@Anonymous wrote:
@csryang wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
A little less than a month ago I got the AMEX Blue Cash (10k limit) and Alaska Air VISA sig (5k). I just recently become interested in maximizing my expenses by using credit cards, so those were my first two cards in the last 3 years. I have already hit my spend on the Blue Cash and I am close to hitting my Alaska spend. I am interested in snagging the Chase Sapphire Preferred before I hit 5/24. Is now the time to pursue it? Should i wait a little bit longer since I just got two cards in the last month? The only reason I would rush it is because I have a trip to Cancun in March and could use the points. It's not the end of the world if I don't have those points to use. If I did get the CSP, I would continue to use my AMEX for gas and groceries and the CSP would probably take over my Alaska Visa for general purchases, which I dont mind too much since I just got the Alaska one primarily for the companion fare. What should I do?
My scores are: Fico - 779 TU - 747 and Eq - 745
*I feel bad about not contributing to the forum yet despite two question posts. I will start contributing as I continue to learn more*
You seem to have good scores. Just make sure you know how to use points with Chase before applying. That's your goal after all, right?
What are your cards and how old are they? Do you only have Amex blue cash and Alaska credit cards?
I guess is that you should be fine for CSP. If you are worried, go to a branch when banking with them and see if you have a preapproval offer or go on their pre-qualified webpage to check.
Edit: Venture card has annual fee I think... why not try out Citi Double Cash for its 2% cash back and price rewind program or if you travel internationally, try PenFed Power Cash. Yeah I agree CSP for the bonus if you do not travel or dine much. Use this website to see if you end up losing or gaining money on a specific card according to your spend: https://www.worththefee.com/
I don't know that I am necessarily worried about getting approved for CSP, I was just more generally curious if there is an issue in the fact that I have never had a history of applying for credit cards and now I may have 3 CC applications in the span of a month. I just didn't know if there is some issue with that in the eyes of credit card companies or if it will hurt my overall credit card "portfolio" if you will (in terms of building higher limits, destroying my AAoA, etc...). I was basically just worried that opening 3 cards in such a short period of time would be bad for some reason that I am unaware of but the feeling I am getting is that it is not something I need to worry about.
I have one other credit card (BECU Visa) that i have had for 3 years that I am keeping just for AAoA purposes. It has no annual fee. The Alaska and Blue Cash were both opened around July 10th.
Thanks for the site link, I have not used that before
Well it's up to you. Yes, your AAoA will be destroyed lol if you apply too many in a short period of time. To be honest with you, your credit score will for sure take a hit initially. You can then garden for 6 months to 1 year. Your score will rebound.
It's your comfort level vs greedy level lol. I apply credit cards about 3-6 cards every 6 months for the past 3 years. I have more than 20 active cards currently. Yes, my credit score took a hit initially but it has never dipped 20-30 points below my current score. As far as lenders are concern, they might close all of your cards or severely decrease your credit limit with them if you apply for too many cards at a time. Typically, this happens very rarely and BOA, Amex, and Chase are not that kind of lenders.... I would say starting out 3 cards every 6-12 months is fine. But again, it's up to you.
You already have BECU to hold the 3 yo credit history for you, so I think your Chase CSP application will be fine. Besides, Amex and BOA might report your tradelines slowly to your credit report. Therefore, your report might only show that you only have one tradeline right now which is the BECU. So instead of 2/24, you are actually at 0/24 with Chase. Chase might only see your recent inquiries and they are not that inquiry sensitive. To check for sure, you can sign up for Experian free credit report on their website.
If you also want to apply for Venture, you can. Just to know that Capital One triple pulls your credit report so I generally do not like them. Yes, Venture has 400 bonus and 2x general spend is good. You can definitely sign up for Venture for this reason for the first year. However, long term Citi Double Cash or PenFed Power Cash will be better due to its 2% cash back and no annual fee. If you do choose Venture, it's again one of those credit cards that you sign up for bonus...
I typically avoid this strategy. I think keeping several zero annuel fee cards to start with can beef up your credit profile. Later if you want to get into this game of churning bonuses, it will be easier. The other strategy is to sign up for cards that can easily product change to a no annual fee card, thus preserve your credit history, rather than closing it down due to its annual fee. So, if you want to sign up for CSP, it's good to downgrade it into a freedom later. Same with Venture if they can allow you to downgrade to QuickSilver later.
