@Anonymous wrote:Hi Everyone,
I have had a discover card for the past 7 months. Never missed a payment, always was under 10% of total credit, leading to a credit increase upto 1.5K. I was wondering whether anyone would have any recommendations for a good 2nd credit card with rewards points.
I applied for Citi thankU preferred, but they rejected me on account of a limited credit history. I checked my FICO scores here and it was 729.
Thanks
EP
Not sure how the rest of your credit profile looks, but the Chase Freedom compliments Discover nicely on rotating categories. Or the Amex BCE or BCP, although BCP's rewards are awesome, there is the AF thing.
@Anonymous wrote:All the cards mentioned are excellent suggestions. OP I recommend you take a look at your spending and see which bonus categories would benefit you most. If you spend a lot on groceries then Amex BCE/BCP is a good choice. If you spend a lot on gas then BofA Cash Rewards is a little better for that. If the Discover card you have is rotating 5% categories then you might want to get a non-rotating card for your 2nd card, since the categories can overlap or be irrelevant to you sometimes.
Have to agree about the BOA Cash Rewards. I use it for the 3% on gas during the quarters that Chase or Discover doesn't have gas at 5%. That way I'm always getting at least 3% on gas. Plus the 2% on groceries isn't too bad either.
@Anonymous wrote:Sorry, I am newbie here, but what does GM mean? I will try the Walmart. But here is the issue: since I just got rejected by one credit card company, would it be wise to wait for a few months?
I think the poster meant GE (General Electric Credit backs the Walmart card) rather than GM which traditionally has stood for General Motors.
Personally if it were me, while you can apply for additional accounts right now, but I think I'd wait till my current one ticked over the one year mark since you're already at 7 months. That opens up a number of other options (Chase as an example) and likely improves your Amex revolver chances as well.
Longer term it doesn't matter, but the salient thing holding you back is the lack of history; unless you have some big ticket purchase coming up within the next call it 18 months, I'd wait for a bit and then open another 2-3 cards. If you have an auto or mortgage potentially in the near future, apply now for a few things as a number of reasonable options have been suggested and get the new cards aging ASAP.
@Anonymous wrote:I am a grad student at the moment, so my income and hence spending is limited. However, I am looking for an auto loan, and have always been regular in my payments. Would you guys have any suggestions to improve my credit score and diversify it to qualify for an auto loan?
When are you seeking the auto loan? Do you have student loans on the report in addition to the Discover?
Also student cards are incredibly useful, don't discount those.