@Credit333 wrote:
Wow, thank you for that super thorough response.
Regarding my credit scores, I'm guessing/ballparking quite a bit, but my last Discover statement has me at 735, Credit Karma has me at 736, Credit Sesame has me at 757, and Quizzle has me at 746. Obviously, those are often inaccurate, but here is the information I can give you:
- I have 4 credit cards (limits listed in my signature, total just north of $10k)
- Never been denied a card or a CLI
- Last opened a card was 12/18/2012; also opened cards on 06/10/2011, 08/21/2012, and 07/05/2012 (and I'm just going to wait one week to apply so that this one specifically is no longer displayed on my report, even if it isn't impacting my score)
- Only requested one CLI in my life (two days ago, and it was approved no problem), though I have received 4 from Discover automatically
- AAoA of almost 2 years
- 0-2 hard inquiries on each of my reports (my only HPs should be from a couple days ago, Dec. of '12, and Aug. of '12 from what I can figure)
- Always PIF my entire balance at the end of each month; however, starting this month, I am going to start lowering my ending balance substantially, and possibly doing the rotating thing (where 1-2 cards show a small balance at the end of the month because the other cards are paid off before closing)...so I think that in the coming months, I'll hopefully see an increase due to better manipulation of my utilization
So I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be at a minimum in the low-700s, possibly mid-700s.
For now, I think Sallie Mae is gonna be the call, given what you said about the initial CL and the HPs, so I'll apply for that next week (again, so that the 07/05/2012 card is gone completely from my report). MAYBE the AmEx BCE as well, but Chase Freedom just doesn't seem worth it at this time. Any input on the BCE would be appreciated, though.
Also, with that last part in mind, the 10% bonus would be nice if available, but it's really not worth setting up an additional account and continuously transferring money around for me to make a maximum of $2.50 extra per month (and realistically more like $1.00-$1.50, given my spending).
Thanks so much for the advice!
With that kind of history and scores, you should be right-away accepted for all the three cards. I'd guess limits between 3k and 5k (maybe even more, experienced members can chime in).
About the inquiry dropping off: 1) Neither the scores nor the reasons stated in app consider inquiries more than 12 month old. 2) From technical perspective, I believe some bureaus keep the record till the end of the month and don't drop it exactly on the 2nd year anniversary.
About PIF: True, it's a good idea to have 1 card report a balance, and less than 10% of its limit (myFico wisdom). I'm way off. My hope is by the end of this year. My track record is average (688 TU, Discover). Total CL 21,400 across 8 cards.
I'm keeping the Sallie Mae saving (and money market) accounts just as that: savings accounts (sorry for writing checking earlier). It's a side benefit that I get 10% on the SMMC cashback. Also, I use UPromise pretty extensively for travel bookings etc (get 3-6% cash back on hotels, extra 1% on airlines etc, 5% on shopping, not bad). But I'd agree, if you're only interested in the SMMC cashback, this is a big hassle, plus the delay in the deposit is not worth it by itself.
On BCE: I applied for BCE before I got to know of SMMC. Just a month between those two.
Good things about BCE: no fee, foot in the door with AMEX, will help in backdating later, will get you SP CLI if you play chips right (follow the AMEX 3X CLI guide thread).
My use of BCE: when SMMC gets used up; 3% on groceries, 2% on gas not bad. Also, 2% at department stores (marginally better than my Cap One QS all 1.5%). Because I have the SMMC, and my purchases are not that heavy, I don't see the value of BCP.
Cons of BCE: The %CB is not great. Also, while SMMC immediately shows CB points against each posted transaction, AMEX has a 1 month lag. Plus, they often miss out on points because of configuration errors on their part. I mean, they missed Whole Foods and Randall's (Safeway) and the agent even said they were not grocery stores. I got that fixed but you need to be careful with their statement (that means looking back and forth two statements).
Biggest con of BCE: Quite a few stores are out of purview; specialized grocery stores (South asian stores for e.g.), Target, Walmart etc are often not considered supermarket. SMMC considers the south asian stores, as well as Target as supermarket. I don't shop at Walmart so can't say about that.
Both BCE and SMMC have a $25 threshold on min redemption. However after the threshold, SMMC have no further limits; BCE on the other hand allows cash redemption only in multiples of $25. You do have the choice of gifts, gift cards etc. Don't bother with them.
In terms of app pull, SMMC + BCE makes decent sense, as mostly it will be 1 TU + 1 EX, and you should be approved with decent limits on both cards.
so it is YMMV with Chase. For me it is always double EX + EQ for all 3 Chase cards I have
