Originally Posted by
jiaogulan
I got the Barclays AA Aviator for the 40K AA points after first purchase in January 2017 and have not used the card since then. I have opened 4 new credit cards in 2017, but only have 2 hard pulls on TransUnion.
Should I wait a longer before I go for the Arrival+ as I have heard Barclays is picky on new accounts? Also I've heard they like to see recent spend on other Barclays cards so should I put some spend on my Aviator card for a month or two before I apply for the Arrival+? Or does my situation sound safe to try without the spend on the Aviator?
Any opinions?
New accounts don't matter by bureau, they get reported in all three of them and all banks see them regardless of which one they pull for a new app.
I would apply before your other apps, whether that is now or later, if later then I'd wait a bit. I've used their Arrival+ quite a bit on and off for the 2%, not much the AA, but doesn't hurt to put some spend on it, especially if you think that your new accounts and/or credit score/profile might need a boosting of chances for the Arrival+ app.
My understanding though was that Barclays won't hard pull for existing clients if they deem you don't qualify for a new card, but this does merit some data points as clarification, not sure whether that is such a blanket situation or only applies with other caveats.