Does having a credit card from a company, for example a chase slate card help if you at some point want to get a better card from that specific company? At this point my credit score and history is average, so i am not scoring high enough to get the actual card i want which is the chase sapphire. So if I do not do anything stupid should i maybe be eligible for the sapphire card in say 6 months to a year? Or does it only matter what your score is and they would look at it the same if i did, or did not have history with chase?
I don't have a credit card, but I'd recommend looking for cards you can actually get now with similar benefits.
I understand what you are saying, but what i really want is a CC with international travel benefits (not a southwest airlines card etc.) and those are typically the ones where you have to have excellent credit to qualify. From what i have read it seems the chase sapphire/chase sapphire preferred is the best out there for the most part. So i figure i would try to go for that one when i am eligible. Overall the chase slate really does nothing for me and i dont need it, other then it maybe helping me get the sapphire card.
Ah, I see. Having the chase slate card might help build up your credit score as a whole- if my very limited understanding of the credit system is correct.
It will probably help to build history with Chase. If they have 12mo of on-time payments from you and you simply ask to move your existing credit limit from the Slate to the Sapphire Preferred, there's not really any downside for them.
This is what I'd recommend. Do you already have the Slate? And did you apply for Sapphire (I'd recommend Preferred but be aware it has an annual fee)? If you got rejected, you can call and tell them that you'd like the travel benefits and ask if they'd reconsider you if you move your credit line over. They generally want any reason to approve you, so that might do it. Google "Chase reconsideration line" for more info on where to call.
yeah i went ahead and got the chase slate yesterday. im thinking now it may have been a better idea to get the freedom because it has rewards, and then at whatever point i got the sapphire i could transfer those points over. i guess ill call or go by one of their branches today.
I do know this much - when I got the Sapphire they asked if I wanted to keep my Amazon card or transfer the line to the Sapphire. I said I'd let them know, never bothered to take action. Now the Amazon card is set to expire in a few days. Credit-wise, which is the better option - transfer the line and have a huge line on 1 card or just keep both? Or does it not matter?
I think you take a small hit to your credit when you close a card for a few different reasons. One being it drops your average age of credit, and maybe your total credit line etc. But I think you would weigh keeping it open and paying the annual fee but not getting the benefit of the card.
If both have annual fees, I'd transfer over the credit limit and close the one I didn't use much. This really depends. 1) no one should ever close a card before transferring over the credit limit to another card (if they have another from the same bank). 2) closing a card affects many factors including both average age of open lines (AAO) and total lines of credit. I've closed probably 3-5 cards out in the last year because I just churned them for signup bonuses before the annual fees hit. My number of total credit lines dropped, but my AAO actually went up in each case because they were my youngest credit lines. Plus I made sure to transfer the credit limit over before canceling. Fortunately, my oldest credit cards have no annual fee so there's no incentive to cancel them ever.
I work for a bank, and it is most definitely true. Existing relationship is definitely taken into account.
My Amazon card is like 6 years old. From what you're saying I should probably definitely keep it. The credit line is small though. My credit was 820 last I checked (4 months ago). I'll have it renewed. Unless the bigger line of credit on the newer, Sapphire card would be more advantageous. I imagine either way, over time, it wont matter either way.
If there's no fee, I'd recommend keeping that simply for the age of credit issue mentioned above - there's no benefit to merging it with the Sapphire. If there's an annual fee, you just have to decide what it's worth to you.
With a credit score of 820, you could easily get them to increase the credit limit on the amazon card. long shot, you could call chase and simply ask to merge your amazon card's history to the new CSP card. Banks will sometimes do that so you don't lose your card's age and history of payments.
