Chase is offering a
$200 Bonus after you spend
$500 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening for the
Chase Freedom Flex℠. Annual fee is $0.
Card Details:
- Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
- 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter!
- 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more
- 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 15.74% - 24.49%.
- No annual fee – You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Flex℠ card
- Keep tabs on your credit health - Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, real-time alerts, and more.
Slickdeals may be compensated by Chase.
113 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
1. It is easier to manage. For instance, I still have to log in the credit card accounts every month even though I don't use them at all. It is my responsibility to monitor them for any possible frauds. Having fewer cards will be easier to handle.
2. Most banks set a ceiling to grant a person credit in terms of credit line or number of cards. If I have too much credit from a bank, I will not be approved for next new card from them.
Of course, I only closed the newer cards, 1 - 2 years after the account opening.
"Debt-to-income ratio"
If I have 4-5 credit cards with $10k limits each and only make $50k/yr, lenders may not approve you because you could easily go upside-down in debt. Especially a home loan. I've had probably 12+ cards, so my debt-to-income would be astronomical and nobody would approve me.
"Debt-to-income ratio"
If I have 4-5 credit cards with $10k limits each and only make $50k/yr, lenders may not approve you because you could easily go upside-down in debt. Especially a home loan. I've had probably 12+ cards, so my debt-to-income would be astronomical and nobody would approve me.
I'm not sure a D/I ratio takes into account the credit available. I believe it's what is actually owed (debt) and not credit limit.
I'm not sure a D/I ratio takes into account the credit available. I believe it's what is actually owed (debt) and not credit limit.
Ideally, lenders target 35 to 40%. This is my situation because I have government job that doesn't pay the national average. Yay me!
But, if I have newer, more recent cards in my credit score, that drops the average life of my credit lines. I think I spoke about this early. If I have 1 card that is 15 years old, 2 that are 4 yrs, and 1 that is brand new, my average credit age is less than 6 years. That hurts your score. If I cancel the new card at 1 year, my other cards are now 1 @ 16 and 2 @ 5yrs. That average is 8.66 years. That could easily boost my score by around 10 points where I'm at now. I'm not sure what effect it would have on someone down in the 6 and 700s. I assume the effect would be amplified and might make a difference of 20-40 points.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Or would they do 2 hard pulls?
I've only had 2 card apps done in the last 24 (1 was last week), so I'd have to wait 30 days to avoid breaking the 2/30 rule, I'm sure.
But I'm still within the 5/24 rule.
Oldest card is 6 yrs, so avg time/history will take a big hit, but hard to pass up possibly $400 total sign up bonus.
Or would they do 2 hard pulls?