What to aim for next?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, new member here but I've been lurking and learning now for awhile.

I got my first credit card (and first line of credit) just six months ago. It's a Visa with a $500 limit through a local bank. Then two months ago I got a CapOne Platinum with a $500 limit. Utilization has always been below 30% and all statements PIF.

CreditKarma currently gives me scores of 672 and 677. Next month I am going to request an increase for my local bank Visa and then in a few months I will be getting my automatic CapOne increase. But I want a third card as well of course, and I'm not sure what to aim for.

I really want an AMEX BCE, but with such a shallow history I don't see that happening... I also want a Chase Freedom, but have the same concern. Before I got my CapOne I had been declined for a Discover It Chrome Student card, which I was very surprised by. Thought I had that one in the bag. But I've made no other applications ever.

So what can I reasonably get in the near future, say when my scores hit about 700, that I'll actually get with such thin history? I have no loans either. Just the two cards. I'm hoping I can get upgraded to a Quicksilver One early next year, but who else should I get my foot in the door with?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hey guys, new member here but I've been lurking and learning now for awhile.

I got my first credit card (and first line of credit) just six months ago. It's a Visa with a $500 limit through a local bank. Then two months ago I got a CapOne Platinum with a $500 limit. Utilization has always been below 30% and all statements PIF.

CreditKarma currently gives me scores of 672 and 677. Next month I am going to request an increase for my local bank Visa and then in a few months I will be getting my automatic CapOne increase. But I want a third card as well of course, and I'm not sure what to aim for.

I really want an AMEX BCE, but with such a shallow history I don't see that happening... I also want a Chase Freedom, but have the same concern. Before I got my CapOne I had been declined for a Discover It Chrome Student card, which I was very surprised by. Thought I had that one in the bag. But I've made no other applications ever.

So what can I reasonably get in the near future, say when my scores hit about 700, that I'll actually get with such thin history? I have no loans either. Just the two cards. I'm hoping I can get upgraded to a Quicksilver One early next year, but who else should I get my foot in the door with?

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I'd use the heck out of the Capital One card for next 4 months and pay it off every month except for a few dollars right before the statment cuts, leave maybe $5-$10 to report as a balance. Even if this means you are paying it off 2-3 or more times during a billing cycle. You should get a pretty good CLI automatically right after your 6th statement cuts.  If you don't wait a few days and then log in and request one.  By that time your 1st Visa will be a year old and you'll have another 6months + higher credit line with the Capital One card.  A Discover Card or Amex BCE should be in reach at that point. Do the Amex 1st and the Discover 2nd. Garden for 6 months. Amex is good about a 3x CLI at 61+ days and Discover is pretty good with CLI's after 91 days. Once you're got 6months on those you could probably land 1 of several different really good Chase Cards.

[Anonymous]

Thank you cashcorp. That's exactly what I did last month with my CapOne for my first statement. Used it but made a couple payments during the month and posted a statement at 8% utilization. I use my Visa quite a bit and make a couple payments during the month too but the average utilization on that card is more like 28%. I'm working on getting that down. Good to hear you think the AMEX is within sight for me.

My biggest thing is that I want to do this the right way from the start. I want to get in with good banks and work my way into high quality cards. I don't want to just have a few cheesy store cards and no real substance.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you cashcorp. That's exactly what I did last month with my CapOne for my first statement. Used it but made a couple payments during the month and posted a statement at 8% utilization. I use my Visa quite a bit and make a couple payments during the month too but the average utilization on that card is more like 28%. I'm working on getting that down. Good to hear you think the AMEX is within sight for me.

My biggest thing is that I want to do this the right way from the start. I want to get in with good banks and work my way into high quality cards. I don't want to just have a few cheesy store cards and no real substance.

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You're definitely going about it the right way! I would however shift ALL your spending to the CapOne card, and budget a payment out for the other Visa to get it down/paid off. Capital One is all about high usage, lots of payments, and keeping statement balance utilization % very low. The more you put through it and the more you pay on it every month, the better an inrease you can get after that 6th statement (and later after that) CapOne usualy only approves a CLI every 6 months.. I ran $45,000 through my QS1 (Now a QS) MC from June 2015 - July 2016 and card grew from a $750 Credit Line to $10,250. I was also approved for a Venture Card with a starting line of $15,000 in May of 2016.

Definitely an Amex is within your reach, probably close now, but it wouldn't yield the kind of approval you could get with a few more months of experience & history added to your profile. Also, spacing out the apps for new cards will help your AAoA (average age of account) continue upward and put you in position to get in with Chase, which is much harder due to the 5/24 rule (more than 5 New Accounts in 24 months = Declined) for most of their cards now.

[Anonymous]

Wait till you have a year of history under your belt. Then apply away

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Wait till you have a year of history under your belt. Then apply away

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Wouldn't the OP's chances of "good approval" with lower APR & higher SL with Chase increase if he has 24months, and 2-3 positive trade lines before applying with higher limits than the usual $500/$1000 starting lines already reporting?  Not disagreeing, but he could do a Freedom Unlimited 1st and 3-6 months later be back under 5/24 and qualify for a CSP and those two are still a powerful reward earning combination.

[Anonymous]

Cashcorp, didn't know about CapOne wanting a lot of purchases so thanks for the advice. I'll start using it more during the month.

As far as my Visa goes, sorry if I worder that funny. My Visa has no balance to pay down. I pay off both of my cards in full each month well ahead of the due date. I think both cards at this moment only have about 20 bucks on them.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hey guys, new member here but I've been lurking and learning now for awhile.

I got my first credit card (and first line of credit) just six months ago. It's a Visa with a $500 limit through a local bank. Then two months ago I got a CapOne Platinum with a $500 limit. Utilization has always been below 30% and all statements PIF.

CreditKarma currently gives me scores of 672 and 677. Next month I am going to request an increase for my local bank Visa and then in a few months I will be getting my automatic CapOne increase. But I want a third card as well of course, and I'm not sure what to aim for.

I really want an AMEX BCE, but with such a shallow history I don't see that happening... I also want a Chase Freedom, but have the same concern. Before I got my CapOne I had been declined for a Discover It Chrome Student card, which I was very surprised by. Thought I had that one in the bag. But I've made no other applications ever.

So what can I reasonably get in the near future, say when my scores hit about 700, that I'll actually get with such thin history? I have no loans either. Just the two cards. I'm hoping I can get upgraded to a Quicksilver One early next year, but who else should I get my foot in the door with?

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I'm also aiming for the Amex BCE or the CITI Costco Anywhere Visa because my family spends alot on gas/groceries and we eat out about 4-5 times a month. I'm the same as you, I'm still new to the forums. I signed up for myFICO 2 months ago and it's helped me a lot. I'm only 19 so I've learned so much from the forums. I keep reading all sorts of threads on my free time and have learned many things from everyone here and it's helped me out a lot on my journey to build good credit for the future. I started my credit off with a personal loan when I turned 18 and 6 months later I applied for my first CC from a retail store. Last month I applied for the Cap1 Platinum and got approved instantly for $300 only. I was told the same thing as you, to use it for everything and I've been doing that. I've put about $1500 on it in this first month. I pay it down about 4-5 times throughout the month and let it report about $10-20 and the other CC reports a $0 balance. Cap1 is really good, the first month they reported it really bumped my scores up. My scores are now EQ:705 TU:694 and EX:694. Now I'm in the garden for about 6-8 months and will apply for 1-2 cards more once my AAoA ages a bit more. I just wanted to share my story. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

RoyalFlush, love to hear people's stories! Sounds like you've made a ton of progress in a very short time. Hoping for similar results here!