To garden or not to garden?

rgd51 · ‎07-06-2021

I use the chase freedom unlimited as my daily driver due to its solid all around rewards structure. For inquiries I am 0/6 6/12 and 12/24 with experian. I got denied for the citi DC back in November for too many inquiries. My fico 8 is 759 and fico 9 is 781. I'm tempted to get a flat rate 2% card but not sure if my inquiries are low enough for citi and I have no desire to do business with Wells Fargo. Torn between if I should apply for the DC again or just garden for awhile in the hopes that Amex or any of the other major banks increase their 1.5% cards to 2% and add a SUB to compete with the new wells fargo card.

Anonymous · ‎07-06-2021

@rgd51 wrote:
I use the chase freedom unlimited as my daily driver due to its solid all around rewards structure. For inquiries I am 0/6 6/12 and 12/24 with experian. I got denied for the citi DC back in November for too many inquiries. My fico 8 is 759 and fico 9 is 781. I'm tempted to get a flat rate 2% card but not sure if my inquiries are low enough for citi and I have no desire to do business with Wells Fargo. Torn between if I should apply for the DC again or just garden for awhile in the hopes that Amex or any of the other major banks increase their 1.5% cards to 2% and add a SUB to compete with the new wells fargo card.

Consider submitting your info on the FNBO pre-qual site to see if you qualify for the 2% FNBO Evergreen CC. Before applying, do a little research to get some data points on the accuracy of the pre-qual site. I think there's a thread about the pre-qual site on myFICO.

Anonymous · ‎07-07-2021

0/6 is usually enough for Citi. YMMV though obviously. If you really want the card, I would just say go for it.

rgd51 · ‎07-07-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
0/6 is usually enough for Citi. YMMV though obviously. If you really want the card, I would just say go for it.

The thing I wonder about is if lenders like Amex will increase their flat rate to 2% and then add a SUB in that case it might seem like worth waiting for. I also worry that chase might cancel my FU due to credit seeking. For USB don't you usually need to be 1/12?

Anonymous · ‎07-07-2021

I tossed an app at Elan/USB in April because I knew I was about to 'garden' and one extra inq wouldn't make much practical difference . . . I was surprised to get an approval with 2/6 and 3/12 inquiries. I don't think that rule is as 'hard' as chase's 5/24.

edit: in terms of actual new accounts, I was 0/12 when Elan/USB approved me (managed to get the approval before HSBC reported).

Citylights18 · ‎07-07-2021

If you already have the CFU you might want to add the CSP if you under 5/24 because then you can move your CFU points over to CSP and then on to transfer partners like Southwest, United, Jet Blue etc.

I'm not sure what you are thinking with a 2% DC card here? Are you planning to put bills on it? What you could do is keep your bills on the CFU and go out and get a CFF which has the 3x categories of the CFU plus the 5x rotator. The grocery bonus is worth up to $480 on the CFF in addition to the standard $200 dollar bonus.

Unless you just want to get started in the Citi ecosystem. Citi Premier is important if you want to maximize value of your points to the travel partners.

rgd51 · ‎07-07-2021

I'm not under 5/24 so I'm not eligible for another chase card at this time. I'm also not a big traveler or fan of AF cards. For a 2% card it would just be to put non category spend on but I don't have a whole lot of non category spend especially since I use the Amazon and target cards at those places.

Anonymous · ‎07-07-2021

@rgd51 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
0/6 is usually enough for Citi. YMMV though obviously. If you really want the card, I would just say go for it.
The thing I wonder about is if lenders like Amex will increase their flat rate to 2% and then add a SUB in that case it might seem like worth waiting for. I also worry that chase might cancel my FU due to credit seeking. For USB don't you usually need to be 1/12?

If I held back on every app out of FOMO I would never end up with any new cards. That's why I shop for what suits my needs in the present, not what might exist in the future.

rgd51 · ‎07-07-2021

What do you mean by FOMO?

Citylights18 · ‎07-07-2021

@rgd51 wrote:
I'm not under 5/24 so I'm not eligible for another chase card at this time. I'm also not a big traveler or fan of AF cards. For a 2% card it would just be to put non category spend on but I don't have a whole lot of non category spend especially since I use the Amazon and target cards at those places.

The credit card spend shows up as utilization and impacts your credit score.

I don't know what level of SL you can on a credit card expect but if you are just looking for 2% cash back you can get that in a debit card. Unless you have another reason for getting a credit card such as paying off an existing balance with a 0.0 APR promotional offer. That was a big part of the reason I added to my credit portfolio a year or two ago. I was in 100k of credit card debt and new products gave me wiggle room.