Pre-approved for list: Help me choose a card?

[Joleybear]

I finally have my credit somewhat stable - nothing fancy, but mid. 700s, 1 late payment on record and nothing else negative other than a lot of student loans. 

We just closed on a house on the 6th and have large projects to complete that involve hiring a contractor etc...

I was hoping to get a card with about a 15k CL but that seems unlikely since my highest right now is 5.6k (opened 4 years ago) and FNBO preapproved me for 8.4k.

I read Sapphire Reserve CL is 10k minimum so I'm pondering it despite the high annual fee... What would your choice be if priorities were highest possible CL and cashback/rewards? Would applying for two likely cause significant harm to my scores due to the hard pulls? List of preapprovals or pre-qualification below. I'm aware it's not 100% guarantee, just a good indicator.

AMEX:

Platinum

Gold

Blue Cash Everyday

Bank of America:

Premium Rewards 

Premium Rewards Elite

FNBO:

Evergreen Reward Signature

World Mastercard

Chase:

Freedom Flex

Freedom Unlimited

Sapphire Preferred 

Sapphire Reserve

Capital One:

Savor One Rwarda for students 

Unlimited Cash

Customized Cash

I also have interest in the Chase Ink cards, but I see a lot of very low limits on them so I'm hesitant to apply and get a hard pull for no satisfactory result. I know I had a physical preapproval for it, but I was in the middle of finishing our mortgage paperwork and couldn't apply. Now I can't find the letter. -_-  I file my self-employment income on my taxes, but it's a small portion of my full annual income so I assume I'd get a low SL offer.

Are there any better cards that might offer a high SL and good sign up deal? 

I need ones that are not store limited.

I'm genuinely stressing over this lol

I'm worried I'll make the wrong choice, add HPs to my report and gain very little.

I'm worried trying for more than one might make me lose 20-40+ points off of my score, but then I have no idea how much that would affect it.

Please help me decide 🙏 🥺🥹

[Joleybear]

👀

[JNA1]

Have you considered the Lowes card? There is a pre approval for it and they typically grow very quickly. DW's went from $10K to $35K in a less than 6 months. Sometimes having higher limit cards seems to breed getting more higher limit cards. 

[SpaceCityCCuser]

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@Joleybear wrote:

I finally have my credit somewhat stable - nothing fancy, but mid. 700s, 1 late payment on record and nothing else negative other than a lot of student loans. 

We just closed on a house on the 6th and have large projects to complete that involve hiring a contractor etc...

I was hoping to get a card with about a 15k CL but that seems unlikely since my highest right now is 5.6k (opened 4 years ago) and FNBO preapproved me for 8.4k.

I read Sapphire Reserve CL is 10k minimum so I'm pondering it despite the high annual fee... What would your choice be if priorities were highest possible CL and cashback/rewards? Would applying for two likely cause significant harm to my scores due to the hard pulls? List of preapprovals or pre-qualification below. I'm aware it's not 100% guarantee, just a good indicator.

AMEX:

Platinum

Gold

Blue Cash Everyday

Bank of America:

Premium Rewards 

Premium Rewards Elite

FNBO:

Evergreen Reward Signature

World Mastercard

Chase:

Freedom Flex

Freedom Unlimited

Sapphire Preferred 

Sapphire Reserve

Capital One:

Savor One Rwarda for students 

Unlimited Cash

Customized Cash

I also have interest in the Chase Ink cards, but I see a lot of very low limits on them so I'm hesitant to apply and get a hard pull for no satisfactory result. I know I had a physical preapproval for it, but I was in the middle of finishing our mortgage paperwork and couldn't apply. Now I can't find the letter. -_-  I file my self-employment income on my taxes, but it's a small portion of my full annual income so I assume I'd get a low SL offer.

Are there any better cards that might offer a high SL and good sign up deal? 

I need ones that are not store limited.

I'm genuinely stressing over this lol

I'm worried I'll make the wrong choice, add HPs to my report and gain very little.

I'm worried trying for more than one might make me lose 20-40+ points off of my score, but then I have no idea how much that would affect it.

Please help me decide 🙏 🥺🥹

---

If you are going for more than just 1 card on this list, pick one of the Chase cards. If you are going on a spree of over 5 cards this year, I would go with at least 3 of the first 5 Chase due to 5/24 rule. You can leave AMEX farther down maybe your 6th card. I would guess you will get over 5k limit from Chase. I was shocked at what I got for SLs from them last year. If you get approved for more than 1 card with Chase you can move credit limit over to have a large limit on one card. You can then spend on that card and still have low utilization

[SpaceCityCCuser]

My year long spree last year went like this (I was at 0/24 new accounts and 0/24 new inquiries). Feb 2022 CFF, Mar 2022 Savor1 and AppleCard (promo 75$ back via creditkarma), Apr 2022 CSP, July 2022 Amazon Prime (Chase), and Nov 2022 Discover IT Cash Back. So, 3 of the first 5 were Chase.

[Joleybear]

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@JNA1 wrote:

Have you considered the Lowes card? There is a pre approval for it and they typically grow very quickly. DW's went from $10K to $35K in a less than 6 months. Sometimes having higher limit cards seems to breed getting more higher limit cards. 

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I have but I'm not sure how everything works with contractors because this is our first home we've ever owned lol. I don't know if we can buy supplies at Lowes and pay cash for labor or what, but we're hiring someone to do the work. Sadly it's not my forte. Lol I am strongly considering it though because it seems to be encouraged by many people on here. Thank you for replying

[Joleybear]

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@SpaceCityCCuser wrote:

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@Joleybear wrote:

I finally have my credit somewhat stable - nothing fancy, but mid. 700s, 1 late payment on record and nothing else negative other than a lot of student loans. 

We just closed on a house on the 6th and have large projects to complete that involve hiring a contractor etc...

I was hoping to get a card with about a 15k CL but that seems unlikely since my highest right now is 5.6k (opened 4 years ago) and FNBO preapproved me for 8.4k.

I read Sapphire Reserve CL is 10k minimum so I'm pondering it despite the high annual fee... What would your choice be if priorities were highest possible CL and cashback/rewards? Would applying for two likely cause significant harm to my scores due to the hard pulls? List of preapprovals or pre-qualification below. I'm aware it's not 100% guarantee, just a good indicator.

AMEX:

Platinum

Gold

Blue Cash Everyday

Bank of America:

Premium Rewards 

Premium Rewards Elite

FNBO:

Evergreen Reward Signature

World Mastercard

Chase:

Freedom Flex

Freedom Unlimited

Sapphire Preferred 

Sapphire Reserve

Capital One:

Savor One Rwarda for students 

Unlimited Cash

Customized Cash

I also have interest in the Chase Ink cards, but I see a lot of very low limits on them so I'm hesitant to apply and get a hard pull for no satisfactory result. I know I had a physical preapproval for it, but I was in the middle of finishing our mortgage paperwork and couldn't apply. Now I can't find the letter. -_-  I file my self-employment income on my taxes, but it's a small portion of my full annual income so I assume I'd get a low SL offer.

Are there any better cards that might offer a high SL and good sign up deal? 

I need ones that are not store limited.

I'm genuinely stressing over this lol

I'm worried I'll make the wrong choice, add HPs to my report and gain very little.

I'm worried trying for more than one might make me lose 20-40+ points off of my score, but then I have no idea how much that would affect it.

Please help me decide 🙏 🥺🥹

---

If you are going for more than just 1 card on this list, pick one of the Chase cards. If you are going on a spree of over 5 cards this year, I would go with at least 3 of the first 5 Chase due to 5/24 rule. You can leave AMEX farther down maybe your 6th card. I would guess you will get over 5k limit from Chase. I was shocked at what I got for SLs from them last year. If you get approved for more than 1 card with Chase you can move credit limit over to have a large limit on one card. You can then spend on that card and still have low utilization

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Wait... I have two Chase cards, but they're branded - Disney and Amazon... Am I able to move available credit between those as well? I was not aware that this was an option, but it might make my decision easier... Also, do you know if any cards are excluded from that? I assume only personal ones can be used that way but can the Sapphire lube? Thank you for your input!

[Joleybear]

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@SpaceCityCCuser wrote:

My year long spree last year went like this (I was at 0/24 new accounts and 0/24 new inquiries). Feb 2022 CFF, Mar 2022 Savor1 and AppleCard (promo 75$ back via creditkarma), Apr 2022 CSP, July 2022 Amazon Prime (Chase), and Nov 2022 Discover IT Cash Back. So, 3 of the first 5 were Chase.

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Thank you so much. I have the Discover IT and Chase Amazon ones already.

I love the sound of the Chase Sapphire line, but I was side eyeing Savor One card because I've heard a lot of high SL. I didn't realize I may be able to move credit between Chase cards either...

I simply want one card that has a pretty high limit so I can make one large renovation purchase on one card if I wish. Thank you for sharing. I love your signature and how you put what you have your heart set on next Lol 

[Guyatthebeach]

Joleybear,

If I were in your shoes, I would apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited first. 5% cash back on groceries for the first year is excellent. Also getting 3% cash back on dining out and 1.5% cash on everything else eliminates the need for any of the offerings from CapitalOne. That Chase card will grow over time. Then consider the FNBO Evergreen card. The 2% casback on everything is great if you pay it in full.  

Finally, look at the preapproval for the Amex BCE. Their preapprovals are usually pretty solid, at least for me. I got mine with the preapproval and never had a HP. 

Guyatthebeach

[Joleybear]

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@Guyatthebeach wrote:

Joleybear,

If I were in your shoes, I would apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited first. 5% cash back on groceries for the first year is excellent. Also getting 3% cash back on dining out and 1.5% cash on everything else eliminates the need for any of the offerings from CapitalOne. That Chase card will grow over time. Then consider the FNBO Evergreen card. The 2% casback on everything is great if you pay it in full.  

Finally, look at the preapproval for the Amex BCE. Their preapprovals are usually pretty solid, at least for me. I got mine with the preapproval and never had a HP. 

Guyatthebeach

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Is there any particular reason you'd be against the Sapphire cards? I am preapproved for everything listed already. So would it be likely I'd be approved for AMEX ? I was preapproved for Platinum, Gold and Blue Cash Everyday. That's crazy that you didn't have a hard pull! Now I just want to go accept that one lol. Thank you for your input! We dine out A LOT which makes the AMEX recent 10x deal tempting also...