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Ok, Chase and Citi cards Done. What's next???

Ok, Chase and Citi cards Done. What's next???

Old Apr 25, 2011, 9:03 am
  #1  
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Arrow Ok, Chase and Citi cards Done. What's next???

Hi all.

I've searched through current threads for an answer but didn't find anything. Sorry if this is repetitive.

Just got approved for AA and BA cards from Chase and Citi banks. So for now, can't apply for any more of those bank cards. Will wait 1-2 months before I go for Chase Continental 50K miles card.

What other banks can/should I apply for???

Any great deals currently for a CapitalOne card? or HSBC? or Bank of America? or Discover? Anything out there where I can get some nice bonus miles.

After discovering this forum and wanting to travel business class for the last 20 years, I guess I am a bit pumped to get great deals to cover my flights this year. Please help out.


MY CURRENT log.

AAdvantage = 75K done
British Airways = 100K done
BankDirect = will put 60K there to get my 6K miles a month.
CitiBank checking = will open up to get 30K miles.
Igor718 is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 9:13 am
  #2  
 
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The offers can change, and everyone has their own travel/spend preferences. The good news is: You have 1 - 2 months to keep reading here before you need to make a decision.
PantyWaster is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 9:17 am
  #3  
 
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Cap1 had a fantastic deal with matching miles not too long ago, but that's unfortunately over. I'd say hold out for a bit and see what other offers pop up. SPG could be a good card to start eyeballing, but the best promo I know of is 10k after 1st purchase, 15k after $15k spend (I can refer, if you'd like).
johndeere19 is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 9:17 am
  #4  
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why wait 1-2 months? I would like to apply to another bank's card soon.

One could be "Escape by Discover Card"
# 25,000 Bonus Miles – Earn 1,000 Miles each month you make a purchase for the first 25 months
# 2 Miles per $1 on all purchases
# No limit on the Miles you earn and Miles don’t expire*
# Fly on any airline, book any hotel or car, with no blackout dates

OR

Delta Skymiles from American Express.
Get 20,000 bonus miles upon your first purchase with the Card

or are these a bit weak?
Igor718 is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 9:35 am
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Those are pretty average/subpar offers. Look in this forum, you can find much better offers.

Spacing out applications is not always a bad thing, if a great offer comes out you can jump on it since you haven't blown things with applying for so many cards in a short period of time and have a ton of inquires on your credit report.

The short time period of so many apps and inquiries could start leading to denials depending on your credit score.
kts262 is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 10:08 am
  #6  
 
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others

BOA usually has weak offers. Consider Barclay cards they have IHG and Wyndham among others.
Discover has a good cashback offer. Amex has many good cards and they run good bonuses on at least one just about every other month....if not MR point card, DL card or SPG...
keep an eye on the FT boards or your favorite travel blog for the newest, biggest offer.
I like this site for its wide variety of bonuses and offers...it doesnt always have the latest or best offers listed but it does catch most of them and has a lot of info...probably even cards and banking bonuses you've never heard of. http://www.maximizingmoney.com/credi...rline-rewards/
wise2u is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 11:42 am
  #7  
 
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Originally Posted by Igor718
Will wait 1-2 months before I go for Chase Continental 50K miles card.
...
CitiBank checking = will open up to get 30K miles.
Continental 50k offer expires on May 15, so waiting 1-2 months is not possible unless it gets extended.

Also keep in mind the 1099 issue many people have had with the Citi checking accounts. You'll be paying income tax on an over-inflated value of the miles you get.

I would also look into the Fidelity and TDAmeritrade offers if you have a lot of cash looking for an investment.
colden is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 11:55 am
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What about American Express? They currently have the Premier Rewards card with 25,000 point bonus with the annual fee waived for the first year.

Or you could get 50,000 points with the Platinum card for $450- still a good deal since those 50k points can be used for $625 in airline tickets and you also get $200 in fee rebates, lounge access, free global entry and more (I wrote a full review here).
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Old Apr 25, 2011, 1:10 pm
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Originally Posted by colden
Continental 50k offer expires on May 15, so waiting 1-2 months is not possible unless it gets extended.

Also keep in mind the 1099 issue many people have had with the Citi checking accounts. You'll be paying income tax on an over-inflated value of the miles you get.

I would also look into the Fidelity and TDAmeritrade offers if you have a lot of cash looking for an investment.
Wow .... excellent note. thank you. Is this the same case I'll have to deal with if I put my money into BankDirect? They give 10% miles of the balance you have with them. So for $100K you get 10K miles a month.
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Old Apr 25, 2011, 1:15 pm
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BankDirect does not 1099
TTBHG is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 1:16 pm
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I am thinking/hoping that Chase Sapphire or the Discover travel card are going to offer some deal similar to the Cap1 match my miles offer in a bonus war.
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Old Apr 25, 2011, 1:21 pm
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Originally Posted by Igor718
Wow .... excellent note. thank you. Is this the same case I'll have to deal with if I put my money into BankDirect? They give 10% miles of the balance you have with them. So for $100K you get 10K miles a month.
Check the threads in this very forum with info on the Fidelity and TD Ameritrade offers.

(AKA do your homework! )
kts262 is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 8:06 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by Igor718
why wait 1-2 months? I would like to apply to another bank's card soon.

One could be "Escape by Discover Card"
# 25,000 Bonus Miles Earn 1,000 Miles each month you make a purchase for the first 25 months
# 2 Miles per $1 on all purchases
# No limit on the Miles you earn and Miles dont expire*
# Fly on any airline, book any hotel or car, with no blackout dates

OR

Delta Skymiles from American Express.
Get 20,000 bonus miles upon your first purchase with the Card

or are these a bit weak?
First, the reason why you want to slow down is because many credit card companies will start rejecting you as soon as they see "too many" inquiries ("hard pulls") from the past 6 months. From what you've described in another thread (that you applied for at least two AA cards), you're very close to that limit already. (The limit can be different at each bank and for each person, but even for someone with great credit, for example at Citi it could be 6 or 7 inquiries in the past 6 months.)

Second, do you realize that all "use your miles/points on any airline, hotel or car, with no blackout dates" cards are nothing more than a 1 to 2 percent cashback card disguised as a miles/points card. That 25,000 bonus miles is likely only worth about $250. Is that worth using your "last" credit inquiry for?

20k is a poor offer for Delta. They've done 30k at least in the past. So one of the reasons to hold of is to wait for the best deal, because generally you can only apply for a Delta card (and get the bonus) once in your life!

Btw, inquiries add up whether you're accepted or rejected. So once you get rejected for too many inquiries, that rejection itself adds another inquiry! So it gets to be a vicious circle. That's why people who know this tend to "pause" once they fear they might be too close to the "too many inquiries" count.

The BA deal popped out of nowhere, and only lasts a short time. The Cap One Venture deal popped out of nowhere, and only lasted a short time (already over). These deals were both way better than the Discover or Delta. Which bring up that another reason to not walk up to the "too many inquiries" count with "ordinary" offers is that you're more likely to then be accepted for the next fantastic offer which hasn't come yet, but could come at any time.

And since so many of these airlines have "one bonus in your life" or at least "one bonus every few years at most" policies, it can be shortsighted to apply for every airline's bonus right away whether it's a fantastic one or just an "ordinary" one. What are you going to do next year when you've applied for everything already and can't get any more bonuses from anyone? (That's the risk if you go "too fast".) Is this the only year in your life when you're going to need miles???
sdsearch is offline  
Old Apr 25, 2011, 8:44 pm
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Great insight SDSearch. As a newbie to the game I appreciate the advice on managing the Credit Card offers. Thanks.

Originally Posted by sdsearch
First, the reason why you want to slow down is because many credit card companies will start rejecting you as soon as they see "too many" inquiries ("hard pulls") from the past 6 months. From what you've described in another thread (that you applied for at least two AA cards), you're very close to that limit already. (The limit can be different at each bank and for each person, but even for someone with great credit, for example at Citi it could be 6 or 7 inquiries in the past 6 months.)

Second, do you realize that all "use your miles/points on any airline, hotel or car, with no blackout dates" cards are nothing more than a 1 to 2 percent cashback card disguised as a miles/points card. That 25,000 bonus miles is likely only worth about $250. Is that worth using your "last" credit inquiry for?

20k is a poor offer for Delta. They've done 30k at least in the past. So one of the reasons to hold of is to wait for the best deal, because generally you can only apply for a Delta card (and get the bonus) once in your life!

Btw, inquiries add up whether you're accepted or rejected. So once you get rejected for too many inquiries, that rejection itself adds another inquiry! So it gets to be a vicious circle. That's why people who know this tend to "pause" once they fear they might be too close to the "too many inquiries" count.

The BA deal popped out of nowhere, and only lasts a short time. The Cap One Venture deal popped out of nowhere, and only lasted a short time (already over). These deals were both way better than the Discover or Delta. Which bring up that another reason to not walk up to the "too many inquiries" count with "ordinary" offers is that you're more likely to then be accepted for the next fantastic offer which hasn't come yet, but could come at any time.

And since so many of these airlines have "one bonus in your life" or at least "one bonus every few years at most" policies, it can be shortsighted to apply for every airline's bonus right away whether it's a fantastic one or just an "ordinary" one. What are you going to do next year when you've applied for everything already and can't get any more bonuses from anyone? (That's the risk if you go "too fast".) Is this the only year in your life when you're going to need miles???
cochino_BA is offline  
Old Apr 26, 2011, 5:42 am
  #15  
 
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Originally Posted by colden
Continental 50k offer expires on May 15, so waiting 1-2 months is not possible unless it gets extended.

Also keep in mind the 1099 issue many people have had with the Citi checking accounts. You'll be paying income tax on an over-inflated value of the miles you get.

I would also look into the Fidelity and TDAmeritrade offers if you have a lot of cash looking for an investment.
I thought Citi was only sending 1099s for savings accounts?
johndeere19 is offline  

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