Hey FT-

I've been reading here for a while, but haven't posted much yet! I'm hoping for some insight/recommendations going forward so that I don't make rookie mistakes, and hopefully a question I have answered as well. I've read through many posts, and all this information has my head spinning a bit. I'm sure this is one of the most typical threads, but I didn't want to hijack someone else's with my own situation.

First off, a little bio:
I'm 25, 790 FICO score, ~$20K annual CC spending. The question I have is regarding becoming a homeowner. I plan to purchase a home probably the end of 2013/early 2014, and I'm not sure if churning is not recommended before a mortgage app and, if so, roughly how long before the app I should go with no credit hits.

My current cards:
Citi TY card (2006, keeping open for history)
Citi AA personal (08/2010, opened w/ 75K promo)
Citi TY Premier (10/2011, opened w/ 50K promo)
Chase Freedom (06/2010)
Chase CO (11/2010, opened w/ 50K promo)
Chase UA (02/2012, opened w/ 60K promo)

My basic plan, going forward, was to apply for the Chase SW card and, if pended, call and see if I can transfer/close the Chase CO card onto/into the new one. In addition, I have a targeted AMEX PRG offer (75K points w/ $1K-3mo) that I'm interested in. I have no relationship with BofA or Barclays or AMEX at this point.

Furthermore, I haven't actually "churned" any of my cards yet. All the cards I've opened are for the first time, and I haven't closed any yet. I got back the annual fee on the CO card by calling, and I don't pay any on the Citi cards, but I'm not opposed to paying an annual fee if the rewards for the card are worth it.

I'm hoping for some recommendations or pointers on where to go next, though. I'm only operating on about 6 years of credit history, but I have a good score and a substantial amount of revolving credit, so hopefully that means I can allocate around at least what I have with Chase if I go for the SW card.

I appreciate the vast amount of knowledge on these forums, and hope to eventually be able to contribute more on my own! Thanks in advance!

-roki

I've always heard you really don't want an inquiry or new account 12 months prior to a mortgage app. If you have 1 or 2 say 8-10 months out they may just ask some questions about why you opened those accounts.

Be sure to find the link for the 50k SWA offer before you apply. Other than that I would go for the PRG and Barclays USAir. You could always try to get another AMEX on the same day, SPG for instance. I'm not really a BOA fan, so I'm sure someone else can give you advice on their products.

here are some questions

what do you want to do?

Where are you flying from?

Using the points for hotels?

Prefer cashback?

I travel some, but not extensively at this point. Usually 2-3 trips a year, with one being international. I live in Orange County, so I usually fly from SNA or LAX, although SAN wouldn't be that bad. I don't have any hotel reward/loyalty programs, but I'm not opposed to it. In my travels so far, I often stay with friends or, being the outdoorsy type, backpack/hostel etc.

I'm not too big on cashback, but I use my Freedom during the rotating categories.

I figured I could probably do a decent amount before then if I get a mortgage in, say, 10/2013 (which is a very conservative estimate). That gives me 7 months before the beginning of the 12-month window.

Seems like you're pretty organized, which is good, and have the fundamentals squared away nicely.

I think in general your plan seems fine... just now a matter of deciding what the best cards are for you to apply for.

As far as I can tell, I think 'churn' has taken on 2 meanings, the more formal one being literally applying for the same card more than once. Most cards aren't churnable any more, but creativity allows for plenty of other options-- similar cards that aren't the same may be nearly as good at times.

Only suggestion I'd provide is that it's probably worth thinking about what your plans are going to be in the future, and start picking the programs you want to invest in so you don't risk expired points/miles.

Good luck!

Thanks for the insight!

I am currently mostly invested in AA and CO/UN, and Citi's TY network through my checking account/CCs. I get the monthly points for Citi from my individual and joint checking accounts, though, so I really don't use the cards that much since I'm earning 2600pt/mo with the accounts. I use my purchases for other rewards programs.

I feel like the AMEX rewards would offer some good options, and I'm not opposed to a hotel loyalty program as well. I'm a little wary of adding even more airlines (SW makes sense for me, though), and I gather the Barclay's USAir card is a favorite because it pulls from Transunion. I think the AA/UA loyalty programs will be my primaries, though. That said, if I close my AA card and reapply for a new one, it would have to be a different version of the AA card? I didn't plan to close that card, as it's my go-to card, but if there's no harm done and I get another signup bonus...why not, right?

-roki

On further investigation, this is what I'm leaning towards:

Chase SW 50K (AFP)
Barclay USAir 40K (AFP)
AMEX PRG 75K ($1k/3mo)
AMEX SPG 30K ($1k/3mo)

That would put me up to 10 credit cards though, including the chase CO card I want to close out soon. That is a scary number to me. Can I go that high?

Also, can I go ahead and close out the CO card, or should I wait till I do the SW app?

-roki

How is your credit right now? One thing that will last longer than 12 months is the average age of your credit. If you have a pretty light credit file churning over the next year could drastically cut your age.

If your score is in the high 700s it probably won't matter, but if you're in the mid 700s, that could push you into the next bracket of mortgage rates, which could end up costing you $$$.

At the end of the day, though, if you're bringing in thousands of dollars worth of travel, the extra points you pay on a mortgage may be worth it.

Wait and if they deny you, you can use the CO as a bargaining chip. If they don't deny you, then you can cancel it or transfer the credit limit to your new SW card.

My last actual report was 788, but I just ran creditkarma and it gave me 766, so perhaps it's because I got the UA card this month, or perhaps because I made a large purchase on my AA card, which is now about 75% utilized (not sure if that matters [edit: note that I always pay my cards to $0, so it's only utilized because it's not due yet]). I don't want to be toying too much with my credit, but I've been 740+ since January '11 despite adding 3 cards. Maybe I should not do the SPG card and just do the PRG, SW, and USAir. Or...if I do 3 is there no point in not trying 4?

That sounds like a plan to me.

It would just be another new account, not a huge deal. If you do the PRG first and get instant approval you can most likely get the SPG on the same inquiry. You may as well give it a shot IMO. Your score should mostly recover within a few months, but as RewardTraveler said just pay attention to your AAoA.

Okay. My AAoA is semi low right now, I guess. I have 1 line from 2006, 1 from 2008, 2 from 2010, 2 from 2011, and 1 from 2012. I'm not sure what that calculates into, though.

Posted this in another thread:

AAoA is calculated by looking at the open date on all of your open and closed accounts. You add up all the months and then divide that number by the number of trade lines you have. After you close an account it remains on your credit report for somewhere between 7-10 years, sometimes longer than that. When that closed account drops off it will no longer be factored into your AAoA.

Credit Karma gives me a 1 year, 8 month AAoA. That's not very good, apparently. Also, when reviewing my credit report, I totally forgot about what happened when I got my AA personal in 2010. They messed up and sent me TWO cards, with different numbers. I panicked and closed one, without thinking that I probably could have got the 75K x2 with that. Oops. But it still shows on the report, too.