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21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card


@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

Cap One QuickSilver would be my choice.  

Check the prequal site.


Thank you for your input, I actually did attempt to pre-qualify for Cap1 but received this message

Looks like we can’t provide you with any pre-qualified results. Any chance you’ve opted out of prescreened credit card offers? If so, no problem!  Based on your answers, we think you’ll like these 

1Quicksilver® Rewards – NO ANNUAL FEE

Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase with the Capital One Quicksilver® Visa®.
Earn a one-time $150 bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.*

Purchase APR

0% intro APR for 9 months; 13.99% to 23.99% variable APR after that

Transfer Information

0% intro APR for 9 months; 13.99% to 23.99% variable APR after that; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 9 months

 SavorSM – NO ANNUAL FEE

Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, 2% on groceries and 1% on all other purchases with the Capital One SavorSMMastercard®.
Earn a one-time $150 bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.*

Purchase APR

0% intro APR for 9 months; 15.49% to 24.49% variable APR after that

Transfer Information

0% intro APR for 9 months; 15.49% to 24.49% variable APR after that; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 9 months

VentureOne® Rewards – NO ANNUAL FEE

Earn unlimited 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase with the Capital One VentureOne®Visa® card.
Earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.*

Purchase APR

0% intro APR for 12 months; 12.99% to 22.99% variable APR after that

Transfer Information

12.99% to 22.99% variable APR; No Transfer Fee

 

 

Message 51 of 57
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card

With your gas and groceries spend I'd recommend the Bank of America Cash Rewards card. 3% on gas and 2% on groceries. And I'm assuming when you say "social" you mean bars and restaurants. For that I'd recommend the new Capital One Savor card. 3% on bars and restaurants and 2% on groceries. You mentioned going to sporting events and if that is more of what you mean when you say social then the Marvel MasterCard from Synchrony is a good option. 3% on both food and entertainment. You should have no problem getting any of these. I've just never been a fan of American Express. They haven't done anything to me, I just have no interest in getting any of their cards.
Message 52 of 57
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card

I started building my credit profile in January and I'm a college student too Smiley Very Happy

My first card was a Capital One Platinum card (No rewards). I had my platinum upgraded to a Quicksilver after about a month after I had it so I could start earning rewards (1.5% back). After that I added Chase Amazon. A few months later I grabbed the AMEX Everyday and then Blue Cash Everyday.

I personally would recommend Chase Amazon. It's by far one of my favorite cards (Not sure if you study abroad but they don't have foreign transaction fees and that was a lifesaver for me) Please note that the Quicksilver also doesnt have any transaction fees. (I used both heavily while abroad).

A few of my friends have the Chase Freedom unlimited and love that card too.

In summary my favorite cards and recommendations for you would be...

Chase Amazon or Freedom Unlimited
Capital One Quicksilver (Might have to start as Platinum)
AMEX Blue Cash Everyday

I have a lot of other cards but those are the ones I use the most and get the most out of. Make sure if you apply for AMEX that you use the prequalification tool to get a nice bonus. I received a couple hundred back for 1k spend on BCE and 30K in reward points for the ED

I didnt read the entire thread so my apologies if Im just repeating what others have said I just figured because we were in a similar boat I should toss a few recommendations out there.

Let me know if you have any questions about my profile or about anything I said Smiley Happy
Message 53 of 57
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card


@K-in-Boston wrote:

@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

Cap One QuickSilver would be my choice.  

Check the prequal site.


OP did not have a prequalification from CapOne.  A QuickSilver approval would be more likely than not, though.  I'll refrain from any disparaging remarks about CapOne.  I know they treat some customers (you, for example) well.


ANY INSIGHT OR ADVICE ON IF I APPLY FOR  3 CARDS CAP1QS  CHASESPB AND AMEX ON SAME DAY WHAT ARE MY APPROVAL ODDS  MIGHT BE AND WHAT WILL IT DO TO MY CREDIT SCORE?

Message 54 of 57
K-in-Boston
Credit Mentor

Re: 21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card

If you were to do those three, I would apply in this order: Chase, Amex, CapOne.  Chase can sometimes pull two bureaus but they are usually the most inquiry-sensitive of the three, so not having pulls showing for the others would be ideal. Amex is generally not inquiry sensitive and should only pull Experian.  CapOne is somewhere in the middle, but they will pull Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

 

QuickSilver I would think is a near-guarantee. If you're going for the Sapphire Preferred I think using the prequalified link you have a good shot, but for the third time I'll state the usual caveat that they like to see larger lines from other lenders.  Your scores are great and you have no very recent accounts, so it would not at all surprise me to see you approved for $5-12k. It does happen and their prequalifications are usually rock-solid. If you were to go for Freedom or Freedom Unlimited, those would be near-guarantees.  The Amex Blue Cash or Blue Cash Preferred I would say is as sure a thing as it gets in the credit world.

 

As for scores, it's a mixed bag.  You will likely lose a couple of points due to the inquiries.  You may lose a couple dozen points when the accounts report to the credit bureaus due to new accounts showing and a lowering of your average age of accounts. (Amex usually does not report until the 2nd or sometimes 3rd statement closing date so you have time there.) However, you should also get points for having 3 or more revolving credit cards on your reports. And using the cards, you likely won't be reporting much in the way of utilization provided they're used responsibly.  Everyone's profile is different, but I don't think your scores would plummet or anything.  If you're not applying for a mortgage or auto loan in the next year, I wouldn't worry about it at all.  The scores should rebound completely in about 6 months or so.

 

Edit: Another thing we've not asked, and we can understand if you don't want to answer... what does your income look like now as a student? The Chase Sapphire Preferred does certainly have a higher bar when it comes to income and we have seen denials here for income not being sufficient for the CSP and CSR cards. For Amex and CapOne that shouldn't be disqualifying assuming that it's not super low.

Message 55 of 57
simplynoir
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: 21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card

I'm wondering how he should handle the income portion of the apps. Since he's graduating in May next year if he perhaps has a job lined up that would help with that. Applying with current student income won't really be an issue for two of the cards but the Chase one if it's the CSP can be tricky like K mentioned.

Message 56 of 57
SBR249
Established Contributor

Re: 21 yr old college student needs advice on applying for additional credit card

As others have pointed out I do think the OP should be careful when apping for Chase as it could be risky. While the OP's credit scores are undoubtedly above average to excellent, the file is thin and existing CL is low. Chase as some have noted before have shown in the past that they do not necessarily like being the first to issue someone with a high limit TL. Also there's the fact that underwriters look at more than just scores when granting initial CLs, someone may have the best scores in the world but very little income and thus end up with very low initial limits. Yes, the scores can get apps approved but income and assets also factor greatly into what CLs to grant and it's important to keep that in mind. 

Message 57 of 57
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