In your experience, which of these cards would most likely result in a good SL?

[2b2rich]

(this is for my 23 yr who gets a lot of card offers a week)

This time last year he had NO credit.  Now he gets 5 or 6 offers in the mail every week.

He saved $10K for a downpayment on a car last March, and when they ran his SSN, his name didn't even come up, so I had to co-sign for him (he was 22 at the time).  I figured at the time, it would be a good idea for him to start credit building with a credit card too, so a couple months after the auto loan started reporting, he applied for Cap 1 and got the QS with a $300 CL.  He paid the card off a couple times a month and after 6 months, he logs in and lo and behold he was auto bumped up to a $3500 CL!

So he hasn't applied for credit anywhere else and over the past 3 months, the kid has been getting everything from Chase, AmEx, Citi, BoA,.. and I don't mean 'starter' or student cards either.  Stuff like Freedom, etc.

He makes good money, and the only bills he has, is the auto loan, insurance, and his cell phone, because yeah, he lives with Me), but I'm curious.  What sort of starting CLs do you think he would get if he applied?  He doesn't want to waste a  pull if it's not worth it (I've created a credit fanatic these past 12 months, teaching him what hurts/helps )  Also, he really only wants one or two cards, and doesn't want to app spree with these.  Perks he is looking for would be Reward cards, no or low annual fees, etc

Thanks in advance!

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

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@2b2rich wrote:

(this is for my 23 yr who gets a lot of card offers a week)

This time last year he had NO credit.  Now he gets 5 or 6 offers in the mail every week.

He saved $10K for a downpayment on a car last March, and when they ran his SSN, his name didn't even come up, so I had to co-sign for him (he was 22 at the time).  I figured at the time, it would be a good idea for him to start credit building with a credit card too, so a couple months after the auto loan started reporting, he applied for Cap 1 and got the QS with a $300 CL.  He paid the card off a couple times a month and after 6 months, he logs in and lo and behold he was auto bumped up to a $3500 CL!

So he hasn't applied for credit anywhere else and over the past 3 months, the kid has been getting everything from Chase, AmEx, Citi, BoA,.. and I don't mean 'starter' or student cards either.  Stuff like Freedom, etc.

He makes good money, and the only bills he has, is the auto loan, insurance, and his cell phone, because yeah, he lives with Me), but I'm curious.  What sort of starting CLs do you think he would get if he applied?  He doesn't want to waste a  pull if it's not worth it (I've created a credit fanatic these past 12 months, teaching him what hurts/helps )  Also, he really only wants one or two cards, and doesn't want to app spree with these.  Perks he is looking for would be Reward cards, no or low annual fees, etc

Thanks in advance!

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Choice of a specific credit card doesn't guarantee a high limit. Comes down to AAOA, utilization, pull counts, and income/assets.

IMO, the continued apping, back to back will cause limit drops, and eventually denials based on limited experience of credit.

If he knows the rewards structure that fits his needs, then go for the three cards.

[2b2rich]

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@Burned2manybridgesB4 wrote:

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Choice of a specific credit card doesn't guarantee a high limit. Comes down to AAOA, utilization, pull counts, and income/assets.

IMO, the continued apping, back to back will cause limit drops, and eventually denials based on limited experience of credit.

If he knows the rewards structure that fits his needs, then go for the three cards.

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He hasn't been apping, that's something he doesn't want to do.  I think he has 3 inquiries at all, one for the auto, one for the Cap 1 card, and one for his phone service.

He likes being able to pay the card off after he uses it or runs up $100 or more.  Are there any who do not allow over a certain number of payments to be processed in a billing cycle?

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

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@2b2rich wrote:

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@Burned2manybridgesB4 wrote:

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Choice of a specific credit card doesn't guarantee a high limit. Comes down to AAOA, utilization, pull counts, and income/assets.

IMO, the continued apping, back to back will cause limit drops, and eventually denials based on limited experience of credit.

If he knows the rewards structure that fits his needs, then go for the three cards.

---

He hasn't been apping, that's something he doesn't want to do.  I think he has 3 inquiries at all, one for the auto, one for the Cap 1 card, and one for his phone service.

He likes being able to pay the card off after he uses it or runs up $100 or more.  Are there any who do not allow over a certain number of payments to be processed in a billing cycle?

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Can't vouch for "all cards," but IME all the big lenders take multiple payments, or have potential for a payment to be pushed from a persons bank account to the CC company, if his bank account has that billpay option.

[SecretAzure]

Amex BCE or Amex ED cards are great for new profiles. Amex likes to approve new profiles and these cards grow really fast. With under 2 years AAOA, and 2 credit cards with under $6k limit between the both of them, I got the card. A year and 2 months later the limit was $25K. Over 3 different credit limit increases. 2 months, then 6 months after that and another 6 months for the last one. After the second increase prime offers havn't stopped flying my way. 

Good luck!

[2b2rich]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

Amex BCE or Amex ED cards are great for new profiles. Amex likes to approve new profiles and these cards grow really fast. With under 2 years AAOA, and 2 credit cards with under $6k limit between the both of them, I got the card. A year and 2 months later the limit was $25K. Over 3 different credit limit increases. 2 months, then 6 months after that and another 6 months for the last one. After the second increase prime offers havn't stopped flying my way. 

Good luck!

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Interesteing, it was not that long after the big increase that he began getting these offers.

Thanks, both of you, for the info!

[Anonymous]

Would be tough to get a high limit with a thin file.
I'd shoot for whatever categories he uses alot. Bc/ed with amex. Discover or the freedom(freedom if you ask me, although discover can grow quicker). I don't think high limits should be the target here since his income is relatively high to his spend. Yearn for high limits in a year, right now he doesn't get to be worried about that(I'm 24 myself and in August of last year my total credit card line was around 5k).

Just build up his file, I WOULD open two cards at once. It won't hurt him since his files thin and relatively strong right now(no negatives). Most people can support the use of 3 cards and you're starting the aaoa sooner rather than delay it. Also he'll get a score boost at 3 cards.

Tldr: don't target a high limit, go for useful cards to him. Credit lines will likely be around 1-4k, although my 20 year old girlfriend was just approved for a freedom with 3.5k line and 25k income so ymmv. He can worry about big limits in 6 months to a year. You gotta build a pyramid from the bottom up.

Recommend personally, amex bce, chase freedom, discover it, in that order. And that's it really, assuming he has regular people spend habits. Citi DC is loved by quite a few on here, I just prefer to travel so I don't think I'll ever get that since travel reward redemption is markedly higher for my purposes.

[SouthJamaica]

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@2b2rich wrote:

(this is for my 23 yr who gets a lot of card offers a week)

This time last year he had NO credit.  Now he gets 5 or 6 offers in the mail every week.

He saved $10K for a downpayment on a car last March, and when they ran his SSN, his name didn't even come up, so I had to co-sign for him (he was 22 at the time).  I figured at the time, it would be a good idea for him to start credit building with a credit card too, so a couple months after the auto loan started reporting, he applied for Cap 1 and got the QS with a $300 CL.  He paid the card off a couple times a month and after 6 months, he logs in and lo and behold he was auto bumped up to a $3500 CL!

So he hasn't applied for credit anywhere else and over the past 3 months, the kid has been getting everything from Chase, AmEx, Citi, BoA,.. and I don't mean 'starter' or student cards either.  Stuff like Freedom, etc.

He makes good money, and the only bills he has, is the auto loan, insurance, and his cell phone, because yeah, he lives with Me), but I'm curious.  What sort of starting CLs do you think he would get if he applied?  He doesn't want to waste a  pull if it's not worth it (I've created a credit fanatic these past 12 months, teaching him what hurts/helps )  Also, he really only wants one or two cards, and doesn't want to app spree with these.  Perks he is looking for would be Reward cards, no or low annual fees, etc

Thanks in advance!

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Just because he's getting offers doesn't mean he has to apply for cards. If he's satisfied with one card, and it sounds like he is, I don't see why he should bother.

[2b2rich]

Thanks for all of the advice and helpful information.  I think I may not have worded the initial CL concern, correctly.

We understand that they're not going to lavish such a thin (and young) file with thousands of dollars right off the bat but we also don't want to waste a pull on a card that is going to be a couple hundred dollars, give or take.  If he is going to take on another card (and yes, a 3rd, and maybe 4th tradeline would be welcome), it's reasonable that he would want the best all around card that is available to him.

While we're considering how thin his file is, I'm wondering if he should (instead of another bank card), apply for the walmart offer he received.  It would pretty much be a sock drawer card since he rarely goes in there, but it would get used now and then and paid in full each month.

He wants to be able to refinance the auto loan into just his name, which my guess would be another year (the existing loan will have been reporting 24 months by then), and a new account now would both add a little to his file, and also not be a 'brand new' account by then.

[Gmood1]

I'd suggest a CC through a good credit union. My favorite all around CU is PenFed. He can become a member and build a relationship with them. He'll be set on pretty much any credit product.
They'll probably refinance his car now. Their auto rates are tough to beat!