Credit Card Programs - Help Prioritize Next Churn

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I like the chase sapphire preferred and would add spg amex which has a good bonus right now.

your AA cards by Citi, you will need to wait 18 mos before churn. I would plan to keep your SP.

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You will not be able to get 3 Citi cards in one day, 2 in 60 days is the general guideline. As far as "churning" goes, with Chase you will usually have to wait up to 2 years AFTER you close the card to apply and receive the bonus again. Sometimes it might be shorter but "churning" that compared to Citi or Amex is completely different.

It's not really clear which apps are yours vs. gf... however, keep in mind the persistent rumor that churning behavior with Chase has led to some people being fired as customers.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1321532-chase-closed-my-credit-cards-consolidated.html

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I need to assess which cards to keep and which ones to cancel to avoid paying the annual fee, I may just downgrade our UA MP cards, I plan on using SW RR & UA MP in 2012/2013, then AA 2014.

As far as apps, will do the 2 Amex(Blue Cash Everyday Preferred & HHonors), 1 BofA(Fidelity), 1 Chase(Sapphire Preferred), and 2 Citi (HHonors & Platinum Select AA). Is this doable?
You can get two AA cards at once - but then not for another 18-24 months. Keep that in mind when planning the HHonors and AA cards together.

If the only reason you want to cancel cards is to avoid the annual fee, we have threads on Citi and Chase retention bonuses in this forum.

Also, are you keeping track of minimum spends? Could be a lot to tackle at once.

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Congrats! Any special trips planned with all those points?

**Update on Churn

Order of cards signed up for this morning:

Amex Blue Cash Pref. - Instant Approval

Citi AA Plat Select Advantage &
Citi AA Select Adv - Online app said to call to verify info, called reconsideration after 15 mins, had 2 apps on file, got approved for both.

US Bank Cash - Online app said will know result within 10 days, called CSR was told it was approved.

Amex Hilton HHonors - Instant Approval


Gf applied for:

Chase Sapphire Pref - Online app said to call to verify, called reconsideration 8 hours later and was approved.

Amex Hilton HHonors - Instant Approval

Chase Total Checking account - Printed $200 code and brought to branch, approved. Gf already has Chase Freedom, will add me as AU to get trifecta bonuses.

All in all, got approved for everything I wanted, decided to forgo the Citi Hilton HHonors for now and Fidelity Investment.

OK, I won't even pretend to understand the logic behind this churn. Why Amex Blue or US Bank while there are so many cards with great sign up bonuses? Also the Chase Amazon card you got 6 months ago is pretty useless if you ask me, and it's CHASE! Same Chase that has 10 or 11 credit cards you really want--and here you are blowing it on a totally lame Amazon card.

During your next App-o-Rama ditch the Amazon (it's still new so won't hurt you) in lieu of a better Chase offering. Don't do it outright, though, wait if they deny you first and then suggest to transfer the balance and close it afterwards.

I also have the Amazon card and I would ditch it in a New York minute if I haven't held it for god knows how long. If you like 3 points on a buck, then Discover gives you 5, and it's not a Chase.

Maybe I don't see something but to me any churn that doesn't result in a great sign up bonus is a complete waste of a credit pull.

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For Chase I'd say 11 months. Then do not apply until 18 months since approval. Chase is more strict when it comes to being churned relative to other banks.

This churn was to correct what I started and do it the right way. Amex Blue Pref gave me $150 bonus, the reason I got it is for the 6% at supermarkets, which I can happily say we spend about $500/months (a la Trader Joes and WFM) which gives back about $30. The US Bank Cash is for 5% at restaurants/fast food. I see what you are getting at with the Amazon card, the question is with 10,000 pts saved should I continue to the 25,000 airfare credit or ditch it and get a $100 gift card. My gf does have the CSP, Freedom & Checking and I will be added as an AU to add UR points.

Just an FYI (depending on your monthly spending obviously), if you really start a schedule you will find that category bonus cards might not be worth the AF. I initially was paying attention to category bonuses i.e. Sapphire Preferred but found that I'm better off running all of my spending through new cards. Just pay attention to make sure it's actually worth it, could you be using that spend on another 50k bonus?

On a side note, for our Chase UA and WN cards, how long should I keep open to ensure my points dont get taken back before cancelling.

Generally you want to keep the account open for more than 6 months, but the WN card has a built in retention bonus. Chase might waive the AF on the United card as well, something to think about given the fact that it is a lot more difficult to churn Chase cards as opposed to Citi or Amex. Just my .02.

Amex Blue Pref gave me $150 bonus, the reason I got it is for the 6% at supermarkets, which I can happily say we spend about $500/months...
This is not a criticism but perhaps a different take on the situation.

Let's say you have a regular miles-earning card in some airline and you value those miles conservatively at 1.5 cents/mile.

You spend $6000/year at supermarkets. Your miles-earning card would benefit you $6000 x 0.015 = $90 from the spend. Thus, having 6% back actually earns you ($6000 x 0.06) - $90 = $270. Combine that with the $150 signup bonus and you have $420.

Personally, I won't take any card unless I earn at least $500 in the first year. Not worth the pull to me. As you build your detailed plans for travel, your signup threshold may increase, as well.

Since OP deleted all his posts we'll close this.