Hi there.
Credit scores 755 - 790. Just bought a house and would now like to start taking advantage of some of these nice freebies...

I have had a Citi Cashreturns card since 2008 that I use for everything - this only earns 1% cashback. I think I also have a Macy's card that I don't use ever.

On July 31st, I applied for and was approved for the Fairmont Chase card. Here are the other cards that interest me:

Chase Freedom
Chase Sapphire
Hyatt Chase card
BoA Hawaiian card - maybe
BaH Hawaiian card - maybe
Might like a AmEx card also for electronics...

What are my chances are of getting approved for these, especially after just getting instant approval for the Fairmont card last week?

I would like to take my wife to Hawaii in the spring, and I may hold off on the Hyatt card until we have international travel plans so as to maximize the 2 free night offer.

I need an everyday card that I can get more return on than 1% currently, hence the Chase freedom/sapphire cards.

Thanks so much for any feedback or advice you have...

It would be difficult to get 3 chase cards right off the bat, but not impossible. You may have to wait a bit though, as I doubt they'll give you 3 in a matter of 10 days. 4 is highly unlikely, so holding off on the Hyatt might be a good plan as you said.

I'd expand your apps as well to include some Citi cards. The Citi AA cards have a solid bonus right now, or if you're looking for a faster earning rate, the Citi Forward card is just a fantastic overall card to have (similar to Freedom), especially if it's paired with the Premier (similar to Sapphire Preferred). If you get the Premier and Forward, that's 60K TY points in sign up offers, which get you $800 in airfare with the 1.33x boost the Premier offers. Not as good as a duo as Freedom/CSP, but still one of the best/easiest.

For AMEX, the no-brainer right now is the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) with improved 30K signup bonus.

Just be very mindful of minimum spends--if you start adding a few cards together, it gets very steep, even with help.

If the Citi, Macy's, and Fairmont card are the only ones you've ever had, that might make it more difficult to acquire several cards at once. What are the credit limits on those cards?

I will second the great sign up bonus on the Citi AA cards. I just applied for those last week.

I agree that you should find a better everyday card, one that offers better than just 1% cashback. The Sapphire Preferred is my primary card right now, mainly because of the double points on dining and travel, two of my biggest spend categories. The Freedom is a great choice as well; I know that's what my mom primarily uses.

Depending on your credit history, which isn't that long, with very few cards, I wouldn't apply for too many cards too fast.

I think the freedom/sapphire combo is a great way to start things. Earning pretty valuable UR points. Neither has a great signup bonus considered to their historical sign ups.

If you want pure sign ups look elsewhere for now and wait for them to come around. But if you want best all around card that combo is probably it in my opinion. May want to pick one and get the other 3-6 months later.

Thanks for the info and suggestions! Thinking I might go for the AA cards rather than the hawaiian cards.

What is the risk in applying for all the cards? Is it the credit hit that I might take with all of the inquiries?

It's not so much the credit hit as it is the willingness of the bank to open up 3 to 4 new lines of credit (risk) with your seemingly low credit history.

Exactly. From your original post, it seems that you've only ever had three cards. We do not know the credit limits on those cards; they may be very high (which is good for new applications, shows banks that you can handle large amounts of credit), or they may not be so high. I'd imagine that your first credit card wouldn't come with too high of a limit.

If you've only ever had three cards, it would be hard for a lender to approve you for three new cards, doubling or more than doubling your available credit overnight. They will want to see how you handle that credit first.

The credit pulls aren't so much of a big deal, but you don't want to be denied and have your credit pulled for no reason.