Upcoming App Spree: Seeking input

[ccn3]

I'm looking for input on what cards to app for. My bk7 is off of my EQ and EX, and should be off TU any day now. I'm trying to accomplish several things with this app spree.

1. Maximize my rewards on my spending.

2. Establish/reestablish positive relationships with lenders that may be of benefit me in the future.

3. Broaden my base of cards so that, once these are aged, getting a new card here or there will have little to no impact on my AAoA. I am planning to nearly double my current number of credit cards(10). This will hurt my scores significantly in the short term, but should make my credit more solid over time. 

 

Cards I currently have:

Fidelity Rewards

Chase Freedom

Discover IT

USAA Rewards Amex

Wells Fargo Cash Back

NFCU Platinum

Barclay Rewards

Penfed Platinum Rewards

State Department Platinum Rewards

Quicksilver

 

My list of cards that I am considering, with purposes in parentheses:

Citi Double Cash (reestablish a relationship with Citi while giving me another 2% option)

US Bank Cash+ (5% categories)

Amex BCE (3% at supermarkets)

BOA Cash Rewards (3% category)

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa (5% at Amazon)

Capital One Savor One (3% on dining and entertainment) (I am already getting 3% on dining with my USAA Rewards Amex, so this one may not be worth my interest)

State Department Cashback Rewards Plus (another 2% card with no redemption hoops, plus cell phone protection, extended warranty, CDW, trip cancellation)

USAA Cashback Rewards Plus Amex (5% cashback on gas)

Chase Freedom Unlimited (Considering this one only for the $150 bonus and to get another Chase card before I go over the 5/24. I really don't see any use for it otherwise. The Freedom Card which I already have is their only card that seems particularly useful to me) 

ETA: Looking at the Chase Ink Business Cash (5% categories +$500 bonus) I'm just wondering what potential issues there are with using a business card for personal expenses?

 

I would appreciate any suggestions of other cards that may be useful, or input on the usefulness of cards I am already considering.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2019 by ccn3

[hegemony]

do you travel?

[hdporter]

Many here find "app sprees" appealing; particularly with newly established "prime" credit.  I'm not among those.

 

There are pluses and minuses.  I'm inclined to focus on apping for cards of immediate use and giving them a good workout before moving on.  I find this the best means of establishing a firm relationship (even if the card goes dormant for an extended time later).

 

Citi Double Cash (2% cb on all purchases) has a definite place in anyone's portfolio.  However, for a strong Cashback card for an initial 12-mo, I suggest also apping Discover Miles.

 

The Discover Miles is classified as a Travel Rewards card, which is a tad misleading:  typically, a "travel rewards" card gives an enhanced point/cashback bonus on travel-related charges.  Miles, instead, gives 1.5% back on all purchases.  However, redemption is restricted to settling travel charges (such as air, car rental, hotel, rail, taxi, etc.) 

 

The first year attraction to this card is that the reward rate is doubled, yielding 3% cb.  If you charge $6k, you'll generate $180 in credits the first year.  ($12k - $360, etc.).  Most people travel sufficiently, even if it's an occasional car rental or hotel, to generate charges to absorb the earned "cb".

 

As Heg's post alludes, a good card specifically for travel related charges, with enhanced cb on such charges, is attractive.  Also, a card with a good cash reward for groceries and gas is ideal.

 

Specific recommendations for these last two cases varies by the extent of your spending.  Some cards provide very strong rewards, but entail an annual fee that cancels out some of the benefit -- not attractive to modest spenders.  Others, with weaker but decent rewards, have no fee.  Ballpark your expected annual spend in these categories and people with suggest cards.

 

If you shop Amazon, 5% reward cards from Chase and Synchrony are valuable.  For someone rebuilding, such as yourself, I would favor the Synchrony Amazon Store card over Chase Amazon VISA, just to disperse your "basket" a little (Chase has a lot of attractive cards).

 

As has been discussed, Chase limits new accounts to applicants who don't run afoul of their "5/24" rule (no more than 5 new credit cards in the last 24 months).   Therefore, it's not a bad idea to push any Chase apps to the front of the line.  A notable exception to the "5/24" count are store and other "charge" cards.  Therefore, any store card that can't be used outside of the retailer (i.e., not a VISA/MC/etc.) isn't included in that count -- a modest point in favor of apping the Synchrony Amazon vs the Chase VISA)

 

I've replied in scattershot fashion here.  Trust you'll glean what serves you.   I'll stress that while there are a lot of attractive options (especially once you factor in "signup bonuses" - SUB's), I recommend giving priority to those cards you expect to give a good workout immediately upon opening  (there's always tomorrow/next year for the rest)!

 

 

[ccn3]

41 minutes ago, hegemony said:

do you travel?

I do not anticipate travelling much in the next couple years, that's why I'm not considering any travel reward cards.

[ccn3]

27 minutes ago, hdporter said:

Many here find "app sprees" appealing; particularly with newly established "prime" credit.  I'm not among those.

 

There are pluses and minuses.  I'm inclined to focus on apping for cards of immediate use and giving them a good workout before moving on.  I find this the best means of establishing a firm relationship (even if the card goes dormant for an extended time later).

 

Citi Double Cash (2% cb on all purchases) has a definite place in anyone's portfolio.  However, for a strong Cashback card for an initial 12-mo, I suggest also apping Discover Miles.

 

The Discover Miles is classified as a Travel Rewards card, which is a tad misleading:  typically, a "travel rewards" card gives an enhanced point/cashback bonus on travel-related charges.  Miles, instead, gives 1.5% back on all purchases.  However, redemption is restricted to settling travel charges (such as air, car rental, hotel, rail, taxi, etc.) 

 

The first year attraction to this card is that the reward rate is doubled, yielding 3% cb.  If you charge $6k, you'll generate $180 in credits the first year.  ($12k - $360, etc.).  Most people travel sufficiently, even if it's an occasional car rental or hotel, to generate charges to absorb the earned "cb".

 

As Heg's post alludes, a good card specifically for travel related charges, with enhanced cb on such charges, is attractive.  Also, a card with a good cash reward for groceries and gas is ideal.

 

Specific recommendations for these last two cases varies by the extent of your spending.  Some cards provide very strong rewards, but entail an annual fee that cancels out some of the benefit -- not attractive to modest spenders.  Others, with weaker but decent rewards, have no fee.  Ballpark your expected annual spend in these categories and people with suggest cards.

 

If you shop Amazon, 5% reward cards from Chase and Synchrony are valuable.  For someone rebuilding, such as yourself, I would favor the Synchrony Amazon Store card over Chase Amazon VISA, just to disperse your "basket" a little (Chase has a lot of attractive cards).

 

As has been discussed, Chase limits new accounts to applicants who don't run afoul of their "5/24" rule (no more than 5 new credit cards in the last 24 months).   Therefore, it's not a bad idea to push any Chase apps to the front of the line.  A notable exception to the "5/24" count are store and other "charge" cards.  Therefore, any store card that can't be used outside of the retailer (i.e., not a VISA/MC/etc.) isn't included in that count -- a modest point in favor of apping the Synchrony Amazon vs the Chase VISA)

 

I've replied in scattershot fashion here.  Trust you'll glean what serves you.   I'll stress that while there are a lot of attractive options (especially once you factor in "signup bonuses" - SUB's), I recommend giving priority to those cards you expect to give a good workout immediately upon opening  (there's always tomorrow/next year for the rest)!

 

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. I wasn't aware of the way Discover Miles works. After the first year I don't see the advantage though over a flat 2% cash back card? I don't really want to get a card that's going to be useless to me after the first year.

 

I shouldn't be spending more than $2,000 maximum on travel per year for the next couple years, as I don't travel for business, and I'm still rebuilding my portfolio. Are there any travel cards that would be worth having for that level of spending? Certainly anything with an annual fee would cancel out the benefits.

 

Pretty much all the cards I'm looking at I have an immediate use for with maximizing my rewards, even if it's only a small amount. I don't really want any cards I'm not going to use, which is why I probably won't app the Chase Freedom Unlimited even with the $150 bonus.

[hegemony]

how many 2% cards do you need? the alliant 3% come 2.5% card can be better for some

[ccn3]

1 hour ago, hegemony said:

how many 2% cards do you need? the alliant 3% come 2.5% card can be better for some

One, but you never know when one of them is going to force a PC on you. The Alliant card is over $12k in spending to break even with a 2% card, so I don't think it's going to be advantageous for me.

[cv91915]

6 hours ago, ccn3 said:

One, but you never know when one of them is going to force a PC on you. 

 

No need for a redundant 2% card.  Plus, who's to say that your second 2% card won't be devalued first?  

 

It's impossible to guess which card is going to get devalued or discontinued at what time, so don't base today's decision on guesses about what might happen along an indefinite timeline.

 

To paraphrase something I posted elsewhere yesterday:  if you cannot name at least two things your new card does better than that all of the others you already had, you shouldn't have opened it.

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by cv91915

[ccn3]

2 hours ago, cv91915 said:

 

No need for a redundant 2% card.  Plus, who's to say that your second 2% card won't be devalued first?  

 

It's impossible to guess which card is going to get devalued or discontinued at what time, so don't base today's decision on guesses about what might happen along an indefinite timeline.

 

To paraphrase something I posted elsewhere yesterday:  if you cannot name at least two things your new card does better than that all of the others you already had, you shouldn't have opened it.

 

In that case would you say it's not worth getting the Citi double cash just to rebuild a relationship with Citi?

[cv91915]

42 minutes ago, ccn3 said:

In that case would you say it's not worth getting the Citi double cash just to rebuild a relationship with Citi?

I would choose a different useful Citi card.

 

This one just came out:

 

https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/citi.action?ID=citi-rewards-plus-credit-card&category=view-all-credit-cards&afc=1C2&intc=7~7~67~1~MCT~1~citi-rewards-plus-credit-card

 

Could fill a small niche for you (you'll get back > 2% on certain transactions), plus there is currently a $150 SUB. 

Edited February 4, 2019 by cv91915

[ccn3]

7 hours ago, cv91915 said:

I would choose a different useful Citi card.

 

This one just came out:

 

https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/citi.action?ID=citi-rewards-plus-credit-card&category=view-all-credit-cards&afc=1C2&intc=7~7~67~1~MCT~1~citi-rewards-plus-credit-card

 

Could fill a small niche for you (you'll get back > 2% on certain transactions), plus there is currently a $150 SUB. 

Thanks for the suggestion. It would only really be useful for purchases under $10 to get the roundup points, but for the few small purchases I make I don't know if it's worth it. Maybe I'll just go with the Ink Business Cash. I could certainly benefit from 5% back on internet and office supplies.

Edited February 4, 2019 by ccn3

[cv91915]

1 hour ago, ccn3 said:

Thanks for the suggestion. It would only really be useful for purchases under $10 to get the roundup points, but for the few small purchases I make I don't know if it's worth it. Maybe I'll just go with the Ink Business Cash. I could certainly benefit from 5% back on internet and office supplies.

The roundup points are an all purchases.  So $11 at the grocery store (2x) gets you 30 points, $31 at the gas station (2x) gets you 70 points, etc.

 

 

[Occam]

On 2/3/2019 at 10:45 AM, ccn3 said:

I'm looking for input on what cards to app for. My bk7 is off of my EQ and EX, and should be off TU any day now. I'm trying to accomplish several things with this app spree.

1. Maximize my rewards on my spending.

2. Establish/reestablish positive relationships with lenders that may be of benefit me in the future.

 

3. Broaden my base of cards so that, once these are aged, getting a new card here or there will have little to no impact on my AAoA. I am planning to nearly double my current number of credit cards(10). This will hurt my scores significantly in the short term, but should make my credit more solid over time.<= Good idea. This will hurt your short term scores less than you think. BUT doubling overnight risks AA (likely to trigger bust-out flags). Better to divide this into 2-3 mini sprees, ~7 months apart.

 

Cards I currently have:

Fidelity Rewards

Chase Freedom

Discover IT

USAA Rewards Amex

Wells Fargo Cash Back

NFCU Platinum

Barclay Rewards

Penfed Platinum Rewards

State Department Platinum Rewards

Quicksilver

 

My list of cards that I am considering, with purposes in parentheses:

Citi Double Cash<= small SUB but excellent return on MSR. Long term keeper.

US Bank Cash+ (5% categories)

Amex BCE (3% at supermarkets)

BOA Cash Rewards (3% category)<= actually worth at least 3.3%. Collect as many as possible to cover multiple categories. Velocity limited so start the clock ASAP.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa (5% at Amazon)<= get the store card, save a Chase slot.

Capital One Savor One<= downgrade from Savor (no reason to leave $250+ on the table).

State Department Cashback Rewards Plus 

USAA Cashback Rewards Plus Amex (5% cashback on gas)

Chase Freedom Unlimited<= downgrade from a better SUB card. 

ETA: Looking at the Chase Ink Business Cash (5% categories +$500 bonus) I'm just wondering what potential issues there are with using a business card for personal expenses?

 

I would appreciate any suggestions of other cards that may be useful, or input on the usefulness of cards I am already considering.

 

 

 

 

 

[ccn3]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have finalized my list, and will app later this week after a couple of payments post. Here is what I decided on, and the order in which I plan to apply.

 

Chase Ink Business Cash
Citi Double Cash
Amex BCE
US Bank Cash+
USAA Cahsback Rewards Plus Amex
BOA Cash Rewards
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa(Tough to choose between this and the store card. I chose this one for the extended warranty and purchase protection)

 

I already expect to be denied by Amex and US Bank so that will give me four new cards reporting plus a business card. Hopefully that won't spook anyone too much.
 

[ccn3]

As expected I appear to be blacklisted from Amex. Instant denial, no hard pull.

[Kat58]

28 minutes ago, ccn3 said:

As expected I appear to be blacklisted from Amex. Instant denial, no hard pull.

 

On 2/5/2019 at 9:29 AM, ccn3 said:

Thanks for the input everyone. I have finalized my list, and will app later this week after a couple of payments post. Here is what I decided on, and the order in which I plan to apply.

 

Chase Ink Business Cash
Citi Double Cash
Amex BCE
US Bank Cash+
USAA Cahsback Rewards Plus Amex
BOA Cash Rewards
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa(Tough to choose between this and the store card. I chose this one for the extended warranty and purchase protection)

 

I already expect to be denied by Amex and US Bank so that will give me four new cards reporting plus a business card. Hopefully that won't spook anyone too much.
 

?

 

[ccn3]

24 minutes ago, Kat58 said:

 

?

 

Approved for Citi and USAA, waiting to hear on the others. I held off on the Amazon card.

[ccn3]

• US Bank denied for amount of revolving balances. I called recon, and explained that my balances are at zero interest, and will be paid in full when that ends. They said they would reconsider, and to call back on the 13th for an answer. I checked the automated system today, and it says not approved. I don't know if that's the recon or the original application.
• BoA denied me due to a previous delinquent account(IIB), and credit utilization (32%)
• I'm still getting the two week message from Chase. Pulled the trigger on the Chase Amazon card, and getting the same message for both cards.

At least I'm back in with Citi, and I have a 5% gas card now. I can't imagine I'll be denied by Chase as I have a good relationship with them with multiple accounts. 

 

My FICO was 719 when USAA pulled it.

Edited February 12, 2019 by ccn3

[ccn3]

The status changed to approved on the Chase Amazon, but the Chase Ink is still giving the two week message.

 

US Bank apparently denied my recon. I'll try again a year after my utilzation is down.

 

Edit: Maybe Chase has my applications backwards, because I haven't received my gift card funds on Amazon yet. I think that's supposed to be immediate once you're approved for the Amazon card.

Edited February 17, 2019 by ccn3

[ccn3]

I noticed Chase doubled the limit on my Freedom while they were at it. Still a toy limit, but I guess they liked what they saw while going over my app. 

[ccn3]

It's definitely the Ink Cash that's approved, because the automated line is now telling me my APR is 0% for one year. Interesting data point, my credit limit is exactly 10% of my annual revenue, which is not a nice round number like 0 or 5, so probably not a coincidence. 

[hegemony]

I'm digging the real time updates good luck!

[Zanshiro]

On 2/4/2019 at 4:44 PM, cv91915 said:

The roundup points are an all purchases.  So $11 at the grocery store (2x) gets you 30 points, $31 at the gas station (2x) gets you 70 points, etc.

 

 

So...lots of $0.05 Transactions to tips and paypal?

[ccn3]

My last card app came back today. Crazy Chase. They approve my Ink app after a week, and a couple days later I get the 7-10 day message on the Amazon card. So I call them up, and they ask me some verification questions then tell me my app is denied because of too many inquiries. Wth? The Amazon card was the last card I applied for, but the Ink was the first one I applied for and they used the same hp so there was only 1 inquiry unless they did a sp too. So I asked for recon, and after 15 minutes of her going over my report and answering questions about my report, my employment, and my business income she put me on hold for a couple minutes and came back to tell me they can't approve me because of the amount of my outstanding credit balances. So like a boss I hang up and submit a new application immediately because they aren't going to tell me no. A week later I get an email saying I'm approved. I was literally shocked that they would approve the Ink and then deny me for the card that they'll approve anyone for.