@Anonymous wrote:Not interested in Discover or Amex. I prefer cards that are accepted everywhere.
And WF... well, if I expressed my feelings about that bank here I would probably get banned.
Are there any benefits to waiting/gardening first? No one seems to have chimed in on that aspect of my query.
Also, does Citi ever offer promotions/SUBs on the Double Cash? Like, if I wait a few months, a promotion might pop up? I know Chase changes up their SUBs from time to time... don't know about Citi.
Never hurts to wait. It only garners positive points on your reports. Closing on a mortgage isn't a requirement to get new cards unless you really need to. The dip/pop ratio isn't a big deal when it comes to points. Your F8's are over 800 and would still be over 780 which still leaves the door open to any lender you pick. Usuaully the deciding factor in apping immedately after closing is you know your scores already even though they're 2/4/5 models instead of F8 and the people typically more prone to doing apps after closing don't have a thick profile and great scores already.
I did get $100 for $500 spend on the DC which was what prompted the APP even though 6 months earlier I picked up the Premier for the 50K bonus they were offering.
BTW we all have feelings about particular banks at times that would get us banned or at least slapped on the wrist for mentioning them out loud. I used to have those feelings about a lot of the big banks and then a switch flipped and I started taking their free money through the bonuses they offer. A couple of those banks are actually my highest CL's @ 65K/ea now. WF isn't one of them though at a pitiful $7500 and Citi has been playing the long game with me so far w/ 2K bumps every 6 months.
As to Amex/Disco... I've run into 1 place that didn't accept either of them and it was a gas station that's smaller in scale. Domestically they're accepted probably in 99.99% of places due to the merchant accounts being setup to accept all 4 networks these days. Internationally is a different story where MC/V are accepted more but, in Asia it's Disco through JCB that's accepted more.
Limiting yourself is kind of shooting yourself in the foot sometimes.
Thanks for your insights. I still have time to mull it over, and I'll make my decision after the closing. I'm about 50/50 between apping right away and just saying forget it and going directly into the garden. I don't really need another card since I have 3 already. 
They say not to app for anything (cards, car loans etc) while applying for a mortgage until after closing, hence the need to wait until then in the first place. After closing, I could app right away before the scores drop, or garden a while and app later, or not app at all.
Guess I'll see how I feel after forking over 100+K to the ex. I'm in spending freeze mode for the foreseeable future anyway, so any new card isn't going to see a lot of spend going on it. Forget anything that requires 4-figure spending for a SUB. LOL.
Seems like bad timing on my part as neither the DC or the CFU have a cash bonus SUB right now. $100 for $500 spend is a better deal than 3% for a year (which would require $3,333 spend to earn $100). Maybe waiting is better.