What does it take to get a cash back credit card?
I'm still using my student credit card almost 2 years post graduation from college. It has no perks, and I want one that gives cash back. What do cards such as this require in terms of credit history and score to approve you?
My bank rejected me for such a card in Nov. for an "insuficient number of credit references". I have had my student card for 6 or 7 yrs, pay the full balance every month, and have never had a late payment. I bought a new car in august, and have been paying more than the minimum due each month, on time, every month. My credit score is 731 (one place has me at 803!)
That was in November. Since then, I decided to buy my first home, found one, and am closing on the 15th. With all this going on, should I wait to attempt to apply for a card again until I've been paying my mortgage for a while? Will my mortgage give me enough credit at last? Any advice is helpful - I need to know how to get "sufficient" credit so I can be approved for a better card.
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I’ll share an article that maybe could help you.
Source:
http://www.rewardcreditcardsite.com/credit-card-articles/cash-back-vs-rewards-credit-cards-which-one-should-you-get/
Your credit score should be sufficient to get a cash back credit card. Perhaps your bank is more selective than others. Worst case, I would think you should be able to get one of the Capital One cash back credit cards since they have options even for folks with limited credit history.
To help beef up your credit history and score, you could get a department store credit card (e.g. Macy’s, Kohl’s, etc.). They’re usually pretty easy to get.
Since applying for credit cards actually brings your credit score down a little bit (bounces back after a year) and your credit score can influence your mortgage rate, I’d wait to apply for any credit cards until after you’ve secured your mortgage loan.
Also, you can use this rewards calculator to see which rewards credit card (cash back and others) will pay you the most for your normal spending profile:
http://www.creditcardtuneup.com/
You can click on the links in that tool to take you to the card issuer’s web site to view the details of cards and apply for them.
You can find the best credit card offers here: http://www.thebestfreecreditcards.com and many of them include rewards.