View source for TravelStrategies: *Before You Get Started with Credit Cards

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{{seo|description=Steps to take before you start signing up for credit cards.}}
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There are a few things you should do before you start signing up for any new credit cards. 

=== Avoid blocking other cards you may want ===

Once you've signed up for several cards, it becomes harder to get approved for new cards from most credit card companies. 

If you think you might try collecting signup bonuses, or you simply want to get more than a few new cards for your core credit card collection, it helps to plan ahead. That way, you can make sure you won't be blocked from getting the cards that are most important to you. 

You can reduce the potential for problems by following a few simple rules:

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<li>'''If you are willing and able to get small business cards, always get the small business version (when it is available)'''. It usually provides essentially the same benefits as the personal card and will have less impact on your chances of getting approved for other cards later. For example, if you want the Amex Delta Gold Card for its free checked bag benefit, get the small business version rather than the personal version.</li>

If you have any kind of small business, you are eligible to get small business cards. Your business doesn't need to be incorporated. Even a side business—like selling stuff online, doing odd jobs, or working on a book or website—is enough. In most cases, you don't even need to have made any money yet. You just need to apply with your social security number and provide a little information about your business. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

<li>'''If you are planning to follow our recommendation to start signing up for cards just for their signup bonuses, it is really worthwhile to plan out your applications'''. Otherwise, you are likely to get blocked from many of the best offers. We provide a {{link|first signups|detailed plan}} of how to time your applications. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.</li> 

<li>'''Prioritize getting any Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One or Barclays cards you want'''. Once you've gotten new 5 cards from any bank in the previous 24 months, Chase won't approve you for any new cards. Bank of America has a similar rule, except that it is 3 cards in the previous 12 months (for non banking customers). Most business credit cards don't count against those limits, which is part of the reason you should try to get them if you can.</li>  

With the other banks, there aren't fixed limits, but it just gets harder to get approved the more applications you have. 

Because these banks, especially Chase and Bank of America, issue a lot of interesting cards, you need to get these first, before you get blocked for a year or two (or more if you are collecting signup bonuses). It is easier to get any Amex or Citibank cards you want later.

Cards you are mostly likely to want that are issued by these banks are up to two [[Southwest Credit Cards|Southwest Airlines Cards]], the {{Card|Amtrak|only}}, the {{Card|Alaska|only}}, the {{Card|United|only}}, one of the [[Sapphire Credit Cards|Chase Sapphire Cards]] and the {{Card|FreedomUnlimited|only}} or the {{Card|BOAPremium|only}}, the {{Card|Hyatt|only}}, the {{Card|Marriott|only}}, and at least one of the [[Ink Preferred Card|Chase Ink cards]].

<li>'''You may also want to prioritize getting the Altitude Reserve '''. If you plan to optimize the points you earn from your spending, the {{Card|altitude|only}} can be very helpful. It provides a valuable 4.5% reward rate on purchases made with mobile wallets (such as Apple Pay), along with some other nice benefits. By taking advantage of contactless credit card terminals (and many Samsung phones), you can use a mobile wallet for many of your payments. But because it is difficult to get the Altitude Reserve, once you start collecting other cards, you need to try to get it as one of your first few cards. You'll also need to open a bank account at U.S. Bank before you can get it.</li>
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=== Get set up ===

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<li>'''Sign up for Credit Karma and possibly some other credit-monitoring tools'''. As you start signing up for new credit cards, you will want to keep an eye on your credit score. </li>

While several different methods to check your score, we recommend signing up for '''[//www.creditkarma.com/ Credit Karma]'''.  Its free, provides relatively detailed information, and is updated at least weekly. For some other options, see {{Link|Credit Score}}.

{{Image|CreditKarma.png}}

<li>'''Register for Award Wallet''' (if you haven't already). Award Wallet is a free tool that keeps track of all your loyalty accounts and information. We are big fans of signing up for every hotel and car rental loyalty program (and a handful of frequent flyer programs), and AwardWallet is an indispensable tool to help us deal with all our different accounts. {{Link|AwardWallet}}.</li>

If you sign up for a hotel or airline credit card, you'll need to enter your corresponding loyalty account information and the easiest way to retrieve it is with AwardWallet. If you start collecting signup bonuses, you'll eventually wind up signing up for a card that is associated with a program that you haven't joined yet. The credit card company will set up a new account for you, and you can store that information in it as well. 

{{Image|AwardWalletDevices.jpg}}

<li>'''Consider opening a Bank of America and/or a U.S. Bank savings account'''. If you don't have a bank account, Bank of America usually won't approve a new credit card application once you've gotten at least 3 cards, from any bank, in the last 12 months. Once you start signing up for even a small number of cards, you'll no longer be able to get any Bank of America cards that you may want. And if you are collecting signup bonuses, you won't be able to take advantage of any of Bank of America's lucrative offers. If you have a bank account, the limit increases to 7 cards in the last 12 months. This provides a lot more flexibility. </li>

If you don't have a bank account, it is hard to get approved for U.S. Bank's valuable Altitude Reserve Card.

You can avoid fees on these savings accounts by maintaining a balance of $500 at Bank of America or $300 at U.S. Bank.
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