with only two cards where my only cli came from autos from disco.