24 Looking to build Credit... What are some good tips on your first Credit Card

[jon4rd]

It would probably be easier to get CLI with discover huh?

Definitely. Discover CLIs are soft pulls. Chase you have to take a hard pull any time you request a CLI. I would give the discover it the nod because of the double cash back promotion. But like somebody else said, get both. Use the 5% category on freedom if its different than discover and use the discover for anything else

 

[pitman13]

You know you're doing well when you have almost 20 credit cards and the bank is calling you to ask if a $8300 credit line is okay with you for your new card.

@ 20 cards.

What's your total credit limit, if you don't mind me asking ?

 

[dam itz lou]

80-90k

I have to cancel a few soon though. The highest limit I have on one card is $8500.

 

[jjs]

what's the advantage of having 20 cards?

4-6 seems more than enough and is usually the sweet spot for your score.

I have 2 and i'm more than satisfied (1 that i use and the other one as backup, one is Mastercard the other one is Visa).

 

[pitman13]

Question for AMEX Card Holders:

I'm a little confused on how or when AMEX distributes their cash back.

I finally got my monthly statement but when I checked to see how much rewards I earned, I'm still on zero.

For example, I was supposed to get $100 if I spent $1000 in the first 3 months of owning the card.

Well, I spent $3K in the first week of owning the card, tuition, yet still no $100 statement credit.

Am I being impatient or should I give customer service a call ?

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[pitman13]

80-90k

I have to cancel a few soon though. The highest limit I have on one card is $8500.

$80K sounds about right.

I know you play the points/rewards game so opening and canceling is part of the program.

I can't knock the hustle.

 

[SplinterMatic319]

Question for AMEX Card Holders:

I'm a little confused on how or when AMEX distributes their cash back.

I finally got my monthly statement but when I checked to see how much rewards I earned, I'm still on zero.

For example, I was supposed to get $100 if I spent $1000 in the first 3 months of owning the card.

Well, I spent $3K in the first week of owning the card, tuition, yet still no $100 statement credit.

Am I being impatient or should I give customer service a call ?

Any help will be appreciated.

if it works anything like their point system, it doesn't show up until the next statement ( always one statement delay)

on the other hand i have dealt with their statement credits and it showed up from 5 days and some took 2-3 weeks

 

[dam itz lou]

what's the advantage of having 20 cards?

4-6 seems more than enough and is usually the sweet spot for your score.

I have 2 and i'm more than satisfied (1 that i use and the other one as backup, one is Mastercard the other one is Visa).

4-6 cards seems about right. I take advantage of a lot of sign up bonuses. A lot of cards waive the fee the first year so high sign up bonus + annual fee waived = NO BRAINER. Things are always changing in the hotel,airline, and credit card industry. Alaska Airlines are taking over Virgin America. Marriott took over SPG. Banks sometimes take away certain perks or change bonus categories.

Recent apps

Amex Gold business - 75K for $5K spend and the annual fee of $175 was waived.
Amex SPG business - 35K for $5k spend and the annual fee of $95 was waived
British Airways - 50K for $2k spend. The potential to earn another 50K if you spend 20K total in the first year. I paid the annual fee of $95.
Marriott - almost 90K for $3k spend. I paid the annual fee of $95.
Citi Hilton - 75K for $2K spend. No annual fee.

I'm definitely cancelling both my SPG cards before the annual fee is due. Same goes for my Virgin america,British airways,American Airlines,AT&T access and some others.

I won't ever cancel my Citi Prestige,Chase Sapphire preferred or Amex platinum unless they made some bad changes.

 

[pitman13]

if it works anything like their point system, it doesn't show up until the next statement ( always one statement delay)

on the other hand i have dealt with their statement credits and it showed up from 5 days and some took 2-3 weeks

Thanks for the help.

Since there's no concrete info I'll be calling them in the AM.

I'll post w/e info they give me. I'm hoping it's not a one statement delay though.

 

[Brownstone]

what's the advantage of having 20 cards?

4-6 seems more than enough and is usually the sweet spot for your score.

I have 2 and i'm more than satisfied (1 that i use and the other one as backup, one is Mastercard the other one is Visa).

I don't know aboout 20, but I could see a use for 6-8. I currently have 4 after recently closing my Barclay's card, but I plan on getting Discover as soon as my no interest with chase is up.

 

[simba king]

Just wondering, is it bad to make like 2 payments during the statement period. Reason being I'm just paying off monthly bills like cable, light with my capital one, and paying it with my bank account since I have the money. I'm doing so that they don't report a high balance to the bureaus.

 

[northoaklandfc]

Just wondering, is it bad to make like 2 payments during the statement period. Reason being I'm just paying off monthly bills like cable, light with my capital one, and paying it with my bank account since I have the money. I'm doing so that they don't report a high balance to the bureaus.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but nah nothing negative will come from multiple payments in a statement period.

I do the same thing with the two cards I use to pay bills and eat out. I make a payment almost weekly to keep the utilization around 5%.

 

[moeblack21]

5 new accounts within the past year
How many new accounts did you have?

I got denied at first last year when I still had a collection showing on my credit report. They listed that as the reason for my denial. But a year later and removing the collection I was approved instantly at like a 690 or so score

 

[capital sb]

Nothing negative, you can pay as many times as you want.

 

[DB Cooper]

You know you're doing well when you have almost 20 credit cards and the bank is calling you to ask if a $8300 credit line is okay with you for your new card.

Isn't too many revolving accounts bad on your credit?

 

[dam itz lou]

Isn't too many revolving accounts bad on your credit?

It hurts your average age of accounts, but that only accounts for 15% of your score. My scores range from 755-786. My lowest is Experian. They usually take the ding for an inquiry.

 

[dam itz lou]

Citi Prestige & Premier keeps getting better.

http://thepointsguy.com/2016/04/citi-changes-travel-protection-benefits/

 

[polosanddunks]

I heard Discover trips out when you make too many payments in a small time span in the same week or month.

 

[capital sb]

I heard Discover trips out when you make too many payments in a small time span in the same week or month.

They don't trip out, they will just make you wait a few days until you can make another payment.

One day I made 3 payments and they made me wait a few days until I could do another.

Its really not a big deal.

 

[n3rd]

Edited.

 

[polosanddunks]

They don't trip out, they will just make you wait a few days until you can make another payment.

One day I made 3 payments and they made me wait a few days until I could do another.

Its really not a big deal.

thanks for clarifying that. I was scared to make multiple payments.

 

[bluntobject50]

So I have a decent amount of money on the way due to a tax refund and I am looking to pay down some old bad debt. All 3 agencies are showing that I have two entries for past due/bad debt. One is From Capital One and the other from Portfolio Recovery Assets.

Does anyone have any history with this? Can I simple call Cap One and PRA to negotiate a settlement amount and have it removed from my credit score?

I have received this info via a Wells Fargo identity theft program(the picture below) I'm enrolled in, so I don't know if there is more info available than this. Is there a way for me to find out when the debt was initially originated, when it's due to be charged off and who is actually the owner of the debt.

I'd really appreciate any info or insights anyone has. PMs are welcome if you'd prefer to keep it private.
Thanks!
View media item 1999556

Call them up directly and have them prove the debt is valid.

 

[pitman13]

SplinterMatic319 , you were right. The AMEX has a one month delay when rewarding cash back.

The $100 offer gets rewarded within 5-10 business days after you first statement.

So I should be receiving that credit in a few days.

Thanks again.

 

[sthebest]

Can anyone recommend me a new card to open? My FICO is a 648 and I have

-Capital One Secured
-Capital One Quicksilver
-Walmart
-Pacsun
-Fingerhurlt
-Old Navy

I've had all of the cards since December, except the secured card which I've had since September. I tried for the Discover It and got denied. I need to open my credit limit amounts, I have about $1800 between all of my cards

 

[dam itz lou]

Can anyone recommend me a new card to open? My FICO is a 648 and I have

-Capital One Secured
-Capital One Quicksilver
-Walmart
-Pacsun
-Fingerhurlt
-Old Navy

I've had all of the cards since December, except the secured card which I've had since September. I tried for the Discover It and got denied. I need to open my credit limit amounts, I have about $1800 between all of my cards

If Discover didn't approve you then I'd hold off on applying for another card.