Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGodson
I have a couple bonuses going for a few cards. I have a PNC card where if I spend $1000 in 3 months I get $150. My Fidelity card says if I spend $1500 in 3 months I get $150. These bonuses were only listed in the sign up phase, but after receiving pamphlets in the mail there is no mention of them. Is this normal?
How do I make sure I get the bonuses when the 3 months pass?
When you receive the card you can call to activate it and ask the rep to confirm the signup offer. If you're really concerned, make a spreadsheet on the open date, the spend you need to meet, and by when, and then track it. You can also put in your spreadsheet the day/time you confirmed the offer with the rep and what their name was.
I have opened 100+ cards since starting this thread and have not had to chase a bank to give me a bonus I deserved yet, but peace of mind might be worth it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by businessdude
I have a good credit score - like 780, but I 'm curious why it's not over 800 (seems like it's plateaued). I might have a payment late by a day every so often - is that enough to keep me below 800? Otherwise, I rack up about $1600-1700 in credit charges each month over 2 cards, always pay off in full, pay car payment on time, etc. I think I have one open card with zero balance I never use. Could that hurt me?
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmatz327
Whats your total outstanding limit for that 1600-1700 in charges? Your utilization rate might be too high.
I hover around 780 as well, when my utilization comes in at 2% instead of 4% I get closer to 800. Spiked over 800 in one short period where I refinanced my home loan and score reported the previous loan closed before the current one reported open.
It's most related to history and utilization. As others said, there's not much of a benefit besides the psychic one, but you'll get to 800+ eventually. I hover around an 820 now with nothing special imo, just low utilization and 5+ years average age of accounts. But I don't pay much attention to this. I let a maxed card report (prime day :/) and my TU dropped 69 points and my EF dropped 93 points! Next month they'll be back up to normal.