Which card, if any, should I apply for?

[Michizane]

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@altstates93 wrote:

     Taking up DommieD's suggestion, I requested a CLI for Discover. They denied me. I suspect the presence of my Barclay CO from 2015 contributed to that. Though only a soft pull. So no harm. 

     @FireMedic1 The potential downside of a ding to my mortgage scores does far exceed the most optimistic upside to a new cashback card. Consider me sufficiently chastened. 

     Though I still may open up modest savings accounts at NFCU and PFCU, thereby having an established relationship in place for the time down the road I can more safely apply for their cards.

     I have no doubt someone on this forum will let me know if that's also a bad idea.

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Don't let Discover get you down. They can be very strict with CLI's at times. But they tend to give you a decent reason for denial. I doubt it's the CO since I've been able to get CLI's with my last CO being a bit over 2 years ago. Generally, they like you putting a lot of spend on their cards and keeping low uti on their cards. It should be easy to spend now that they have 5% cashback on PayPal and restaurant transactions. 

And good thing you decided to wait. Inquiries within a year of your mortgage can wreak havoc on your mortgage scores (like it did for me). I was able to get a mortgage with an inquiries 6 months prior to application but it brought my MMS don't quite a bit.

[altstates93]

     Discover then may have denied the CLI because, until last month, I rarely dealt with them except to pay down the balance I already owed. 

     Now that I can more easily charge/PIF, that may change. Though I suspect having "TOO FEW ACCOUNTS PAID AS AGREED" may still influence the CLI decision. I have only two CC, both in good standing. So, in my case, the "TOO FEW ACCOUNTS" part is the problem. 

     Until I clear the mortgage hurdle, "too (or two) few accounts" will keep appearing. So it seems getting approved for a CLI won't likely happen until next year as well.