Which Card(s) to Apply For?

[Lancelot99]

In January 2015, my credit score was 687.  Today, thanks in part to these forums, some hard work, and patience, I finally crossed 800 and hit 814 this January!

Now that I'm finally here, I'd like to start to raise credit limits and apply for new cards.

Here's what I currently have and corresponding credit limit.

(1) AMEX Everyday $2,500, (2) BofA Rewards Visa Signature $11,700, (3) BofA Cash Rewards Visa Platinum Plus $3,100, (4) Cap1 Quicksilver Visa Platinum $8,500, (5) Discover It $22,000, (6) Discover It Miles $11,000 for a total of $58,800.

AMEX has been very slow to raise my limits, going from $500 to $1,500 to $2,500 in March 2017.  I did not stumble upon the AMEX 3x CLI thread until just a few days ago.

I have not asked BofA for a CLI because the online request form states that they can pull a copy of my credit report.  All my other CLI requests didn't require that.

Cap1 refused my last CLI request in October 2017.  My score then was 763.

Discover has been the only company to consistently reward me with CLI as my score got better, from $2,000 to $22,000 finally in August 2016.

I'm currently carrying a balance of $5,000, which should be paid off entirely next month.  All bad items have finally fallen off all 3 of my credit reports.  I have not applied for a new credit card since 2006, so I'm really a newbie to this.  I usually spend a couple thousand a month and have gotten in the habit of paying off all new purchases.  All extra is allocated to paying down debt, which, as I mentioned, should be eliminated soon.  Then, it'll be allocated to savings.  I am not a veteran.

This is my understanding of things and these are my goals:

A MasterCard, to get some MC perks, preferably a World Elite of some form.  I understand it's roughly equivalent to a Visa Signature with some perks I might value.

Raising the Platinum Plus to a Signature, which I think requires a CL of >$5,000.

A more even distribution of CLs.

A better card for every day rewards.

Try to reach $100,000 CL.

Wirecutter recommends the Chase Freedom Unlimited.  It has a $150 bonus if you spend $500, which seems a nice intro.  I looked at Chase Sapphire Preferred but not sure I want an annual fee card.  Amazon Prime Visa seems to get mixed reviews.  I've looked at Chase Slate, Citi Diamond Preferred, Paypal Cashback MasterCard, Costco Visa, and a couple of store cards like Target.

I'd really like some friendly advice on how to start and what cards seem to be the best fit.  I'm using my Discover It card most days because it has decent cashback but it's not accepted everywhere.  A card without foreign trx fees would be nice.

I also have questions about applying for credit in general that I can't seem to find definitive answers on. 

(1) If I apply for multiple credit cards but all within 30 days, does that count as only one credit card inquiry or multiple pulls?

(2) What's your advice on raising my credit limits on my AMEX and BofA cards?

(3) Can my Discover limits conceivably be higher?

(4) What cards would you recommend?

Thanks in advance for all your help and replies!

[SouthJamaica]

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@Lancelot99 wrote:

In January 2015, my credit score was 687.  Today, thanks in part to these forums, some hard work, and patience, I finally crossed 800 and hit 814 this January!

Now that I'm finally here, I'd like to start to raise credit limits and apply for new cards.

Here's what I currently have and corresponding credit limit.

(1) AMEX Everyday $2,500, (2) BofA Rewards Visa Signature $11,700, (3) BofA Cash Rewards Visa Platinum Plus $3,100, (4) Cap1 Quicksilver Visa Platinum $8,500, (5) Discover It $22,000, (6) Discover It Miles $11,000 for a total of $58,800.

AMEX has been very slow to raise my limits, going from $500 to $1,500 to $2,500 in March 2017.  I did not stumble upon the AMEX 3x CLI thread until just a few days ago.

I have not asked BofA for a CLI because the online request form states that they can pull a copy of my credit report.  All my other CLI requests didn't require that.

Cap1 refused my last CLI request in October 2017.  My score then was 763.

Discover has been the only company to consistently reward me with CLI as my score got better, from $2,000 to $22,000 finally in August 2016.

I'm currently carrying a balance of $5,000, which should be paid off entirely next month.  All bad items have finally fallen off all 3 of my credit reports.  I have not applied for a new credit card since 2006, so I'm really a newbie to this.  I usually spend a couple thousand a month and have gotten in the habit of paying off all new purchases.  All extra is allocated to paying down debt, which, as I mentioned, should be eliminated soon.  Then, it'll be allocated to savings.  I am not a veteran.

This is my understanding of things and these are my goals:

A MasterCard, to get some MC perks, preferably a World Elite of some form.  I understand it's roughly equivalent to a Visa Signature with some perks I might value.

Raising the Platinum Plus to a Signature, which I think requires a CL of >$5,000.

A more even distribution of CLs.

A better card for every day rewards.

Try to reach $100,000 CL.

Wirecutter recommends the Chase Freedom Unlimited.  It has a $150 bonus if you spend $500, which seems a nice intro.  I looked at Chase Sapphire Preferred but not sure I want an annual fee card.  Amazon Prime Visa seems to get mixed reviews.  I've looked at Chase Slate, Citi Diamond Preferred, Paypal Cashback MasterCard, Costco Visa, and a couple of store cards like Target.

I'd really like some friendly advice on how to start and what cards seem to be the best fit.  I'm using my Discover It card most days because it has decent cashback but it's not accepted everywhere.  A card without foreign trx fees would be nice.

I don't have general advice because you're not specific enough about what you want. Do you want cash? Do you want travel rewards? What are your big spending areas? Do you want low interest rates and fees?

I also have questions about applying for credit in general that I can't seem to find definitive answers on. 

(1) If I apply for multiple credit cards but all within 30 days, does that count as only one credit card inquiry or multiple pulls?

Multiple

(2) What's your advice on raising my credit limits on my AMEX and BofA cards?

That's easy. On Amex every 6 months & 1 day you can ask for a soft pull CLI. Forget BofA unless you're willing to waste a hard pull.

(3) Can my Discover limits conceivably be higher?

Yes they will probably keep going higher.

(4) What cards would you recommend?

My favorite cards are PenFed Promise, Langley Select, NFCU Platinum, and Vantage West Connect, but they may not be your cup of tea.  If you just want cash back rewards, probably PenFed Power Cash or Citibank Double Cash would be up your alley.

Thanks in advance for all your help and replies!

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[Lancelot99]

To answer your question: "I don't have general advice because you're not specific enough about what you want. Do you want cash? Do you want travel rewards? What are your big spending areas? Do you want low interest rates and fees?"

I would like cash back.  Mostly groceries and dining, household furnishings (to furnish out a house), and electronics and clothing occasionally.  Low interest rates and fees would be nice but my hope is to not carry a balance anymore so this may be less important.

So BofA is always a HP?

I'm open to your suggestions but have not really heard of some of these cards.  I'll research them but any reason to go with these smaller banks vs. the bigger ones?  I note again that I'm not a veteran or associated with our armed forces.

Thanks for all your help.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Lancelot99 wrote:

To answer your question: "I don't have general advice because you're not specific enough about what you want. Do you want cash? Do you want travel rewards? What are your big spending areas? Do you want low interest rates and fees?"

I would like cash back.  Mostly groceries and dining,

Some cards to look at are Amex BCE, BOFA AAA, Chase Amazon Prime, Chase AARP, Synchrony Marvel, Citi Double, PenFed Power Cash.

household furnishings (to furnish out a house), and electronics and clothing occasionally.  Low interest rates and fees would be nice but my hope is to not carry a balance anymore so this may be less important.

Credit union non-rewards cards are best for that.

So BofA is always a HP?

 To the best of my knowledge, but maybe someone here will correct me on that.

I'm open to your suggestions but have not really heard of some of these cards.  I'll research them but any reason to go with these smaller banks vs. the bigger ones?

 My experience has been finding better service and better terms at credit unions than at large banks. I didn't mention any small banks.

Thanks for all your help.

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[Anonymous]

1. They will count as multiple inquiries, unless for a few special circumstances you apply from the same creditor for multiple products on the same day, they might use the same credit report pulled on that day to make a decision, which results in a single pull, but still for that creditor only - i.e. if you apply from creditor A and creditor B at the same day, then it's still two inquiries. Nevertheless, I don't recommend applying for too many new accounts within a short period, since it can demonstrate eagerness to seek new credit and can be seen by creditors as risky behaviors.

2. For Amex, just go with the 3x CLI for the moment, if you have $2500 limit now and the last request from you was more than 6 months ago, then now is a good time to request your limit raise to $7500 (the website will clearly note this, they ask you to fill in the final limit you want to increase to, not increase by). They don't hard pull for CLI. They may ask for income verification if you request the limit of one card to > $25k or total with Amex > $35k, so if you don't want the extra paperwork, you may also watch out not to get the limits too high, but otherwise just go for it. I don't have an account with BofA, though, so I'll skip.

3. Your limits with Discover are pretty high, and I doubt it will get anymore significant increase. BTW, may I ask that do you have a single online account for those two Discover cards, or you have to use separate online logins?

4. Chase Freedom (5% rotating or unlimited) cards are pretty good choices just as you mentioned, although the $150 bonus is not the best offer available in history (sometimes there can be limited time $200 bonus, but $150 is not too bad). In the future if you get CSP, the reward points you earned from Freedom can be redeemed in better ways such as transfering the points to airlines, rendering a higher value.

You also have an Amex Everyday, so you may consider extending your relationship with them by adding other MR earning cards (Gold/Plat, and if you see a 50k Gold that's a pretty good offer). Both UR and MR are great reward programs if you travel, and you may also check if you have preapproved offers from Chase and Amex.

If you have an airline/hotel loyalty program, both offer related cards which you can consider too. Most of them will come with annual fees but they are also great returns. If you want a MasterCard, you most likely want to look at Citi and Barclays. Sometimes Citi Double Cash comes with a World Elite MasterCard.

[Anonymous]

So for most of this stuff I'd say I'm not really qualified to give you any advice, you're well beyond me in your credit journey that much is for sure (congrats on joining the 800 club btw! Lol I'm still not even in the 700 club but these things take time, totally stoked on your behalf nice work  ) the only point I can comment on is #1, that much I can tell you firsthand is unfortunately not the case (with the possible exception of certain lenders where I believe if you app for 2 [or possibly more than 2?] cards at the same time/on the same day or maybe even couple days - I'd need someone else to chime in on that part - they might use the same HP for both or all. I don't have any firsthand experience with this but I've definitely seen it mentioned before, maybe someone will be able to clarify the specific lenders that do or may do this)

As for the rest I either have no experience or I'm not really qualified to comment on, but I do know there's quite a few good cash back cards out there depending on your spending habits and categories that you'd easily be able to acquire (and a few good combos as well, I know there's some chase cards people like to combine to maximize rewards/points but this is another subject I have no experience with as I'm not quite chase caliber as of yet haha), the only thing I can think to suggest off the top of my head is citi double cash (only if you're past your first year with discover though since year one it's essentially a 2% card thanks to cashback match, and while I don't have citi DC for that exact reason I can almost guarantee discover's redemption options are way better and a lot less restrictive than citi, at worst they'd be equal but they've definitely spoiled me with the ease and freedom of redemption lol it was super disappointing going from that to amex for example).. I say citi double cash though because it would be nice to have just for stuff that wouldn't meet any categories on your other cards. Us bank cash+ is nice too since you can pick your categories and the 2% grocery option includes walmart and target which I don't think any of the other cards with grocery categories do (of course if you shop at either place you could also go for the store card but the 5% categories on cash+ are nice too assuming the place you're using it codes properly  )

Anyway I'm sure there's plenty of folks here to steer you in the right direction and maybe add to or confirm some of this, and congrats again on 800+!

Edit: haha looks like I was too slow on this but good to see some confirmation on a few points lol, soo I second the stuff above me 

Oh and another edit, if you want something with which to buy electronics and possibly clothing then DEFINITELY check out the categories/merchants on us bank cash + there's definitely a couple that you might really like (in addition to the 2% @ walmart and target plus regular grocery stores - which obviously amex pays out a bit more on the rest of the grocery stores but cash+ is still the only one I've found that counts walmart and target, not to mention the cash+ 5% categories which are the main pull imo and a couple of the categories are electronics stores, select clothing stores, certain department stores, and I think cell phone bills are actually a category as well)

[Lancelot99]

I see the AMEX BCE is different from the AMEX Everyday.  I didn't know of the BofA AAA card.  Thanks.  I will also research all these others.

I did some research and did see that these CUs are all big but I don't have military affiliation :-(

Perhaps someone else will know if BofA is always a HP to get a CLI.

Thanks!

[Lancelot99]

(1) I see.  How much of a hit on credit scores will a HP generate?  How long does it take to recover?

(2) I'm going to try this.  I would be pleased if they put me at $7,500.

(3) I see.  I have two separate logins for the two Discover accounts.  I'm an authorized user on the Discover It Miles account.  I didn't apply for it; my fiancee did but it shows up in my reports as an active account.  Therefore, no HP for me since 2006.  My fiancee and I have roughly the same credit scores, around 815.

(4) What are UR and MR?  I looked at http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458 but I couldn't decipher the abbreviations.  Unlimited Rewards and Miles Rewards?

I didn't know that about Citi Double Cash as a World Elite MasterCard.  Is there a way to specify that?  Do I need to reach a specific CL to get World Elite.

Thanks so much!

[Lancelot99]

Thank you!  It just takes patience and work.  Easier said than done on the patience part!

I like the Discover It and in the US, it works well most of the time.  Some small shops occasionally don't take it though and when I was traveling briefly during the holidays, no vendor took it at all.  I ended up using my Cap1 Quicksilver card to avoid foreign fees but QS doesn't have as good rewards.

Thank you for US Bank Cash+.  I hadn't heard of it before.  I do shop at Target and Walmart.

I have another question.  Why do a lot of people on here seem to go on app sprees?  Do they just apply to a bunch of cards at once and then garden until AAoA drops back down?  How much of a hit does that do to a credit score and is the point to simply accumulate more credit?  I see a lot of posts of people doing this but not quite sure what the mentality or thinking was.  Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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@Lancelot99 wrote:

(1) I see.  How much of a hit on credit scores will a HP generate?  How long does it take to recover?

(2) I'm going to try this.  I would be pleased if they put me at $7,500.

(3) I see.  I have two separate logins for the two Discover accounts.  I'm an authorized user on the Discover It Miles account.  I didn't apply for it; my fiancee did but it shows up in my reports as an active account.  Therefore, no HP for me since 2006.  My fiancee and I have roughly the same credit scores, around 815.

(4) What are UR and MR?  I looked at http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458 but I couldn't decipher the abbreviations.  Unlimited Rewards and Miles Rewards?

I didn't know that about Citi Double Cash as a World Elite MasterCard.  Is there a way to specify that?  Do I need to reach a specific CL to get World Elite.

Thanks so much!

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1. It's not a fixed number. A single inquiry usually won't reduce many points, but the actual amount also depends on how thick your credit file is. For reference, my credit history is 5 years and last November my EX FICO 08 classic was 774, and in December I applied for a new account and the score went to 771. Nothing much changed except for the new inquiry (new account not reported yet), so it's not a big deal. If I had only 1 year of history, the impact could be bigger but still I won't expect it to reduce more than 10 points. However, do keep in mind that multiple inquiries can add up the damage, so you don't want 20 inquiries all at once. They also fade over time and won't damage your score after 12 months. Give them 6 months and it's generally good enough for recovering most of it. Lenders however, may look at the actual items on your credit report and not just the score alone. On the other hand, new account reporting can drop your score even more than an inquiry does, mostly because of it being "new credit" and bringing down AAoA.

4. UR stands for Chase's Ultimate Rewards program. It allows you to redeem the points for cash back and gift cards, but also gives you the ability to transfer the points to several airline loyalty programs, which makes better value. MR is Membership Rewards program by American Express, and it's similar to the UR program, also allowing you to transfer points to travel loyalty programs.

The Citi Double Cash may be a WEMC, but not always. People in this thread have the WEMC version, but other people have the World MasterCard too. Limit is not necessarily high for that particular WEMC, people with $2-3 k limits also get the Elite while higher limits also have WMC. Also if you want cash back, it's also not a bad choice and it has no annual fee.