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Hi everyone!
I am new to the FICO forums, however, I have been reading/following some topics for the last few months.
I wanted to get some advice from the community. First, here is some information about me and my credit journey:
I took out my first credit card when I was 18 (Capital One Journey Student card). Now, I am 22 and here is my card lineup:
Capital One Quick Silver - CL $2,850
Chase Freedom Unlimited - CL $2,800
American Express EveryDay Preferred - CL $1,000
Discover IT - CL $10,500
Petal Card - CL $1,000
Apple Card - CL $1,000
Citi Double Cash - CL $3,200
Citi Premier - CL $3,800
Experian: 725
TransU: 707
Equifax: 712
3% utilization
So, my question is, what card would be most beneficial to me given my current cards? The Citi Premier was my last addition last month. I am planning on not applying for another card for minimum eight-10 months from now. I have heard of the "Citi Trifecta", is there any truth to this? I am big on cash back and good point redemption.
Thanks in Advance!
Welcome to My Fico forums, @sctrex!
It appears you have a pretty good assortment of cards, especially for a 22-year old. Some important factors are missing in your description. What is your approximate income and annual spend on credit cards? Is that 3% ($785/$26,150 TCL) just your monthly spend as posted or are you carrying balances? (Carrying balances wipes out whatever rewards you are earning. If you carry balances, you're usually better off with low-APR cards that may not have rewards.) What is your overall debt situation? (Mortgage, Auto loans, Student loans.) Finally, among your annual spending, what are your highest spending categories?
For most typical spending patterns, it would appear you already have your bases covered well. You have some good cards and already have great diversity of lenders among the major banks. It might just be time to garden, grow your limits on your existing cards, and letting your file age. Adding more cards to your lineup will dilute your spending which could mean that the limits you have are unlikely to grow. We all have a point where adding new cards is no longer a good idea. And it's not a bad strategy to sometimes pause, take a step back from new cards, and see how your existing lineup is working for you before you further diversify.
Hi @Aim_High ! I've seen you a lot throughout the forums...
Here's the additional details:
I am paying my balances off in full each month.
I work as a bartender, including all of my tip money I make roughly $65K/yr
The spending on my cards is bills and lucrative spending.
I have a current $10K car loan and $30K in student loans out. Both are current.
I would say my higest spending categories are dining and grocery.
I've had my eyes on the American Express Blue Cash Preferred, however, I have had horrible luck getting Amex to raise my 1K limit on the EveryDay Preferred. Makes me weary about a denied HP!
I am probably going to garden for some time now. I just have a necessity to do immensive research before committing, hence wanting to look into some good choices now. Although they may change later down the road with some good SUBs!
I do think the gardening is best! It will probably help in eventually getting those limits increased.
Good job on paying your balances monthly and not carrying. Showing responsible use of credit without getting in over your head will go a long way in helping you build your profile!
You're got your primary categories of groceries and dining covered well with two cards. I'm assuming travel points are important to you because these both earn MRs or TYs. (Citi Premier with 3x TY points on supermarkets, restaurants, gas and AMEX Blue Cash Preferred with 3x supermarkets and 2x gas.) Plus you've got a flat 2% card with CITI DC.
SUBs are always good, of course, but I suggest trying to be targeted about them and have a longer-term objective than simply meeting the SUB spending. Usually, I only go after SUBS on cards or banking accounts that I will find useful and plan to keep for the long term. If you get too tempted with unuseful SUBS, especially with a younger thinner profile, it continually hurts your age of credit.
Congrats on making a great start!
Congrats on the progress you have made so far. You have a good range of cards to work with.
8 cards is a lot to manage. The limits on these cards tend to be lower, due to lots of apps, and relatively limited credit history.
What is your 5/24 status? That's an annoying limiter forced on us by Chase, and yet it is a good check to keep ones pace of apps reasonable in general.
I will guess you have no additional spend categories that could earn significantly higher rewards from any new card. CFU just added dining 3% ( UR ) recently. So I'd suggest just gardening, and growing the limits you have over the next year or more.
Again, not what you're wanting to hear but I agree it's time to go to the garden. At this point, a new card isn't going to "help" you're file or score anymore than what you already have. As already stated, we all run into a time where adding another card doesn't make sense. I'm at that point as well. Grow your current lines, you're young, plenty of time to get a collection of credit cards.