Since I went over 20 years of my financial career without credit cards, my goal since I started trying to optimize rewards is to get cards that are keepers to build my AAoA. That doesn’t mean I won’t get rid something that is not working for me, but for the most part, I’m trying my best to get cards I’ll still have in 10 years. My mortgage is the only open account I have that is older than 2 years old. I have a couple of old car loans that will fall past 10 years in the not so far away future, and my AAoA is going to take a pretty big hit because of that.
I have about a little over a year to go be fire that happens, and I want to try to snag a few of my goal cards before that and let all of these accounts have some good age to them by the time my mortgage falls off.
Of my 7 cards, 5 get heavy use, and the Summit gets decent use in spurts a couple of times of year when I get the $50 off $250 purchases at Summit. Being that I work on cars a lot, those offers are beneficial. The only card I have that I really don’t have a specific use for is the BB&T card, of course, I didn’t even mean to apply for it. I’ll just use it for utilization padding for now, and hope that Truist comes up with something that I can PC to maybe (probably wishful thinking🙄)
I have about a little over a year to go be fire that happens, and I want to try to snag a few of my goal cards before that and let all of these accounts have some good age to them by the time my mortgage falls off.
Of my 7 cards, 5 get heavy use, and the Summit gets decent use in spurts a couple of times of year when I get the $50 off $250 purchases at Summit. Being that I work on cars a lot, those offers are beneficial. The only card I have that I really don’t have a specific use for is the BB&T card, of course, I didn’t even mean to apply for it. I’ll just use it for utilization padding for now, and hope that Truist comes up with something that I can PC to maybe (probably wishful thinking🙄)
The best credit card imho is a No-AF fee that you can keep for years to come with minimal maintenance from a reputable lender. Think Bank of America Cash Rewards or Travel Rewards. Products that doesn’t change often. Ideally would be a MC/Visa.
Can be Citi, Cap 1 etc but a card in a major bank to have access to PC if needed. “At the moment” such as the Prestige, CSR can devalue bad, anything travel with AF are the first to be cut in benefits.
A normal card, no AF providing you have banking relationship with some multiplier would be the best to keep as oldest accounts. Also as the lender grows in size, it has a variety of PC available and branches where you can service your oldest card.
Can be Citi, Cap 1 etc but a card in a major bank to have access to PC if needed. “At the moment” such as the Prestige, CSR can devalue bad, anything travel with AF are the first to be cut in benefits.
A normal card, no AF providing you have banking relationship with some multiplier would be the best to keep as oldest accounts. Also as the lender grows in size, it has a variety of PC available and branches where you can service your oldest card.
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Deuter wrote:
The best credit card imho is a No-AF fee that you can keep for years to come with minimal maintenance from a reputable lender.While there is value on having an oldest card that you can keep free of charge and low maintenance, in general to me this always raises the question of what is the real value of a score. So in one extreme scenario I can have an old no rewards (or say 1% to be nice) card that I keep to maintain a higher AAoA and thus score, in the other I focus on cards with big gains, either SUBs and/or earnings, and worry much less about scores. Which is "best" for the purposes of the thread!
IMO, a slightly careful version of the second is best
I think both are not only valid answers but would also say that over time, for most consumers, both become more important. And they can (and should) coexisit. I have older cards that offer less "cash-back" or other benefits from my newer cards. But in many ways, I more highly value the older cards that help anchor my AAoA and stabilize my credit scores. They are harder to replace! If I can't PC them into more useful alternatives, the older cards will never get the amount of spending of the younger more rewarding cards. But I keep them around and use them some just to maintain them for my overall credit health.
Yes! I’m not saying they can’t co-exist. Look at me with a $500 AF and another $100 AF. I am using the newer more perks & features cards. But i’m just saying that imho the best one is the No AF you can keep as long as you can because that can give you the value, aaoa,credit history you can’t replace.
So that’s one of the reasons why i’m PCing my AA to a DC. I want among many things to keep my oldest card as No AF. And as for the branches it’s always handy. I do too, as you use Internet for most things but that’s also an extra plus to have your bank at hand.
So that’s one of the reasons why i’m PCing my AA to a DC. I want among many things to keep my oldest card as No AF. And as for the branches it’s always handy. I do too, as you use Internet for most things but that’s also an extra plus to have your bank at hand.
It is subjective but I am glad I am not the only one who think the ability to PC is an important criteria.
Visa = MC > AmEx >>> Discover
National Bank CC >>> Regional Bank CC
Issuer allows PC
No AF or has downgrade path to no AF card
Ideally from a bank that has a wide range of products
Overall I like CCs that are well accepted, adaptable, can change and grow with me financially and I don't mean just CL.
@FieryDance wrote:... I am glad I am not the only one who think the ability to PC is an important criteria.
Visa = MC > AmEx >>> Discover
National Bank CC >>> Regional Bank CC
Issuer allows PC
No AF or has downgrade path to no AF card
Ideally from a bank that has a wide range of products
Overall I like CCs that are well accepted, adaptable, can change and grow with me financially and I don't mean just CL.
Yes, all my four oldest currently open cards (19-27 years) have been PC'd at least once. 
And yes, the big national banks are more likely to adapt to competition
and refresh their offerings, as well as offer the most upgrade/downgrade paths.
This reminds me of a recent thread about the "Big Banks" I did a little research and posted about. I came up with the "Big Five" banks. Yes, it is somewhat subjective, but I have data and explanation behind it. By far, the largest lenders in terms of bank size (assets), cards issued (total numbers issued, types, variety of offerings, and competitiveness), or both were (in alphabetical order to be fair):
AMEX (26th largest bank in assets; 3rd largest card issuer)
BofA (2nd largest bank in assets; 5th largest card issuer)
Citi (4th largest bank in assets; largest card issuer)
Chase (largest bank in assets; 2nd largest card issuer)
Wells Fargo (3rd largest bank in assets; 8th largest card issuer)
There are reasons I left off some other popular names from my "First Team" including U.S. Bank, Discover, Capital One, and Synchrony. That's not saying the "Second" or "Third" teams are not good banks; they are just not in the credit card game the same way the "First" team is in the game. I also like having cards with credit unions too, especially the largest ones like NFCU (#1 in US) and PenFed (#3 in US). Similar to the large banks, they tend to offer competive products and service. That's why NFCU and PenFed were in my "Second" team list alongside US Bank, Discover, Capital One. See the link for more discussion and comparison.
Original Thread:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/List-of-Major-Bank-Cards/m-p/5803770#M1679615
It's interesting that the new merger between SunTrust and BB&T will form the 6th largest bank (named Truist). For now, their cards are staying status-quo but I expect them to offer some new cards and shake up their offerings to become more competive with the largest lenders. I think that will probably move those two banks from my "Third Team" list to "Second Team."
P.S. As an aside, I like your new Avatar. It fits you well. 