My GF, soon to be fiance, is in her late 20's, and has an extremely thin file. She has no loans, no student debt, and only one credit card. Which is the Chase United Explorer card. She does have a couple student loans that are closed and have been PIF for a while now.
Her scores are, i believe, the 720-730s range. I'll have to confirm however, i know they're above 700.
She should have 0 inquiries in the last 24 months, but i can't remember when exactly she got the Chase United card. I do however know for a fact it's been over 12 months. It may be over 24 months, or close to it.
After the research i've done on here, and also watching YouTube videos from Ask Sebby and the Credit Shifu etc, I want to help her build a solid base to increase her scores and build a better credit profile. Plus i want to get her into using a CC to PIF every month as her daily vs using a debit card, to earn points/rewards. I'm looking for opinions, suggestions, and honestly just what you all think. I know that she'll have to apply for one every 2-4 months or so, but here's what i'm thinking of suggesting to her, in addition to her United Explorer card:
Chase Freedom Unlimited - I looked into the freedom, however looking into the last three years of the calendar 5% benefits, i don't believe she'd get much from it. I have a company car with company gas card, and her work is only 7 miles away in which she drives three days per week. If we go anywhere, i drive unless of course she has plans on her own. She barely puts 5k miles per year on her car. I pay for 99% of all our streaming services, utility bills, ect. So she would only have gotten some benefit from one quarter in the last 3 years from grocery shopping and one more for dining out. Even then we rotate randomly between each other on spending for those things. The Freedom unlimited 3% in the first year for all spend seems like a more enticing deal for her to use as a daily driver card, based upon her spending history.
Amazon Rewards Visa - She does buy a lot on Amazon, as do i. So with the $70 initial bonus, plus 5% cash back, i think this is a great idea.
Amex Everyday - She has a balance on her explorer card, which we could xfer here to pay down and pay off asap.
Costco Anywhere - I have a Costco membership, in which she's included. 4% cash back, that can be used at ALL gas stations seems like the perfect "gas only card" for her to use. Again, she doesn't drive much but this seems to be the best gas card out there with no annual fee and would again, also help her with completing her 5 card base.
Again, just looking for insight and opinions to compare against. Also if there is a better balance xfer card out there let me know. Lastly, what should be her first card to go after? The Chase Freedom Unlimited?
@simplynoir wrote:Are you looking to pool your rewards together with Chase since you have the CSP already? If that's the case then a general spend card like the CFU seems like the best approach for one of her cards since she doesn't have to juggle which card to use where.
From there I'd pick Amazon credit cards for her third card. Doesn't seem like gas earnings should be a big concern if she travels by car so little. She might have to space the app out a little between the CFU and Amazon card but it shouldn't take long for her to do it. For balance transfers assuming you don't want to eat the 3% fee the CFU has even with the 15 month 0% intro on purchases/BTs then Everyday card is a good option for that, too.
I'm going to upgrade my CSP to CSR at 13 months, so maybe at that point she could get the CSP. I wasn't aware we could pool points together, but if we can then absolutely yes we would.
You're right about the gas card, it's insignificant. I was just thinking about a 5 card base. Could just cut it down to 4 with the Amex EveryDay to diversify.
@Anonymous wrote:5 cards.... 3 cards + installment loan is the ideal for maxmizing your score.
What works for one doesn't for others. 5 cards can be intimidating for someone w/ 1 to manage them and juggle them for the most benefit.
CFU / Amazon are both Chase which still lands her in 100% Chase for CC's
Amex is a good option as well because it will grow quickly.... BT to ED is appealing if it's a significant balance but under 5K as they have a cap on BT's now.
BOA would be a good option as well since you can pick you 3% catagory on the Cash cards and they do grow like a weed w/ SP CLI's like Amex does as well.
I think the order is insignifcant at this point because she hasn't opened a ton of cards... i.e. 1 card
If you go through with it with this info then:
Chase (Amazon / CFU) I would go amazon and then follow w/ Disco Miles for 3% ... you get the 5% and 3% and diversify
Disco Miles
Amex
BOA
This gets her to 5 cards and hedges some of the risk w/ lenders doing funny things.
I agree about the loan, but i don't see the point in opening one and paying interest, just to pay it back, when she doesn't need it. She keeps going back and forth about getting a Jeep so if we trade her car in for one we'll of course get an auto loan for the difference at that time.
Chase has all the good cards!! lol. We could leave off the Costco card as i stated above, and go with the Amex ED to give her a little diversification.. I don't think the discover card is worth it for her imo, so we could shrink it to 4 cards which is more than enough to get her used to handling more than just one. It's a transition getting used to using a CC instead of debit for everyday daily transactions, so trying to take things one step at a time, but also get her base built up quick enough so that she can get it over with and just let it age and grow.
Agree with Disco recommendation.
You can also acheive 5% back at Amazon with the "store card" and grow the limit via Sync soft pulls while not having all eggs in the Chase basket.
I would also look into a general spending card - something like either Paypal 2% CB or Citi DC. I would have one of those as a backup for non-category spending. As others have stated, don't put all your eggs in one basket (Chase). It's understandable that the 5% categories may not be of the best use to you but keep in mind, you can buy gift cards and use that.
