I’ve had a good approval spree over the last three months, and with the credit score impacts beginning I wanted to share my experience and serve as a warning to do all the research before your first application, and to have a strategy and end goal. I did none of those things and I wish I had.
AppleCard 3/15/23; $1,500
Fidelity Visa Rewards 4/2/23; $22,500
AmEx BCP 4/2/23; $20k [not on CR]
AmEx Gold 4/8/23 POT $15k [not on CR]
Chase Freedom Flex 4/28/23 $5,600
Knowing little about credit cards, I started with the Apple Card (no SUB) because I needed to buy a new MacBook for my self-employment work. The offered limit was too low for what I needed but I accepted anyway (first mistake) and I came online to read about the Apple Card benefits (after accepting — research first!!) only to find it was quite milquetoast, so I went for the BCP and the Fidelity card in the same day. And then really got swept away by the spree fever, learning my score would temporarily drop and that it would be good for multiple cards to age together. After the BCP I saw an irresistible 90k SUB for the Gold appear (lessons: control your emotions, research the best possible SUBs), and after reading yet more online I became enticed by the Chase trifecta siren song and opted to try to begin inroads there before the 5/24 gate closed until 2025. I was initially put under review but a CSR called me within minutes to confirm my ID and was approved on that call.
My TCL grew from $17,000 to $58,900; a lot more if you include the POT and the AU CLs. When I was accepted for the BCP, they CLD/transferred $7,700 from my first AmEx (Schwab Investor), which affected my CS because the 2 new AmEx cards haven’t reported yet. At the end of April my Exp FICO 8 dropped an eye-popping 56 points, from 844 to 788 after 3 exp HPs, 2 new accounts, and the CLD, and then down another 4 in early May to 784. My Exp FICO 9 dropped from 831 to 810, then up to 814. Coincidentally, the AmEx I opened in 7/2021 also decided to report that month, 1y10mo later. I wish I had known that it wasn’t reporting earlier too, and I would have if I read my CRs before the spree.
That 844 was not earned but received from family and puffed up, I think based on two 30+ y/o AU accounts, a 17 y/o CapitalOne Quicksilver ($1,000 CL, bucketed) and a closed 10 y/o Synchrony Gap Visa. As I learned more, this spree became a way to take advantage of that airy score to establish a thicker profile since those AU lines may close in the coming few years. I’ll keep updating as the credit score evolution continues. Before March I only used a credit card a couple of times a year; now I use a credit card for every purchase except rent. I’m currently planning to garden for a year to recover with payment histories and age my AAoA. Thanks for reading my novella 
This will help a lot of people out, thank you for sharing your adventure.
You have a nice TCL to build off of now, taking a year away is certainly something I would recommend.
You have a nice TCL to build off of now, taking a year away is certainly something I would recommend.
@beargrease wrote:I’ve had a good approval spree over the last three months, and with the credit score impacts beginning I wanted to share my experience and serve as a warning to do all the research before your first application, and to have a strategy and end goal. I did none of those things and I wish I had.
AppleCard 3/15/23; $1,500
Fidelity Visa Rewards 4/2/23; $22,500
AmEx BCP 4/2/23; $20k [not on CR]
AmEx Gold 4/8/23 POT $15k [not on CR]
Chase Freedom Flex 4/28/23 $5,600
Knowing little about credit cards, I started with the Apple Card (no SUB) because I needed to buy a new MacBook for my self-employment work. The offered limit was too low for what I needed but I accepted anyway (first mistake) and I came online to read about the Apple Card benefits (after accepting — research first!!) only to find it was quite milquetoast, so I went for the BCP and the Fidelity card in the same day. And then really got swept away by the spree fever, learning my score would temporarily drop and that it would be good for multiple cards to age together. After the BCP I saw an irresistible 90k SUB for the Gold appear (lessons: control your emotions, research the best possible SUBs), and after reading yet more online I became enticed by the Chase trifecta siren song and opted to try to begin inroads there before the 5/24 gate closed until 2025. I was initially put under review but a CSR called me within minutes to confirm my ID and was approved on that call.
My TCL grew from $17,000 to $58,900; a lot more if you include the POT and the AU CLs. When I was accepted for the BCP, they CLD/transferred $7,700 from my first AmEx (Schwab Investor), which affected my CS because the 2 new AmEx cards haven’t reported yet. At the end of April my Exp FICO 8 dropped an eye-popping 56 points, from 844 to 788 after 3 exp HPs, 2 new accounts, and the CLD, and then down another 4 in early May to 784. My Exp FICO 9 dropped from 831 to 810, then up to 814. Coincidentally, the AmEx I opened in 7/2021 also decided to report that month, 1y10mo later. I wish I had known that it wasn’t reporting earlier too, and I would have if I read my CRs before the spree.
That 844 was not earned but received from family and puffed up, I think based on two 30+ y/o AU accounts, a 17 y/o CapitalOne Quicksilver ($1,000 CL, bucketed) and a closed 10 y/o Synchrony Gap Visa. As I learned more, this spree became a way to take advantage of that airy score to establish a thicker profile since those AU lines may close in the coming few years. I’ll keep updating as the credit score evolution continues. Before March I only used a credit card a couple of times a year; now I use a credit card for every purchase except rent. I’m currently planning to garden for a year to recover with payment histories and age my AAoA. Thanks for reading my novella
Congrats on the Spree new approvals!
Congrats! You came up on some good approvals there. Don't worry about the Apple Card, with a bit of time, they are generous with their CLIs. If nothing else,it will be good for your TCL.
Definitely a nice run and you obviously know how to heal the wounds from the spree. Congrats on your approvals !
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@beargrease You may be aware already, but if not, you may want to keep your eye on the BILT card in the future to add to your collection, since you mentioned you use credit to pay for everything excerpt rent. When you add that into the mix, it will take you to being able to use credit for basically all of your expenses.