She could certainly ask for more. I reconned mine when I received it from $500 to $15,000 and probably could have asked for more but no reason other than pride and utilization. I'd agree that outside of the 5% and 2% categories, she'd be missing out. Even if she just wanted to stick with USB, something like Altitude Reserve might make more sense.
@bourgogne wrote:
@imaximous wrote:
What other cards does she have with Amex?
I have the Cash+ and anything above the quarterly cap is pointless spend wise. After maxing out the $2k per quarter, the card is only a 1% CB. There's plenty of better cards out there, so I wouldn't even bother.thanks for the quick response. ED@$20K + a BCE@$12K. the ED sl was $25K and the BCE $1K. both apped for in 12/17.
she was born in 1964 and had a $ 500 credit one and a 17% auto loan before I AU'ed her last year and got her into penfed. aaoa 1 yrs 8mos, file age is 3 yrs 5 mos. she lucked out with amex, prob because I have been with them for 4+ decades and have big lines with them. the fact that she is 50+ with little history is short circuiting her to get new credit + I did not want to hit her aaoa again.
thoughts? thank you
First of all, kudos for being a good friend and helping her. She must be a pretty good friend 
Anyway, if she doesn't travel, maybe she should stick to cashback cards. If all her spend is restaurants and beauty, she probably needs a good dining card and an all-purpose CB card like a 2% card. She wouldn't need to stick to one lender because cash is cash no matter where you earn it. It's different if you're going for points. She could use her PenFed relationship to get the PCR for 2% CB assuming she has the banking accounts already. Then, it's a matter of finding a good dining card.
I don't think her Amex ED makes a lot of sense. She could keep it or better yet move her limit to BCE and close it.
Based on what she already has:
- BCE for supermarkets and gas. I suppose she drives and buys groceries, right?
- Cash+ for cell phone and utilities, maybe? Those are 5% categories up to $2k quarterly. She must have a cell and utilities to pay, but obviously, she can pick any others. The 2% category could be restaurants because it's unlimited. There are better dining cards out there, but she may not want to get another card just for that.
- Penfed PCR would be a really good all-purpose card.
- For dining, if she wants to get another card, she could go for the Uber Visa, which happens to offer other good categories and credits as well.
I tried to make some suggestions without incurring any annual fees, but there's obviously a ton of options out there. You gotta do some math to see makes sense for her. Based on spending levels, it may also be a good idea to upgrade or consider a card(s) with annual fees.
First of all, kudos for being a good friend and helping her. She must be a pretty good friend
Anyway, if she doesn't travel, maybe she should stick to cashback cards. If all her spend is restaurants and beauty, she probably needs a good dining card and an all-purpose CB card like a 2% card. She wouldn't need to stick to one lender because cash is cash no matter where you earn it. It's different if you're going for points. She could use her PenFed relationship to get the PCR for 2% CB assuming she has the banking accounts already. Then, it's a matter of finding a good dining card.
I don't think her Amex ED makes a lot of sense. She could keep it or better yet move her limit to BCE and close it.
Based on what she already has:
- BCE for supermarkets and gas. I suppose she drives and buys groceries, right?
- Cash+ for cell phone and utilities, maybe? Those are 5% categories up to $2k quarterly. She must have a cell and utilities to pay, but obviously, she can pick any others. The 2% category could be restaurants because it's unlimited. There are better dining cards out there, but she may not want to get another card just for that.
- Penfed PCR would be a really good all-purpose card.
- For dining, if she wants to get another card, she could go for the Uber Visa, which happens to offer other good categories and credits as well.
I tried to make some suggestions without incurring any annual fees, but there's obviously a ton of options out there. You gotta do some math to see makes sense for her. Based on spending levels, it may also be a good idea to upgrade or consider a card(s) with annual fees.
wow good stuff, thank you very much. I am in my little chase world over here and dont know much about other cards other than they are in my drawer. I think a plan could be wait for the $10k to report, do the 4506 that amex wants + send in stubs and if they cli her wait for it to post and then look at a few other cards. the only reason she has the 3 she does it because they were all pre-quals, I know the ed is worthless. she also has several amex biz cards, gold + the bbp. penfed said they needed a year history on her, well now she has it. really great ideas, thank you for taking the time to do all this I really appreciate it. have a nice weekend
