Zan's Credit Journey

[Zanshiro]

So hi if this is the first thread you're viewing of mine, or hi again if it's a revisit! A bit about me, I've just turned 38 last month, and

 

I moved out of a bad domestic situation, traveling cross-country in 2014, which caused me to close a couple credit lines that were of my older ones, one due to a bank error by US Bank, where they made an account "Joint" instead of adding an additional user, though they were unable to produce the paper I signed authorizing such, and I didn't want to run the risk of an ex running up an enormous bill on it. As such, I had to close that account, which was opened in 1997 (IIRC), and had 0/8,000. That, combined with the additional spending that happened upon my move - almost $20,000 in costs, and $30,000 of repairs on my home from the hired contractor vanishing and not taking care of it - put me in more than a bit of a bad spot, as my score dropped from the 790's down to 690s with the additional utilization and lower average account length.

My current focus has been paying down cards with higher interest rates, and using the 0% BT cards, which with how little credit I was offered for such, I honestly haven't found as useful as I would've liked, but some savings > no savings.

CC Name / C. Bal. / CL / / APR / Date opened

Bank of America Cash Rewards 11,220/23,200 7.74% APR 1/11/2002 (My main pay-down target currently, dropping roughly by $500 overall balance monthly, goal to be at PIF within two years, hopefully faster if better BT card limits can be attained.)

Synchrony (Sam's Club) 0/1,300 13.99% APR 1/22/2004

Synchrony (CareCredit) 240/4,000 0% (PMR APR on that balance through 3/15/2018) 11/17/2014

Chase Slate (Originally used for BT) 550/2,500 (0% PMR APR through 12/24/2017) 8/24/2016

2 mortgages current, both paid on-time with lenders 100% - my one derog was a 30 day

Carrington MS (6%) (Recently sold to them by Chase) 50,000

Wells Fargo HE LoC (3.84%) 50,000/50,000 (Paying other mortgage first, minimums on this one due to better rate) 6/19/2007

One possibility also that I was thinking is to combine these into a new 15-year mortgage for faster payoff with the better rates available now than when I bought my house. My concern with that is being on a commission job, what the "minimum" might spike to in my upcoming "low season" and with the rates jumping

Two current auto loans (My own, and my roommate's, since the bank wouldn't accept her even as a co-signer on her auto)

Both with MECU, a local credit union, at 1.74%, one at 8,000, other at 4,000 left, and again, making minimums on these with the more favorable rates. [Please, no more on this situation, it has more than enough comments.]

Goals:

Short-Term:

Pay down credit cards, using BT as helpful, and getting overall utilization under 25%

Learn everything possible about credit and finances.

Increase investment savings (5% currently towards my 401k at work, minimum required there...would like to put more there, but can't justify that when paying interest rates on the current things, as paying off a card is like taking a guaranteed X% investment instead)

Mid-Term

Pay down credit cards, using BT as helpful, and getting overall utilization under 5%

Considering Mortgage refinance to streamline things, reduce interest, and have accelerated payoff. - Con: lose the HE line of credit, but that could always be reopened, since it doesn't report as a CC, but as RE.

Long-Term:

Pay down credit cards, using BT as helpful, and having EoM be PiF again.

Aim for that elusive 850

Get that pimp status, though I guess my question with that - How much is tied to actual income? Is it feasible for someone with a 65k/yr income to have 500k in CL? That seems to be the main "reason" I was given for my BT cards was that my income was too low to justify a higher credit limit (Per Chase when I opened the Freedom Card)

Thank you for any and all help in advance, looking forward to loads of fun and advancement!

Zan

Edited July 14, 2017 by breeze

[cv91915]

The first thing I would do is get rid of the risk of your roommate defaulting on the car loan.

[Zanshiro]

That's auto-drafted from my account. So that's not a risk at all. Even if for some reason the roommate were to "default" I have that covered, as well as my name on the title.

[cv91915]

That's auto-drafted from my account. So that's not a risk at all. Even if for some reason the roommate were to "default" I have that covered, as well as my name on the title.

 

That doesn't remove the risk that s/he will stop paying you. If you were debt free and had money to burn I wouldn't have brought it up.

[Zanshiro]

Simply put, I also own the car if they do? 2012 Ford Escape, 42,000 miles. So it's worth well more than the $4000 owed, and I could sell it. I've gathered that the main feeling thus far is that I shouldn't trust anyone at all, lol. But yes, in my mind, that's stable right now. I could always pay it off, but I figure doing so sooner than six months makes the installment loan a waste too, non?

[Zanshiro]

Updated and obtained much increased CLIs today. Noted in spreadsheet for next update. Updating current limits below:

 

CC Name / C. Bal. / CL / / APR / Date opened / Util %

Bank of America Cash Rewards - 11,220/32,500 (Was 23,200) - 7.74% APR - 1/11/2002 - 34.5%

Synchrony (Sam's Club) - 0/8,000 (Was 1,300) - 13.99% APR - 1/22/2004 - 0% (PIF monthly)

Synchrony (CareCredit) - 240/15,000 (Was 4,000) - 0% (PMR APR on that balance through 3/15/2018) - 11/17/2014 - 1.6%

Chase Slate - 550/6,500 (Was 2,500) - 0% (PMR APR through 12/24/2017) - 8/24/2016 - 5.2%

Overall utilization down to 19.1%, CLs increased a total of $31,000 this go around.

I'm looking to open a card through my local credit union, MECU, once the ultilization numbers update the score, and then unless advised to pick up an AMEX (Or ideally a travel-building style card of some variety), I will probably garden for a while, in consideration of the potential refinancing the mortgage. Have put in for the "true" credit reports and looking into the MyFico option for monitoring while I work on these briefly with the ideas here. Was showing at a 754 pull on my Wells Fargo (Experian) and the reasons:

• Number of accounts with delinquency (The only thing showing a derog was the 1 late payment on my old mortgage with Chase from system glitch. Aiming a GW letter at them as I'm a current credit customer despite their selling the loan)
• Ratio of balance to limit on bank revolving or other revolving accounts is too high (That was before CLI increases, which was at 41% prior, and is now under 20%...so i expect a decent bump. Will update with new score if shown there, or if the 'true reports' come in.)

Edited July 7, 2017 by Zanshiro

[fusioncredit]

 

Updated and obtained much increased CLIs today. Noted in spreadsheet for next update. Updating current limits below:

 

CC Name / C. Bal. / CL / / APR / Date opened / Util %

Bank of America Cash Rewards - 11,220/32,500 (Was 23,200) - 7.74% APR - 1/11/2002 - 34.5%

Synchrony (Sam's Club) - 0/8,000 (Was 1,300) - 13.99% APR - 1/22/2004 - 0% (PIF monthly)

Synchrony (CareCredit) - 240/15,000 (Was 4,000) - 0% (PMR APR on that balance through 3/15/2018) - 11/17/2014 - 1.6%

Chase Slate - 550/6,500 (Was 2,500) - 0% (PMR APR through 12/24/2017) - 8/24/2016 - 5.2%

Overall utilization down to 19.1%, CLs increased a total of $31,000 this go around.

I'm looking to open a card through my local credit union, MECU, once the ultilization numbers update the score, and then unless advised to pick up an AMEX (Or ideally a travel-building style card of some variety), I will probably garden for a while, in consideration of the potential refinancing the mortgage. Have put in for the "true" credit reports and looking into the MyFico option for monitoring while I work on these briefly with the ideas here. Was showing at a 754 pull on my Wells Fargo (Experian) and the reasons:

• Number of accounts with delinquency (The only thing showing a derog was the 1 late payment on my old mortgage with Chase from system glitch. Aiming a GW letter at them as I'm a current credit customer despite their selling the loan)
• Ratio of balance to limit on bank revolving or other revolving accounts is too high (That was before CLI increases, which was at 41% prior, and is now under 20%...so i expect a decent bump. Will update with new score if shown there, or if the 'true reports' come in.)

 

 

First congrats on the CLI's...impressive job in a short time frame.

 

I am curious, how did you convince BOA to give you a CLI with high util reporting?

 

Regarding fico scores, you can get free fico versions from many sources. Here is the master list https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=519290&page=16

 

If you want to get all three fico 8 scores at once, you can sign up for $1 trial of CCT

[Zanshiro]

Thank you fusioncredit! It's all about learning what to ask, I suppose, I could have done this LONG ago, I just didn't know that I 'should', hah. I just called and explained to them that I was looking to get a CLI, as I had an upcoming dentist appointment which was requiring removal of my wisdom teeth, and wanted to be prepared in the eventuality that it costed more than I expected (True story). I have a 15 year credit history with BOA, with no missed payments, and several times they have given me the Auto-CLI (I forget what that's called on the acronym board but I digress...) - and I'd just always thought that such was the way it happened, automatically rising as you paid on time and whatnot, and I wondered why the other cards didn't. Found from my reading here that essentially that wasn't the case, hah.

 

Thank you for the information and link. I think I've learned now to search for "Master" with things, and it finds lists now. Also, since I did have a single AA in the past 30 days, I sent off for the free credit reports from all the bureaus by phone, so hopefully that's a "true" credit report also. And.... while at it, signed up for the free 30 day trial of TU's monitoring, which does provide the 3 bureau FICO and such from all of the above. I'll save the CCT one trial for when I get some of this cleared up, and see the wider range of scores provided.

[Zanshiro]

This morning my local CU approved a new TL/CL for $16,248 (What an odd random counter to the 20k max request!), with 1.99% APR, $0 AF, BT, and rewards program. I'm excited about this one, as it can easily pickup about half of the BOA current card at a lower rate, and let me focus on paydowns with less interest, accomplishing double goals again.

[Zanshiro]

So neater update on progress report, and I should look into making this part of my sig, likely...

CC Name / C. Bal. / CL / / APR / Date opened

Bank of America Cash Rewards - 11,220/32,500 - 7.74% APR - 1/11/2002

Synchrony (Sam's Club) - 0/8,000 - 13.99% APR - 1/22/2004

Synchrony (CareCredit) - 240/15,000 - 0% (PMR APR on that balance through 3/15/2018) - 11/17/2014

Chase Slate (Originally used for BT) - 350/6,500 - (0% PMR APR through 12/24/2017) - 8/24/2016

MECU Signature Visa - 0/16,248 - 1.99% APR - 07/07/2017

Total CL: 11,610/78,248 Util: 14.83%

2 mortgages current, both paid on-time with lenders 100% - my one derog/baddie is a 30 day that was caused due to Chase online banking error, it skipped a payment while I was out of town, and as soon as I hit town and noticed, I paid that and the next month before my next business trip. Sadly, I didn't record the rep at the time that admitted the error, and then later found it on my reports, and with general dispute and explanation, they didn't remove it, so I'm hoping a GW will accomplish this. Worst-case, it doesn't, and since it was Feb 2011, it should fall off in a few months anyway. But holding my GW until I get the new official paper copies, though.

Carrington MS (6%) (Recently sold to them by Chase) 50,000

Wells Fargo HE LoC (3.84%) 50,000/50,000 (Paying other mortgage first, minimums on this one due to better rate) 6/19/2007

Two current auto loans, both with MECU, a local credit union. One is at 1.74%, at 8,000, other at 1.99% with 4,000 left

Goals:

Short-Term (1-3 months):

Pay down credit cards, using BT as helpful, and getting overall utilization under 25% (Completed 7/7/2017)

Learn everything possible about credit and finances. (This is really impossible to ever mark completed, but I did a heckuva two-week 'cram session' so I'll mark it accomplished in the short term)

Increase investment savings (Up to a 10% right now, as the primary expenses are now with rates under 2%, so it makes more sense to put more into the investments to me. Other input welcomed on my thoughts here.)

Mid-Term (3-12 months)

Pay down credit cards, using BT as helpful, and getting overall utilization under 5% (Progress - Moving $8k of BOA balance to MECU, thus leaving BOA @10%, and actively paying down on the 1.99% lower rate card to get it under 30%, then going with the highest-rate paydown again. Current UTIL: 15.1%)

Considering Mortgage refinance to streamline things, reduce interest, and have accelerated payoff. - Con: lose the HE line of credit, but that could always be reopened, since it doesn't report as a CC, but as RE. (Thinking cards similar to MECU that don't charge an exorbitant rate for Cash Advance would be a possible alternative, as with the 1.99% option, it's even better to advance, and pay chunk on mortgage, then payoff at lower rates...hmm...never thought a CC would be lower than a mortgage rate except as a limited PMR)

Learn everything possible about credit and finances. (Always in-progress)

Long-Term (1-2 years)

Pay down credit cards, using BT as helpful, and having EoM be PiF again.

Aim for that elusive 850

Get that pimp status, though I guess my question with that - How much is tied to actual income? Is it feasible for someone with a 65k/yr income to have 500k in CL? That seems to be the main "reason" I was given for my BT cards was that my income was too low to justify a higher credit limit (Per Chase when I opened the Freedom Card)

Learn everything possible about credit and finances. (Always in-progress)

[Zanshiro]

Briefly scanned reports before bed. Interestingly, my Home Equity LoC is reporting as a real estate loan at TU, buut as a credit card at EQ & EX. Seems the lower score there might be tied to higher Util. Regular dispute will align it to real estate, presumably?

[Zanshiro]

For reference:

 

Disputes by Mail & PHone
You may contact the credit bureaus at the following addresses:

Experian
P.O. Box 9701
Allen, TX 75013
(800) 493 1058

 

TransUnion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000

(800) 916-8800 (M-F 8A-11P)

Equifax Information Services LLC
PO Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374

(866) 349-5191

Edited July 9, 2017 by Zanshiro

[Ldyjudge]

So Far sounds like you are doing a Great Job.

[Zanshiro]

Looked up some of Chase's officers, and found one nearby, so I wrote her, as she's also in charge of Public relations and sent a custom GW asking for the one derog to be removed, incentivized also with the message that I'm going to hopefully be refinancing my mortgage soon, and I'd love the chance to work with Chase again. I contacted her via a direct email, so I'll see where it goes from there. Hopefully that avoids the escalation of the matter all the way through the board, and she can grant the remedy. Any advice/comments on the Home Equity LoC? Is that supposed to report as an actual credit line in the same vein as revolving credit, or as a real estate loan? I've always thought it went as a real estate loan, but WF has EQ & EX showing it as a maxed LOC, and on TU, it's as a real estate loan. Advice appreciated.

[Zanshiro]

Sadly, that was denied, though I got a call back from "Alex" at Chase Executive Office, same rigamarole about their records not showing that online billpay had been setup (Though it had) and 5 years later, I don't have the documentation anymore, as that was destroyed in a fire, so it's doubly frustrating. Anyone think of a better route besides a GW on it? I'm thinking that I'll write back the initial person on their board I hunted down, head of social media, and see if I can let her know what was said (Since Alex didn't email me a copy of their "final decision letter" like he said he would yet.

[Wanda380]

S

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[breeze]

S

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Welcome, Wanda. Did you accidentally sit on your phone or were you trying to post something?

[mendelssohn]

Si

[Zanshiro]

XD I got two of my full reports in the mail yesterday (EQ & TU) so when EX arrives, I'm all set to make a full run-through. Working today, but only a 9-5 tomorrow, so looking to go through and full check Sat-Sun. Should have a longer post update then.

[BlackKnight1983]

 

That's auto-drafted from my account. So that's not a risk at all. Even if for some reason the roommate were to "default" I have that covered, as well as my name on the title.

 

That doesn't remove the risk that s/he will stop paying you. If you were debt free and had money to burn I wouldn't have brought it up.

 

 

 

Simply put, I also own the car if they do? 2012 Ford Escape, 42,000 miles. So it's worth well more than the $4000 owed, and I could sell it. I've gathered that the main feeling thus far is that I shouldn't trust anyone at all, lol. But yes, in my mind, that's stable right now. I could always pay it off, but I figure doing so sooner than six months makes the installment loan a waste too, non?

 

Just curious... are both of your names on the title? If it's just your name, then fine, no problem (other than the potential nastiness that comes with repo'ing a car, and the stuff I'll mention below). If both of your names are on it, is it an AND or an OR? The difference is an AND both parties have to sign to sell the car, where an OR either party can sell without the others consent, signature, or even knowledge. So, if you have an AND and the roommate doesn't pay, enjoy driving the car around, cause you probably won't be selling it (unless you can convince them to sign). If it's an OR, your roommate could sell the car (or trade it in), and keep the proceeds for themselves (hopefully they don't owe you anything).

 

The other main problem with this is liability. Sure you have insurance so if your roommate gets into an accident, you're probably covered. As the car is financed, you're probably on the insurance as well. Any crash related lawsuits will probably add you to the suit as well, so make sure that your roommate has enough insurance. Here's the big thing though... you, as an owner of the vehicle, are financially responsible for any tickets that your roommate gets (parking, speed camera, red light camera, etc). As long as your relationship is fine, this probably won't be a problem, but yes, I know someone who out of spite, drove a car through the red light cameras intentionally and got tens of thousands of dollars worth of tickets for the vehicle owner.

 

Always remember, no good deed goes unpunished.

[Zanshiro]

Please pardon the tone of this one, but it's starting to feel like my own replies are rather 'unheard' here. As disclosed elsewhere, I actually work at a dealership, and yes, it's setup with an AND, because frankly the "OR" - as you said - would let it be sold outright and would be more a potential liability, IMO. That said, neither way is required to be a notarized signature in the state of MD, so forgery would be plausible were the person going to do that type of thing in any of the above situations, neither is a true protection. I don't loan out anything I can't afford to lose, essentially, by that fundamental rule. Again, that part is *not* something I'm seeking advice on. While I can appreciate the whipping of the dead horse to the certain point, yes, it's well-covered in insurance as well. Were these editable, I would probably at this point realize the blinders that people are willfully using, and remove all that information from the OP.

 

I have been blessed to work with people and help them get back on their feet, which is one of my goals in life, and further, a duty that I feel to the rest of humanity to help people live the best life they can. While no good deed may go unpunished, I've chosen to take that path anyway, knowing the potential repercussions and being privy to the potential dangers.

 

On other things that haven't been commented on but by a few, whose comments I do appreciate, not as a need for a "cheering section," but simply for breaking the redundancy of the same comments repeatedly. I've now paid down to just under 10% utilization now, and I will say the "Help" hasn't exactly given a welcome, or even the impression that people are genuinely trying to be helpful when the direct questions I've asked have been ignored, only to repeatedly point out the same thing over and over. (Mind you, this is not from all commentors, merely the majority). I've gone through PsychDoc's (Though I read it PsyDuck very often thanks to kids and their Pokemon) guides, which is where I'm continuing to work on one potential GW from Chase that shows only on EQ & EX, and is likely the only part of my CR stopping me from surpassing 800 once again. I'm also updating my balances sheets since apparently the thought is that I'm living well beyond my means just because of the bad situation I'd mentioned. Hopefully, soon that will be shown otherwise.

 

Going forward, comments I'd like to hear about:

 

A ) Rewards cards, and strategies for building better CLIs.

 

B ) Methods of GW on a single missed payment via my former mortgage at Chase. I had done a double-pay and setup automatic payments before I went out of state on retreat (AKA no electronics), so I figured my extra pay would give it the cover to activate. However, when I got back from retreat, and looked, I saw it wasn't paid, and immediately called Chase, where the rep told me it was my first time, and wouldn't be held against me, and they waived the late fee, and I did another double pay, and the rep did go through and re-set up the Automatic Payments (Where it continued from there). I brought this to the EO of Chase, who said that they only do goodwill adjustments for a Chase error, and without a confirmation number they don't have evidence it's a Chase error, so it stands.

 

C ) Things that might help, not being related to the roommate's car.

 

Thanks,

 

Zan

Edited July 14, 2017 by Zanshiro

[breeze]

Folks, the car loan was a single line in the OP's write up. Can y'all please address the rest of the post, and stop going on and on about the car loan? I think it's been covered now. Any more posts on that topic, and I'll use my special powers on them.

[mec]

I think a mortgage refinance sounds like it has potential.

 

At least the Carrington loan.

 

If you are going to pursue that it would be best to do so before applying for any more credit cards.

 

It seems like you have 2 Rewards cards plus the new CU card... They are both cash back cards, but the BofA card is tied up carrying your 11k balance.

 

Are you interested in further cash back rewards or miles & points rewards?

 

Your scores are good and your AAOA is not too bad either... for not having many revolving accounts it's good.

 

I think you would be best served by making a list of which of your goals is most important to you. I've only recently come to see my over all debt as a thing to be attacked aggressively as means of generating wealth in the future. I used to think of it as a separate pieces, some that could be "addressed" and others that were more "permanent". But I was wrong and now look at it as one animal, from the last mortgage dollar down the road to the purchase I'm thinking about making today. (to go backwards) I think, generally, that debt supersedes rewards in terms of financial "benefit".

 

That said, you can do both at once. But I do think it helps a great deal to prioritize the different goals. And it also helps to plan the last payment... even if the plan goes to hell down the road... there is power in the plan and it helps you to know what to do to keep it alive when life gets boring in a year and roadblocks make it difficult to get there.

Edited July 14, 2017 by mec

[Zanshiro]

Thank you for the reply mec, I've read a lot of your posts on the board and found many helpful things there as well. To reply to your post bit by bit, I did update my sig but not a post, my fault. The lines did change again, as I got the card from MECU that I'd mentioned, and shifted the balance from my BOA onto the 1.99% card from my credit union. So here's where my CC situation stands:

 

Legend: Card - Balance/Limit - APR - Date Opened - Utilization

Bank of America Cash Rewards - 1,800/32,500 - 7.74% - 1/11/2002 - 5.5%

Synchrony (Sam's Club) - 2/8,000 - 13.99% - 1/22/2004 - 0%

Synchrony (CareCredit) - 225/15,000 - 0% (PMR APR on that balance through 3/15/2018) - 11/17/2014 - 1.5%

Chase Slate (Originally used for BT) - 250/6,500 - (0% PMR APR through 12/24/2017) - 8/24/2016 - 3.8%

MECU Signature Visa - 5,580/16,248 - 1.99% - 07/07/2017 - 40%

Amazon Prime Card - 120/10,000 - 9.99% - 07/11/2017 - 1.2%

Total Cards 8,937/95,248 - APRs Vary - 9.85%

Monthly interest currently :$24

Current Scores (CCT, TU direct from TU)

Eq 744 / Exp 740 / TU 804

My plans currently? I'm likely going to hold for about a year unless the re-fi is considered the wiser move, and let things sit, garden a bit while some of the Inquiries fall off. My main interest would be a travel rewards sort of card. Since making that move back, I've been aggressive in attacking my debts, and will continue to do so. That's my #1 goal. I would like to travel the world, but would also like to limit that in the sense of mainly traveling through rewards if possible. I have friends across the globe I'd like to visit, so the room & board isn't as big a travel expense as the actual flights themselves.

Thus, in direct answer:

Goal #1) Paying down debts and becoming "clear" financially speaking.

Goal #2) Travel and enjoying life

Goal #3) Being in position to help those in need, in preparation of starting a non-profit to aid the homeless and those who have fallen on hard times, to be able to get back on their feet and in society.

 

 

I think a mortgage refinance sounds like it has potential.

 

At least the Carrington loan.

 

If you are going to pursue that it would be best to do so before applying for any more credit cards.

 

It seems like you have 2 Rewards cards plus the new CU card... They are both cash back cards, but the BofA card is tied up carrying your 11k balance.

 

Are you interested in further cash back rewards or miles & points rewards?

 

Your scores are good and your AAOA is not too bad either... for not having many revolving accounts it's good.

 

I think you would be best served by making a list of which of your goals is most important to you. I've only recently come to see my over all debt as a thing to be attacked aggressively as means of generating wealth in the future. I used to think of it as a separate pieces, some that could be "addressed" and others that were more "permanent". But I was wrong and now look at it as one animal, from the last mortgage dollar down the road to the purchase I'm thinking about making today. (to go backwards) I think, generally, that debt supersedes rewards in terms of financial "benefit".

 

That said, you can do both at once. But I do think it helps a great deal to prioritize the different goals. And it also helps to plan the last payment... even if the plan goes to hell down the road... there is power in the plan and it helps you to know what to do to keep it alive when life gets boring in a year and roadblocks make it difficult to get there.

[mec]

 

 

My plans currently? I'm likely going to hold for about a year unless the re-fi is considered the wiser move, and let things sit, garden a bit while some of the Inquiries fall off. My main interest would be a travel rewards sort of card. Since making that move back, I've been aggressive in attacking my debts, and will continue to do so. That's my #1 goal. I would like to travel the world, but would also like to limit that in the sense of mainly traveling through rewards if possible. I have friends across the globe I'd like to visit, so the room & board isn't as big a travel expense as the actual flights themselves.

Thus, in direct answer:

Goal #1) Paying down debts and becoming "clear" financially speaking.

Goal #2) Travel and enjoying life

Goal #3) Being in position to help those in need, in preparation of starting a non-profit to aid the homeless and those who have fallen on hard times, to be able to get back on their feet and in society.

 

 

 

You will want to get cards from Chase And Amex and start to gather enough points to fly with there transfer partners then.

 

I have to run for a few hours but I'll try to put some thoughts together on that subject later on.

 

Generally, there points are the basis of a good travel rewards portfolio because you can transfer to many different airline programs or redeem them through the companies travel site directly. But knowing specific destinations can help you identify which airlines would likely serve you best... and help you reverse engineer your trips in the future.