I'm looking to set some goals to aim for.
Right now: EX 654, EQ unknown, TU: 648
Best Buy Citibank 2017 2.2k, Discover 2018 700, PayPal MC Oct 22 1.5k, Chase Slate Nov 22 2.2k, Target Dec 22 500, AAA Daily Advantage Jan 23 1k
I don't plan on doing anything but asking for CLIs and trying to convert the Slate into something better for all of 2023. Beyond that, I'm not sure what path I should go down for next year.
A lot of my rewards categories are covered (unless there's a better card for Costco). The only glaring hole right now is a dedicated gas card, and something for Utilities/Phone/Cable.
I was thinking of maybe aiming for something with US Bank, unsure if they have strict credit requirements. Not sure if Elan is any easier to get. There's also some Citi cards but the points system can be a little confusing.
As you can see I'm feeling a bit lost here.
@Tcal wrote:I'm looking to set some goals to aim for.
Right now: EX 654, EQ unknown, TU: 648
Best Buy Citibank 2017 2.2k, Discover 2018 700, PayPal MC Oct 22 1.5k, Chase Slate Nov 22 2.2k, Target Dec 22 500, AAA Daily Advantage Jan 23 1k
I don't plan on doing anything but asking for CLIs and trying to convert the Slate into something better for all of 2023. Beyond that, I'm not sure what path I should go down for next year.
A lot of my rewards categories are covered (unless there's a better card for Costco). The only glaring hole right now is a dedicated gas card, and something for Utilities/Phone/Cable.
I was thinking of maybe aiming for something with US Bank, unsure if they have strict credit requirements. Not sure if Elan is any easier to get. There's also some Citi cards but the points system can be a little confusing.
As you can see I'm feeling a bit lost here.
Garden 6-13 (probably 13) months, improve scores w/time as best you can and app Citi custom cash as your forever gas card
@Tcal wrote:I'm looking to set some goals to aim for.
Right now: EX 654, EQ unknown, TU: 648
Best Buy Citibank 2017 2.2k, Discover 2018 700, PayPal MC Oct 22 1.5k, Chase Slate Nov 22 2.2k, Target Dec 22 500, AAA Daily Advantage Jan 23 1k
I don't plan on doing anything but asking for CLIs and trying to convert the Slate into something better for all of 2023. Beyond that, I'm not sure what path I should go down for next year.
A lot of my rewards categories are covered (unless there's a better card for Costco). The only glaring hole right now is a dedicated gas card, and something for Utilities/Phone/Cable.
I was thinking of maybe aiming for something with US Bank, unsure if they have strict credit requirements. Not sure if Elan is any easier to get. There's also some Citi cards but the points system can be a little confusing.
As you can see I'm feeling a bit lost here.
1. I don't see an absence of a gas card. The Daily Advantage card gives you 3% on gas. That's not too shabby.
2. The US Bank Cash + card and the similar Elan cards are tough to get, so I wouldn't bother trying for that at this stage.
3. Citi has good cards but they're hard to get too.
4. Your present plan seems like the right way to go at this time. When you feel the need to break out to a new cash back card, you might want to consider the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card.
Really? Citi Custom Cash over Cash+? Is it that much easier to get?
I went to go do it for Discover but they are undergoing maintenance :/
Do you by chance know if Comenity does HP for CLI?
It is a decent card, but I don't want to max out utilization on it. That was my big problem before I started getting into this, I would park balances and pay it off months later. Sometimes go over credit limit (didn't know that was really bad).
That's going to be my grocery + costco card. Until I can get some increases I don't want to push it too much.
Also Amex is that easy to get into? I was looking at it before I picked the AAA Visa, but the 3% categories were more easily covered by my store cards or the AAA Visa. However if Amex is that accepting I might try it next year.
@Tcal wrote:Really? Citi Custom Cash over Cash+? Is it that much easier to get?
No, they're both hard to get.
@Tcal wrote:It is a decent card, but I don't want to max out utilization on it. That was my big problem before I started getting into this, I would park balances and pay it off months later. Sometimes go over credit limit (didn't know that was really bad).
That's going to be my grocery + costco card. Until I can get some increases I don't want to push it too much.
Also Amex is that easy to get into? I was looking at it before I picked the AAA Visa, but the 3% categories were more easily covered by my store cards or the AAA Visa. However if Amex is that accepting I might try it next year.
Yes, the Amex BCE underwriting would be less stringent than Citi, US Bank, and Elan. And there are several other good reasons to get it:
it has 3% for online purchases, which is pretty unusual; generous SP CLI's are relatively easy to get; and once you have an Amex card, almost all applications for additional cards are soft pull rather than HP.
Just as an update: I had a moment of weakness and applied for the Cash+, wasn't approved, and have since frozen my credit and gave the pins/passwords to a close friend to hold for the next 6 months. Apparently I can't trust myself. (For DP, they pulled EQ in FL)
On the bright side, Discover gave me a $1k CLI which should help with utilization % on that card.
I am now firmly FIRMLY in the gardening state. No matter how many letters Capital One keeps sending me.