@CreditAggie wrote:After the adventurous 2021 I had building up my current base of cards, I plan to garden for most of the year and then build my Navy and PenFed relationships and apply for cards with each of them. I also plan to continue asking for SP CLIs on my existing cards where available although I have stopped asking for CLIs on cards that have reached five figures as I currently don't need more than that on a particular card considering my current income level and spending patterns (sorry for those of you wondering if I can grow my Apple Card past $12K).
Well, I definitely spent most of 2022 in the garden but got an elevated CSP SUB instead of Navy/PenFed cards. 
Anyway, I originally intended to garden until May when I would get a Platinum Spade and then maybe go for the Navy and PenFed cards. With that, I just noticed that the SUB is back on the NFCU More Rewards Amex until January 3rd so I might go for that. I'll also be under 5/24 in March and might go for another Chase card if there is a good SUB being offered. US Bank's upcoming offering could also be tempting depending on that card's SUB and whether or not it has an annual fee. EDIT: I just read that the card will have an AF. 
Of course, SP CLIs will always be appreciated as well!
Once again, I have no specific "card strategy" plans for 2023. My last new card was a CSP a year ago so I'm gardening now, just reached platinum spade, and will continue to garden through next year to reach diamond and 0/24 again. And to see how high my scores can go.
Maybe I'll try for another CLI on my BoA card to bring it to an even $7k or $8k, but I don't really need any more on it. Maybe Chase will start throwing "pre-approved" CLI offers and I can take advantage of those to avoid HPs, and reallocate to put all the cards on a more even keel.
I'll keep the CSP at least another year, then decide whether to keep it, downgrade it or close it, depending on how I am with traveling.
Next apps will likely be a refi (if rates drop again), a "cheap" car in the far distant future, or if i move and buy another home. Probably none of these in 2023.
My most complicated plans involve my AmExs:
Currently, P2 is active duty military, which means MOST major CCs waive fees (looking at you, Barclay's US, for only waiving fees on cards you had BEFORE becoming active duty). That is likely to change at the end of the year, so those SUBs no longer being waived is a major factor in my overall plans.
1) April - upgrade AmEx Gold to Amex Platinum. My first Platinum renews this month, and the active duty fee waiver still applies, so it is basically a freebie for the next 12 months. It may seem counterintuitive to upgrade the Gold to Platinum with the higher fee when I already have one Platinum, but hear me out.
I picked up the Gold in order to knock out the Resy-partnership offers while the fee was being waived and the highest-to-date offers were available, but in general, other than extra Uber Eats $ monthly allowance, and the monthly Cheesecake Factory $10 card I pick up (which equates to $0 spend on this card), this card is sock drawered for me as I cycle through what feels like an infinite number of other SUBs (currently the 10% on the BCE still being used) or quarterly bonuses that cover dining, and I prefer to use the BCP for groceries. If it wasn't a freebie for me atm, it would be a money pit.
So why upgrade rather than close? Longterm planning. The Platinum has turned out to be a useful card that P2 gets a lot out of with his travel... even if I JUST kept it for the Centurion Lounge benefit, it would be considered worth it. The credits (other than the airline incidental mess) are easier to utilize than the credits from the Gold, and the Uber/Uber Eats credits continue to stack (meaning I will get a higher $ from a Platinum monthly for Uber Eats than from a Gold... worth pointing out you do NOT need to put the rest of the Uber charge on an AmEx to use those credits, you can couple them with whatever card you like). So while I am doubled-up, I will have twice the credits for my streaming subscriptions being covered, twice the Uber Eats credits, and can pick up $200 worth of Saks gift cards yearly instead of $100. Sure, I could close the card and not pay any fee at all... but it's better to wait 2 years to close a card than 1 year, especially with AmEx, so if I "have" to hang onto it, better to upgrade to something I already got the SUB for, than downgrade and close the window on a Green SUB longterm (as the least signifigant SUB/AF, I was saving grabbing a Green until last, but then the Resy offers changed to the BCE instead, which still worked out).
Originally, I was of the mind to grab the good SUBs while they were free to me, then close after 2 years, downgrading them to minimal for the second year when I did have to pay if I wasn't going to utilize them. However, when I opened the Gold, I was given the BEST APR they offer, as opposed to the Platinum Card being given the WORST (apparently I became a better credit risk to them in the 6 months between cards). So, this changed my thinking given how hard it is to get AmEx to lower APRs, and I have decided that longterm, keeping the card with the better APR is smarter. The only downside is that I have to start paying the "real" AF 6 months earlier, but in the meantime will get doubled up benefits and can pick a second airline for indicidentals.
2) July - close BCP when it hits 2 years, timed in order to get reimbursed AF (AF has been waived up till then due to active duty). This card has the similar issues to the Platinum, and I attained the lowest APR available for the BCE, which will be eligible for upgrading at the same time. Whether or not I upgrade depends on how the cards-for-groceries landscape looks, as while I do use the BCP for the 6% on streaming, there will be few streaming costs not covered (due to the limited list of options) after the credits from Platinum are doubled. The only transit cost I have going to the BCP at this time is the EZ-Pass refill, and that's mostly because I haven't bothered to change it yet after upgrading the CSP to the CSR a few months ago. If groceries look good, will hold off on upgrading BCE till I get offers to play the upgrade-downgrade game with it.
3) October - close the first AmEx Platinum with the higher APR when it hits 2 years, timed in order to get reimbursed AF.
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Other plans:
Thinking about closing my Chase Amazon Visa at 2 years (January). This was originally my plan after picking up up the Affinity, but since Affinity has some Amazon transactions that "don't count", I'm not 100% sure.
Possibly try again for an AOD CLI in June (hard pull), they denied me last year due to "too many new cards" (within the last 12 months), so will see what I look like then.
See if there's any "no lifetime language" AmEx BBP offers out there around June. There was no SUB when I got mine, other than from referral, and the APR is middlin'. Would prefer to open a new one with the "best" APR (which I've gotten on my last two cards with them).
Have P2 open a Citi Custom Cash card (possibly sooner, depends on upcoming spend?) This would be used for drugstores most likely, since that's a hole in the line-up (albeit a small one), or possibly groceries depending on what the cards-for-groceries landscape looks like and whether or not I decide to upgrade the BCE at a year to a BCP. Also have P2 downgrade Savor to SavorOne when AF is due, since the card does not and will not get the extra $9500 a year spend to merit the $95 fee no longer being waived.
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TLDR; have P2 grab a Citi Custom Cash, otherwise just cleaning-up and tweaking the line-up and CLIs planned at this time.
Biz - 
Authorized User - 
Debit Cards - 
