LogFAQs > #888179075

okay. well since this is your first card and its only been 3 months with a 2k limit, just keep working on that until january, or 6 months.

then you'll be ready for tier 1 cards. i suggest the Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited cards. they will give you Chase Ultimate Rewards points. they're really useful but only until you get a tier 2 card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve. then you can redeem them toward travel or transfer them out to airline/hotel partners for even better redemption.

in the meantime, the UR can be redeemed for cash back. 100 points = 1 dollar. you earn them at 1 point per dollar. so bascially its 1% cash back. the freedom has special, quarterly categories where you can get 5% cash back (right now its department stores and walmart) and 1% on everything else. freedom unlimited is interesting cuz its 1.5% on everything.

if you don't want to get a chase card or they won't give you one (they're a bit picky with who they give cards too), then an American Express Everyday card is good too. you earn Membership rewards points which is bascially the same as UR. no annual fee, and Amex is really easy to get a card with and get a high limit.

Discover will give you a card easily too.

after you've had tier 1 cards for a half a year, a year, then you get move on and get the more premium cards, like the chase sapphire preferred or reserve. i think these 2 cards are the best card to have and put everything on cuz not only do you get UR, you get more UR for dining and travel. and you can redeem on chase's site for 1.25-1.5x rate (meaning 100 points is worth $1.25/1.50. and they can transfer to hotels and airlines. this his how i got my 16,000 dollar flight. i transfered 160k points to united. its effectively 10 cents per point so its crazy good (remember chase will give you minimum 1.25 cents per points if you use their portal)

you can see if you're prequalied for chase's cards if you put in your info here:
https://www.chase.com/prequalified

its a soft pull so don't worry about it lowering your credit score. i use credit karma to view my score.

theres lot's of prequalication check sites so i would use those to see if folks are willing to give you a card.
a good rule of thumb too is to check the APR they offer you. if its a range (like it says "17.99-23.99%") its not a prequalication. if its a set number, theres a good chance youll get the card.

if you want more, theres a whole world of rules out there (like chase won't give you a card if you've had 5 new cards in 2 years, or 2 cards in 30 days, or 1 business card in 30 days). check out Doctor of Credit (google it) or the /r/churning subreddit.
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