Originally Posted by
LilAbner
There used to be guys on here that signed up for every credit card gimmick and "Hot Deal" that came down the Pike! They couldn't get enough bonus's or toasters. I guess when their "Credit Rating" ended up below 198 and they couldn't even get a membership to Costco they decided to use their heads for once, and realize that these CC companies are rip-off's and will screw you in a New York minute!
"used to be"?? Is my sarcasm detector on the fritz? As long as it's done properly, credit card churning can yield a lot of miles for very little/no cost and minimal impact on one's credit score.
Churning can actually save money vs. keeping the same card(s), as many, if not most, annual fee cards can be had with the first year free. e.g. Mrs. ralfp got MP Club card after my CO PPLus card hit the 1 year mark. As the spouse membership is $150, this is far cheaper than paying the annual fee for my card or just paying to join the UA Club. As a bonus, Mrs. ralfp gets UA Club membership.
The CC churn game can be doubly lucrative when one's spouse/SO joins the fun. e.g. Mrs. ralfp signed up for the MP Explorer card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred (on the same day!). She got an extra signup bonus for adding me as an authorized user. The Sapphire Preferred card is nice because points from her account can be transferred to my MP account, where they're more valuable.
One thing we do is make sure that we can meet any minimum spend requirements with our normal purchases. Of course we pay our balances in full; if one keeps a balance on a credit card then a low interest rate is more important than miles.