How often can I apply for new credit cards and which ones should I focus on first?

[GypSea_Surfing]

Good day, community. I have been fixing my mom's, brother's, and my credit over the past two years. I got my and my brother's credit from the 500s to now 740ish. I started my mom as an AU and got her score from literally not having one to 720 in under 6 months then she was approved for an AMEX Delta with $1700 CL and CapitalOne Platinum $500.00. We grew up being utterly uneducated about credit and how it works. I used to treat any credit I got like free money. It took this community and getting some education from various YouTube videos to get us here. I also got approved for a NavyFederal membership and then after 6 months I just signed my brother up for a membership. We have received invitations to apply for Citi Cashback, Navy Federal Cash Rewards, AMEX Blue, Capital One Savor, Capital One Spark Business, Amex Business Platinum.

My brother has a Discover It $2200, Capital One Quicksilver $600, Credit One AMEX $300, Firestone $1300, and he just got approved for a CHASE Freedom Unlimited $4000. All his cards but the CHASE are almost a year old. When can he apply for more cards after getting the CHASE FU and which ones would you recommend to focus on first? And how quickly or often can he apply for the other cards after that?

I have two business accounts and personal at CHASE but I am past the CHASE 5/24 rule. The cards I have are a Discover Card It $2,300.00, Capital One Quicksilver One $300.00, Capital One Walmart $300.00, Bank of America Secured $1,200.00 (I closed it paid), Credit One AMEX $300.00, Self Credit Card $100.00. All my cards are between a year to 2 years old. Which ones would you recommend for me to focus on first, and how quickly or often can I apply for the other cards after that??

My mom has the American Express Delta $1,700.00, CapitalOne Platinum $500.00, and is an AU on all of my cards and my brother's cards. Her cards and credit history are under 6 months old but has a 720 score. Which ones would you recommend for her to focus on first, and how quickly or often can I apply for the other cards after that??

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP. I CREDIT THIS COMMUNITY FOR GETTING US TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY. THANKS AGAIN.

[PNWRambler]

At this point it sounds like you all should consider gardening for a year or two. Besides Chase having the 5/24 rule, you want to keep your overall inquiries low for all lenders. You also want low number of new accounts, and higher AAoA.

In general I would say that anyone who's past the 5/24 for Chase should attempt to garden for a year or two before opening any new accounts if possible. You don't want it to look like you're aggressively seeking credit, and credit maturity/AAoA/low inquiries is a big deal to most lenders.

As far as how many cards/how often to apply for cards in general - I would suggest 1-2 new cards every 1-2 years to be conservative, although I'm sure everyone has a different opinion on this. As for which cards each of you should focus on, we would need to know more about your spending habits and what perks would benefit you most (rewards, APR, SUB's, 0% intro, etc).

[RSX]

welcome

looks like your brother has 5 cards and you have 6 - you don't actually need any more cards, and it would be better if you didn't app for any

the more cards you have, the more you have to spread your Spend around - you already have enough to focus on - and with the regular spend, you will likely get some CLI's

i would use the ones you have for the next 2 years - to really get some age going and some better limits as the time goes on

i am in the process of closing cards, and/or letting them be closed due to inactivity - because the mngmt of many cards can really be a pain

good luck to you - and nice progress for the 3 of you!

[FireMedic1]

Dont compare yourself to anyone else besides yourself. You need some age and let your file grow some more.

[GypSea_Surfing]

Thank you guys. So am I understanding correctly that if we do not use the cards then we will not get CLIs? I have been focusing all our spending on my mom's AMEX Delta to get the miles. But I also use my Capital One Walmart card a lot and have not gotten a CLI since I got it two years ago. I did have one 30 day late payment a year and a half ago in January of 2022. I don't see any way to request a CLI on CapOne from my $300 CL. I think I read that they do it automatically. Is that correct? Thanks again for all your guys input.

[RSX]

you will need to put some spend on the cards, or they will be stuck at the current CL - and/or possibly closed out for non usage (this usually takes 6 months to a year before they do that)

if you don't spend on them, they assume you dont need a larger CL

DO NOT spend on them for anything that is not normal spend - use them, then pay them off shortly after

and is an AU on all of my cards and my brother's cards

this is no longer necessary - and in my opinion, you should only leave her on 1 card from each of you - the oldest one is best

[GypSea_Surfing]

Thank you

[RSX]

Capital One CLI - you can request it yourself - auto CLI's are more rare

it's an SP for CLI request

click on I Want To

then on the next screen - bottom left - Request Credit line Increase

[GApeachy]

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@GypSea_Surfing wrote:

So am I understanding correctly that if we do not use the cards then we will not get CLIs? PRETTY MUCH with the FI's you listed...although the Firestone card might be the exception, Synchrony Bank...I'm stealing from @AverageJoesCredit  now..."they can be cray cray" ahahaha!

I have been focusing all our spending on my mom's AMEX Delta to get the miles.

BTW, have y'all initiated the 3x's cli request on MOM's Delta Amex?  Read up on the Amex 3x's guide if you're not familiar.  Submit another post about it if you're not sure and you'll get a butt ton of info.

But I also use my Capital One Walmart card a lot and have not gotten a CLI since I got it two years ago. Nobody has, lol.....idk if that's a true stmt honestly but I bet I'm not off by far....anyway.... IT'S NOT YOU; IT'S THEM....just continue on using it like you use it...one day you may get a surprise.  

I don't see any way to request a CLI on CapOne from my $300 CL. Follow those instructions above ^^^Although IT COULD BE BUCKETED...whether or not it is you can request a cli occassionally, no harm, no foul. 

I think I read that they do it automatically. Is that correct? MAYBE....but I never waited with Cap1...that's like watching grass grow.  I have received $3k cli's multiple times before the Pandemic...now I can't get diddle squat. GL with that, but at least you have some nice cards to age and hopefully grow with you and yours for a long time.  

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[rmduhon]

Capital One likes to see their cards get used. My husband got a cap one qs with a $300 limit 2 years ago. What I did was use it aggressively. I pretty much maxed it out repeatedly with my regular spending (utilities, groceries, etc) and paid it off weekly if not several times a week. In 6 months the limit was doubled, then raised to 1500 a year after opening it. Not worried about a higher limit right now, although I still use it for the utilities. As always though, YMMV