@uncredited wrote:Hello everyone, not long enough a time, no see for some of you, haha! I'm just starting my exploration into getting my next card, and was hoping for insight and thoughts from all of you as to the right path or any pitfalls I'm not aware of, or any new options that may have appeared since I was last searching.
Don't worry, folks that know me, this won't be a massive thread like the previous ones! Now that I'm going onto the 4th card, things are much more focused I think.
I'd probably be apping late May, or early June at this point, once the newest card is 6mo old to the date (or 7 month if going with Chase as I think I've seen that you really need to wait 7 mo with them because somehow they count one less month than normal.)
My current cards (age as it will be in May at varying dates) are:
Disco, $5500 (CLI of 500 today) 27mo
Citi DC, $6900 14mo
Amex BCP, $6000 6mo
(AoOA: 2yr 3mo , AAoA: 1yr 3mo )
Inq:
Ex: 3/12, 3/24, 4/36 (Ex is mostly the only one that matters most likely.)
TU: 1/12, 1/24, 1/36
EQ: 0/36
Fico8: EQ 757, TU 751, EX 741
Applied Chase Amazon Prime last July with online prequal: denied due to: age of oldest card, insufficient cards of suffiecient age.
Applied FNBO WS card November: Denied due to "insufficient credit" confirmed verbally to be actually due to "not having enough cards (2 at the time) and should get other cards first." Then got the BCP immediately after. (Amex was 2 inqs)
Questions are:
1: Does anyone recommend AGAINST going for the next card in the May/June time frame with the above and current economic/credit climate?
2: I think it would be too early to retry FNBO for WS. If 2 wasn't enough cards for them, one more at 6mo old is probably either going to be borderline at best, or no change. Plus not a fan of their unpredictability, so they definitely seem like a "next one after this one" Dec/Jan kind of timeline to me.
The question is would it be a good time to try Chase Amazon again, or not the best timing/data to go for them again given the above.
3: Chase Amazon aside, I'm not up to date as many of you on newer cards, are there other cards that may be a better "great get" card that I'm not aware of or not thinking of, or a more beneficial bank other than Chase's cobrands that I should be thinking of getting involved with first? The Chase Amazon card has been a goal card since long ago, but I'd hate to be too myopic on it that I miss better offers. That's still my LIKELY next try but just polling to see if I missed anything I should have looked at.
I don't do travel cards, and Rewards-wise it's diminishing returns at this point 2% covers most things fine, BCP covers a lot of gap, so getting that 5% store-specific or the FNBO WS rewards are probably the top rewards. USB's RW cards are on my radar, but I think the AF version is the better fit, and I'm not sure that really works out better most of the time than the Amazon card for me, and with more work.
Not much more than that this time, pretty cut and dry, not tons of options and considerations. Certain former mods will be very happy about that! Just starting "shopping around" for what my next steps are for a month or so away.
Well if you're looking for another cash back card, I would suggest the Comenity AAA Travel Advantage or Daily Advantage Visa. I have the Travel version, gives 5% on gas and electric vehicle charging, and 3% on groceries, dining, travel, and AAA purchases. The Daily version is the same, except that it gives 5% on groceries, and 3% on gas and ev charging. I doubt that you need to wait before applying.
@uncredited wrote:Hello everyone, not long enough a time, no see for some of you, haha! I'm just starting my exploration into getting my next card, and was hoping for insight and thoughts from all of you as to the right path or any pitfalls I'm not aware of, or any new options that may have appeared since I was last searching.
Don't worry, folks that know me, this won't be a massive thread like the previous ones! Now that I'm going onto the 4th card, things are much more focused I think.
I'd probably be apping late May, or early June at this point, once the newest card is 6mo old to the date (or 7 month if going with Chase as I think I've seen that you really need to wait 7 mo with them because somehow they count one less month than normal.)
My current cards (age as it will be in May at varying dates) are:
Disco, $5500 (CLI of 500 today) 27mo
Citi DC, $6900 14mo
Amex BCP, $6000 6mo
(AoOA: 2yr 3mo , AAoA: 1yr 3mo )
Inq:
Ex: 3/12, 3/24, 4/36 (Ex is mostly the only one that matters most likely.)
TU: 1/12, 1/24, 1/36
EQ: 0/36
Fico8: EQ 757, TU 751, EX 741
Applied Chase Amazon Prime last July with online prequal: denied due to: age of oldest card, insufficient cards of suffiecient age.
Applied FNBO WS card November: Denied due to "insufficient credit" confirmed verbally to be actually due to "not having enough cards (2 at the time) and should get other cards first." Then got the BCP immediately after. (Amex was 2 inqs)
Questions are:
1: Does anyone recommend AGAINST going for the next card in the May/June time frame with the above and current economic/credit climate?
2: I think it would be too early to retry FNBO for WS. If 2 wasn't enough cards for them, one more at 6mo old is probably either going to be borderline at best, or no change. Plus not a fan of their unpredictability, so they definitely seem like a "next one after this one" Dec/Jan kind of timeline to me.
The question is would it be a good time to try Chase Amazon again, or not the best timing/data to go for them again given the above.
3: Chase Amazon aside, I'm not up to date as many of you on newer cards, are there other cards that may be a better "great get" card that I'm not aware of or not thinking of, or a more beneficial bank other than Chase's cobrands that I should be thinking of getting involved with first? The Chase Amazon card has been a goal card since long ago, but I'd hate to be too myopic on it that I miss better offers. That's still my LIKELY next try but just polling to see if I missed anything I should have looked at.
I don't do travel cards, and Rewards-wise it's diminishing returns at this point 2% covers most things fine, BCP covers a lot of gap, so getting that 5% store-specific or the FNBO WS rewards are probably the top rewards. USB's RW cards are on my radar, but I think the AF version is the better fit, and I'm not sure that really works out better most of the time than the Amazon card for me, and with more work.
Not much more than that this time, pretty cut and dry, not tons of options and considerations. Certain former mods will be very happy about that! Just starting "shopping around" for what my next steps are for a month or so away.
This was a short post? lol 
I'm not clear on what you are looking for. No travel cards, got it. But no cash back cards greater than 2%...... unless they offer 5% in a specific category that you use a lot? Is that correct? Which categories do you spend a lot in, so we can help? Also, I would consider ditching the $95 BCE as using a 5% grocery card with no AF pencils out better than the 6% BCE at the spending caps (even better below the caps).
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We should start a pool for how long this thread will become. I pick 60 pages. 
Honestly, I'm still kind of surprised they turned you down for the Amazon Prime card. Chase seems to want 1 year of credit history for their standard cards, and I don't see why the Amazon card would be any different.
But if you're disinclined to try FNBO or Amazon again, you could leverage your existing relationship with Citi and get the Custom Cash. It's a very flexible 5% on whatever. Just pick dining, or gas, or groceries, and use it as your dedicated card for that. Another option is the Max Cash Preferred, which is basically the Elan analogue of the U.S. Bank Cash+ (they're sister companies, under the umbrella USBancorp). It's another 5% card in user-selectable categories that include utilities and internet, and the MCP has the advantage over the Cash+ in that you don't have to actively pick the categories every quarter (it defaults to the old categories). That means if you can set it to autopay, it's a very easy card to manage. The AAA cards @SouthJamaica mentioned are also excellent cash back cards and don't require AAA membership, though they're only available in some regions (they'll route you to local auto club by zip code, and if you see the Bread cards you're in luck, but if you see the U.S. Bank cards, you're out of luck).
@ptatohed wrote:
This was a short post? lol
I'm not clear on what you are looking for. No travel cards, got it. But no cash back cards greater than 2%...... unless they offer 5% in a specific category that you use a lot? Is that correct? Which categories do you spend a lot in, so we can help? Also, I would consider ditching the $95 BCE as using a 5% grocery card with no AF pencils out better than the 6% BCE at the spending caps (even better below the caps).
Haha, compared to prior posts, it's short! 
I'm mostly just checking that there's no cards I've overlooked or new ones that came out that I'm not aware of that I should be looking at. Or those weird cases where "if you ever want card X, do it before card Y because whatever" situations. The plan otherwise was Chase amz + FNBO WS after that, if nothing else really jumps out. I already have the 2% (not that a backup wouldn't hurt in case something goes wrong with that one someday!) so it's just about squeezing more rewards out in the larger spending categories.
I think you're thinking BCP, not BCE. BCP is the $95 fee for 6% grocery/streaming one. BCE is the No AF 3% grocery/online one. I, too, am not a fan of the BCP, because with the relatively low caps and the fee, the savings really aren't that high. I like the BCE though, 3% up to, as I see it, $500 a mo on online is like a Pay Pal card but without Synchrony involved.
Grocery is actually part of the amazon one, I've been doing a lot of whole foods mostly for produce to suppliment bulk at WS (FNBO card), so the Amazon card does the 5% on WF, and eventual WS card does WS, and BCE does 3% grocery on occasional purchases from other grocery stores, so that takes care of 75% of food (some of the remainder is also amazon case purchases of things, and the rest is a butcher and other specialty places no card specifically does anything for so they go to the 2% DC.)
@SouthJamaica Thanks, I took a look at those, but I don't think they're the right fit for my spending. Which is good, I'm not necessarily looking to find something different, I'm just looking to make sure I'm not missing something great by not knowing about it.
How has FNBO been behaving recently, I haven't followed it? Not doing them yet for the needed reasons, but still (begrudgingly) need them on my radar for the rewards.
@Anonymalous Haha I don't think this time it will go like that. I HOPE anyway!
Yeah, I really don't get what the specific issue was with Chase. Age or number of accounts appears to be it, but yeah I wasn't outside those general guidelines. Only thing is that card doesn't seem to fit the same rules as Chase. People talk about it being easier than Chase core cards and apply all the Chase rules, but for as many people as have the Amazon card and can't get Chase core cards, I've seen plenty of posts about people that have one or more Chase core cards and get rejected for the Amazon one. It may be that everyone assumes it follows the normal Chase pattern but actually is a different pattern.
Assuming no other cards that fit me come up in this thread what this thread will probably end up being more about is if it's too soon to try Chase Amz again at 10 or 11 months after the last attempt.
FNBO...yeah, I mean they seem completely random. Who knows if I could actually be in with them, but my logic is, if 2 cards wasn't enough for them then a 3rd, 6 months later is not likely to put me comfortably over the line with them. 4, a year later seems a more reasonable way to go back to them. (Even if I still think they're cagey.)
You have great recommendations for me though.
Don't tempt me with Custom Cash! Haha, I actually do like that card, and I do really like my relationship with Citi thus far, so it always tempts me when they advertise it to me so often. BUT. My priority is still lender diversity as much as I can, so I'd not like to double up 2 with one lender right now, I'd rather have a nice bredth of lenders. And I'd hate to tamper with the DC by enduing up with moving CL from one to the other or something, as DC is my most important/favorite card (other than Disco which is my oldest therefore most important) card. That was a good suggestion though! Too good because it already tempts me!
The USB/Elan Cash+/Preferred is probably the only other one I have had on my list (and Custom Cash haha.) I think in terms of rewards amazon and FNBO squeeze it out, but that, and even their AF version is a really good card for me more than many. And USB seems to be a good bank in general to get a relationship with.
In some ways you mostly re-confirmed the original plan: I think I'm still probably looking at, when all is said and done, amazon + fnbo + USB Cash+ over the next...what, year and a half or so?
I know I am far more conservative than most on the forum.
But I shall throw out my 2c anyway.
I would wait until my youngest card was 1 year old.
Because of your young account age, time is the big fixer.
Go for the Amazon, it is a good card for where you spend from previous post.
Wait a whole year then go for the big money card (FNBO).
Six more months go for the Citi Custom Cash or Cash+
Then stop, you will be at a point of extreme diminished returns for your spend.
If you become addicted to credit card collecting and want to waste your time managing another card for a dollar or two, it is OK just realize you have a new hobby.
Yep, sorry I forgot not everyone was on my prior threads! Kforce explained it right, cobrand with a wholesaler store, 3% off store purchases, flat $600/yr off the membership. Hard to beat that savings on any card, really. But as Kforce said, they denied in November explicity for not having enough cards (at the time, 2) on the phone, and told me to maybe try to get a secured card from my bank or something (??). So I went to Amex the next day and they liked me just fine....
When the card arrived I made sure to charge some WS orders against the new Amex transaction fees....not the stores fault, but the revenge made me feel better anyway
@Anonymalous yeah some people like doubling up for convenience or where some cards work together with points systems and all, Citi would, but I like having eggs in many baskets. If one flips out for unknown reasons as lenders tend to do the damage is mitigated to one product. Plus it opens a history with more institutions in general which could always benefit some day, or not. With 3, the separate apps I don't mind so much, maybe with 5 or 6 it will get frustrating, but at the same time having separate apps for each card makes me less likely to get confused what's what and when its due than if I have 2 in the same app, too. Pros and cons.
Yeah, sounds like FNBO is the same totally unpredictable place. Ick. Not a huge fan of them, at all, but, they mean money, and at least they're not syncb, so there's that. I will still begrudgingly go for them after this next one probably.
@Kforce Well, if even your conservative bent means it's not too soon to try Chase again, then that's probably the right next bet. June probably, I'm pretty sure they count one less month the way they count so 7 months (according to FICO) is 6 months to them on the newest account. Amazon doesn't advertise the Chase card to me in my account after I last applied, only the store card. I'd try the prequal again, just because, even though I think there's enough DPs on the forums to mean that prequal on that card is about as good as "selected to apply."
FNBO 1 year vs 6mo later....hmm. I'll be back in Nov/Dec to gather opinions on that one I think. You know I'm cautious and conservative, too, so that's interesting, and I already know they don't like me, OTOH, if they only problem they had with me last time was number of accounts, you'd think a total extra year of history with 2 more cards would be able to satisfy them, considering I'd have done exactly what they told me they needed me to do for approval.....but they're flaky. If Amz-Chase happens in June and goes smoothly, I'd possibly be more willing to throw another inq on the pile since that would be the last or penultimate get.
And I definitely don't want to do the card collection as a hobby thing