Gunner14

Applied for 2 cards this morning. First one auto-approved for 21k. Second went pending. Called recon - was seen as a duplicate but told the agent that I was hoping to get approved for both. Agent says cannot be approved for more than one Alaska card at the same time (I mentioned moving some credit line but no go). Status on second app now showing denied.

Assume I should just throw in the towel?

ninim2200

i am surprised that people are not concerned with alaska closing their accounts when they go and apply for 2-3 cards at once these days, just because you are approved for more than one it doesn't mean its a good idea to do so. the previous abuse of the product is what made alaska go after certain people and hijack their miles and close their accounts, you guys should take it easy on this card, just my 2c.

nwflyboy

Wasted words here, I'm afraid.

m3lissa

I am looking for some advice on how to handle my daughter's situation (I will admit I read back through some of this thread but didn't make it through all the pages)

She is attending college in Washington and flies Alaska regularly to/from Seattle. I've had the Visa Signature card for over a year and found the companion fare and miles to be a good benefit/worth the annual fee.

My daughter and I recently planned a trip to Hawaii next spring break. Daughter wants to bring her boyfriend along however fares from Austin are pricey. So we devised a strategy to have her apply for the Visa Signature card (since they mailed her an offer for it).

She applied, got a letter she was approved (along with disclosing her credit score is 728).

Sadly, the card arrived in the mail and it was the Classic card (no mention anywhere that the card approved was NOT the card applied for). Anyway, we are both extremely angry since we put a hefty non-refundable deposit down for a rental in Hawaii thinking she was approved for the Visa Signature card with the companion fare. If we can't use the companion fare to get her and her boyfriend to Hawaii we are out ~ another $1200 for airfare or we cancel our trip and lose the rental deposit.

Her approved CL was for $1200. I am thinking she should call and ask for the Platinum Plus card with the $2K limit (which comes with the companion fare)? From some of the previous posts I am not sure I understand the process to make this happen.

Any advice is much appreciated... trying to get 6 people to agree on dates and a spot to vacation is hard enough without this snafu.

traveler9020

One option may be for you to apply for a second signature card and get an additional certificate. From the Alaska Mileage Plan Q&A's;

Who can use my Companion Fare Discount Code?
The Mileage Plan™ member who owns the Companion Fare Discount Code must either be one of the travelers or the purchaser of the reservation. If the member is allowing two travelers to use his or her Companion Fare Discount Code, then the member's name must match the name on the credit card used to purchase the reservation.

If you were to use a second companion pass in the manner stated above, wouldn't the cost be the same as using your daughter's companion pass?

m3lissa

Good idea - Thank you!

Would you recommend I apply for a second Visa Signature card (same as I already have) or would I apply for one of the other products that appear to offer: The Platinum Plus® MasterCard® and the Visa® Business card?

traveler9020

I'd go for the Signature.

MadMadso

What $$ did you put down for income? Does she have other credit cards?

Just trying to get data points on different banks for my kids' apps. Thanks.

fletchbo

M3lissa, do you have an Alaska Air Sig personal or BIZ card yourself? If your income is MUCH higher than your daughter's, and you have one or less existing Alaska Air cards, and you have not applied in the last 90 days nor do you have more than perhaps 5 inquiries in the last yr, you should apply for BOTH the Alaska Air Sig personal AND BIZ cards at the same time. Remember, most banks allow you to use total household income when stating your income on the app form. If you have EVER sold anything online on Ebay or Amazon, you have a business and may qualify for the biz card.

There is almost no risk in doing this, and it seems you have few accumulated Alaska miles in your account, so you might as well go for it.

You could get 50K miles (25 x 2) within 10 business days if all goes well, then you book your daughter's ticket and BF using miles from YOUR account. You do not have to travel to book for another using miles.

m3lissa

She put down $10K for income. She has one other CC with WF. I don't recall the CL but it's relatively low (<$2K).

I have a Visa Signature card myself. I haven't had any inquires on my credit in the past year. Yes, my income is substantially higher than my daughters. Sounds like the business card is the way to go (I have sold on ebay). Unfortunately, even with another 25,000 miles that won't help much. The return flights in March have already sold out of mileage availability. It's really the companion fare I need.

If I already have one Visa Signature card I shouldn't apply for a second and instead should apply for the Alaska business card?

Brugge

If you've had that personal AS card for over 3 months, it's time to apply for another one, regardless of upcoming travel plans.

No need to close a single AS card before applying for another one. But if you have a fairly high CL, and fairly high is lower for B of A than for most other banks, you might want to lower the CL on the open card a few weeks before applying for another one. It takes a CL of $5K to get a Sig card, but once it's issued there is no problem lowering the CL to say $3K to make it easier to get an instant approval on a second card.

Superorb

Almost 3 weeks later and my card #2 now appears in my BOA account. The application status page is saying the decision was reached the same day I applied, so I have no idea why it took this long, but either way I'm glad it went through. I don't know if they did another hard pull or if they used the one from before, so I'll update here if they did a 2nd pull.

traveler9020

I'm not sure it matter which one you apply for. With a daughter in Seattle, you may want to apply for both cards. Whatever you decide, please check back and give us an update.

Best wishes and good luck!

Preacher7

I currently have 3 open AS cards. All 3 have had credit lines lowered to $5K. 3 questions:

1. Should I close one before I try for another?

2. How many open AS cards have you had while still being approved for another?

3. How low can one lower a credit line on the Signature version?

Thanks!

fletchbo

It has been my experience, in two other cases, that "pending" for a second card takes 1 - 2 weeks to show up online, and 2 weeks to receive card in mail. Patience pays off.