difference in credit cards

[Anonymous]

I read many posts about the community looking to obtain Chase cards and 
Amex cards more often than not.  Do cards from other banks such as Wells Fargo, Citi, and Bank America to just name a few are not as desirable or are harder to get for people rebuilding their credit?  Thanks for any information that is provided.

[MrDisco99]

Chase and Amex have some very good high end products with high value rewards which are seen as goal cards by many.  This is why you probably see more about them than other issuers.

This is very different from what cards are good to get for a rebuild.  BoA and Wells Fargo cards don't have rewards as good as Amex and Chase, but they have some products worth getting, and they have products that can be a great place to start building your credit (like secured cards and no fee rewards cards), especially if you already bank with them.  Citi is kinda somewhere in between, with good rebuilder cards AND rewards cards.

It's generally a good idea to diversify what banks you get cards from and try different rewards programs to see what combination will maximize your earnings.  This is also good so that if one bank decides to put you on their naughty list (which could happen through no fault of your own!), you'll have other options.

[Anonymous]

I have been banking with wells fargo and have a good reputation with them. For someone with a fico of 678, according to wells, would they be a good option to try for an additional card.  I am currently at 2, with a car loan , all being paid on time and utilized properly.  Thanks for the great information.

[AverageJoesCredit]

The only real difference is in what each lender offers and since we all have different needs and wants, our quest for different lenders can be diverse. Being huge names, Amex and Chase are obvioudly going to get more attention and more so that people can obtain big credit lines and or rewards from them .

As funny as it may sound, for someone like myself who has a low income low spend, Amex and Chase dont do too much for me. Find a lender that works for your spend and lifestyle and youll be ok.

[Anonymous]

thanks average joes credit

[Anonymous]

There are terms like 'building a relationship' thrown around here but basically to me, a credit card is a credit card. Makes absolutely no difference to me what bank it's from, doesn't mean anything. As long as the rewards and/ or credit line are what you want, who cares right? 

[Anonymous]

makes sense.  Get the best rate you can with an acceptable credit line and that should be the defining factors,  you are definitely correct.

[Anonymous]

I confess to sometimes feeling like I'm on the outside looking in when people talk about AMEX, Chase and Citi cards because of the piddling little matter of my 2014 BK. I burned Chase directly on a Visa in that filing, and a co-branded Citi card (Best Buy, which had been transferred from Cap One to Citi just a few months previously!) was included in the filing too, so I don't think I have any really good prospects of getting a card from either until the BK finally drops off my report some 6 1/2 years from now. I include co-branded cards such as Chase's Amazon and Citi's Costco; I'm told these, not being under the issuer's brand but under the brand of the shopping partner, are easier to get than cards that you apply directly to the issuer for (if that makes sense), but I'm also told that Chase and Citi, respectively, are just about as skittish about post-BK users applying for those cards as for their own. As for AMEX, I've never had a card with them, but they have an internal policy requiring a waiting period of 5 years plus 1 month following BK filing, so I'll have to wait until next fall to be seriously considered.

All that said, I've turned my attention to more BK-forgiving issuers like Cap One, Discover and credit unions, and am beginning to get some good cards from them as my history lengthens without issues and my scores inch into 700 territory.

[Anonymous]

I have no interest in travel rewards so I stick with my Discover It for most things.

I would consider an Amex charge card if they had no annual fee and better non travel rewards.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymouswrote:

There are terms like 'building a relationship' thrown around here but basically to me, a credit card is a credit card. Makes absolutely no difference to me what bank it's from, doesn't mean anything. As long as the rewards and/ or credit line are what you want, who cares right? 

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This.   And in general (= I have no data to back this up!) having a checking account etc doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference about whether the average user will get a cc from that bank or not.   (We have a lot of people saying "with my low score I wouldn't have got X without a relationship" but then you can find similar profile people getting the same card without).

So, at least initially, go for the card that matches your goals, your spend type and your spending level, and don't worry about the issuer.   Later on you might get into an eco-system such as Amex MR/Chase UR/Citi TYP, and then you may want a card from that system and thus issuer.  But again that's because it meets your goals rather than because it is an Amex/Chase/Citi.

And (IMO) the worst kind of relationship talk is when people get a card that they don't really want to "get in with X" This makes little sense as we lack evidence it really helps.  Wait until your scores are good enough for the card you want.