Good credit, no credit card. Need recommendations

[Anonymous]

I am looking for a recommendation on a Visa or MC.

I don't currently have any credit cards. I don't think I've ever had a credit card for which I was the account holder, other than a small limit secured card 15 years ago, and a JCPenny card from 2001-2012, closed satisfactorily (not sure I was the holder on that one though).

I have an account with Experian for monitoring my credit. And I've got checking & savings accounts with CapitalOne, though I am not doing much with those at the moment.

I've got a good salary. My FICO8 scores are EX 750, EQ 768, TU 725. Vantage scores are ~720.
Credit reports show 3 open accounts. I got my first mortgage in August. I've got a small student loan that I've been paying on-time for a decade. No car loans. Only 3 inquiries on my credit, and those are from the mortgage shopping/applying process.

Bascially the worst thing on my credit is the lack of a credit card.

I'm not overly concerned with rewards (if I cared, then I suppose cash back on groceries or gas would be best). And I wouldn't mind a small annual fee if that were a thing for some reason. Mostly I just want to have a big enough credit line in case an actual emergency, and I definitely don't want to get declined.

I figured I'd probably get either something from Chase or CapitalOne, but would appreciate guidance here.

Thank you

[5KRunner]

Check for prequalifications with Capital One, Chase and Citi:

https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/prequalify

https://www.chase.com/prequalified

https://www.citicards.com/cards/credit/application/flow.action?isInvitation=

[Anonymous]

American Express and Discover Pre-qualified:

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/check-for-offers/

https://www.discovercard.com/application/website/prequal?ICMPGN=PUB_HDR_CARDS_PQ

[AllZero]

Capital One, Discover, Citi, American Express has prequal sites as mentioned up thread.

Chase my be a little difficult since you have no open revolving accounts.

I would recommend checking with your local credit union or Navy Federal Credit Union if you are eligible.

Also, go in branch and try with Bank of America. If they don't have any offers for unsecured, see if they can offer the secured card $99 deposit for $500 credit line. They can graduate early and offer soft pull credit limit increases.

[kerplunk]

A few thoughts:

1. You said you wanted a Visa or Mastercard credit card, so American Express and Discover are automatically out.

2. I would steer away from Capital One as they perform a hard inquiry for all three bureaus.

3. You said you don’t care about rewards and you only really want this card in case of an emergency. The Navy Federal Platinum card would be perfect. It’s Visa, it’s a very low APR, and good chance of high credit limit.

[Girlzilla88]

I would say Chase, Citi or NFCU as people have mentioned 

[Anonymous]

What's the issue of Capital One pulling all 3 reports?

I do not qualify for NFCU.

I pre-qualify for these but I didn't think that was unlikely.

How about the Citi Double Cash or Simplicity? Better vs Capital One?

[Jnbmom]

I would take citi double cash, simplicity has zero benefits other than lower apr and good BT offers , but since you have no debt that card isn’t a good choice.

Amex and discover would be good choices.

Cap one pulls all three which kinda stinks to get 3 hps for one card.

[5KRunner]

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@Anonymous wrote:
What's the issue of Capital One pulling all 3 reports?

I do not qualify for NFCU.

I pre-qualify for these but I didn't think that was unlikely.

How about the Citi Double Cash or Simplicity? Better vs Capital One?

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Citi Double Cash is great if you want a simple rewards structure, as it's a flat 2% without worrying about categories. The best flat-rate earnings cards with Chase (Freedom Unlimited) and Capital One (Quicksilver) offer only 1.5% cash back. In my experience, Chase and Capital One offered higher starting limits than Citi, though.

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous Who do you bank with?  Chances are you will be able to easily get a Visa or MasterCard from the bank with which you have a depository relationship.