Which Card(s) to Apply For?

[SouthJamaica]

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@Lancelot99 wrote:

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 :-(

No affiliation needed for PenFed, Langley, or Vantage West.

NFCU affiliation can be as light as having had parent or grandparent who served.

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

Thanks!

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[Lancelot99]

1. I see.  How many cards should one reasonably apply for then?  Just 1?  My oldest account is 21 years.

Which leads me to a follow-up 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?  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.

4.  Thanks.  That's very informative.

So is the information about the Citi Double Cash.  So I have a little homework to do researching the Chase Freedom Unlimited, the Citi Double Cash, the US Bank Cash+, and some of the credit union backed cards!

Thanks so much for your time and information!

Thanks again!

[Lancelot99]

I did look at each of these.  Are you sure about the affiliation not being necessary?  I had difficulty finding information on the websites and so I ended at at Wikipedia for these CUs.  Like you said, they are not small; they're huge and so that's comforting but they did all seem to require military affiliation, given their history.  In PenFed's case, it's not strictly military but you need to be one of these organizations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Federal_Credit_Union  I just have no military affiliation in my family.  Maybe you're saying the credit cards don't require affiliation?  I remember coming across this issue in my research with USAA.  I had heard of them but I didn't have the necessary affiliation.  Thanks for all your information!

[Anonymous]

To join Penfed without a military or other group affiliation you just need to make a $17 donation to a military charity. Penfed simplifies the process and allows you to choose the charity and make the donation during the CC application process. I just did this last week.

[AverageJoesCredit]

As SJ said, you dont need any affiliation for Penfed, even says so on their website

Boa are usually hp but there are those who enjoy re eiving auto increases and even sp increases should they choose to go for it when offered. Thing is i think you should establish your relationship more with Boa. Dont be afraid to take a hp as they can be quite generous if your profilr is good, better if your income is good. Like the great Gmood1 would say HP WHO? HP HUH? LOL. You take one for your team, lol, and Boa gives you big increase, its possible that may prybar Amex to giving up the ghost faster

[Lancelot99]

I didn't go so far as to pull the menu on the application page to Other!  I really looked, I swear!  Thanks!

[Lancelot99]

Haha!  I actually do a bit of banking with BofA.  I was just a little afraid of the HP but your and Gmood1's mindset is probably one I should adopt, to evolve my thinking.

Very interesting what you said about AMEX too.  Didn't know that would prod them.

Thank you!

[SouthJamaica]

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@Lancelot99 wrote:

I did look at each of these.  Are you sure about the affiliation not being necessary?  I had difficulty finding information on the websites and so I ended at at Wikipedia for these CUs.  Like you said, they are not small; they're huge and so that's comforting but they did all seem to require military affiliation, given their history.  In PenFed's case, it's not strictly military but you need to be one of these organizations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Federal_Credit_Union  I just have no military affiliation in my family.  Maybe you're saying the credit cards don't require affiliation?  I remember coming across this issue in my research with USAA.  I had heard of them but I didn't have the necessary affiliation.  Thanks for all your information!

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For PenFed you have to make a modest contribution to a charity that helps military families.

For Langley you make a modest contribution to one of 7 different nonprofits.

For Vantage West you make a modest contribution to one of 3 different nonprofits.

[Lancelot99]

Thanks for that information!

One more Q: 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?  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.

[Gmood1]

The #1 reason why I've done sprees in the past is because new accounts affect approvals more then the INQs do IME. When you hit several lenders at one time. None of them have reported the new accounts yet. So your scores remain unaffected by the new accounts reporting. Also lender A may pull EQ, lender B pull EX and Lender C pull TU. None of them will know of the other pulls or new accounts till each reports to the CBs.
You have some that pull two CRs and sometimes all three reports. So that technique doesn't work for them all.
IMO, this gives the best chance of a better rate and higher SL from each of those lenders. In comparison to waiting for each to report and then apping for the next over a couple of months. It also allows the HPs to drop off together and the accounts to age together.
Chase is known to be a double puller. Normally when I apped for Chase. I'd app for two CCs at once. Essentially getting two approvals on the double pulls.