Hello Forum,
I am currently a 20y/o college student who will be graduating next year and I really do not know what to do next with my credit.
Here are some of my stats:
750 Credit Score
AAoC: 2Y 3M
Oldest: 10Y 10 M
Total CL: $37.5k
Overall Utilization: 2%
HIs: 1
Total Accounts: 10 (4 cards 6 student loans)
Income: $55k
Authorized User Cards--
C1Quicksilver $13.5k
CostcoAnywhere $7k
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite $15k
Mine--
C1Quicksilver $2k
$14.5k of Subsidized Student Loans (Getting paid off directly after graduation from savings/college fund)
I know that I definitely have good credit for my age but as you can see most of my credit history and credit limit is really not mine.
What should be my next step to building my own credit? What should my goals be? Should I even open any cards right now so my AAoC isn't hurt in the future?
I do not have any big purchases planned soon and I generally just want to become more of a daily user and get maximum rewards for that. I am still a student so any student cards are definitely on the table as well.
@RyeBred wrote:Hello Forum,
I am currently a 20y/o college student who will be graduating next year and I really do not know what to do next with my credit.
Here are some of my stats:
750 Credit Score
AAoC: 2Y 3M
Oldest: 10Y 10 M
Total CL: $37.5k
Overall Utilization: 2%
HIs: 1
Total Accounts: 10 (4 cards 6 student loans)
Income: $55k
Authorized User Cards--
C1Quicksilver $13.5k
CostcoAnywhere $7k
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite $15k
Mine--
C1Quicksilver $2k
$14.5k of Subsidized Student Loans (Getting paid off directly after graduation from savings/college fund)
I know that I definitely have good credit for my age but as you can see most of my credit history and credit limit is really not mine.
What should be my next step to building my own credit? What should my goals be? Should I even open any cards right now so my AAoC isn't hurt in the future?
I do not have any big purchases planned soon and I generally just want to become more of a daily user and get maximum rewards for that. I am still a student so any student cards are definitely on the table as well.
Sooner or later you're going to want to replace the authorized user cards with your own cards. So my advice would be to proceed gradually. Get yourself one good card, and then drop off as an authorized user on one of the AU cards. Assess the score impact. Let some time pass. 6 months or more down the road, repeat the process.
And welcome to the forum.
how old is the card that is actually yours and how old are the student loans that are actually yours?
I'd work on getting credit products that you want at a gradual pace like ^^ mentioned above
Savor One, Chase Freedom Flex, Citi Double Cash/Custom Cash, Wells Fargo Active Cash/Discover IT/ Navy Federal (if you qualify to join)
all great options and impossible to not get great value out of any of them
0/6, 2/12, 7/24
@GZG wrote:how old is the card that is actually yours and how old are the student loans that are actually yours?
I'd work on getting credit products that you want at a gradual pace like ^^ mentioned above
Savor One, Chase Freedom Flex, Citi Double Cash/Custom Cash, Wells Fargo Active Cash/Discover IT/ Navy Federal (if you qualify to join)
all great options and impossible to not get great value out of any of them
My quicksilver is 1Y 8M and all loans are less than a year old. Which card should I start with?
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@RyeBred wrote:Hello Forum,
I am currently a 20y/o college student who will be graduating next year and I really do not know what to do next with my credit.
Here are some of my stats:
750 Credit Score
AAoC: 2Y 3M
Oldest: 10Y 10 M
Total CL: $37.5k
Overall Utilization: 2%
HIs: 1
Total Accounts: 10 (4 cards 6 student loans)
Income: $55k
Authorized User Cards--
C1Quicksilver $13.5k
CostcoAnywhere $7k
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite $15k
Mine--
C1Quicksilver $2k
$14.5k of Subsidized Student Loans (Getting paid off directly after graduation from savings/college fund)
I know that I definitely have good credit for my age but as you can see most of my credit history and credit limit is really not mine.
What should be my next step to building my own credit? What should my goals be? Should I even open any cards right now so my AAoC isn't hurt in the future?
I do not have any big purchases planned soon and I generally just want to become more of a daily user and get maximum rewards for that. I am still a student so any student cards are definitely on the table as well.Sooner or later you're going to want to replace the authorized user cards with your own cards. So my advice would be to proceed gradually. Get yourself one good card, and then drop off as an authorized user on one of the AU cards. Assess the score impact. Let some time pass. 6 months or more down the road, repeat the process.
And welcome to the forum.
What's the best way to try and keep my overall CL high?
@RyeBred wrote:
@GZG wrote:My quicksilver is 1Y 8M and all loans are less than a year old. Which card should I start with?
who do you bank with?
hard to miss with any of those options:
5% cards earn 5% cash back in certain categories, either rotating or year round: discover it, chase freedom flex, citi custom cash
2% cards earn 2% back in all purchases, an improvement from your 1.5% cash back card: citi double cash, wells fargo active cash
savor one is 3% back on groceries and restaurants, a big spend category for most
navy federal has a 1.75% card (with direct deposit) tends to give out/let you grow to extremely high limits, which could bolster the limits of your future cards going forward
what do you spend the most on and which card best aligns with earning the most back in cashback?
@GZG wrote:
@RyeBred wrote:
@GZG wrote:My quicksilver is 1Y 8M and all loans are less than a year old. Which card should I start with?
who do you bank with?
hard to miss with any of those options:
5% cards earn 5% cash back in certain categories, either rotating or year round: discover it, chase freedom flex, citi custom cash
2% cards earn 2% back in all purchases, an improvement from your 1.5% cash back card: citi double cash, wells fargo active cash
savor one is 3% back on groceries and restaurants, a big spend category for most
navy federal has a 1.75% card (with direct deposit) tends to give out/let you grow to extremely high limits, which could bolster the limits of your future cards going forward
what do you spend the most on and which card best aligns with earning the most back in cashback?
I bank with Truist.
I am not eligible for NF.
I use the Costco card the most because the primary user gives me the CB.
I just started using my quicksilver.
Which one of those options would give me the highest credit limit?
@RyeBred wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@RyeBred wrote:Hello Forum,
I am currently a 20y/o college student who will be graduating next year and I really do not know what to do next with my credit.
Here are some of my stats:
750 Credit Score
AAoC: 2Y 3M
Oldest: 10Y 10 M
Total CL: $37.5k
Overall Utilization: 2%
HIs: 1
Total Accounts: 10 (4 cards 6 student loans)
Income: $55k
Authorized User Cards--
C1Quicksilver $13.5k
CostcoAnywhere $7k
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite $15k
Mine--
C1Quicksilver $2k
$14.5k of Subsidized Student Loans (Getting paid off directly after graduation from savings/college fund)
I know that I definitely have good credit for my age but as you can see most of my credit history and credit limit is really not mine.
What should be my next step to building my own credit? What should my goals be? Should I even open any cards right now so my AAoC isn't hurt in the future?
I do not have any big purchases planned soon and I generally just want to become more of a daily user and get maximum rewards for that. I am still a student so any student cards are definitely on the table as well.Sooner or later you're going to want to replace the authorized user cards with your own cards. So my advice would be to proceed gradually. Get yourself one good card, and then drop off as an authorized user on one of the AU cards. Assess the score impact. Let some time pass. 6 months or more down the road, repeat the process.
And welcome to the forum.
What's the best way to try and keep my overall CL high?
Credit limits are determined based on many variables, including income. The best thing is to just proceed slowly, and gradually, on occasion asking for soft pull credit limit increases. But for now overall credit limits should be the least of your concerns. It's way too early in the game for you to be concerned about that.