All baddies fell off finally, am I ready to join the AMEX & Chase game?

[Anonymous]

Hello all! Gloriously, this morning, I checked my credit on Experian to realize that my last "baddie" has fallen off after 7 years. I've had a Cap1 QS one for 8 months ($300 SL and they recently raised me to $600 w/o me asking) and a Credit One for 1 year exactly with a $500 limit just to have the accounts. I also have a $50k car loan with USAA. & not sure if it helps, but I'm on a Chase AU with a 4 year 9 month history $7500 limit. 2% utilization on my file with a 728 FICO 8 on Experian as of today. 

Would it be wise for me to go ahead and get my foot in the door with the entry level Chase and AMEXs now? What are the "entry level" cards recommened? In addition to USAA, I'm also a member of PenFed. I know USAA uses FICO BANKCARD 2 in which I have a 798 as of today, would I be better off getting in the door with their AMEX card first and waiting a few more months? I know everyone's going to tell me look at preapproval, but in the past years that has never really worked for me due to my baddie.. so forgive me if I don't have much faith now. I spend a lot of $ and I am tired of using my debit card and am ready to reap some points and benefits! Using that puny $300 limit, I legitimately spent $15k on Cap 1 in the first 6 months and I'm not too thrilled by the small increase they gave me, albiet, it was 1 month ago when my baddie was sucking 100 points from my score. 

update - I applied for the Chase Freedom, AMEX Plat & BCP & was approved for all three. Kind of wish I would have applied for the CSP instead of the Freedom, but I second guessed myself. No matter, after this round of gardening I'll be strong enough to spring for the CSR  I can't thank the people on this forum enough for having the write ups to bring me down from the depths of the 490's lol. 780+ next!

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you may be a good fit for a Chase card. However, if you burned them in the past through a BK I would steer clear of them for now. It also depends on your income. Before you go apply for cards I would try Chase with their 5/24 rule you would fit in right now, They would be a great start. Citi would probably be a good choice as well. I would start at the top with those and not fall into sub prime banks

Thanks

Mark

[Anonymous]

Never burned Chase or any company besides Navy Fed (stupid me). I did "pre-qual" for amex and got pre approved for BCE, BCP and AMEX gold. I've never been pre approved before so I have a good feeling and will apply for the BCE or BCP after I weigh out the pros and cons. I should also mention that I'd like to get some business credit secured moving forward, as I'm getting more involved in several businesses. So I'll likely apply for Chase at the same time as the AMEX and get deep in the garden until time to move up a tier. 

[Hoben02]

If your fico is good I would apply for the csp if you want a travel card and can use their travel partners becuz of the historic high bonus of 100k points

[Anonymous]

update - I applied for the Chase Freedom, AMEX Plat & BCP & was approved for all three. Kind of wish I would have applied for the CSP instead of the Freedom, but I second guessed myself. No matter, after this round of gardening I'll be strong enough to spring for the CSR I can't thank the people on this forum enough for having the write ups to bring me down from the depths of the 490's lol. 780+ next!

[kilroy8]

You did it the right way to get CSP. Just hold steady, keep utilization low,  and stay under 4/24 for about six months and Chase will likely offer it to you. It happened to me.

[Deeyarht948]

 Congrats on your aprrovals and clean file! What was the limits on the Amex cards given to you just for asking? And see you reporting high income? 

[Anonymous]

On paper, I make about 145k/year. Chase was $500, BCP was $1k and when I called earlier to see if I could get AmEx to put both cards into one login I asked how much spending power the charge card had she said it showed $10k on her end. I fully intend to 3x CLI the BCP and I'm confident the platnium will allow me to spend more over time as well. Not excited about the chase limit but at least my foot is in the door with them. 

[FinStar]

As the OP has indicated they've been approved for the cards as noted upthread, this thread is now locked and closed to new messages.  

OP - feel free to start a new thread in the Approvals forum if you wish to do so.