When should I apply for a second Credit Card? Update - BCE Approved

[Anonymous]

Hello All!

This is my first post on the forums, and am looking at when I should apply for a second card. I have six months of history today since I got a Golden1 Platinum Rewards Card with a $500 credit limit. As of today, Experian reports my Fico Score 8 as 730 from their score on their app. I am using the card once a month and keeping the utilization about 5%. I am looking at the AMEX Blue Cash for my second card, but I am open to suggestions. My main question is, when should I apply for my second card, now or when I have a year of credit history? Also, how soon should I ask for a CL increase?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I would suggest doing the pre-qual circuit: Amex, Discover, Cap1 etc. 

If your Pre-Approved for any, start there, by narrowing down to which one you want. 

[Anonymous]

I would look at Amex and Disco as well. Both like thin files.
If they both give you pre-approvals I would app both. The accounts can age together, as will the inquiries. A year from now you can see where you are and if there is something else that might be useful to you

Welcome to the boards

[Anonymous]

I was in a similar situation a year ago.

Got FU
At 4 months I asked for cli
At 6 months got BCE
At 10 months got Amazon
Now in garden mode until they all age a bit more

So far so good

[Anonymous]

Howdy!!

I agree that you should check what you are pre-qualified for. You can go online through Chase, Citi, Capital One, Discover, AMEX and a host of other banks to see (without hurting your credit) what you’d be qualified for.

If you only have 1 card, and a FICO of 730 then you are in pretty good shape. I would check all of your score, because each bank will pull a different one. There really is no good or bad time to apply in your position. You aren’t not bound by any 5/24 rules or anything like that. It all depends on what kind of credit card you’d like to get. Some things that you can start thinking of is what benefits you want in a card:

1. Cash Back (flat rate or rotating caragories)
2. Miles (for a specific airline or for any)
3. Rewards (gift cards, bill payments)
4. Special Access / Ticket or Event Pre-Sale
5. Airline bags covered
6. Airport Lounge Access
7. Rental Coverage

Once you narrow that down, finding the right card will be a breeze. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice!

I did a prequal with AMEX and was qualified for the BCE which I applied for and was issuedin a couple minutes with a $1000 CL. Experian says my score dropped down to 722 as a result But, I expect it to bounce back up

[joltdude]

Going to try for a third card so they can age at about the same time... ?

Tend to think a try for a discover prequal would give you the (somewhat magic 3) cards .... youll get the points back and may even find yourself ahead in a few months... 

-J

[AverageJoesCredit]

Congrats on the. BCE

[Anonymous]

I haven't given much thought to applying for Discover... I would almost rather wait till I have a bit more experience in the credit game...

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello All!

This is my first post on the forums, and am looking at when I should apply for a second card. I have six months of history today since I got a Golden1 Platinum Rewards Card with a $500 credit limit. As of today, Experian reports my Fico Score 8 as 730 from their score on their app. I am using the card once a month and keeping the utilization about 5%. I am looking at the AMEX Blue Cash for my second card, but I am open to suggestions. My main question is, when should I apply for my second card, now or when I have a year of credit history? Also, how soon should I ask for a CL increase?

Thanks!

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I would say you could apply for one now, and the Amex Blue Cash Everyday is a decent cash back card.