@coldfusion wrote:
@Aim_High wrote: I seem to be in a narrowing market for cash back cards. Most don't do much for me now incrementally with the other card options I hold. Which begs a question I had for you on your Andrews FCU Titanium approval. Does it fill a niche for you, did you get it for the SUB, or was it just a higher-limit card you didn't have yet to add to your collection? I like that card, yet it seems to offer limited long term rewards for those who already have an extensive card lineup. Just curious to hear your perspective.It originally made my list for a few reasons, in no particular order
At the time, it was available in a PIN-priority version (I understand that currently it isn't)
supported reasonably high limits, base 1.5% cashback iwasn't stellar but not a deal-breaker
lowish APR and 1.5% BT fee if I needed a quick relief valve and didn't have a 0% offer on the table
There being a SUB is nice but it wasn't a big factor in deciding to apply.
Thanks, it's always interesting to hear what draws different people to different cards. It is a pretty solid work horse for someone who doesn't want a bunch of card with the 1.5% base plus the 3% categories on top, as well as the low BT rate, potentially-high credit limits, and attractive APR. It could fill a lot of slots for someone who only wanted a handfull of cards.
@Anonymous wrote:@Aim_High I hate to say it but ... During these uncertain economic times it may be best to err on the side of caution and have more patience. Especially if you’re going to go for the cash plus, you should wait in my opinion, maybe even longer than you were originally thinking. Your new account numbers are still high considering the impact Covid has had. If it weren’t for that, I’m sure you would have no problem at all with your profile. When we see the CLIs return to normal, then I think we can relax a little. until then, I advise caution. It would suck to waste a hard pull and appear to be too credit seeking. But at the same time you never really know what a lenders gonna do, so it’s kind of a roll of the dice. I would just err on the side of caution in my opinion. but good luck in whatever you decide.
Thanks for the straight answer @Anonymous. You're telling me what I knew I probably needed to hear, and that's what friends do. As I mentioned, I don't usually app so much so returning to some semblance of equilibrium without becoming overly conservative again is my quandry. On the one hand, I could probably return to applying again soon but perhaps with mixed success. And it would keep my new accounts perpetually high. On the other hand, if I garden awhile longer and then return to applying with more discipline, I can keep my new accounts more in check. Long term, no more than one new account every three to six months will probably be my overall goal.
I probably won't apply for US Bank this year so I don't need to wait until 0/12 in September. But cooling it for awhile in general is a good idea.
Below is an updated chart to show my new accounts falling off. I'm going to keep this handy, even if I decide to app for a card or two in 2021 later on.
New Accounts:
Dec 1st 2020:: 3/6, 4/12, 12/24
May 1st 2021:: 0/6, 3/12, 10/24
Sep 1st 2021:: 0/6, 0/12, 8/24
Dec 1st 2021:: 0/6, 0/12, 4/24
Also, special thanks to @Remedios and @FinStar for the kudo's encouragement of @Anonymous's post. 
@PullingMeSoftly wrote:@Aim_High I believe you were in the process of moving your assets over to BoA (you're Platinum Honors right?) With the predominantly cash back setup you have (your new Amex gold and Chase CSR aside), have you thought about going all out on BoA Cash Rewards cards? With 6 categories you can cover at 5.25%, how about going for all of the different flavors? Since you already have one, add 5 more slowly and steadily, and combine with your also recently acquired Premium Rewards. Also $200 sub per pop, not too bad in sum total.
That's essentially the setup I'd want to have if I move my Fidelity roth over to Merrill. I'm also gardening with the singular purpose of being 0/12 in May and going for the Nusenda platinum cash rewards and USB Cash+ (which I sacrificed for a PC to the GO), so I'm going all in for a rotator setup (Nusenda, Disco, Affinity, Freedom, Cash+). If I was Platinum Honors though I'd be knocking down those cash rewards cards.
Thanks for that nudge, @PullingMeSoftly. While I'll be gardening for now, I have a lot to reconsider about overall strategy. My card options and plans have evolved a lot in the past two to three years. Three years ago, I was still in a "downsized" mode. I had some earlier cash back cards (Discover etc.) I had no AF cards. I had closed retail cards and most non-rewards cards I had used for balance transfers when I was paying off some large debts. Over the years, I've probably closed or had closed more cards than I have open now.
In the past seven years, my income has risen, credit scores are much higher, and debts are lower. So in 2018, I started a rebuild. At the time, the best flat-rate uncapped and uncategorized cards I had were the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Capital One Quicksilver, both earning only 1.5%. My highest-earning overall card was my Citi-Costco where I got the 4% on gas and 3% on dining/travel.
If you can believe it, these were the only cards I had in March 2018:
The four on the top row were my oldest cards, opened since the year 2000 or before, so I kept all those. I'd have to check but I'm pretty sure my highest CLs were my CFU, Disco, and USAA which were all in the mid to upper 30's. I started my recent rebuild with my Chase Sapphire Reserve before I got on My Fico and went from there. My initial goal was to add travel rewards for DW and I to enjoy in retirement in a few years. Later, I added better cash back options and low-APR cards to my objectives.
I have thought of getting at least one other Cash Rewards card. My first reservation with adding a bunch of others is that I have been striving for fewer but higher limit cards. Bank of America will probably borrow from my exisiting limits to give me new credit, or may give me smaller limits. The other factor is new Cash Rewards cards will pull spend away from other cards I've added for that purpose. It's a good problem to have, but I have so many options for some of my spending that it's hard to pick between them! For example, dining out is a big category for me when traveling and when home with DW. So I got the CSR which pays very well on that, uncapped. (I get 3% in cash back, or 4.5% in UR portal travel or up to 6% if points are transferred.) Also the AMEX Gold earning 4x MR for dining which could be worth up to 8% depending on how they are redeemed. But I also recently added the Premium Rewards card which pays 3.5% in cash back on all dining and travel with my Platinum Honors status. That's not to mention the 3% I get on my Citi-Costco, AOD FCU, and AFBA/UMB card for dining out! So while dining and/or travel might be good categories for me to add to a Cash Rewards, there's a $2500 cap on the 5.25% and it confuses the spend with these other good options I have to choose from! Again, a good problem to have but I've almost outdone myself with dining options. 
Likewise, for the gas category, I already have the Citi Costco earning 4% on $7K annually plus two quarters of the year I normally get 5% on up to $1500 on Discover/Freedom. So 5.25% on gas is a marginal additional valuation on my existing cards. But I could use the Cash Rewards for one or two quarters per year to better utilize the benefits.
For online shopping (which is what I currently have my CR set up for), it's really not a huge category for me so it's probably being wasted. The $10K annual cap works out to $833 per month if I were to fully utilize it, and I'm not anywhere close to that.
Home furnishings and drugstores are not areas I can consistently put that kind of spend on either. Now if the drugstores included medical/dental charges as well as drugs, I could have fully used it this year between myself and DW, but not just for drugstores. I already get 3% on drugstores on my Apple card and of course the AOD. Looking again, I also am reminded that Home Furnishings includes Home Improvement stores, and there may be times I can use my CR card for that purpose even if not buying furniture.
With stepping up to Platinum Honors, my Cash Rewards card is now my logical choice at Costco, where I can earn 3.5% on grocery/warehouse purchases. (2% x 1.75% bonus) In fact, between the CR bonus in the warehouse and adding CSR for dining-travel, about all I use the Citi-Costco card anymore for is the 4% on gas.
So I should probably change how I use my existing CR and PR cards, and it might be handy to have one more. One of the best and unique things about the Cash Rewards program is how you can choose your own category and change it monthly! I would probably be better served by considering that flexibility more carefully instead of leaving it set on one category. But replacing all my other existing card options doesn't seem like a good idea. I like the diversity of cards and lenders in case programs or cards are changed. Getting a fistfull of Cash Rewards cards and focusing my strategy around them exclusively leaves me open to the whole thing falling apart if BofA nerfs the card or if I have to withdraw my money from BofA and lose Preferred Rewards status. And adding those cards but also trying to maintain all my others just makes it more complicated!
Thanks for listening to my random thoughts on the subject and being my sounding board!
@Anonymous wrote:@Aim_High yeah I got to be honest. But I think it will pay dividends, even in APR's and credit limits. Especially in these times, when you grab one frequently, you're going to get a lower credit limit and potentially higher APR than you would if you waited longer in my humble opinion. So really it's worth the wait. $&@* covid!
That's so true, @Anonymous. With my scores and credit profile, what I observed as I applied for a lot of cards between 2018 and 2020 was I consistently got the best advertised APRs for the cards I wanted. And right until the end, I kept getting approvals right and left. What new accounts seemed to affect was my starting limits slowly came down on average and sometimes below what other members with lower scores and stats than mine were reporting. 
Since higher limits per card is one of my goals, it is counterproductive to me to overapply. Not that I expect nothing but $50K or higher SL approvals like some have reported but I had approvals as low at $1K with Discover (even though I had another card with them at $50K.) I just closed that one instead of trying to grow it. With the good news on the two coronavirus vaccines this week, and if I garden until at least May, I should be in a good place for some nice approvals.
@Aim_High, I have a suggestion
Think SUB when it returns ... "Patience Young Grasshopper"
@Anonymous, Is right you know
