Transitioning into prime credit from thin but good Credit history need a third.

[GeneralCucumbre]

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Iamien wrote: 

I'm looking for a third, to form some sort of trifecta.  Any suggestions on what I may be missing out on? I'd like to apply before the Amex Blue Cash hits my report.

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Honestly, in my opinion...I would sit on your Citi and American Express cards for a while.  They are both pretty good cards and you have good limits on both of them.  I would assign one for normal use (everyday purchases, etc) and I would assign the other one for more specific stuff (online purchases, gas, etc).  Also, having been an American Express card member, I know that they are finicky about applying for new cards even after you have been approved for the account.  I opened an American Express Clear card a few years back with a $2,000 limit and charged it up several times but paid on the account satisfactorily (never missed a payment, paid in full or made more than the minimum payment, etc).  I applied for an Amazon.com store account about 6 months later to take advantage of a 0% financing offer and purchased a new MacBook Pro (about $1,700...out of a $2,400 limit) and then about a week after that account started reporting, American Express slashed my limit to $1,100 and the reason that they stated had something to do with the new account that I opened.

However, if you insist on opening another account...Chase is a good choice.  They are my bank and they have always been good to me, I have my checking account with them, two credit card accounts (Sapphire and Freedom), and my car financed through Chase.  If you are looking for a regular card with no rewards, go with the Chase Slate.  On the other hand, if you are looking for rewards you have either the Freedom or the Sapphire.  The Freedom is more geared towards getting rewarded for everyday spending and the Sapphire is more geared toward travel and dining.  Both are great cards. 

[Iamien]

My Chase Freedom application was approved with a 3k limit and a 22.9% APR.

That means I will have two cards with 1% on all. My Question is then what card should I use for non-category purchases between the two? Are they both equally eash to redeem from?  Should I try to balance utilization %s of the individual cards?

They will all be on bank auto-pay, I just want to know what best practice would be.

[annielorie]

What are your scores if you dont mind?

[Iamien]

The Only FICO I know for sure is my Equifax, which was 681 about a week ago(This was with ~40% util, I don't know what my score was once I got it to 9%,which happened after the pull).

My Experian FAKO is 671

[Anonymous]

Just started myfico's Trial. My Equifax is actually 716, and this is after three very recent hard inquiries.Score jumped 35 points just because of itilization.(From 1800/4000 on Citi card to 333/4750

Also, for some reason my first account is no longer accessable.

[GeneralCucumbre]

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@Iamien wrote:

My Question is then what card should I use for non-category purchases between the two? Are they both equally eash to redeem from?  Should I try to balance utilization %s of the individual cards?

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Your utilization is the same across the board no matter how you use your cards...it only matters to each specific card company.  I would balance my everyday purchases between the Chase and the AMEX (e.g., use Chase for restaurants/movies and use AMEX for groceries/gas) since those are very common everyday purchases.  I would use the Citi card for online purchases (nice because you can use the virtual account numbers).

Remember that your Chase Freedom changes the 5% cashback bonus every quarter of the year.  Starting July 1st, I believe that you will be able to earn 5% cashback on restaurants and movie theaters.  So be sure to remember and keep that in mind.

[Iamien]

Finally got the Approval for the US Bank Cash+ Signature Visa.  Took them three full business days to approve, made me sweat a bit.  I might need a different wallet, my current one does not have enough pockets to have each card in on one pocket of one panel of a tri-fold.

[Anonymous]

Grats. Double check on us bank however. If you didn't get 5k+ limit, they might have approved you but not for the cash+ card. It's been happening to others. Also, what bureau did they pull for you?

[Iamien]

Transunion they pulled.  And how can they approve me for a card I did not specifically apply for? Was there something in the pages of text saying they reserver the right to approve me for an alternate product?

[Anonymous]

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@Iamien wrote:

Transunion they pulled.  And how can they approve me for a card I did not specifically apply for? Was there something in the pages of text saying they reserver the right to approve me for an alternate product?

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I assume so. All I know is it has been happening to others. Given your existing lines listed, 5k limit needed for visa signature might be stretch for conservative lender like them. Worth a call to double check.