Trying to get a game plan...

[ray8806]

I'm trying to get a game plan for what cards I'm going to get in the future .

I have no credit history right now except some installment credit for an auto loan of $19K.  My Score is 624 TU(FAKO), 559 Experian(CC App from Chase), and 610 Equifax(CC app from my local CU). Those should go up right now because I have one baddie of a charged off account but that should be taken off of my report by my CU within a month or two. 

Card-wise, this month I was approved for CapOne's QSOne card for $300 and one my local CU's Visa Gold card for $500. I plan to garden for a year. 

RIght now, I'm thinking in a year, I'll apply for Chase Freedom and maybe the Citi Diamond Preferred (if I can get it but mainly only for the concierge service). And then wait another 6 months before trying to get the CSP(or the regular Sapphire, I can always upgrade later to preferred), and maybe the Citi ThankYou Preferred.  Then at my two year mark, I'd apply for the BCP card from AmEx. 

Those are the only ones I want really, because I couldn't use many others. Does anyone have any suggestions of cards I should add in there? Or even should I change up my timeline a bit? Just any advice on it would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance! 

[CreditDunce]

You have a decent game plan.  Just be willing to be flexible for which cards you want.  The different programs change over time.  The best cards today may not be the best cards for you next year.

Personally, I would try to get a CC that gives me periodic free FICO scores.  For example, the Discover IT, Wally or any Barclay card provides you a TU-08 score.  It is not perfect, but it can be useful to have an idea where your score is before you apply for a credit card.  You may be surprised by how quickly your score will climb once the baddies are gone and you get a couple of years of history.   That being the case, I would probably drop the CDP and add the Discover IT.  I know the rewards are very similar to the Freedom, but having access to ShopDiscover is nice in addition to the FICO score.

I am not familiar with the CDP.  However, most siggy cards offer concierge service.  Unless the CDP's service is much better than other concierge service, I don't think it would be useful after you get the CS/CSP or even if your Freedom is upgraded to siggy status.    Note, I may be biased because I don't have a need for concierge service.

The QS1 cards is a decent card.   However, unless you can have the AF fee removed in a few years, I would look for a different TL anchor card.  That could be your CU's Visa card or perhaps the Freedom.  Amex and BoA cards are also very good anchor cards.  For Amex you just need to be approved by December to establish your MSD for the current year.  I define a TL anchor card as one that I can keep open for the rest of my life.

If you end up closing the QS1, you may want to consider the Fido Amex or Citi Double cash for non-category spend.  But again the best card for non-category spend may change in a couple of years.  It is even possible Cap1 may make it easy to PC the QS1 to the QS in hte next couple of years.

[ddemari]

also barclays rewards mastercard for average credit would be a approval. Although, their reward system is not the best for that card I think unless you pay your electric bills and get a lot of gas with it. I did the bank america secured cash rewards card, got the 99/500 offer after being declined for the regular card. 7 months in, I was unsecured, given a big credit limit increase and got the annual fee removed. Bank of america is great for rebuilding, especially if you have a relationship with them. 

[ray8806]

Thanks for the advice guys!!

Any others have any good suggestions?