It works for me to have two posts. Slightly different take. Also, good for the newbies here to read. 
Blispay and Marvel cards are pretty ordinary and with no sign-up bonuses, oops $25 and 6 months 0%, whoohoo, that's a real life changer, lol!
Appers are a creatures of habit, there isn't a card they don't like.....
Personal Cards: Amex Plat | Amex Delta Res | CSR | Citi AA Exec Business Cards: Ink+ | Amex BGR
If some people app for new cards because of pressure....they need to re-evaluate their managment of credit IMHO...because too much of anything is never good. Sometimes people need to wrecked their credit and learn the hard way. I do admit, it's the rush/chase that gets me. Getting a new card w/a nice signup bonus is about as exciting as a grand slam at the bottom of the 9th inning to win the game....And the banks are good at enticing the public with those offers
First let me say that I was a lurker here long before I registered and started posting...and I use to be the person you're describing. After a long period of being told "no" in regards to credit apps, when I finally started seeing "approved" it just made me want to keep going with it. I acquired a lot of cards that I didn't really need and a lot of overlap. At one point I had a Walmart and Sam's Club store card which made absolutely no sense. Either card can be used at both places respectively...and knowing that still didn't stop me from applying because I knew that Sync finally loved me and I was going to ride that train until it derailed. Unfortunately the train didn't...so, like a fool, I kept going. I ended up with several cards like P66 and BP card (who needs 2 fuel cards)? I app'd for JCP when I don't even shop there all that often, I could have easily just use a regular VS/MC for the very few purchases that I make there...but nope, had to have that card to.
I think you get the idea of where I'm going with this. I did a lot of foolish things during my rebuild because I was addicted to seeing "approved". The "Approval" section of the forum didn't help either...it actually encouraged my reckless behavior because I'd see others getting approved with similar backs ground to that of my own and I'd tell myself "yep, I can get that one too"...and I did. Now fast forward a few years and I've became a little more responsible. I'm sure you've heard the saying "hindsight is 20/20". Well that was true for me. I look back now and realize how foolish it was to make some of the decisions I've made. But I can't change the past...can only learn from it. I've limited my apps to things I truly want. I still have some the cards that came from my foolishness because I just don't see the need to cancel them. I'm sure if they don't get proper usage then they'll eventually fade into the sunset without any involvement from me.
But I can say for certain, the old me would have jumped on that Marvel card soo fast (along with PayPal MC, Ebates, Gap Visa, and anything else Sync backed) especially knowing the love that Sync has shown me and being able to meet the credit criteria needed for approval. But now, I just kinda sit back and enjoy others being approved for the things they want. They're happiness and satisfaction is good enough for me...I'll enjoy the feeling of being approved vicariosuly through them.
@kdm31091 wrote:This is kind of similar to xterror's thought yesterday, about app addiction. How much do you guys think the "peer pressure" effect with new cards makes people app for things they really don't need? I am not trying to start a war here, I just find it interesting to see just how many people jump on the "new card" bandwagons, even if the card seems largely not useful for the person (or at least not so incredibly useful that it warrants an immediate app).
The latest example is of course the Marvel card. I eat out a lot, honestly, but still couldn't justify the new account hit. Why? Discover is doing 5% dining now anyway, so it's not like I'd have any reason to use it until at least the end of June. But the bigger reason is simplicity, I guess. It's just not enough of a gain for something I spend maybe, maybe $200 a month on. We're talking about a couple extra dollars in exchange for yet another new account hit. Besides that, I'm striving to eat out less, not more, and the "oh look, special 3% dining card" would probably just encourage more eating out and spending.
Of course, everyone is an individual, but it seems many who jumped on with the Marvel already have an AARP or Sam's, etc, which give you basically the same return. Like I've mentioned before, there's only so much it can make sense to dilute your spend. While that threshold varies by individual, I don't see much point in carrying two 3% dining cards that have no cap. Of course nobody knew the Marvel card was coming out, but the point is, if you constantly adjust your portfolio for every trend, you are really setting yourself back over and over. Credit bureaus only update monthly, so a garden stint of a few weeks doesn't do much. You need long term periods without apps for anything to really change.
This isn't unique to the Marvel card whatsoever though. A lot of people jumped on Blispay despite already having a 2% card or even two.
This isn't a knock against anyone, and again, not trying to start a fight. I'm just curious if anyone ever regrets jumping on the bandwagons. I had some light temptation for the Marvel but I honestly just don't need it. It can be hard to not jump on every decent card that comes along, but in the long run, you will continually set yourself back.
Anyone have any thoughts on the "bandwagon effect?"
Maybe someone new to credit does that, but I could care less what cards someone else had and I am not influenced to get a card because other people do. Every card I have gotten was something that fit into my needs. I may have learned about cards here but if someone is just apping for whatever card someone else has without looking to see if it fits into their needs then they really aren't properly managing their credit. I didn't even know about this marvel card and only vaguely aware of the blisplay thing but neither is appealing at all to me. I'm sure there are some people who were starting out who got talked into getting a card and did so when it wasn't a good fit for them, but that isn't really giving in to pressure vs relying on people who gave them bad advice which is a different situation in my mind.
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