My 2022 strategy is to continue my rebuild, get credit limit increases, and pay down debt.
Discover It & Miles - I hope to combine these two and get some increases. They aren't happy about my new accounts right now, so they have been denying me CLIs! Ms. Disco is jelly.
Apple Card - It's at $13k after a year and it started at $1,250. I definitely want to keep growing it.
Delta Reserve - Hopefully; AmEx will
finally grant me a CLI. I've had it 15 months and they keep denying it. I just recently got the Business Prime, so hopefully they will allow it to increase as well.
Evergreen - Going to try and keep my apps to minimum to avoid upsetting them. Getting this card was literally a miracle, considering my Experian profile.
Regions, Alliant, DCU: I'm going to wait and see if any automatic CLIs happen. They all want HPs for increases and I don't use any of these cards that often these days. I replaced Alliant with Evergreen.
New Apps: I only need maybe 2 more cards. I want either the AmEx Gold charge of the Blue Cash Preferred. As with the increases, they keep saying no. As I get more revolving balances paid off, I think they will be more cooperative. I've only got two more cards to pay off, so I'm getting close!!! I may also pick up the Citi secured card to rehab my relationship with them (burnt a few years ago).
Overall, 2022 will be a year of making the most of what I already have.
Contemplating getting a low rate card otherwise just gardening indefinitely until the Plainsville Country FCU Reward 3.5% card (mastercard version) that @longtimelurker mentioned becomes available.
I've recently closed my NFCU Secured Visa and Capital One Walmart Mastercard since they didn't meet my long term goals. I have a Discover It and a Petal 2 Visa (which I will also close once a acquire a new Visa). I'm gardening, watching my credit scores grow and building a relationship with three credit unions that I recently opened banking accounts with. I'll look into credit cards with them down the road, but for now there are three cards that I want in 2022: the PenFed CU Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited, and ultimately the Blue Cash Preferred Card.
Last update: 4/8/2024
My strategy is to get back in with Amex after charging off two account back in 2017. I was added as an AU on my wife's platinum this year and it's been all good. Not to mention I had a hard pull decline earlier, so I'm gonna assume I'm off the blacklist. Once my profile gets better, I'm going all in.
In the 2021 thread, I said my two target cards for the year were the Capital One SavorOne in the spring and the Wells Fargo Propel in the fall. With the exception of applying for the WF Propel in the spring (about two weeks after the CapOne SavorOne) due to Wells Fargo closing the card to new applications, I followed my plan pretty much as I intended; both cards are now in my wallet. 
As for my 2022 plans, between now and the end of 2022 I definitely plan to apply for a couple cards and possibly a third card:
*PSECU Founder's Visa (2% flat rate rewards) - I received an offer in early November from PSECU, my long-time primary financial institution, that would allow me to get a $300 cash back to my PSECU savings account if I spent at least $900 in the first 90 days. The offer is good through 12/31/21. I was originally planning on getting a flat rate card, most likely the Wells Fargo Active Cash, in fall 2022, but the PSECU offer is too good to pass up and is better than the WF Active Cash offer ($100 more on the SUB, no foreign transaction fees). I plan to apply for that card in early December 2021.
*US Bank Cash+ Visa (5% rewards in two selected categories) - this card and its cousin card, the Elan Financial Services Max Cash Preferred Mastercard or Visa, have been on my radar since about January 2021. Because I want to get a Max Cash Preferred for a financial institution out of state (bank I used when I was in graduate school in the late 1990s, have a soft spot for them) but am not 100% sure I'll be able to get that card with that bank, I want to try to get the US Bank Cash+ first. I have to wait to get the US Bank card because I received the CapOne SavorOne and WF Propel both in late March/early April 2021 and need to get under 2/12. Even if I get the PSECU Founder's Card in December, I'll be under 2/12 by May 2022. I plan to apply for the US Bank Cash+ in May 2022, though it is also possible I'll wait until about July 2022 to get under Chase's 5/24 rule (like to keep my Chase options open).
*Citi Custom Cash Mastercard (5% rewards in biggest spend category per month up to $500 in spend) - like many people on here, ever since the Citi Custom Cash was released in June 2021 I've had interest in getting that card. Because I want to boost my base rewards rate and increase my rewards rate on phone/TV/internet and cell phone spending, the two cards listed above are higher in my pecking order. But after I get those cards, the Custom Cash will become my primary target. I probably will apply for the Citi Custom Cash in December 2022, though it is also possible I'll apply for the card in early 2023.
Goals through the summer:
- Garden at least through July 2022, will be 4/24 at that point.
- Thin the herd of dead weight (looking at you Bank of the West, PenFed Plat Rewards)
- Possibly open a Chase CSR or Morgan Stanley Amex Plat, or PC my UA Explorer to the Club card for anticipated increased travel
@JustJay119 wrote:My strategy is to get back in with Amex after charging off two account back in 2017. I was added as an AU on my wife's platinum this year and it's been all good. Not to mention I had a hard pull decline earlier, so I'm gonna assume I'm off the blacklist. Once my profile gets better, I'm going all in.
So my 2022 strategy just came to pass. Just got approved for Gold and Hilton Honors. This is my 6th card for the year so it's time to let things cool down.
New strategy: Garden!