I love credit cards so much!

[wendow]

Just hoping you all can confirm for me...the 6% back on groceries with the Amex blue preferred resets on the billing cycle that includes January 1, right? So everyone's accounts are reset by now?

I just checked mine and it has reset. I think it's Jan 1-Dec 31.

My Jan statement closes Jan 17.

 

[platamama]

Just hoping you all can confirm for me...the 6% back on groceries with the Amex blue preferred resets on the billing cycle that includes January 1, right? So everyone's accounts are reset by now?

I think it reset as of your December closing date, including Dec. 1. So yes, everyone’s accounts are reset by now.

Ex: my 2018 grocery spend tally reset on Dec. 3.

 

[havaneselover]

I think it reset as of your December closing date, including Dec. 1. So yes, everyone’s accounts are reset by now.

Ex: my 2018 grocery spend tally reset on Dec. 3.

Time to put away my Blue Cash Everyday card!

 

[WVMomof3]

Thanks everyone for your input! I'm going to try to answer all your questions so you can advise me which card to apply for.

I pulled my credit report. I have 11 open accounts, have an 801 credit score, and utilizing 1% of my available credit (I don't know if any of this is important, but just in case).

I have the following open accounts:

Comenity/Express opened 12/17 (maybe I should close this? I just opened it to get a discount on DD's Christmas clothes)
Comenity JJill opened 9/16 (I use this for a 5% discount on my clothes but maybe I should close it)
Comenity/Pottery Barn opened 7/14 (opened for the discount and never used since)
Sync/Lowe's opened 11/12 (opened for discount and never use)
AmEx opened 8/14 (this is my Blue Preferred, with a $95 AF but 6% back on groceries)
Chase opened 6/16 (my Sapphire Preferred, got it for travel points and it's the main card I use)
Barclay's opened 11/17 (this is the Aviator AAdvantage that my husband suggested I apply for and I haven't figured out why yet, haha)
CitiCard CBNA opened 8/16 (I'm an authorized user on this one; I didn't sign up for it myself; I think it's DH's old AAdvantage card before he got the above card)
Chase opened 1/10 (DH's Marriott Rewards card, I'm just an authorized user)
Chase opened 10/15 (I don't know what this is, but it looks like somehow we have two Marriott Rewards accounts? I have two cards that look exactly alike
but have different account numbers and expiration dates (both are current). I asked DH about it and he seemed perplexed and
said that maybe one was a replacement card. This bears further investigation but I don't have time right now.

I guess the 11th open account must be my mortgage.

I also have several closed accounts:

Barclay's closed 1/10 (don't remember what this was)
AmEx closed 4/8
Credit First . closed 6/15 . (I think this was a Firestone card that I got to get a discount on my new tires)
Discover closed 1/17 (This actually is listed as Discover Financial Services and I don't know what it is)
SyncB/TJX . closed 1/17 (TJ Maxx/Home Goods, I think?)
SyncB/TJX . closed 7/13 (same; don't know why there are two)
Home Depot closed 11/17
Chase . closed 11/16 (I think this must be my old SouthWest card that I cancelled after I got the Sapphire Preferred)


Huh. Now that I have it all spelled out in front of me it doesn't look so good. I thought I only had the one Chase card and the one AmEx card in my name, but with DH adding me as an authorized user to his cards and the Chase account I closed in 11/16, it looks like I have 3 open Chase accounts and one that was closed less than 24 months ago.

Well, it is what it is. I can only do better moving forward. Like the old Chinese proverb says, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time is right now"!

I'll go ahead and answer the rest of the questions you lovely people have asked and then hopefully you'll have the information you need to help me decide which card to get (or if I should even get a new card).

While cash back is great, I just can't get as excited about it as I do about travel points. Cash back just goes toward paying the bill and as such just gets absorbed back into our finances; it's more like a coupon on goods and services. Travel points add up to fun! It's not like we can use them to pay the water bill (and if there is a way to do this--which you guys surely would have figured out--I don't want to know about it!).

We are a family of four with two children who are almost 14 and almost 10. Husband travels weekly and flies probably about half the time. This is only between Tampa and Miami so not a huge amount of mileage, although it adds up. We both travel for conferences only a handful of times a year. Next one I know of is a conference I have in May in San Francisco. For most of our shorter trips we drive, but we usually take about one family trip a year that involves flying. Past family trips have been Greece, California, Colorado (twice), Cancun (twice), and Hawaii. DH and I occasionally travel without the kids, sometimes domestically, sometimes internationally. We also took one family cruise and will probably do one more before the kids leave the nest, although it's not really my favorite sort of vacation.

My favorite type of travel is anything foreign, and I especially love Europe. DH and I have been to Central and South America, and we would love to see Japan and China sometime soon, as well as some other Eastern countries. We'd also like to travel to some African countries. But my true love is Europe so if I have to state a purpose for accumulating travel rewards this would be my objective.

DD wants to go to college in Germany. Whether that will happen remains to be seen; she is only in middle school. But she seems fairly sure that this is what she wants and she is learning German. She and I took a trip to Europe together last year for spring break, but we weren't able to make it to Germany, so that is probably next on my list of travel plans. DH and I thought about trying to go as a family for this year's spring break but we waited too long and at this point it's probably too late to get a good price on airfare.

Also, I mentioned before that I am in grad school and will be done in a year to 18 months. Before I get a job, we are thinking about traveling for 9 months to a year. We have ZERO plans for this as yet, but I know DH would love to sail for a few weeks or so and I just want to keep moving and see as much as we can cover.

So we are really open to travel anywhere.

Regarding expenses, that is something I've been meaning to figure out. As a full time student and primary caretaker for the kids and the house, I don't really have a lot of expenses. DH has the bills set up to be paid from our joint checking account, and this is the lion's share of our expenses. I buy groceries, gas, clothes for the kids and me (not much), and various other miscellaneous stuff. I might take the kids out for pizza while DH is gone, or take them to Disney for the occasional weekend, and I pay for those things. But mostly I personally don't spend a lot, which is a good thing because my piddling graduate assistant salary wouldn't go too far. So I wanted to figure out how you guys pay for as many things as possible in a way that earns you points. I guess you can't pay your mortgage with a credit card, but what can I do to get the most back for every dollar we spend? I could take more control of the total household expenses (DH would love this!) if I knew a better way to do it than just having it come out of our checking account every month. This is something I want to work on in the future--have every penny we spend give us something back (or as close to this as possible!).

But to answer SouthFayette's question regarding the spending I have coming up, I need to spend $2000 for our Disney APs by the end of January (in case of a February price increase). I'm also planning several overnight trips to Disney and one slightly longer one by the end of May, so I could pick up at least another $1000 in Disney gift cards to use for expenses. This could all be purchased immediately, so let's say $3000 this month. I could do $5000 in three months if there is an especially good card that requires that, I'd just have to put some thought into it. DH charges all his flights to his Barclay's AAdvantage card, and all his hotel expenses to his Marriott rewards card, so that he gets the respective rewards from them, and then his company reimburses him. In order to apply for cards in the future and meet the minimum initial expense, I thought he could just put some of these expenses on the new cards because these add up into the 1000s in a hurry. He would lose out on the Marriott points and the frequent flyer miles but if it works out to be worth it he'll be ok with that. But again, that is in the future (like next month, haha).

Obviously, I have a LOT to learn! Right now I'm just about to take some really important comprehensive exams in school and am really busy and really stressed. It sounds so ungrateful to ask for help from you all and then say I don't have time to follow up on your advice, so I hate saying that I can't look into all of this right now! As soon as January is over and my exams are done (and I get through my two kids' birthday parties both in the same weekend!) I will be devoting the time to thoroughly reading all the resource you guys have suggested and making my best effort at learning the language you speak on this board! But for right now I just want to figure out the best way to pay for our APs since I have to buy them now. I'd hate to buy them with one of my existing cards and then sit down and figure out this "churning" thing in February and realize I should have used that $2000 toward a minimum spend on a new card.

Sorry this is SO long but I wanted to be thorough; thanks to anyone who is still reading at this point!

One more thing. Regarding referrals, is it ok to share that kind of information through this board, or is that against the rules? Meaning, if I were to apply for new cards could I use one of you as a referral so you would get the reward?

Thanks again!

Looks like you are at least at 5/24. Bummer. I think everyone on here will tell you store cards are not worth the small discount. Live and learn. Do you know what your husband is at? I think if he is less than 5/24 than I would recommend that he double dip the CSR and CSP. I am not the expert, so maybe someone else will have better idea. This means that he needs to apply for CSR and CSP on the same day, (Make sure you refer him for CSP!!). This would require spending $8000 in 3 months though, so might be tough. If you can not do that, then I think I would at least recommend getting the CSP with your referral. You will have 3 cards falling off in the late summer, so I would wait for you to get a Chase card at that time. I would downgrade your CSP soon (if your husband gets one) to either a Freedom or Freedom Unlimited. Then you could even apply for the CSR yourself starting in July.

Referrals are not allowed on the DIS, but you can join our reddit group and get referrals there. Pm @Albort or @SouthFayetteFan to join.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I still have some confusion over your 5/24 status. I know others have said it looks like you're over 5/24 but I'm not so sure...

These cards definitely count so you're AT LEAST 3/24 but 2 will fall off this year and the other is an AU card you might be able to get removed.
6/16 - Chase Sapphire Preferred
8/16 - Citibank AAdvantage
11/17 - Barclays Aviator AAdvantage

These should be store cards and shouldn't count:
12/17 - Comenity/Express
9/16 - Comenity JJill

On these closed accounts you list the "closed date" - we need to know the date you opened the account - that's what really matters
Discover closed 1/17
Home Depot closed 11/17 - also this may be considered a store card and wouldn't count...
Chase (Southwest?) closed 11/16

These are past 24 months and shouldn't matter in the calculation:
Comenity/Pottery Barn opened 7/14 (opened for the discount and never used since)
Sync/Lowe's opened 11/12 (opened for discount and never use)
AmEx opened 8/14 (this is my Blue Preferred, with a $95 AF but 6% back on groceries)
Chase opened 1/10 (DH's Marriott Rewards card, I'm just an authorized user) - this is 2010 correct?
Chase opened 10/15
Barclay's closed 1/10 (don't remember what this was)
AmEx closed 4/8 - this does mean 2008 correct?
Credit First . closed 6/15 . (I think this was a Firestone card that I got to get a discount on my new tires)
SyncB/TJX . closed 1/17 (TJ Maxx/Home Goods, I think?)
SyncB/TJX . closed 7/13 (same; don't know why there are two)


Once we narrow down your actual 5/24 status we can give some better recommendations. I'd say you're POTENTIALLY in a good starting spot. You may be able to take advantage of numerous Chase Cards interspersed with AMEX business cards to slow your roll so to speak...

Regarding your travel plans and expenses:

• I have no experience in Foreign Travel but there are many here that do
• You may want to look into cards that give you flexible points like an Arrival+ (Barclays) or American Express MRs which can be used on many things
• While it makes sense for your husband to put his travel expenses on those specific programs cards (AA and Marriott) the return is still probably in the 3-5% range (better than 1-2% but not knock your socks off better). IF you can use those expenses to hit large signup bonuses (i.e. AMEX Platinum, etc.) your return will be far greater (potentially in the 10-40% range).
• Figuring out your 5/24 status is important so we can make recommendations on what cards you might want to get. CSR could be an option after July 2018 if you cancelled your CSP.
• QUESTION: Does your husband plan to play the game 2 or are you going to be going at this alone? If he can apply for cards it can open up some additional options.
• Regarding referrals - there is no sharing of referrals on the DISboards. We have a private group on Reddit (DISchurners) where you can take advantage of referral offers and share your own should you choose to join. If you want to be a part of it just send me a PM with your Reddit name.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

update- I already got the 3k points in my RR acct, they post the month before AF is due apparently- so that plus the retention offer is good enough to keep the card for another year!

So the way the anniv. points work with Southwest is they get credited on the date of your cardmember anniversary and actually post on the next statement. The annual fee hits on the 1st of the month following your anniv date.

DEPENDING on your statement cycle the annual bonus points can actually post before the annual fee hits a statement - it all depends on the timing of those dates I just mentioned.

 

[WVMomof3]

Just booked 2 flights to Ft. Myers - $177.96 for me, $11.20 for husband with CP

Plan is to transfer 15,000 UR points to Hyatt for a stay at Hyatt Place at the Forum ($775.89)

Total cost out of pocket $189.16/ value $965.05

Have never been to this area, so if anyone thinks the Hyatt is not a great place/location, let me know. Don't plan on spending much time at hotel. will be site seeing, so I think it will be fine.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Just booked 2 flights to Ft. Myers - $177.96 for me, $11.20 for husband with CP

Plan is to transfer 15,000 UR points to Hyatt for a stay at Hyatt Place at the Forum ($775.89)

Total cost out of pocket $189.16/ value $965.05

Have never been to this area, so if anyone thinks the Hyatt is not a great place/location, let me know. Don't plan on spending much time at hotel. will be site seeing, so I think it will be fine.

We go to Sanibel and Captiva every summer in July (just across the bridge from Fort Myers) and that place is PARADISE!!! Unfortunately I can't speak to the Hyatt as that is North of the airport and we've never been up that way.

 

[peel]

I still have some confusion over your 5/24 status. I know others have said it looks like you're over 5/24 but I'm not so sure...

These should be store cards and shouldn't count:
12/17 - Comenity/Express
9/16 - Comenity JJill

They will count during the automatic approval process. From everything I've read, the system can't tell the difference between store cards and other credit cards. So if OP is at 5/24 with them included, they'd have to call Chase and hopefully get a CR who is willing to overlook them. My Amazon store card was counted when I reconned my Marriott app and I was denied (twice).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

They will count during the automatic approval process. From everything I've read, the system can't tell the difference between store cards and other credit cards. So if OP is at 5/24 with them included, they'd have to call Chase and hopefully get a CR who is willing to overlook them. My Amazon store card was counted when I reconned my Marriott app and I was denied (twice).

I've seen conflicting datapoints on this - some people have said that they've managed to be approved when over 5/24 with store cards without Recon. I think it's a YMMV sorta thing but your comment definitely carries weight and something worth considering.

 

[peel]

I've seen conflicting datapoints on this - some people have said that they've managed to be approved when over 5/24 with store cards without Recon. I think it's a YMMV sorta thing but your comment definitely carries weight and something worth considering.

Both times I reconned, the reps said because my Amazon card is issued by a bank, it counts. I opened it for a discount on a large purchase, and decided to go ahead with it because all DPs at the time were that it wouldn't count in Chase's eyes. I think they might be much more discerning now than they were even a few months ago.

ETA: Regarding some being auto approved, maybe some banks/store cards slip past the automated system while others do not.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Wow this board moves fast.

All of my closed cards were opened over two years ago, and yes, the AmEx was closed in 2008 and the Chase was opened in 2010. So all that were opened within the past 24 months were the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the CitiBank AAdvantage, and the Barclays Aviator AAdvantage, I'm pretty sure, as well as those two store cards for JJill and Express. I could kick myself for getting those, but I didn't know at the time what I know now. For some reason I thought you guys were all saying that you had to have a maximum of 5 CHASE cards opened in the last 24 months, not 5 credit cards overall. I guess that's why you're saying to apply for the Chase cards first.

What happens when you apply for a 6th card in 24 months? Do you just get denied or do they freeze you out or something? It seems so strange that I'm not even trying to work the system yet and I'm already on the verge of getting "busted," haha. If I'd just get denied, I would go ahead and apply and see. But if they're going to revoke all my Chase cards I might not want to chance it.

DH is definitely on board but it will be up to me to work out all the details. I'll have him apply for the cards I want him to get (or do it myself), and I can tell him which cards to use and for what. I don't think he has any cards beyond what's listed above because I'm fairly sure he put me as an AU on all his accounts, but we probably need to sit down and talk about where we stand and what we want to do. He will go along with my suggestions and follow my lead but this will be my baby, so to speak.

I will also see about getting taken off DH's accounts. It doesn't even seem right that the credit companies can just add me without my consent. I didn't want those cards and I didn't apply for them; I don't see how they can give them to me without my say-so. I guess they assume that my husband ASKED me if I wanted the card, haha. Not.

In the meantime, I'm not sure if I should try to apply or not. Assuming I am still eligible and I did apply, which one do you suggest? I guess I can at least start planning what to apply for this summer. If I don't get a new card now, i guess the best way to buy the Disney passes is just to use my AmEx to buy Disney gift cards at Publix and get the 6% cask back. I just don't have time to work with DH right now on getting him a new card. I still haven't gotten myself figured out. I need to take one of us at a time!

And are there any i should cancel at this point so I'll be able to reapply later?

Thanks for all your help, everyone! This is so much more complicated than I'd realized but it'll be worth it in the end!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Both times I reconned, the reps said because my Amazon card is issued by a bank, it counts. I opened it for a discount on a large purchase, and decided to go ahead with it because all DPs at the time were that it wouldn't count in Chase's eyes. I think they might be much more discerning now than they were even a few months ago.

ETA: Regarding some being auto approved, maybe some banks/store cards slip past the automated system while others do not.

That stinks - I researched this a bit this afternoon and the DPs are REALLY conflicting so it seems this is a true YMMV sort of thing.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Wow this board moves fast.

All of my closed cards were opened over two years ago, and yes, the AmEx was closed in 2008 and the Chase was opened in 2010. So all that were opened within the past 24 months were the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the CitiBank AAdvantage, and the Barclays Aviator AAdvantage, I'm pretty sure, as well as those two store cards for JJill and Express. I could kick myself for getting those, but I didn't know at the time what I know now. For some reason I thought you guys were all saying that you had to have a maximum of 5 CHASE cards opened in the last 24 months, not 5 credit cards overall. I guess that's why you're saying to apply for the Chase cards first.

What happens when you apply for a 6th card in 24 months? Do you just get denied or do they freeze you out or something? It seems so strange that I'm not even trying to work the system yet and I'm already on the verge of getting "busted," haha. If I'd just get denied, I would go ahead and apply and see. But if they're going to revoke all my Chase cards I might not want to chance it.

DH is definitely on board but it will be up to me to work out all the details. I'll have him apply for the cards I want him to get (or do it myself), and I can tell him which cards to use and for what. I don't think he has any cards beyond what's listed above because I'm fairly sure he put me as an AU on all his accounts, but we probably need to sit down and talk about where we stand and what we want to do. He will go along with my suggestions and follow my lead but this will be my baby, so to speak.

I will also see about getting taken off DH's accounts. It doesn't even seem right that the credit companies can just add me without my consent. I didn't want those cards and I didn't apply for them; I don't see how they can give them to me without my say-so. I guess they assume that my husband ASKED me if I wanted the card, haha. Not.

In the meantime, I'm not sure if I should try to apply or not. Assuming I am still eligible and I did apply, which one do you suggest? I guess I can at least start planning what to apply for this summer. If I don't get a new card now, i guess the best way to buy the Disney passes is just to use my AmEx to buy Disney gift cards at Publix and get the 6% cask back. I just don't have time to work with DH right now on getting him a new card. I still haven't gotten myself figured out. I need to take one of us at a time!

And are there any i should cancel at this point so I'll be able to reapply later?

Thanks for all your help, everyone! This is so much more complicated than I'd realized but it'll be worth it in the end!

Since your family seems to like Marriott points maybe a good 1st step would be the SPG Business card. It offers 25k points for 5k in spend - I'd say that signup bonus is easily worth $600 or more (so over 12% return) and the annual fee is waived the first year! This offer is available at the AMEX website or via referral on DISchurners. This would cover your large expenses with the $5k min. spend and would give you some time to figure out next steps. It also doesn't count against your 5/24 limit so it doesn't mess that up while you figure out removing yourself from those AU cards, etc.

 

[peel]

That stinks - I researched this a bit this afternoon and the DPs are REALLY conflicting so it seems this is a true YMMV sort of thing.

With my luck, if there are conflicting DPs you can bet that mine will be in the bank's favor.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

With my luck, if there are conflicting DPs you can bet that mine will be in the bank's favor.

haha - trust me you're not in the minority here. LOTS of reports of store card issues out there (but also lots of people stating experience to the contrary).

 

[disneedee]

Wow this board moves fast.

All of my closed cards were opened over two years ago, and yes, the AmEx was closed in 2008 and the Chase was opened in 2010. So all that were opened within the past 24 months were the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the CitiBank AAdvantage, and the Barclays Aviator AAdvantage, I'm pretty sure, as well as those two store cards for JJill and Express. I could kick myself for getting those, but I didn't know at the time what I know now. For some reason I thought you guys were all saying that you had to have a maximum of 5 CHASE cards opened in the last 24 months, not 5 credit cards overall. I guess that's why you're saying to apply for the Chase cards first.

What happens when you apply for a 6th card in 24 months? Do you just get denied or do they freeze you out or something? It seems so strange that I'm not even trying to work the system yet and I'm already on the verge of getting "busted," haha. If I'd just get denied, I would go ahead and apply and see. But if they're going to revoke all my Chase cards I might not want to chance it.

DH is definitely on board but it will be up to me to work out all the details. I'll have him apply for the cards I want him to get (or do it myself), and I can tell him which cards to use and for what. I don't think he has any cards beyond what's listed above because I'm fairly sure he put me as an AU on all his accounts, but we probably need to sit down and talk about where we stand and what we want to do. He will go along with my suggestions and follow my lead but this will be my baby, so to speak.

I will also see about getting taken off DH's accounts. It doesn't even seem right that the credit companies can just add me without my consent. I didn't want those cards and I didn't apply for them; I don't see how they can give them to me without my say-so. I guess they assume that my husband ASKED me if I wanted the card, haha. Not.

In the meantime, I'm not sure if I should try to apply or not. Assuming I am still eligible and I did apply, which one do you suggest? I guess I can at least start planning what to apply for this summer. If I don't get a new card now, i guess the best way to buy the Disney passes is just to use my AmEx to buy Disney gift cards at Publix and get the 6% cask back. I just don't have time to work with DH right now on getting him a new card. I still haven't gotten myself figured out. I need to take one of us at a time!

And are there any i should cancel at this point so I'll be able to reapply later?

Thanks for all your help, everyone! This is so much more complicated than I'd realized but it'll be worth it in the end!

i'd hate to lose out on the spend too. id do a referral from your chase saphire preferred to your husband and then apply for him for the chase saphire. you will get referal points, he will get 50,000 points after spend, which would be $625 travel or can be transfered to lots of airlines. if he doesn't have a bunch of recent credit cards this should work and be fairly easy.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Since your family seems to like Marriott points maybe a good 1st step would be the SPG Business card. It offers 25k points for 5k in spend - I'd say that signup bonus is easily worth $600 or more (so over 12% return) and the annual fee is waived the first year! This offer is available at the AMEX website or via referral on DISchurners. This would cover your large expenses with the $5k min. spend and would give you some time to figure out next steps. It also doesn't count against your 5/24 limit so it doesn't mess that up while you figure out removing yourself from those AU cards, etc.

i'd hate to lose out on the spend too. id do a referral from your chase saphire preferred to your husband and then apply for him for the chase saphire. you will get referal points, he will get 50,000 points after spend, which would be $625 travel or can be transfered to lots of airlines. if he doesn't have a bunch of recent credit cards this should work and be fairly easy.

@1GoldenSun I think @disneedee has a good idea too here, either of these would work well while you figure your current situation out.

If you want to refer your husband to CSP you'd generate a referral here: https://www.chase.com/referafriend/catch-all

Also keep in mind that if he gets ONLY the CSP now - he can't get the CSR for 24 months - he could do a double dip and get both the same day (but that's $8,000 in min spend in 3 months). Ask questions if you need more info or want some feedback on your plan...

 

[gottalovepluto]

For some reason I thought you guys were all saying that you had to have a maximum of 5 CHASE cards opened in the last 24 months, not 5 credit cards overall. I guess that's why you're saying to apply for the Chase cards first.

Very common conclusion! I think most of us thought that about 5/24 when we started.

What happens when you apply for a 6th card in 24 months? Do you just get denied or do they freeze you out or something?

You will be denied, there isn't even the chance of an approval if you are over 5/24. You will have to call and I see @SouthFayetteFan and @peel have covered this for you. You do lose something! Everytime you apply for a card Chase will hard hit your credit score. This will drop it by 5-8 points each time it will recover over next few months. Also, other banks looking at your credit score take that hard hit into account because it shows you've been actively searching for more credit and that raises your risk profile. Trying to recon an app that was denied for too many credit inquiries is tough because if you say "Well, Chase denied me" that's not exactly making you look good! Apply if you want to attempt the recon route but understand what it costs you if you don't get the card. The cost is not high, but it is there.

I'm fairly sure he put me as an AU on all his accounts, but we probably need to sit down and talk about where we stand and what we want to do.

Yes you do, especially because he has made you an AU before. And you'll probably need to explain why you won't be making him an AU on your new cards.

It doesn't even seem right that the credit companies can just add me without my consent. I didn't want those cards and I didn't apply for them; I don't see how they can give them to me without my say-so. I guess they assume that my husband ASKED me if I wanted the card, haha. Not.

They didn't, your husband is the one taking the responsibility there. He has your personal info and has told the credit card company he has permission to make you an AU. That's all that's need legally. You can always call the credit card company and have yourself removed (if you tell them he didn't have permission to add you though it could open him up to trouble so don't say that, just say you no longer wish to be an AU on the card).

Assuming I am still eligible and I did apply, which one do you suggest?

What Chase card do you want the most? That's what I'd apply for first personally. I'd give recon a shot hoping I could talk my way around the store cards, if I couldn't I'd know Chase was done and then I'd make a list of what credit cards I wanted most. In case this link hasn't been posted to you yet (you're right! This thread moves SO fast these days!) here's DoC's list of best credit card bonuses https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-current-credit-card-sign-bonuses/ that you can start working your way through to determine what you want.

 

[afan]

That stinks - I researched this a bit this afternoon and the DPs are REALLY conflicting so it seems this is a true YMMV sort of thing.

It probably depends on how they view the card. I was just listening to her money podcast which had.Sheri from the bob and Sheri radio show, in case anyone else listens to them, and a financial advisor.

The advisor said that store.cards are actually revolving lines of credit and they'll let you go over your limit no problem. They are in their own part of a credit report, bot with the cc's but will obviously report when you go over your limit. He used.an example of.a card he and his wife had that they both used and without the other knowing they both used it the same day. Ended up like 150 over their 500 limit because they don't decline it.

He did say there's no reason to close it once it's open for the same reasons that have been posted here. I thought it was interesting and not somwthing I knew. So I suppose it depends on if someone looks at accts opened or cc's opened.