NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICATION

[Gmv]

My wife is seeking to upgrade her credit card profile and I am coming to you all on suggestions for what she should apply for next?
Credit profiles reads as follows: 

middle score for 3 bureaus - 750 

payment history - no missed payments 

AAOA- 7 years ( police union credit card -1000 limit) 

credit utilization- under 10% 

hard inquiries - 0 

installment loan of 5k was paid off two years ago with no late payments. 

any suggestions would be appreciated! 

[markhs777]

Your question is sort of like asking what kind of car should I buy. It all depends on your needs. Do you travel, eat out, shop at particular stores, use much gas, have business expenses etc etc?  Depending on your spending habits will determine what card to apply for. Best of luck.

[Gmv]

Yeah I immediately thought of that after sending. Traveling and shopping at certain stores is at the top of her list. 

[Anonymalous]

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@Gmv wrote:

Yeah I immediately thought of that after sending. Traveling and shopping at certain stores is at the top of her list. 

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Which stores? And what cards does she already have?

The new US Bank Shopper card might be worth a glance -- it's has a $95 AF, but it does give 6% back at a choice of 2 from a list of specific stores.

[Gmv]

Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase. 
 She is fan of chase bank as well. 

[Anonymalous]

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@Gmv wrote:

Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase. 
 She is fan of chase bank as well. 

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Then the US Bank Shopper card is definitely worth a look, because the list of 6% stores includes both both Amazon and Target. For just Target, a lot of people like the Red Card. For Amazon, the obvious choice is the Amazon Prime card (the VISA issued by Chase, not the store card), which gives 5%. Though if she wants to make some extra effort to join, the Affinity CU's Cash Rewards also gives 5% at Amazon, plus it has rotating categories that sometimes stack on top of that 5%. The US Bank Cash+ is one of the few cards that specifically targets utilities (5%), and the Max Cash Preferred is basically the same card except it's issued via Elan in partnership with smaller financial institutions across the country -- check your local or regional banks and credit unions, and you're bound to find a couple that offer the card. Chase has the Freedom Flex, which typically gives 5% back from Amazon 1 quarter of the year (the Discover It is similar).

But a few caveats -- while she has a decent age and apparently has good scores, she has a very thin file, and that's a very low credit limit. Lenders might be hesitant to issue her a card, or to issue her a card with a high limit. Secondly, US Bank is a very conservative lender, and generally won't issue a card to someone who has opened more than 1 card in 12 months.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Gmv wrote:

Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase. 
 She is fan of chase bank as well. 

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I would suggest:

-Chase Freedom Unlimited or Amazon Prime Card,

-Amex Blue Cash Everyday, or

-Citi Custom Cash or DoubleCash

[GatoradeZeroGuy]

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@Anonymalous wrote:

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@Gmv wrote:

Amazon , heb and target mostly, also uses for utilities... her only credit card is a police credit union with a 1000 limit. Had for 7 years , never asked for increase. 
 She is fan of chase bank as well. 

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But a few caveats -- while she has a decent age and apparently has good scores, she has a very thin file, and that's a very low credit limit. Lenders might be hesitant to issue her a card, or to issue her a card with a high limit. Secondly, US Bank is a very conservative lender, and generally won't issue a card to someone who has opened more than 1 card in 12 months.

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Pay off that card to 1-2% imo. 

No reason to apply with extra utilization if the other parts of the file aren't as good as they can be. It's less than $100. 

[Gmv]

Yes thanks for the advice that's precisely why I asked cause her profile is not that strong currently even with the great scores. We will pay it off to 1%. She did have a personal loan for 5k that she paid off if that helps any. 

[GatoradeZeroGuy]

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@Gmv wrote:

Yes thanks for the advice that's precisely why I asked cause her profile is not that strong currently even with the great scores. We will pay it off to 1%. She did have a personal loan for 5k that she paid off if that helps any. 

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the fact that the loan went from having a low balance to $0 probably hurts, if you have access to NFCU consider getting a SSL if there's no plans to get another loan for her file any time soon

not that big of a deal though, getting a 2nd and 3rd card will be big for her profile