When I turned 18 I got a Discover card and so far I’ve been doing great with it. My FICO score is high, my statement balance as well. I’m about to turn 20 and I’ve been hearing opening a second one has benefits but what are they? I don’t travel a lot or eat out a lot. I just go out get groceries, shop at malls/stores and that’s pretty much it. Is there a card that would even help me out?
Get more for SUBS. Get the Chase Freedom to start.
Try to figure out what categories you spend the most on and find cards that give you the most cash back on those categories; you can also maximize the SUBs.
Yes. This post should highlight why having more than one card is beneficial. Furthermore, a strong credit profile is drawn upon having 3+ cards.
If you can fill out the !template, then others can give some recommendations. Need to know your goals and spending lifestyle.
@Taran
Template for Card Recommendation Requests:
Please use the following template so that everyone can make appropriate recommendations:
- Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
- e.g. Amex BCP $8,000 limit, May 2019
- e.g. Chase Freedom Flex $10,000 limit, June 2021
- 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? e.g. Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card?
Please review the Card Recommendation Request Template here: Template for Card Recommendation Requests
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Yes, Discover does not have the universal acceptance as Visa/MC.
You should always have [at least] two credit cards, never one. And never two from the same issuer. If we hit a recession, and credit card companies decide they don’t want you and one of them dumps you, you still have the other card. And if one of them cuts back your limit, you still have the other card. -Clark Howard
Having a thicker credit file (3+ cards) is better for your score. Then there are just more pragmatic reasons to have a second — if you can’t access the other for whatever reason (fraud/loss of card, other bank glitches, your account gets shut down). Another reason is to get better rewards/coverage/benefits that are not currently covered by your card. Discover is a rotating card, so if you mostly spend on groceries, then 3/4th of the year you’re only getting 1% rebate instead of 3%+ that you could get with other cards.
Fill out the template to get a better recommendation though.
I believe having more cards is better for your credit profile. If you are looking for a second card, find one that’s better tailored to what you spend.
If you’re looking into groceries and don’t shop at places like Walmart or Target, for example, I would recommend the American Express Blue Cash Everyday card.
Only cons in my opinion is that Amex is not accepted everywhere, but a lot of places take it now; I don’t really run into places that don’t accept it.
And places like Walmart are not accepted as groceries.
3% groceries at US supermarkets doesn’t include places like Walmart, Target, or Sam’s.
3% cash back on online retail purchases.
3% cash back on gas.
1% on everything else eligible.
And if you have a Disney+ bundle that costs $9.99 or more, you get a monthly $7 credit towards it, which is $84 dollars on the year.
Also, getting into the Chase ecosystem early is good, just for the fact they have a 5/24 rule where if you apply to 5 cards in the past 24 months, you’re more likely to not get accepted.
For Chase, I would recommend the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
3% on dining and drugstores and 1.5% on everything else.
Both cards have sign-up offers; Chase’s one is easier to hit because it’s a lower spend than the Amex, but they both should have one.
And both have an intro 0% APR if you’re planning on buying something big and won’t have to build up interest on it.
Both have no annual fee; you can upgrade the Amex for a $95 Annual fee if you can justify it but the first year for it is fee-free.
I’m not too familiar if the Chase has an upgrade like the Amex because I haven’t really dived into the whole Chase thing.
@Steele
Actually, I’ve tested this with Walmart; if you use the Walmart pay feature with the Walmart app at checkout, it will code as online shopping (doesn’t matter if it’s at a neighborhood Walmart or a Walmart supercenter).
@Vine
I’m gonna have to try this; I’m assuming if it works at Walmart, it’ll work at Sam’s.
At your age, it doesn’t matter too much. You might want to get a second card as a backup, and because some places don’t accept Discover, but it’s not really important. I assume you have a debit card you can use anyway.