The Homeowners wallet

[Anonymous]

                                   The Homeowners Wallet O Cards

         Without making it a long boring story, I plan to get a house in the next yearish. In the mean time I thought it would be smart to get my credit card ducks in a row. Having said that, I tried to think of what cards/lines of credit would be best used as a homeowner for whatever the case maybe, and thus far I think I have 99% of things covered. That also meaning not having 10,20 or 30 CC either.   Now granted not everyhing can be covered with a card somethings will need to be loans no matter how you cut it. But for the most part, I wanted to have options. So here is the list of what I have thus far and see if you agree or see any gaps (the amount after the card is the limited allowed as of today);

Wal-Mart ($5k) - who has not shopped here?! almost anything daily needed can be bought here

Lowe's ($6k) - small time home improvements/ugrades/"it broke so fix it"/DIY weekend.., both inside and out, seasonal needs (equipment or lights, ect) and so much more.

Sears ($2k) - (brand new card and hope to raise the limit in 6ish months) But can be used for appliances, entertainment centers, TOOLS (evil smile), decorations (the wife would do that of course), clothing, sheets, Tires/automotive stuff,...and well if you shopped at Sears you know the ideas.

GanderMt Master Card ($1k)- (also a brand new card, CLI in a few months I hope) OK, ok, so its not for the home, more so all the fun stuff away from the home, but it is also a Master Card so I can use it anywhere its accepted (so it kinda is a backup card if the next card is not expected)

American Express Blue Cash ($1400) - (2 week old card lol after 60 day I will try the 3xCLI trick. )But with all the rewards, this will be my everyday card like gas, coffee, food, ect. But also will be a low utilzation in case of emergency stuff.

Credit Union Visa Card ($1k) - I plan to raise the limited in a few months once I bounce back from all the new lines of credit. But this card has a very low interest rate I think 7.9%. So once I get the limit back up this can be used for anything major that comes about that will take a little while to pay back.

JohnDeere ($15k) - A home will need big boy toys to keep up with things right?! mower, snowblower...well maybe a 1 family sub compact tractor with such things to do it all. either way it will give me options for machines needed.

Zales ($1600) - In my defense I got this card like 3 years ago to buy a watch, never closed it. I guess it could be used to buy things for the wife that helps run the home?

Care Credit ($1k) - I have a few dogs so this is my backup in case they get sick and need a vet vist. Granted now adays I dont need it as much but 3 years ago when I got it, we didnt have much money or lines of credit. It can also be used for some medical coverage too. Not a bad card honestly. Thought about a CLI but considering it rarely used, I dont think its worth it.

PENDING IDEA in a few months- Ashley Furniture credit card - Now this kinda goes without saying but a new home need furniture right, so that is what this would be for. (this is also thru Synchrony Bank which is what Lowe's and Wal-Mart are, so considering how easy those CLI and High limits where, I hope this would be no different)

    Almost all the "store CC" listed have some kinda 6,12,18 month No Interest deals depending on how much you spend. It is because of that reason I wanted a few of those store cards as it is really the same as cash as long as you do not over spend and pay off before those terms end.  Minus the pending card, I think I have all ends covered for the home, everyday/weekly needs, and "Just In Case".  Any other ideas please share or ask questions.
    My credit scores are bouncing up and down like crazy past few months because of adding so much lines of credit. But that is why I wanted to get it done now, before looking into a home. Plus builds credit history so 2x the power lol.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what your question is but I will say this-I think you're over thinking the idea of what cards a 'homeowner' needs and it's causing you to apply for too many store cards that are limited in their use.  A MasterCard, Visa and Amex can buy all the items you will ever need to use in a home and wont be limited to that specific store.  I get the CareCredit card because that is very versatile but I would not apply for the Ashley Furniture card.  Dont get locked into that they have financing specials.  You can get all of that and more with 'normal' credit cards.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm not sure what your question is but I will say this-I think you're over thinking the idea of what cards a 'homeowner' needs and it's causing you to apply for too many store cards that are limited in their use.  A MasterCard, Visa and Amex can buy all the items you will ever need to use in a home and wont be limited to that specific store.  I get the CareCredit card because that is very versatile but I would not apply for the Ashley Furniture card.  Dont get locked into that they have financing specials.  You can get all of that and more with 'normal' credit cards.

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+1

[Anonymous]

If you are doing online shopping and going to PIF you might want to look at Upromise credit card.  You get an extra 5% on top of their normal cash back.  They have a lot of major stores like your Sears, Home Depot, Walmart, Gander Mountain, Zales, Lowes, etc. in their portal.  If you can focus more on shopping online the extra 5% (on top of cash back %) will kick ass compared to all those other cards.

If you are not PIF and holding a balance then yes the store cards with their special financing are going to have their own benefits.  Also some of them might have special discounts on your 1st purchase so it might be better to apply for them when you need them.

[Loquat]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm not sure what your question is but I will say this-I think you're over thinking the idea of what cards a 'homeowner' needs and it's causing you to apply for too many store cards that are limited in their use.  A MasterCard, Visa and Amex can buy all the items you will ever need to use in a home and wont be limited to that specific store.  I get the CareCredit card because that is very versatile but I would not apply for the Ashley Furniture card.  Dont get locked into that they have financing specials.  You can get all of that and more with 'normal' credit cards.

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+1  I agree wholeheartedly..

[redpat]

It looks like a cluttered yard.......

[Themanwhocan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If you are doing online shopping and going to PIF you might want to look at Upromise credit card.  You get an extra 5% on top of their normal cash back.  They have a lot of major stores like your Sears, Home Depot, Walmart, Gander Mountain, Zales, Lowes, etc. in their portal.  If you can focus more on shopping online the extra 5% (on top of cash back %) will kick ass compared to all those other cards.

If you are not PIF and holding a balance then yes the store cards with their special financing are going to have their own benefits.  Also some of them might have special discounts on your 1st purchase so it might be better to apply for them when you need them.

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The walmart card gives 3% at walmart.com online, but as IMCreditNewBee mentioned, there are usually better options for online shopping. For in store Walmart, probably just get a good card that gives 2% cash back on all purchases, like the Blispay VISA card. Unless you live near Huntington Bank, as they have a card that can give 3% at Walmart.

You might consider the US Bank Cash+ card. Each quarter you select Two 5% categories, whic include Furniture stores. The Sporting Goods Stores would include Gander Mountain, etc. Not buying furniture this quarter? Then maybe select Clothing stores, or Electronic stores, etc.

[wasCB14]

For my flurry of home improvement earlier this year, I mostly used Prestige for extended warranty and price rewind. For online purchases, I used the AAdvantage portal.

I can use airline miles and hotel points, and I don't need 0% financing, so I find it more lucrative to occasionally get a nice bonus, rather than try to cover every imaginable spending category with the most rewarding (not necessarily the best) credit card.

[kdm31091]

Like others in the thread I think dedicated furniture/"homeowner" cards are unnecessary and frankly don't usually offer great deals anyway. You're better off just using your standard credit cards. You can buy things at Walmart stores with any card, doesn't have to be Walmart's offering which is nothing special for in store purchases.

Like mentioned Cash+ for example can do 5% on furniture when you need it and you can take it away when you don't, giving it a little more versatility instead of an Ashley Furniture card that you'll use once and then never again. But even if you just use a standard 1.5% or 2% card, I think that is sufficient. We can get a little too wrapped up in getting cards for every possible purchase we may make and end up with a bunch of seldom used cards that sit in a drawer.

[Xistaben2]

I am a homeowner and I grind everything I can through my EDP - then I have Barclay Ring for low APR purchases - then a QS Visa and a Freedom doing nothing.

Weird part is, my EDP started out at 13.24% so if I can get that lowered by the time the 0% APR promo is finished, I could POSSIBLY have it at a lower APR than my Ring making it obsolete.

It might just be me, but I am thinking the EDP and BCP are some of the most underrated cards out there (moreso the EDP).