I need a strategy

[Mryucky2024]

I'm rebuilding so to speak, no formal BK but 7 years ago I moved to a different country unexpectedly (family comes first) and dropped all of my american credit cards. Fast forward to last August when all of my bad debt came off due to it being 7 years and I get a secured Discover ($200), Capital One forgave me and gave me a seemingly bucketed Quicksilver one ($500). Come last November; I applied for Chase Freedom Flex and Prime card (didn't realize amazon prime was chase at the time). I received the 7-10 day notice... I looked at the notice and it said I was a victim of identity theft! This really scared me but it said that if I actually applied then to call. The lady told me that due to having a new unreported address (I moved back from Canada) and applying for 2 cards so soon that it trigored then fraud flag. She proceeded to verify my identity and rewarded me with a $800 limit on a Freedom flex. My Fico's have grown from August at 650-675 up to 760-780 in November since my credit limits have went up and I kept my utlilization low.

I just went on a spree and got the Amex bce ($2k) and went back to Cap 1 for the Savor card ($1k, low limit but I'll take it).

I was denied by Citi who cited too many cards as the only reason and I only had 3 cards reporting but Citi is one of the cards I dropped.  I then also read about the Chase 5/24 rule and I now have 5 cards. I want a travel card and I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to try go after the Chase CSP or wait and go after the Gold card in another 3-6 months? To go after Chase I'm thinking I'll have to drop the bucketed Cap 1 Quicksilver one that's only worth $500? I'm hoping to get the triple my limit with Amex and I'm starting to question if I need/want the Discover to graduate at this point? My gut says that I should just focus on Chase and Amex and build those relationships as much as possible.

I did open a checking account with Chase and get the sub for the $300 for checking. I'm trying to build my relationship with Chase.

Any other advice out there guys? 

Thanks,

Allen

[JoeRockhead]

Just to clarify the 5/24 rule, you know it's determined on credit cards and revolving lines of credit over the past 24 months based on when they were approved. The way you worded your post sounds like you might think that if you cancel one (or more) of your other cards that would help your 5/24 status (which it doesn't).

Citi is super sensitive to new accounts, you'll want to be at least 0/6 before trying them again. 

I'd recommend you stand pat on what you have, and concentrate on growing those limits for 6 months to a year before applying for any more cards. 

[Mryucky2024]

Your right about the 5/24! I was thinking abou it wrong..

Also, it's going to be a while before I will be able to qualify for the CSP because they want to see that I can handle a $5k limit first potentially since it's a $5k card..

I'm still thinking the CSP is travel card I want. I know there's a big debate between which travel card is the best between the CSP, Venture and Gold/Platinum cards... I'm really questioning if the Gold card would be worth the af for me.

I agree though that I just need to garden for a good 6 months and see how much I can grow these limits.

Thanks! 

[Mryucky2024]

I was offered the Venture card for good credit when I chose the Savor card. The venture card for good credit only gives you 1.25 miles and doesn't have all of the perks of the other venture cards (Venture one rewards, Venture rewards or Venture x). 

Does anyone know if you get the basic card Venture one rewards for good credit, can that card later pc to a better Venture card?

Thanks!

[JoeRockhead]

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@Mryucky2024 wrote:

I was offered the Venture card for good credit when I chose the Savor card. The venture card for good credit only gives you 1.25 miles and doesn't have all of the perks of the other venture cards (Venture one rewards, Venture rewards or Venture x). 

Does anyone know if you get the basic card Venture one rewards for good credit, can that card later pc to a better Venture card?

Thanks!

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Yes, you can PC the basic Venture to the Venture X. I believe you have to have the existing card for 12 months and still be able to qualify for the minimum CL on the Venture X. You also might not be eligible for any SUB when PCing. A better strategy might be to build your profile to the point where you can just apply for the Venture X outright when the time is right. 

[unsungivy]

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@Mryucky2024 wrote:

I'm rebuilding so to speak, no formal BK but 7 years ago I moved to a different country unexpectedly (family comes first) and dropped all of my american credit cards. Fast forward to last August when all of my bad debt came off due to it being 7 years and I get a secured Discover ($200), Capital One forgave me and gave me a seemingly bucketed Quicksilver one ($500). Come last November; I applied for Chase Freedom Flex and Prime card (didn't realize amazon prime was chase at the time). I received the 7-10 day notice... I looked at the notice and it said I was a victim of identity theft! This really scared me but it said that if I actually applied then to call. The lady told me that due to having a new unreported address (I moved back from Canada) and applying for 2 cards so soon that it trigored then fraud flag. She proceeded to verify my identity and rewarded me with a $800 limit on a Freedom flex. My Fico's have grown from August at 650-675 up to 760-780 in November since my credit limits have went up and I kept my utlilization low.

I just went on a spree and got the Amex bce ($2k) and went back to Cap 1 for the Savor card ($1k, low limit but I'll take it).

I was denied by Citi who cited too many cards as the only reason and I only had 3 cards reporting but Citi is one of the cards I dropped.  I then also read about the Chase 5/24 rule and I now have 5 cards. I want a travel card and I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to try go after the Chase CSP or wait and go after the Gold card in another 3-6 months? To go after Chase I'm thinking I'll have to drop the bucketed Cap 1 Quicksilver one that's only worth $500? I'm hoping to get the triple my limit with Amex and I'm starting to question if I need/want the Discover to graduate at this point? My gut says that I should just focus on Chase and Amex and build those relationships as much as possible.

I did open a checking account with Chase and get the sub for the $300 for checking. I'm trying to build my relationship with Chase.

Any other advice out there guys? 

Thanks,

Allen

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Hello Allen, nice to meet your wall of text 😬 (took me three visits to this thread before I could make myself focus on it, oof. Next time, break it up a bit more for digestion. 👍)

To summarize, your active five cards are:

Discover ???: ???

Chase Freedom Flex: 5% rotating categories + 3% dining/drugstores

AmEx BCE: 3% gas/groceries (supermarkets only)/online shopping

Cap1 Savor: 3% dining/entertainment/groceries/streaming

Cap1 QS: 1.5% everything

I mean, it's not a terrible lineup honestly. If you do drop your QS you should see about getting a 2% everything card to fill that hole.

You've already figured out that you misunderstood the 5/24 rule, so I'll leave that be.

What I'm confused about is why you seem to be lumping the AmEx Gold in with Travel cards? I mean, sure you can use it internationally, and I think maybe it gets a travel portal discount, but otherwise it's really not a Travel card per se. It's a "food" card: Groceries and Restaurants. And how well it does for those depends on if you are Team Travel (points) or Team Cashback... and your Savor will cover your Dining and Groceries at 3% cashback (including internationally), so I really don't think the Gold would be a card that would benefit you much at this point.

Getting in with AmEx in general is smart though, which you have already done with the BCE.

For Travel cards, you may also consider if you have any brand loyalty to specific airlines or hotels, since some of those cards can be stellar if they work for you (such as the Ritz card which involves patience and hoop jumping).

As well, don't forget that Chase, AmEx, and Cap1 all have "travel portals" that you can usually book through without having a travel-specific card for 5% rates. So it really depends what you are looking for in wanting a Travel card.

[Mryucky2024]

Thanks for the advice, my Discover is a secured card that I received back in August with a $200 limit on it.

I'm really questioning graduating/needing this card as I feel like I have mostly team cashback cards already with other companies but needing team travel cards now!

(For some reason I had in my head that the Amex gold card was a smaller version of the platinum ...)

I travel to Canada twice a month and so I am needing/wanting a travel card. I'm mostly flying with Delta, Alaskian Air and United.

[unsungivy]

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@Mryucky2024 wrote:

Thanks for the advice, my Discover is a secured card that I received back in August with a $200 limit on it.

I'm really questioning graduating/needing this card as I feel like I have mostly team cashback cards already with other companies but needing team travel cards now!

(For some reason I had in my head that the Amex gold card was a smaller version of the platinum ...)

I travel to Canada twice a month and so I am needing/wanting a travel card. I'm mostly flying with Delta, Alaskian Air and United.

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If you can have the Discover graduate to a Discover It for the 5% categories down the road, it's worth keeping. P2 had the Discover Secured > Discover Chrome > Discover It, and it's worth keeping around. If that's not a possible path for you (I heard that Discover may not be allowing product changes anymore, possibly?), and you want to close it, go for it. It sounds like as-is you may not be getting anything out of it.

Delta's co-branded cards are handled by AmEx, Alaska Air by BofA, and United by Chase... for now Chase cards are out of reach for you. It doesn't sound like you're specifically loyal to any of them however, and that possibly hotels are not a consideration. What about car rentals?

It sounds like maybe you were confusing the AmEx Gold with the AmEx Green, which IS a basic Travel card (3x restaurants, travel, & transit), and has a lower annual fee than the Gold or the Platinum. Bear in mind that AmEx has changed their rules so you can only get a SUB for ONE of their charge cards, and the Green will have the lowest one and lock you out of getting the Platinum's in the future if that is something you are interested in.

[Mryucky2024]

I appreciate all your advice. I'll wait out the Discover card and see what I can do with it down the road. I agree it can be useful with the 5%, we'll see what happens later..

I'm so young in this rebuild, your correct I've not shown any loyalty but rather have gotten cards based on pre approvals on their websites. All of my cards were soft pulls initially . Couple that with my impatience (discover won't approve me for anything right now, Chase won't either) and voila! I have my current mix!!

For the last year and a half I've been driving up to Canada from Seattle. I am interested in the hotels card such as the Hilton card. I don't plan on driving up forever and it would be great to fly every now and then. I'm trying not to rent cars for now but I will rent them when I start flying.

I'm leaning towards gardening what I have for now. Taking a wait-n-see approach for the discover card and to see which cards appreciate my business as I put spend on them and pif each month. 

At this point I'm thinking it's hard to go wrong with either of the Sapphire/upper Venture cards or the platinum Amex if I can justify that af!

I'm really happy right now, my TransUnion Fico just reported at 806 on the Discover app! That's up 92 points from a month ago!!

Hopefully, another 3 months and it'll become clearer which of these travel cards might be approved..

AllenIt's been a great 3 months!!

[KatzNDawgs]

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@unsungivy wrote:

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It sounds like maybe you were confusing the AmEx Gold with the AmEx Green, which IS a basic Travel card (3x restaurants, travel, & transit), and has a lower annual fee than the Gold or the Platinum. Bear in mind that AmEx has changed their rules so you can only get a SUB for ONE of their charge cards, and the Green will have the lowest one and lock you out of getting the Platinum's in the future if that is something you are interested in.

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I agree the Amex Green is an underrated travel card. However, I believe the SUB restriction only applies when going down the ladder.

Ex1: if you get the Platinum, first, you are not eligible for Gold or Green SUB (for "lifetime")

Ex2: If you get the Gold first, you are not eligible for Green SUB, but yes can get the Platinum

Ex3: If you "climb the ladder" and start from Green, you can get that SUB, then Gold SUB, then Platinum SUB. If you jump from Green to Platinum, you won't qualify for Gold SUB next.