Reddit's Top Credit Card Goals for 2023

The best goals are the ones you can stick with.

I'm not a big fan of regular New Year's resolutions. But, I am a fan of setting actionable goals. And whenever I need some inspiration for anything around goal setting, I can turn to Reddit.

The folks in the credit card subreddits are always good for some awesome inspiration. For instance, late last year, hundreds of users shared their credit card goals for 2023.

If you're already into the new year and still struggling to come up with your own credit goals, don't worry. Here's some of Reddit's inspiration just for you!

Big travel plans

One common goal amongst the rewards card lovers was travel. If you've seen any headline in the last year, you know travel is back in full swing. And so far, it looks like 2023 is going to be a good time to use up all those travel rewards we couldn't touch throughout the pandemic for some free travel.

Destinations were varied, but the very top comment was from a user excited to use their points for a trip to Japan (and back!). According to a reply, another user did a similar trip for just 150,000 points in business class. Not bad for some little old credit card points, eh?

Paying off debt

On the other end, some folks were more excited about paying off their cards than using their rewards. This is a very admirable goal. Paying off credit card debt can be a challenge (especially in our current economic landscape).

Similarly, there are a few folks who plan on watching their credit scores grow in the new year. The advice from the replies boils down to: stay disciplined. If you can pay your credit cards in full and on time every month, your credit score should grow throughout the year. Good luck!

Switching it up

For some users, the goal was to switch it up a bit. One user wants to shift from using points to focusing on a cash back strategy to make their lives simpler. And this makes perfect sense, as cash back can be much easier to use than points, especially travel rewards that require careful planning to maximize.

Multiple users want to switch up their card lineup, rather than their specific rewards strategy. A common theme was getting rid of high annual fee cards that aren't worth it, in favor of lower-fee cards that better suit their needs. Optimizing your cards to fit your lifestyle is always a good goal!

Embracing the new

Several users mentioned looking forward to some of the new cards rumored to be slated for later in 2023. One of the most anticipated is the new luxury card that Citi supposedly has on the docket. There's also been a host of rumors about a new American Express card, but those rumors are far more nebulous. I'm definitely in that same "can't wait to find out!" crowd.

Taking a break

Although there's certainly a lot of talk about what new cards everyone wants to pick up in 2023, there's surprisingly just as much chatter about not getting any new cards this year. Commonly called "gardening," a good number of folks plan on taking a break from new applications in 2023.

The main impetus for most "gardeners" is to get back under the 5/24 limit. This is a rule from Chase that states you can't get a new Chase credit card if you've opened five or more new credit card accounts in the last 24 months. Since Chase is home to many very popular rewards cards, this limit can be a big bummer for card collectors.

Set it -- don't forget it

No matter what goals you set for yourself (and your cards) in 2023, make sure you stick to them. It can be easy to forget your desire to avoid new cards, for example, when issuers are constantly coming out with bigger and better perks and rewards.

But credit is about nothing if not discipline. So let us all try to stay steadfast and disciplined so we can achieve our goals this year.