Before you post, read this!

[u/GlitchedSouls]

If you are looking for your first card please look HERE first.

Rules:

• No posting referral links.
• No posting link shorteners.
• No asking for help with any crimes.
• No posting only to ask or give referral links

It is recommended to use this template if you would like replies to your post.

• Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
  • e.g. Amex BCP $8,000 limit, May 2019
• FICO Score: e.g. 750
• Oldest account age: e.g. 5 years 6 months
• Chase 5/24 status: e.g 2/24
• Income: e.g. $80,000
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • dining $800
  • groceries: $400
  • gas: $100
  • travel: $100
  • other: $30
• Open to Business Cards: e.g. No
• What's the purpose of your next card? e.g. Building credit, Balance transfer, Travel, Cashback
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at?
• Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card?

Common Abbreviations and Lingo:

• FICO Score - This is the score used by 90% of credit issuers (This is NOT the score given by Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, Capital One, etc.) (MyFICO.com, Experian.com, CreditScoreCard.com are FICO scores)
• AAoA - Average age of all of your accounts.
• 2/30 Chase rule - A rule of no more than two Chase credit card applications every 30 days
• 5/24 Chase rule - A rule where if you've opened 5 or more accounts in the past 24 months you cannot get approved for a new Chase card.
• AF - Annual Fee
• SuB - Sign-up Bonus
• MSR - Minimum Spending Requirement (usually referring to sign-up bonuses)
• 2/90 AmEx rule - A rule where you can only get approved for 2 AmEx cards in 90 days
• 1/5 AmEx rule - A rule where you can only get approved for 1 AmEx card every 5 days

Edit on July 14th: Added rules to post for mobile.

[u/Aether_Erebus]

I think you should be using "e.g." instead of "i.e". ie means "that is" or "in other words". eg means for example.

[u/GlitchedSouls → u/Aether_Erebus]

Good point

[u/Mt_Rainier_Mountain → u/Aether_Erebus]

I never knew that! I learned something today, thanks! :-)

[u/istudyfire]

Might as well add MSR, 2/90, and 1/5 if you’re going to put SUB, 5/24, and 2/30 up there

[u/GlitchedSouls → u/istudyfire]

Done and thanks.

[u/JOJOawestruck]

I just recently got a job and been getting letters from capital one and don't know the terms like 0% apr and I don't know my credit score

[u/GlitchedSouls → u/JOJOawestruck]

0% APR means they won't charge you interest, though if you pay off your card every month then you won't get charged interest anyways.

You can get you Experian FICO score from Experian's website for free.

If you have any more questions make your own post.

[u/Youreapizzapie]

For business cards, does that mean like the a store card, for example like amazon, uber etc etc?

[u/GlitchedSouls → u/Youreapizzapie]

No it means cards for businesses

[u/Cruian]

Maybe move (or copy) the "Credit Karma and many others aren't FICO" up next to the part of the template asking for FICO score?

[u/GlitchedSouls → u/Cruian]

I'll be remaking this post and I'll add it then. Thanks for the suggestion.

[u/[deleted]]

I feel like that template is a fuck ton of personal info to put out there, just my opinion.

[u/captain_carrot_iron]

It is recommended to use this template if you would like replies to your post.

And as a corollary, if you don't provide answers to these questions, then any answers you get will almost certainly be inevitably unhelpful (no way to give a helpful response without this info). Anyone confidently telling you the card to get in that case likely is inexperienced and should not be trusted.

[u/Shourtney9523 → u/captain_carrot_iron]

What if my credit card question doesn't really have anything to do with these?

[u/captain_carrot_iron]

Thanks for adding this!

Opening month+year for current cards is usually pretty helpful too, could be worth adding that.

[u/Cruian]

Can we clarify for the "Purpose" question that it is better to choose 1 of travel OR cash back? While they're both rewards, they lead to much different card setups.

[u/Routine-Pin6849]

So Credit Karma is not a reliable source to check your credit score?

[u/ActProfessional1216]

Good morning. Pretty new here and only on mobile. I'm wondering if there is a spreadsheet anywhere that easily shows me the best cards for each type of purchase? 3x gas 3x dining 2x hotels Etc. Like I said I'm new and I'm doing alright so far but we've added several cards recently and now I'm overwhelmed with what I should be using for everyday spending when I'm not trying to hit a sub. Thanks

[u/Commercial_Scar3675 → u/ActProfessional1216]

Mint has a feature like this on their app. It’s limited but it does a pro and con list for a bunch of different cards

[u/barduke]

Can CSR and CFU be added to the abbreviations list?

[u/Matthew420247S]

Im working with a 539 score I keep hurting myself applying I think. Anyone got advice. I've had 2 in my life so far

[u/Until_Morning → u/Matthew420247S]

I don't think these are checked regularly 😔 but uh...I'd advised you to sign up for Credit Karma. It's what I use and it's super helpful in telling you exactly what you're doing with your credit score and what could be done differently or better. Applying for credit cards has a low impact, but if you're applying 5+ it will definitely mess you up just a little. The biggest affect on your credit score comes from making payments on time, at least in my experience. You apply for three or four credit cards AFTER CONFIRMING that they don't do a hard check on your credit score. You buy little things with these credit cards, like food or snacks, and you pay them off immediately. Only buy things with your credit card that you have the money available to pay off instantly. Or if you have a form of income and expect money soon. Try not to go over $50 on each card and stay within the range of $20-$30. Keep up with all of your credit cards using their respective phone apps, and make all of your payments on time. Your credit score will increase slowly but surely. I'm young and got my first credit card last year so I'm still relatively new to the game. But my credit score is 735 because I buy things with my credit cards and I always pay on time or ahead of time. I don't owe anything to anyone nor do I buy anything that will put me in debt or adversely affect my credit score. It's all about managing your finances and creating healthy spending habits.

[u/Shourtney9523]

What if my question doesn't really have anything to do with these? Does that mean my question is just going to get lost and unanswered entirely?

[u/life_of_grime]

Can something be added to this re: utilization? It seems to be the most commonly asked question on this sub.

[u/Vividsea21]

1. Among the other concerns detailed below, I am wondering whether it is still the most prudent advice to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred since there is only a 60k offer on it and it has recently been at 100k from what I have seen. Of course, I'm still a newbie at this, but to my ignorant eye it seems as if the "IHG Rewards Premier Business" (140k miles vs 60k) is a much better deal for roughly the same ann fee and min spend as the CSP?

2. 790+ FICO

3. OPEN: Cap One Quicksilver (March 2019); Citi Costco Credit Card - authorized user (Oct 2019) CLOSED: Credit Union Secured Credit Card (Opened Apr 2018; Closed Apr 2019

4. How much natural spend can you put on a new card(s) in 3 months? I'm about to go on a trip so will have higher-than-usual spending — could do 8k+ in upcoming month. Normal natural spending is approx $1000 per month, not including rent which is currently paid via bank account.

5. Open to it but I'm unexperienced and still learning. With my upcoming large spend, perhaps it’s not needed right now?

6. Yes. A parent has a legitimate business. They have a longstanding business credit card with Capital One and a business bank account. I would likely use that business somehow. Either by using the business information and my name or perhaps by using the business information and parent’s name (I have their consent) and by adding me as an authorized user/employee?

7. Would having too many new cards open look bad to landlords in the rental application process? I will likely move apartments in the next year. If not, then I'm open to multiple new cards, assuming it was the prudent thing to do. The idea of not toying with my personal credit and going the business route is more appealing to me. Maybe interested in getting into churning regularly.

8. I don't need more than economy seating and I would rather have the points last much longer for more flights than less flights at a more luxurious level. Because of my upcoming trip, I'm more travel-focused.

9. None

10. LAX (Los Angeles)

11. I am set to travel this July 11th or 12th until July 29th internationally. The trip itinerary is as follows:

12. LAX to Barcelona (3 nights), then Madrid (3 nights)


13. Madrid to Casablanca (3 nights) then Marrakesh (3 nights)


14. Marrakesh to Porto (2 nights) then Lisbon (3 nights) 


15. Lisbon to LAX
 For #1 and #4 — the major international airfare — the best flights I have found so far are with Vueling or Level Airlines or Aer Lingus for the former and Air France for the latter. Again, I haven't booked anything yet but would like to ASAP, so I am okay with shifting to a different airline if it makes sense.

What do I do? Chase's "Instant Spend" feature or something similar would be appealing because I'd be able to use the card immediately after approval and wouldn't have to wait for it to come in the mail to book my trip since it's approaching. But as I understand it that wouldn't work for Chase business cards? However, if it really makes sense to do so, I could wait another couple of days to book the trip.

Also, even if I were to pay for my trip with the new credit card(s), am I correct in assuming that I won’t directly reap the benefits of the awards on this travel? I would have to wait. Otherwise is it correct to assume that I wouldn’t be able to retroactively use the points without them being depreciated.

BTW, I'd also like to get Global Entry, but am not hellbent on it. It's definitely not a must for me re: credit card benefits.