roki

Hey FT,

I got into the miles/point game pretty heavily about 18 months ago. These are my cards/app dates:

Citi Forward (2008)
Citi AAdvantage (08/2010) (75K)
Citi ThankYou Premiere (10/2011) (35K)
Chase Freedom (2010) (10K)
Chase United MP (02/2012) (55K)
Chase Southwest (02/2012) (50K)
Barclay's US Air (02/2012) (40K)
Barclay's NFL (09/2012) (40K)
AMEX PRG (02/2012) (75K)
AMEX SPG (08/2012) (30K)

As you can see, I'm about to hit 1 year / annual fees on the United, Southwest, US Air, and PRG. My Citi TYP card is free (waived as a past employee). My Citi AA card I just finished a retention offer (25K bonus miles with $5K spend in 6 months). I know I want to get rid of the Southwest and PRG cards, at least. The Barclay's US Air card I don't see much point in keeping, unless there are retention / annual bonus offers, which I'm not sure if there are. I definitely plan to keep the Forward, Freedom, TYP, AA, UA, NFL, and SPG. I'd be open to churning the AA card, though, now that I've fulfilled the retention offer. The UA card is worth it to me, as my girlfriend and I fly twice a year to visit her family, and the baggage fee waiver and club passes are definitely worth the $95 to me.

I am interested in branching into Hilton, with the goal of an AXON award redemption (maybe 2, if possible), by summer or fall 2014. I also want the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Beyond those, I'm not sure.

United is my primary carrier, although I have 150K+ on UA, an AA, and 107K on BA (transferred my MR points with LAX > Hawaii redemption in mind).

I originally hadn't been applying for cards because I expected to potentially buy a house in 2013, but that's seeming more and more unlikely. Perhaps close to the end of the year, but one round of apps in February should be okay, no?

Also, I'm 26 with about 7 years of credit history and 756 on creditkarma.

With current offers out there, as well as knowing you should not generally cancel a chase card without applying for another and using it as leverage, what should I do at this point?

My initial thought is to:

Apply for CSP, use Southwest as leverage to get approval, if necessary.
Close AMEX PRG

Beyond that, I'm not sure about the US Airways card, or any AA / Hilton / any other cards.

I don't want to go too crazy with the apps, as my credit is still fairly young.

Thanks for any suggestions!

WhoDeyWesley

I also have the Amex PRG card, with the annual fee coming due next month. I called to cancel today, and they hit me with a retainer offer for 7,500 MR points now, and another 5,000 when I spend $500 in the next 60 days.

They also informed me that you have two months to cancel the card from the billing date of the annual fee to get a full refund of the fee - else they prorate it and apply it as a statement credit (assuming you have other AMEX cards).

A good way to pick up the 12.5K MR points with some quick spend and still have time to cancel the card before actually being on the hook for the fee.

roki

Interesting. 12,500MR points isn't quite worth the $175 to me, but it definitely offsets it by a good amount. I guess I could do it and then cancel, like you recommended. I don't want to get on AMEX's bad side, as they're not as forgiving as Citi and Chase.

WhoDeyWesley

Good point. I still will have the Platinum card with them, so I better not end up on their bad side.

roki

Should I go ahead and apply for the CSP card and then leverage my SW card to get it approved? Or just cancel the SW and hope for a better CSP signup offer later?

Comenius

Always apply first, never cancel first, at least as far as Chase is concerned.

roki

The only card I really want from Chase right now is the CSP, and it seems like 40K is the offer right now. In the past, hasn't it been up to 60K+? Hrm.

As far as Citi, I am reading that the 2bm is being closed down. I'd like to start earning some Hilton points though, so maybe Citi/Amex Hilton + CSP App?

augustus21

I believe the maximum public offer was 50,000 a few years ago. Some people have reported being offered 70,000 for in-branch applications, but it is very much YMMV.

roki

If I have an existing AAdvantage card, what should be the process for applying for a new card (or cards, if 2bm works)?

Also, hoping to get a Hilton card. Maybe:

CSP
Amex Hilton
Citi AA

Three cards should be very easy to get approved.

roki

I just applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, expecting to be denied. I planned to use my SW card as leverage to get it approved. Turns out, I was instant approved, so now I still have the SW card, and don't really need it. I am debating keeping it and paying the annual fee, because they pretty much offset it with annual bonus miles. Or, calling to cancel it, and transfer the CL to my new CSP so I don't lose out on utilization. Is the SW card worth keeping for the annual bonus miles?

Also, I'd like to round out my apps with a Citi and AMEX. Thinking Citi Prestige (as a citicorp employee, I get it at a severly discounted rate), or a Hilton card. And an AMEX card (also leaning Hilton). I have a goal of an AXON redemption in 2014, and I'm starting from near scratch with Hilton points.

Which Hilton cards would you recommend getting?

roki

I ended up finishing out my mini AoR with 3 cards:

Chase CSP (40K)
Citi Prestige
Amex Hilton (50K / NAF)

I think I'm pretty tapped out with Chase and Citi right now (4 cards a piece), and Amex with 2 again (basically replaced my PRG with the Hilton). I have the Barclays US Air and NFL card, and I had to fight with them on the recon line to get the NFL card approved. Even so, I'm pretty pleased! Pretty excited about the Prestige card, especially.

michasii

Though they are not advertising it the Chase INK Bold card *for business
is offering 50,000 miles bonus after 3 months and $5,000 spent that is the best deal I found, plus offers other travel perks...