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Hi all,
I'm a college kid with two cards at the moment - student Discover ($1350 CL) and the Uber Visa ($1500). I'll be graduating fairly soon, and I'm curious what a good "next move" might be in the credit card world. Some other potentially-important factors:
- FICO around 740, oldest account 1.5 years, AAoA little under a year
- Currently two student loans for $10k (subsidized until 6 months after graduation) though I'll probably end up with $17-20k at graduation
- Degree will be in engineering but likely to end up in tech consulting (potentially lots of travel, at least for a while)
- No late/missed payments, utilization varies but generally 10-20%, score seems to be held down mostly due to AAoA
Any advice for short and long term credit goals - should I be looking at other cards now or soon? Which ones should I keep in mind further down the road? Don't have a lot of expenses now (few thousand $$ per year) but that'll change quickly once I'm in the "real world"
Thanks!
I would say wait until you figure out what your future job really does include. If it you see yourself traveling quite often then it would make sense to go for this type of card. While the Uber provides 3%, some of the nice travel cards have an annual fee. It doesn't really make sense now to get one.
Most people do need groceries and gas so you may want to consider a card now that provides some decent rewards as this is a given the rest of your life. You can consider a general 1.5% - 2% general spending card as this can be used now and the rest of your life.
First, congrats for being so impressively level headed and forward looking at this age.
You don't need to worry about amex cards now, although they are great, you don't have a immediate need, and I'm sure when times come and you are certain about your need, you can get them with ease.
For now, due to the 5/24 rule of chase, and the fact you already have uber card which has nice category spending, I would suggest you get a chase freedom unlimited. This will be a general spending card give you 1.5% on everything, and get you into chase system. If you save these points and use it later on travel when (if) you get a CSR, this would be 2.25% on everything. This could be a short term, and long term baseline card.
For the long term, you will have to acquire a couple cards with more rewarding category spending, then see if you want to chase SUB from that point forward. Once you have a better idea about your category spending after graduation, you can look into many options available.
My goal is to reduce my portfolio from seven cards to five cards. My wish is that Chase would introduce a new credit card giving 3x points for groceries.
@Anonymous wrote:
Hi all,
I'm a college kid with two cards at the moment - student Discover ($1350 CL).
Keep this card for a very long time. It will help you with your AAoA down the line. Since it has no AF, there's no cost to you.
- FICO around 740, oldest account 1.5 years, AAoA little under a year
Definitely don't apply for anything until your AAoA reaches 18 months. The extra 6 months will give you a buffer so that your AAoA doesn't drop below one year. Work towards a minimum AAoA of 2yrs, and once there keep it there. Rinse & repeat.
@Anonymous wrote:I would say wait until you figure out what your future job really does include. If it you see yourself traveling quite often then it would make sense to go for this type of card. While the Uber provides 3%, some of the nice travel cards have an annual fee. It doesn't really make sense now to get one.
Most people do need groceries and gas so you may want to consider a card now that provides some decent rewards as this is a given the rest of your life. You can consider a general 1.5% - 2% general spending card as this can be used now and the rest of your life.
I agree with @Anonymous. Don't go out and start applying for cards left and right until you know what your job and lifestyle will be. Take advantage of your youth and focus on the credit fundamentals like not making poor credit/purchasing decisions, building a good payment history, and refrain from applying for credit you don't need.
If you feel you need a new card later(remember to be mindful of AAoA), I would sign up with a good credit union and apply for one of their cards. PenFed seems to be the choice of this forum. You hit two birds with one stone as you get a new card, and you build a relationship with a potential lending source for future mortgages, auto loans, etc.