@Anonymous wrote:Hi Everyone, I have recently relocated to US opened an account with Chase without SSN and maintain good/increasing balance (not sure if it matters in US). Got my new SSN 3 days ago visited the branch to get it updated on my account. Right after updation the banker told me to apply for credit card as he thought I might have a shot with Chase Slate Edge card.
Initially I had a plan to check Capital one pre-qualified offer otherwise I would have gotten the secured card to build credit.
Applied for the Chase Slate Edge card very same night online and it got approved instantly with a $4000 limit.
Looking for guidance and recommendations on how to properly build credit history based on my future goals.
- I want to get a car loan in couple of months when I am sure I will get a low APR.
- I am never cash strapped due to my emergency fund availability so I want to get a higher limit up-to $20-40k so I can gain points by putting large purchases on cards while keeping utilization low.
- I am frequent traveler and I want to either product change or get a fresh Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reservered card.
- I will be looking to get a mortgage in next 1-1.5 years.
- Can you guys please share tips and tricks on how can I keep my score high increase it beyond what I can achieve by maintaining a very clean history (timely payments, utilization less than 10% etc)
- I have read about the advantages of personal loan for boost and credit mix, and NFCU loan too. Do you think I should get a NFCU loan and do the popular trick of paying most of it upfront with leaving 9.6% of loan to make small payments with less interest?
My advice is:
1. Don't apply for anything new at the moment until you have credit scores.
2. Forget about secured cards. Once you qualified for the Slate, you moved into a different league.
3. OK to do the Navy SSL thing if you're going to do it and wait for it and the payoff to report before the auto loan application. Do it big enough so you can get long term, like 10 years. Bear in mind that once you get an auto loan, your SSL will become meaningless except as a possible future backup if your auto loan gets paid off.
4. Once you've got the auto loan in hand, then you can apply for a couple of better cards. But it would probably be premature to go for either Sapphire card. I would suggest an Amex or Discover or Citi card, but if you want to get a Chase card go for the Freedom Flex or Freedom Unlimited, unless you get a preapproval in the "Just For You" section on Chase's website.
5. Wait awhile to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, unless you get a preapproval in the "Just For You" section on Chase's website.
6. Wait to apply for a mortgage until at least 13 months have passed since the opening of your last credit card account.
@Anonymous wrote:My advice is:
1. Don't apply for anything new at the moment until you have credit scores.
2. Forget about secured cards. Once you qualified for the Slate, you moved into a different league.
3. OK to do the Navy SSL thing if you're going to do it and wait for it and the payoff to report before the auto loan application. Do it big enough so you can get long term, like 10 years. Bear in mind that once you get an auto loan, your SSL will become meaningless except as a possible future backup if your auto loan gets paid off.
4. Once you've got the auto loan in hand, then you can apply for a couple of better cards. But it would probably be premature to go for either Sapphire card. I would suggest an Amex or Discover or Citi card, but if you want to get a Chase card go for the Freedom Flex or Freedom Unlimited, unless you get a preapproval in the "Just For You" section on Chase's website.
5. Wait awhile to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, unless you get a preapproval in the "Just For You" section on Chase's website.
6. Wait to apply for a mortgage until at least 13 months have passed since the opening of your last credit card account.
Thank you for getting back on my query and thoroughly answering my questions. This is really really helpful.
1. For sure, I won't apply for anything new until I have score.
2. I won't definitely be needing a secured card. (It was an initial plan for starting to build credit)
3. I think building score directly with credit card and then applying for auto-loan with that score would be better. Since auto-loan will work to build my score for mortgage.
4. Make sense, I think waiting to get Chase Sapphires in 'Just for You' will be a better way to go about it. My only two target cards are Chase Sapphire (either) and Amex Platinum.
5. Noted!
6. Oh okay thank you for this information. I will make sure to wait for 13 months period.
I have another question, generally speaking if I am not in a hurry and just looking for a car loan bit down the line (once I have score). Do you think one credit card would be sufficent for getting a good credit score? Assuming I will get a car loan once I have the score created with slate card?
While maintaining a crystal clear payment history and always less than 9% utilization how much score can I anticipate with one card?
One card is enough, but 2 or 3 is better. Then you can practice letting one card report a small balance while the others report zero. (All Zero Except One == AZEO). If you do that you have to watch out for Chase's practice of reporting zero balance immediately if balance is paid off.
@SouthJamaica hit all the important points, as usual. 
I would wait a few months for scores then get 1 or 2 more cards.
Not your dream set but will build your profile history better than just 1 card.
Be patient for a long time.
After car / mortgage, then go for a better card.
Everyone starts with less than their dream card set for the first 3-5 years.
You are off to a good start avoiding the secured card route.
Go slow and steady and all will work out
@Anonymous wrote:Thank you @Kforce for sharing your recommendations. They are definitely helpful, I will for sure stay patient in this process as its tricky and slow. I will apply for a new card when I have a better score in a few months.
Both of you @SouthJamaica and @Kforce have been extremely helpful in addressing my concerns. I do have another question, my younger brother recently (a week ago) got an American Express Platinum card which has no spending limit. (He has a history due to a student credit card from BofA on which he has all clear 3 years of payments but high utilization in almost all months.)
My scenario right now is, that I am new to the US and I am in the process of making large purchases to set up my life here slowly. I take care of two families myself and my spouse, and then my parents back home. So, I am most in need of making large spending (purchasing tickets or buying something for the home, etc) -- I definitely have the balances to pay in full. Now the debit cards do not offer large limits generally and I do not want to expose my account + debit card on any e-commerce websites due to a bad experience in past with a website getting hacked and leaking my card info (purchase protection)
My question is: my brother is offering to add me as an authorized user on his American Express Platinum with no spending limit. He tested the spending power it showed approved for a random amount of $25k. He definitely is looking to use about $1k-1.5k a month at max. Whereas, I will be needing around $2-4k normally and $5-8k in some months (3-5 months a year). I am unsure what Amex Platinum no-limit card would do to my credit score as it's a new file and then the card does not have a utilization but will definitely show large balances being paid in full. Along with this, I can get to enjoy the travel benefits of Amex Platinum while building my own solid credit score.
Can you guys please guide me while having this Chase Slate edge card with a $4k limit, is it wise to get added as an authorized user on the AMEX platinum no-limit card that could potentially report monthly balances in the range of $1k-$5k every month (or even higher in 1 or 2 months but always under 10k)? Also, what's the effect of large balances reported by an account with no limit on credit score and manual credit reviews. Is it advisable, can it help or should I just avoid it all together?
No, being added as an authorized user to your brother's Amex platinum card will do nothing for you. Reporting the balances will be meaningless. Sorry, but I think you just need to wait. You could add another secured card, but i really think it will wind up being a weight around your neck. If you decide to get one, Discover has a good track record of graduating its secured cards to unsecured. But make sure to get it large enough to make your large purchases.
But my real advice is to be patient.
