Hi All,
TU ~750s here. I'm planning a mini-app spree well in advance and I was hoping some of you would share your thoughts.
Approximate Date of Spree: 11/2015 (waiting on the $200 signup bonus for the Freedom)
Target Cards: Chase Freedom, Discover It, Sallie Mae #2
Reasoning: Chase Freedom - I'm missing a rotating categories card from my repertoire, can't say no to a $200 bonus with only a $500 spend.
Discover It - Shop Discover is apparently the best online shopping portal. I'm a huge fan of BankAmeriDeals and Amex Offers, I'd love to add the most revered shopping portal to that list. Plus, they have a signup bonus through Amazon for $100 gift card.
Sallie Mae - I love the 5% grocery category, but I wish the cap was a bit higher.
Questions:
1. I'm not too worried about my inquiries, moreso my AAoA. Therefore, I want to be certain that the cards that I am choosing are the correct cards for my needs (I'm looking at you, QS card!). Are there any cards that aren't on my list or in my signature that I should take a closer look at? I tend to shy away from AF cards, as my spending is too small and on too many different cards. The thing that I'd be most interested in is a nice signup bonus. I wouldn't be opposed to a "waived AF for first year" card if the signup bonus is nice and the spend requirement isn't too high, but I'd prefer to shy away from that route. FWIW, the Venture isn't worth it to me.
2. I don't want to piss of Barclay bank. For those of you with a #2 Sallie Mae, what is your experience with it? Will I have to hide away in the shadows from Barclay, due to a computer glitch or do the CSRs not mind the second card? The reason I ask is because I'd like to be able to call in to recon a low limit (if it happens) and ask for the $1k/$50 signup bonus if it's still applicable. If Barclay is going to come down on me for this, I'd probably consider a different route, or not picking up the second card at all.
3. Any enlightenment on the Amex-Costco resolution? I like Amex and Amex offers, but if Citi has the 5% gas card that's rumored, I'd definitely be all over that card. In that case, I'd want to open a new American Express card for the Amex Offers and Small Business Saturday.
Again, I'd have AAoA concerns. As it sits, my AAoA is 3 years 1 month, but this is being held up by a 19 year old AU card. All of my personal cards are under 2 years old, with the majority sitting at ~4-5 months old. 3 new cards in November would drop my AAoA to 2 years 6 months which is on the very low end of what I'm comfortable with. I don't have a planned mortgage for the next 3-5 years, nor do I have a car loan or plans to get one (ride a motorcycle), but I'd like to avoid AA or any second looks from CCCs. I know I'm not a profitable customer to them and I'd prefer not to turn any heads.
Thanks in advance for the help. Pick apart my plan 
@Anonymous wrote:
2. I don't want to piss of Barclay bank. For those of you with a #2 Sallie Mae, what is your experience with it? Will I have to hide away in the shadows from Barclay, due to a computer glitch or do the CSRs not mind the second card? The reason I ask is because I'd like to be able to call in to recon a low limit (if it happens) and ask for the $1k/$50 signup bonus if it's still applicable. If Barclay is going to come down on me for this, I'd probably consider a different route, or not picking up the second card at all.
I don't have a second Sallie Mae but if you get instantly approved for a second one, I highly recommend NOT calling and reconning the limit. I say that because the analyst might notice you have two and tell you that you can only have one. Those who have gotten the 7-10 message for Sallie Mae #2 have reported that they were denied to manual review and the analyst noticing they had two of the same card. I would just accept what you get for the second card and enjoy Sallie's excellent rewards. Sometimes you don't want to volunteer too much.
Quicksilver $10,000 | Better Balance Rewards $2000 | Sallie Mae $3500 | Freedom $3500Bump.. Any more thoughts on the plan? The guy with "Best Bang for your Buck" thread gets 7 pages and I only get one reply after doing my research 
@Callandra wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
2. I don't want to piss of Barclay bank. For those of you with a #2 Sallie Mae, what is your experience with it? Will I have to hide away in the shadows from Barclay, due to a computer glitch or do the CSRs not mind the second card? The reason I ask is because I'd like to be able to call in to recon a low limit (if it happens) and ask for the $1k/$50 signup bonus if it's still applicable. If Barclay is going to come down on me for this, I'd probably consider a different route, or not picking up the second card at all.
I don't have a second Sallie Mae but if you get instantly approved for a second one, I highly recommend NOT calling and reconning the limit. I say that because the analyst might notice you have two and tell you that you can only have one. Those who have gotten the 7-10 message for Sallie Mae #2 have reported that they were denied to manual review and the analyst noticing they had two of the same card. I would just accept what you get for the second card and enjoy Sallie's excellent rewards. Sometimes you don't want to volunteer too much.
Thanks for the input! I'm still on the fence about the second Sallie Mae. Don't want to piss off Barclay and have them close both accounts or have to keep my head down for the rest of my banking days with them...
@Anonymous wrote:Bump.. Any more thoughts on the plan? The guy with "Best Bang for your Buck" thread gets 7 pages and I only get one reply after doing my research
@Callandra wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
2. I don't want to piss of Barclay bank. For those of you with a #2 Sallie Mae, what is your experience with it? Will I have to hide away in the shadows from Barclay, due to a computer glitch or do the CSRs not mind the second card? The reason I ask is because I'd like to be able to call in to recon a low limit (if it happens) and ask for the $1k/$50 signup bonus if it's still applicable. If Barclay is going to come down on me for this, I'd probably consider a different route, or not picking up the second card at all.
I don't have a second Sallie Mae but if you get instantly approved for a second one, I highly recommend NOT calling and reconning the limit. I say that because the analyst might notice you have two and tell you that you can only have one. Those who have gotten the 7-10 message for Sallie Mae #2 have reported that they were denied to manual review and the analyst noticing they had two of the same card. I would just accept what you get for the second card and enjoy Sallie's excellent rewards. Sometimes you don't want to volunteer too much.
Thanks for the input! I'm still on the fence about the second Sallie Mae. Don't want to piss off Barclay and have them close both accounts or have to keep my head down for the rest of my banking days with them...
Spoke with Barclay representatives yesterday, I was told that everything is a-okay to get a second Sallie Mae WMC
@Anonymous wrote:Bump.. Any more thoughts on the plan? The guy with "Best Bang for your Buck" thread gets 7 pages and I only get one reply after doing my research
@Callandra wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
2. I don't want to piss of Barclay bank. For those of you with a #2 Sallie Mae, what is your experience with it? Will I have to hide away in the shadows from Barclay, due to a computer glitch or do the CSRs not mind the second card? The reason I ask is because I'd like to be able to call in to recon a low limit (if it happens) and ask for the $1k/$50 signup bonus if it's still applicable. If Barclay is going to come down on me for this, I'd probably consider a different route, or not picking up the second card at all.
I don't have a second Sallie Mae but if you get instantly approved for a second one, I highly recommend NOT calling and reconning the limit. I say that because the analyst might notice you have two and tell you that you can only have one. Those who have gotten the 7-10 message for Sallie Mae #2 have reported that they were denied to manual review and the analyst noticing they had two of the same card. I would just accept what you get for the second card and enjoy Sallie's excellent rewards. Sometimes you don't want to volunteer too much.
Thanks for the input! I'm still on the fence about the second Sallie Mae. Don't want to piss off Barclay and have them close both accounts or have to keep my head down for the rest of my banking days with them...
@Anonymous,
You will get answers ..I think most people are at work and you will get answers shortly. Will be back shortly as I am at work. You are part of the fam. you know
Barclay noticing? They haven't seemed bothered by it. I called about my US Airways card last week and then had to speak to a different person about changing my due dates. Both reps clearly noticed my twin SM's 
Not an issue.
As far as managing for me its no different than it was using SM and BCE as back up. $250 grocery order beginning of the month, $100 or so for odds and ends a couple weeks later and the rest used at Wal-Mart or Target if I need anything there. But I order my groceries online and have them delivered so its easy to keep up with the total at the top of the screen.
Not an issue.As far as managing for me its no different than it was using SM and BCE as back up. $250 grocery order beginning of the month, $100 or so for odds and ends a couple weeks later and the rest used at Wal-Mart or Target if I need anything there. But I order my groceries online and have them delivered so its easy to keep up with the total at the top of the screen.
The Discover card and Freedom card are very similar. If I were in your shoes, I'd go with Discover and a 2nd Sallie Mae. Although the $200 offer is a good deal for the Freedom, think long term and IMO Discover beats it. <<< Agreed
@kdm31091 wrote:I know some people like the second Sallie Mae thing; you have to decide if it's worth the potential risk (i.e. Barclay noticing and saying you can't do that and closing one down the line), also the hassle of maintaing two seperate accounts that have the same rewards (i.e. "ok, which Sallie have I not met my grocery cap on yet?") etc. To me it wouldn't be worth it but YMMV.
Not sure you need both Discover IT and Freedom. They are virtually identical on their own. Basically same categories during the year with Discover's tending to be more broad. I know some people have both, but if you want to keep accounts down to more of a minimum I would say you definitely don't need both of them as they are basically the same. I know you want that $200 from Freedom, but honestly I'd give the edge to Discover -- broader categories (online shopping and home improvement vs Freedom's just Amazon or just Lowe's) and a great shopping portal.
So my bottom line opinion is -- no need for this spree. Get a Discover and you're good to go. The Freedom and second Sallie are IMO completely superfluous but do what you feel is best.
You don't make money by giving it away. Just sayin' 