Replacement Options for Starter Cards

[Cpmcmxc]

Hi myFICO! I am new to the community and am working towards my credit goals. My question is if there are any reccomended or ideal credit options to replace my starter cards?

To give some background and context, I recently paid off virtually every card I have and am now sitting on a 0 balance on almost everything. Once my score adjusts from paying off the balances later this month, I plan to request CLIs for my AMEXs (SP), my Discover (SP), and my Golden1 (HP). My simulated FICOs are expected to be 715 (EQ), 724 (TU), and 719 (EX) based on the payment amount and my credit mix. I currently have the following:

Account	Date Opened	Credit Limit	Available
Golden1 CU	06/2019	3000	3000
Discover IT	08/2019	1000	1000
Credit One Visa	01/2017	1500	1500
Credit One MC	01/2018	1450	1450
Chevron	03/2015	1600	1425
Apple Card	02/2021	1500	1500
AMEX Everyday	02/2018	2000	2000
AMEX Gold	06/2019	4500	4500

Thanks in advance

[randomguy1]

Ideal credit options vary upon the individual. It's a great start that you listed what cards you have, what kind of categories are you spending your most money on? What are your credit goals? Are you looking for primarily cash back, points, miles, etc? Do you plan on traveling much?

Lastly, keep in mind that different creditors have different rules on obtaining new cards. It looks like you are 4/24 (4 cards in 24 months) so if you want a Chase card, that should be your next card until June/August. If you are at 5/24. you will get denied.

[Cpmcmxc]

Thanks for your reply @randomguy1. The majority of my spending right now is in services (electricity, phone bill, etc.), groceries, gas, and my occasional purchases on Amazon or online. With the pandemic being what it is, traveling isn't on my priority list for the remainder of the year - but this may change in the future once everything is over. My credit goals are to get to the 750's approximately so I can apply for a home loan, as well as build my overall available credit balance. Chances are likely I will go in the garden for a while after I replace the two Credit One cards I have.

Regarding Chase, I have heard tons of good things about them but truth be told I don't know how that would fit into my credit mix. I currently pay an AF on my Amex Gold, so I would prefer something that doesn't have that AF. Additionally, I am open to lines of credit as well - but I am still relatively new to more "mature" cards, so there is still a steep learning curve for me.

[notmyrealname23]

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@Cpmcmxc wrote:

Regarding Chase, I have heard tons of good things about them but truth be told I don't know how that would fit into my credit mix

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Chase Freedom (for straight 1.5% cash back plus some bonus categories) or Freedom Flex (5% rotator you can pair with the Discover card + same bonus categories). You can worry about the Sapphire AF cards later if travel becomes more top of mind. Alternately you could get the Chase Amazon card for bonuses on Amazon + Whole Foods. All are no annual fee.

[Anonymous]

I'm not familiar with all of your current cards, OP, but I know the Credit One cards are definitely starter cards that you can drop from your profile considering the others you have acquired. 

As for what else to add, that could range from nothing to several other cards depending on what you spend your money on and how much you spend.  A bit more information would help with further recommendations.

[SecretAzure]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm not familiar with all of your current cards, OP, but I know the Credit One cards are definitely starter cards that you can drop from your profile considering the others you have acquired. 

As for what else to add, that could range from nothing to several other cards depending on what you spend your money on and how much you spend.  A bit more information would help with further recommendations.

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Agree with BBS (as usual). Credit One should probably go.

You have some overalp with Amex Gold and Amex ED (for supermarkets). Perhaps you don't need both? 

Like you, Chevron is my oldest (active) CC. It's pretty junky but I'd hang onto that for that AAOA (though it'll be on your credit report for 10 years after closure).

It sounds like you don't need replacement cards OP, you may have gaps in your spending that cards could help fill but your lineup is pretty strong right now. 

[Cpmcmxc]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm not familiar with all of your current cards, OP, but I know the Credit One cards are definitely starter cards that you can drop from your profile considering the others you have acquired. 

As for what else to add, that could range from nothing to several other cards depending on what you spend your money on and how much you spend.  A bit more information would help with further recommendations.

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 Thanks @Anonymous - I previously replied with some of my core areas of spending, as well as my overall credit goals. Should be further up in the posting. I will say, I am wondering if I am better off going into the garden instead and focusing on building the credit lines I have rather than opening new cards? Do you have any insight or advice here?

I definitely still plan to close both Credit One cards, as I am not really getting anything of value out of those cards. But beyond that, I am wondering what the next step should be if I want to increase my score and available credit responsibly.

[Cpmcmxc]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm not familiar with all of your current cards, OP, but I know the Credit One cards are definitely starter cards that you can drop from your profile considering the others you have acquired. 

As for what else to add, that could range from nothing to several other cards depending on what you spend your money on and how much you spend.  A bit more information would help with further recommendations.

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Agree with BBS (as usual). Credit One should probably go.

You have some overalp with Amex Gold and Amex ED (for supermarkets). Perhaps you don't need both? 

Like you, Chevron is my oldest (active) CC. It's pretty junky but I'd hang onto that for that AAOA (though it'll be on your credit report for 10 years after closure).

It sounds like you don't need replacement cards OP, you may have gaps in your spending that cards could help fill but your lineup is pretty strong right now. 

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Thanks @SecretAzure - I appreciate the feedback. I will say, I am wondering myself if I am better suited to go into the garden for a while and try to focus on increasing my existing credit lines rather than taking out new credit cards. I am still relatively new to more mature credit profiles, as I refused to take out cards for almost 10 years after I did some hefty damage to myself taking out 4 cards when I was 18. Now I am trying to rebuild from scratch essentially, and as I mentioned before there has been a steep learning curve.

[Remedios]

@Cpmcmxc  please avoid cross-posting, you will get your answers, but posting same question in multiple places only the leads to confusion. 

[Anonymous]

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@Cpmcmxc wrote:

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 Thanks @Anonymous - I previously replied with some of my core areas of spending, as well as my overall credit goals. Should be further up in the posting. I will say, I am wondering if I am better off going into the garden instead and focusing on building the credit lines I have rather than opening new cards? Do you have any insight or advice here?

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Really it's up to you.  Me personally, I'm a fan of quality over quantity... meaning I'd rather have less cards that I use all the time with strong limits rather than a ton of cards where the majority don't get used often, half sit in the SD, etc.  This is coming from someone that rolled with just 1 CC for the first 15 or so years of my credit life, then in the last 5 years moved up to 7 cards.  Across those 7 cards my ACL (average credit limit) is a hair over $30k, so I definitely focused on growing limits on just a handful of cards rather than adding more cards.  My plan going forward is to add no more than 2 more cards for a total max of 9; if I were ever to desire a 10th at any point (unlikely, I haven't added a revolver in nearly 4 years now) I'd probably drop my least used one.  If your current lineup works well for you, I say garden until you come across something you really want/need.  Any time I've considered adding a card, I've researched it a ton mostly on this forum and even after deciding that I want it have waited 6-12 months before apping just to make sure after that span of time I still want it the way I did originally.  I'm a bit more conservative when it comes to apping though and recognize that not everyone shares my views.