The Optimal Order for Getting New Credit Cards (2026)

[00:01] talking about this stuff, I'm always getting asked the question, what's the And I think that's because the average person might assume there's some sort of people like me would know about. However, the truth is that the best

[00:13] probably going to be very different than the best card for someone else. And specific order you should be aiming to get your credit cards. And that order is previous cards you've opened in the past. So, whether you're starting from

[00:25] zero previous cards or you've got a few cards already, in this video I want to getting credit cards if your goal is to earn the most value possible in the straight-up cash back or points and miles for travel. Now, honestly, I wish

[00:38] before I got started with my own credit card journey because I definitely did mistakes like denials and sign-up bonuses I missed out on. So, with that order is going to be your choice of either a student credit card, a secured

[00:52] starter cards that are out there on the market. Now, when most people are trying quickly find out there's a pretty common catch-22 going on here. And that's the of credit history to get approved for a credit card, but without already having

[01:05] building that history can be a bit of a challenge. So, that's where something because these cards are going to be designed specifically for students and other younger people who are at least 18 years or older with very little income

[01:17] student credit cards are only going to give you a super low credit limit to how a credit card works as you begin making on-time payments with it. And cards available to sign up for, but I've got a couple that I typically recommend

[01:30] Freedom Rise, which has no annual fee, earns 1.5% cash back on everything, and when you sign up for automatic payments within the first 3 months of opening for at least 90 days. Chase also says that you can increase your approval

[01:45] chances for this card with Chase banking by either taking an existing Chase bank account you have or opening a new one and then depositing at least $250 into application for the Freedom Rise. Also, by getting started with this student

[01:58] developing your relationship with Chase, and that can honestly be really helpful when you start looking at some of the other better cards Chase offers, which Then, the other student card I'd recommend would be the no annual fee

[02:10] Discover it student cashback card. And this one's great because it earns 5% categories like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more. And that's up to the quarterly maximum of $1,500 of combined spending in those

[02:22] activate. Discover's also famous for their unlimited dollar-for-dollar match this in your first year. So, if you're a student but you actually have a decent great option to earn a lot of cashback. Now, if you're having a hard time

[02:35] gives you an unsecured credit limit like those first two options, then your next opening a secured credit card. And there's actually a secured version of no annual fee card as well. Just keep in mind though that with a secured credit

[02:48] refundable security deposit of a few hundred dollars or so that's going to limit for. That way you can start to build credit responsibly, but the issuer got your deposit, which they're only going to keep in the event you decide

[03:01] worry though because after 7 months, Discover is going to begin automatic qualify to be upgraded to an unsecured credit card with them where they can meantime, while you're using the secured Discover card, it does give you some

[03:15] decent rewards like 2% cashback on gas stations and restaurants up to a certain unlimited dollar-for-dollar cashback match in your first year. Then, a few other starter cards I like are the US Bank Altitude Go Secured, the Chime

[03:27] you want to look into any of those as well. But the key thing here is that all annual fee. So, above all else, make sure to go with a zero-dollar card to there's really no need to be paying anything to start building credit in my

[03:39] golden rule here with credit cards if always pay your statement balance on time and in full by the payment due date doing that is going to avoid with which is one of the main goals when using

[03:51] Now, after about 12 months or so of using a student, secured, or other next year we're going to start ramping things up a bit and getting into the fun cards. And these cards are going to be better because they're offering high

[04:04] credit limits, more benefits, elevated rewards, and most importantly, larger be key here for helping us to unlock a lot of value in the shortest period of unlocking all this value is that each credit card issuer is going to have

[04:17] they're looking out for that are going to essentially determine how likely they that's why this optimal order even exists because you have to kind of so that way you don't get cards in the wrong order and then accidentally leave

[04:31] next few credit cards in this optimal order, I'd go for either the normal get the secured or the student version of this card previously because Discover after that, I'd move on to two no annual fee Chase cards, which are the Freedom

[04:45] Unlimited and the Freedom Flex. The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% back on the all other purchases category. And then the Freedom Flex earns 5% back in $1,500 in combined spending on these categories each quarter, similar to the

[04:58] rotating categories on these two cards don't overlap. Also, even though these earning cash back, if you read the fine print on Chase's website, you're Rewards points here and that's important for later on. So, a pro tip is that if

[05:12] points for travel, then I would save up those points until you get certain other Now, as far as spacing out when you might want to apply for each credit card, I like to recommend opening a new card every 3 to 6 months on average and

[05:25] spacing out new credit card applications by 3 to 6 months allows the hard applications to kind of settle so that way your credit score can recover nicely after each one. And then second, I found that spacing everything out like that

[05:38] overspending as you work towards the sign-up bonuses on each new card. So, typically come with offers that it be for something like $200 after spending cards we're going to get to next year are going to have sign-up bonuses that

[05:52] thousand dollars in the first 3 to 6 months. So, you never want to find forced to overspend just to get those bonuses. Now, the one thing that's check as I've used credit cards over the years has been apps that give me

[06:04] habits, and the one app that I've really liked the most for this is Rocket Money video. Rocket Money helps you save both time and money while also allowing you this through features like tracking your spending across any credit cards or

[06:18] unwanted subscriptions right within their app with just a few taps, creating as you're getting more and more credit about here in this video, Rocket Money's going to allow you to see all your

[06:30] single place. That way you don't have to log in and out of several different keep track of things. Rocket Money's also been great for helping me and my subscriptions we're paying for it by automatically consolidating them into a

[06:43] few taps, Rocket Money's able to cancel subscriptions we might not want anymore convenient. And then with the in-app budgeting feature from Rocket Money, to spend in different categories based on our savings goals, and we can then

[06:57] to which is useful for giving us flexibility to adjust things on the fly, spending which is normally higher during certain months when we're actually on a trip. So, to save more and spend less, go to

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[07:23] sponsoring today's video. Now, back to the optimal order for credit cards here. Freedom Unlimited and the Freedom Flex, the next card I go for is the Chase going to be the first premium credit card in this order. The Sapphire

[07:36] Preferred has a $95 annual fee. However, what you get for that annual fee is a to be much higher than those no annual fee Chase cards. And if you ever want to some of the cards mentioned in this video, then I'll go ahead and leave some

[07:48] you want to learn more. Now, with the Sapphire Preferred, you're also going to start to get some more travel benefits, which includes a $50 annual Chase Travel travel protections as well. And on top of that, you're going to get the ability

[08:00] to transfer any Chase Ultimate Rewards points you've been earning on this card on the Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex, too. Transferring points out to programs like World of Hyatt, United, Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue, and many

[08:12] able to find ways to sometimes get double the value of our points or more. So, for example, if I had, let's say, 75,000 Chase points, I'm usually able to cents per point, which makes those 75,000 points worth around $1,500. Now,

[08:26] credit cards aren't perfect, and there's definitely a lot of other credit cards long term as well. But, I think that in terms of looking at the optimal order of things here, you just can't skip over Chase credit cards because the fact is

[08:39] bonuses and some other features that make them worth checking out at least once in your credit card journey. Also, Chase has an infamous 5/24 rule that you you've opened five or more personal credit cards across all issuers within

[08:51] the past 24 months, you will automatically be denied for any new rule and because of the value of the welcome offers on Chase cards, the optimal order of things is to prioritize Chase cards first while you're under

[09:03] cards from other issuers later on. All right, so after you've got that initial Freedom Flex, and Sapphire Preferred, you should still be under 5/24, and so would go after business credit cards if you can. Now, before you skip past this

[09:18] can't get business credit cards, just keep in mind here that most business for small businesses and even people with side hustles. So, you don't have to get approved for business credit cards, but instead, if you do things like

[09:31] e-commerce, social media, consulting, tutoring, DoorDash, driving for Uber, or qualify as a small business, then you should definitely be looking into be super useful for your business and they typically have large sign-up

[09:44] issuers, their business cards are actually not going to be included in not show up on your personal credit report. However, certain issuers like show up on your personal report and do count towards 5/24, so just keep that in

[09:58] in this optimal order is to look into you can because even though those don't count towards your 5/24 status, you do of getting approved for them in the first place. So, if you ever find

[10:10] yourself being under 5/24, then I would take a look at the no annual fee Ink Business Cash. You probably want to keep spacing out these cards every 3 to 6 can be a bit higher to earn the larger sign-up bonuses. But, the cool thing

[10:24] actually earn the same ultimate rewards points as well that can be combined with you just call up Chase to link your accounts. Then, if you had some success cards, you might want to consider picking up the $95 per year Chase Ink

[10:38] another nice welcome offer. And this card's also very useful if you have a business. Now, at this point here in this optimal order, you can keep going Chase or even some business credit cards from maybe Amex as well while you're

[10:51] under 5/24. But, if you've been spacing out your applications for those personal to see some of those accounts get to be more than 24 months old, which is going now we can start to shift our focus back

[11:04] credit cards. And for this, anytime I want to open a new personal card, I always want to ask myself, what's my Chase 5/24 count? And if I'm under 5/24, do is to continue looking at any other Chase credit cards. So, personally, I

[11:17] there's any good offers going on for what we call keeper cards that Chase co-branded hotel and airline cards that give some sort of benefit every single fee. Two examples of this that I'd be taking a look at would be the $95 per

[11:31] year World of Hyatt credit card and the $95-per-year Marriott Bonvoy Boundless. comes with a free night award that I know I'm going to easily use every year to book a night at a hotel that would normally cost way over $95. Then, after

[11:44] Chase or any other cards you might come across with really good limited-time offers, I'd also consider taking a look at the Prime Visa next. And that's because this Chase card lets you earn an unlimited 5% cashback on Amazon for no

[11:56] member. That's super valuable to have in your wallet for both cashback and travel-focused credit card users. But now, at this point in the optimal order the Chase cards you've got under the 5/24 rule, now we'll start to think

[12:09] The reason why we're going to move over to Capital One is because there's really are worth picking up for the value they provide. And since we're still early in Capital One can be a good idea because they tend to be a bit more strict with

[12:23] consider too many cards. So, this is one of those issues I ran into myself when I first tried applying for the Capital One Venture X, and they denied many revolving accounts on my credit report. And I know a lot of other people

[12:37] So, with that in mind, I would go for the no annual fee Capital One Savor card too many personal credit cards showing up on your credit report. And on top of Savor card, you're also going to be able to earn 3% cashback on grocery stores,

[12:52] streaming services. Then, after the Savor card, I'd wait at least 6 months One Venture or Venture X, which are both very premium travel cards. And the months here is because Capital One has a rule called the 1/6 rule, which says

[13:06] approve you for one of their credit cards every 6 months. So, going with the Venture X after 6 months is going to help us to avoid breaking that rule. of choosing a path of where you want to go next here in this optimal order. So,

[13:19] that has more upside value with earning points and miles for travel, or do you simplicity and less annual fees with cashback? If you want to be mostly a Robinhood Gold card might be your best option next. And that's because this

[13:32] long as you're a Robinhood Gold subscriber, which costs $50 per year. of other cards I'd recommend like the Amex Blue Cash Everyday or Blue Cash Preferred, the Citi Double Cash, the Citi Custom Cash, and maybe even a few

[13:46] across. But basically, the goal here is to accumulate cards that are going to earn you anywhere from 3 to 5% cash back on pretty much all spend categories. the cash back setup, you're typically not going to have as much upside value

[13:58] you're also not going to be earning as many super high sign up bonuses because $200 or so for each new cash back focused card you open. If you want to though, once you have those Chase and Capital One cards, the name of the game

[14:12] elevated limited time offers on cards from other issuers next. And then limited time offers, I'd also start focusing on Citi credit cards. Citi's recently by adding transfer partners like American Airlines, so I'd look into

[14:26] over on the travel side of things as well because the Double Cash earns 2% or everything. And then the Custom Cash earns 5% or really 5x points per dollar on your top eligible spend category each billing cycle for up to $500 spent.

[14:40] Strata Premier is going to be the best choice to complete the Citi trifecta, trifecta and the Capital One duo setups you might already have. And then you can decide which cards out of those three setups might work best for you in being

[14:53] whenever you're not working on a sign up bonus. Just remember also that as you different cards with annual fees at this stage in your credit card journey, if value from a card with an annual fee, then make sure you look into the

[15:06] one with no annual fee. Now, Citi also has the Strata Elite card which has a out as well if you want to because Citi does allow you to get a bonus on that on the Strata Premier. But then at this point again, you've got to keep looking

[15:20] well for you. Now, personally, I think there's still a ton of value from even after all the recent backlash from their 2.0 update. And that's because the fact is, they're still the only program out there that lets you earn any points

[15:32] fee. However, in terms of the optimal order here in this video, just keep in going to provide the highest return on your spend, and only the Bilt Palladium the moment. So, I probably say to keep looking at higher bonuses on other cards

[15:46] Palladium. And the one card I want to backtrack to that you don't want to Reserve. Now, for this one, you're going to have to make sure you're back under it. But, what's cool is that Chase recently clarified their terms a bit for

[15:59] their Sapphire cards. So, as of early 2026, you can now actually earn one bonus per Sapphire card as long as you've never earned a bonus on that card though we've already got a bonus on the Sapphire Preferred, we still technically

[16:12] Sapphire Reserve as well. Now, you probably don't need to have both to see which one, if any, actually makes the most sense to have in your wallet tends to have a really nice welcome offer attached to it, so it's definitely

[16:25] I'd also consider Amex cards like the Green, Gold, and Platinum. And even great fit for everyone as well because of their higher annual fees and all the sign-up bonuses are still pretty big as long as you can manage the higher

[16:39] bonuses. Just keep in mind though that the welcome offers on the Green, Gold, basically say if you want to be eligible for the welcome offers on all three of the order of Green, then Gold, then Platinum. That's because if you got a

[16:52] bonus on the Platinum card first, for example, the terms for the Amex Gold say you may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had Platinum card as well. So, again, for the optimal order here in this video

[17:04] without getting too confusing, just remember to go Green, then Gold, then And then finally, I think once you've got all the big sign-up bonuses you points earning cards, then I'd go ahead and go back over to Bilt where I'd

[17:16] that's the one card they offer with a sign-up bonus as well. Now, the Bilt it right now and I've been heavily using it as my catch-all card because it effectively earns me 3.33x points per dollar on everything when factoring in

[17:29] earn on my mortgage. It's a bit of a detailed explanation for how that works make sure to go ahead and check out this video over here on the screen next where about Bilt. But, as always, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you in

[17:42] much for watching and I'll see you in the next one.