First post, need some advice.

[B335is]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I just don't know how i would justify to them needing the Ink Bold after having four cards with minimal utilization. And I'm kinda scared of getting the same CSR one of my friends did after I told him to call... He got absolutely grilled and destroyed, even after I had prepped him. Don't want all my spending habits questioned, if that makes sense.

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You could take my approach and wait it out.  I think you'd be ok, you already have business history with Chase on your Plus.  I'd seriously consider going for the Bold now - once it's gone, that's it, ship sailed.

[Anonymous]

Ok. I'm gonna cancel my BA and CSP today. How long should I wait before applying for the Bold after cancelling? I won't apply for anything else until we have secured our car loan. Since I know as of earlier this year my credit was maxed with them, I want to make sure it registers that I have reduced my open lines with them.

[B335is]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ok. I'm gonna cancel my BA and CSP today. How long should I wait before applying for the Bold after cancelling? I won't apply for anything else until we have secured our car loan. Since I know as of earlier this year my credit was maxed with them, I want to make sure it registers that I have reduced my open lines with them.

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How long has it been since your last Chase approval?  I've heard they try to limit approving more than 2 new cards every 6 months, but that

is most likely YMMV.  Another option before you cancel CSP and BA is apply for Bold and if you need to ask for recon, use those limits as leverage to get it approved.  Either way, Chase's systems seem to reflect any overall changes almost immediately.

[Anonymous]

Based on statements (I'm not at home to confirm), it looks like:

Ink Plus 01/27/2014

BA 12/29/2013

CSP 11/30/2013

Freedom 11/24/2013

Bumbled my way through four approvals in two months...

[B335is]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Based on statements (I'm not at home to confirm), it looks like:

Ink Plus 01/27/2014

BA 12/29/2013

CSP 11/30/2013

Freedom 11/24/2013

Bumbled my way through four approvals in two months...

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Ok you blew that 2 cards every 6 months rumor out of the water.  You may want to do a little searching on how often you can apply for Chase Business cards, but you're over 8 months out, shouldn't be an issue.

[Anonymous]

If you go strictly cash back:   Unless you know some trick that I don't (always possible) you are getting more like 4% on BC after debit card fees, so I would focus on 5% cards for areas you spend that aren't directly covered by BC.  Sallie Mae was mentioned, but that only makes sense for bookstores, another choice is US Bank Cash Plus which allows the selection of 2 5% categories.  Of course, the gains are small because Cash + is capped at $2000 spend per quarter, so we are talking about $80 a year over your existing method, but that's better than the Double Cash you mentioned.

You can also get the Discover and Freedom, but with rotating categories it becomes a gamble, and one of the more useful categories, gas, is already covered by BC.

So my strategy is currently US Bank Cash Plus, for vet and cell phone, Citi 5x Forward for dining and bookstores/Amazon, and BC, directly or indirectly for everything else.

[Luscher]

Make sure you transfer the credit limit on your chase cards, you don't want to lose that. and 200k ur points is 2000 dollars, and even more if you choose to use it for a vacation or airfare!

[Anonymous]

Well, I ended up cancelling my BA card this afternoon. Can someone help me understand credit limits? My understanding was that once you hit your max with a company, i.e. 100k with Chase, your best bet was to cancel a card to free up some of your total "pool"? My last card required me calling and OKing moving 8k to the new card.... I figured that meant i was maxed and it was time to free up space? I really don't want to have to call and bring potential attention to my MS everytime i apply for a new card with them...

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Well, I ended up cancelling my BA card this afternoon. Can someone help me understand credit limits? My understanding was that once you hit your max with a company, i.e. 100k with Chase, your best bet was to cancel a card to free up some of your total "pool"? My last card required me calling and OKing moving 8k to the new card.... I figured that meant i was maxed and it was time to free up space? I really don't want to have to call and bring potential attention to my MS everytime i apply for a new card with them...

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To avoid attention, that might be best.  The other school of thought is to have at least one card with the issuer so that you can offer to partially transfer a CL to the new card if at first declined.   If you are doing MS on Chase, in this climate I would cancel and hope for instant approval on any new card. 

[Anonymous]

That was my hope; the prayer for the instant approval. My BA card had a $20k limit... I wonder if I should just  say a prayer and shoot for the Bold at this point.