Hi,

With a very good I am planning some credit card applications. I currently have the following:

1. Starwood SPG (since 2003) - $15k limit
2. Chase Freedom (March 2012) - $3k limit
3. Hilton Amex (no fee) - (Jan 2012) - $3k limit

The following I was just approved for and haven't received and need to meet $1000 spend in 3 months.
4. Citi AA World MasterCard - $15k limit

I am thinking of applying for the following now:
1. Barclays US Air with 40K signup - no spend req
2. Bank of America Virgin America - 50K signup - $2500 in 3 months

Then in June (3 months after last Chase app) I want to apply for the following Chase Cards:
1. Priority Club - 80K signup - 1 night yearly bonus - no spend requirement
2. Chase Ink Bold - 50k signup - $5k spend in 3 months

Other cards I am considering: United Explorer for 60K, Chase Sapphire Preferred for 50K

I have a good credit score (high 700's), but only spend about $1500-$2000 a month on my cards. I also like the category bonuses for Chase so am trying to not move my spend from there for those categories. I recognize I can use Amazon payments or paypal if needed, but prefer to avoid it.

I currently have 120K UA (using 80K for a trip to Africa in June), 100K SPG, 100K BA, 30K UR and 50K HH.

Are there any cards I am missing in my plan? I prefer to redeem for coach flights, am based in NY, hate Delta, love United as there is so much good availability, like high end hotels (SPG, Hyatt, Hilton). Also, what is the best long term plan for obtaining AA miles with the Citi cards (can I move the 15K limit from one card to another once a year?)

Any help would be useful and thank you in advance!

Also I forgot to add that I have most of my bank account with Chase so I can always make a case to them that I am not strapped for money and am not a credit risk on reconsideration phone calls.

If you get the Ink Bold now you can probably get "bumped" by phone call or secure message request to the 60K bonus. $5K spend but Bold has a lot of 5X points bonuses, including buying gift cards at office supply stores.

Also the Chase Freedom just had a 35K offer and I was bumped up from the 25K app I did. Did you get the 35K?

The BOA VS is usually around. The Alaska card now has 35K with no spend.

I believe in hitting the apps when the bonuses are at their peak.

The Sapphire Preferred is a really good all around card so I might consider moving that up a little earlier into your app cycle.

I got the 30K bonus on Chase Freedom. I tried to get a bump to 35K through secure message center, but was denied as they claimed it was not an authorized offer.

Ok, so maybe I should apply for the following now:
1. Barclays US Air - no spend
2. B of A Alaska Air -35K bonus - no spend
3. Chase Ink Bold - $5k spend in 3 months

Maybe I have a good chance getting approved for Ink Bold as it is a business card and can try to get bumped to 60K?

The issue is that I really don't have a use for the Alaska Air companion pass, but I figure 35K Alaska miles can be useful. Is the companion pass transferable?

Then 3 months from now:
B of A Virgin Atlantic
Chase Priority Club - 80K or Chase Sapphire Preferred for 50K
One of the Citi cards or an Amex card?

Yes it's transferable. Many people trade them in the CC sub-forum here.

Personally, I would go for the Chase Sapphire card as soon as possible as this card seems to have people talking about the 50k bonus disappearing soon--talk has been on and off.
Also the INK BOLD 60k offer was not approved for all who applied as some Reps have not allowed it as being a"targeted" offer, so this could vary with some.
The rest of the deals will be around for a while longer so those could wait till later.

Sounds good to me. I just got the Bold this morning and got bumped up to 60K from the 50K on the app I used. DTK9 is the offer code on the "mistake" 60K.

I'd phone on the Freedom and not give up until the 35K is matched.

I'm holding up on the Citi TYP Mastercard and Visa with 50K each until it's clarified they will transfer to miles (and until I finish the spend on my Bold- they require $2500 each spend).

My Alaska is about 6 months old so I may apply for another real soon since there's no spend. Hopefully a 40K link will surface soon.

Good luck with all your applications.

I see that you just recently got 3 new cards and that your soon going to apply for more. I too am new at finding out about CC bonuses and want to pursue more and have 2 new cards since late 2011 but I wonder about how soon a person can apply for more? I've been following advise online and some recent FF blogs the experts there say never to apply for a new card within less than 90 days from your last application to anyone, so they are saying since I got a card in March I have to wait until 90 days from then even though my credit score is high. I get concerned seeing all these big bonuses I can't apply for as they have to be at least 90 days apart and then only do a few cards a year. I guess I think they may all go away by the time I'm past the 90 days time limits. Do people here agree with that 90 days between?

If anyone knows a reliable up to date thread or place online that speaks in detail of this issue of how to time CC applications for someone starting out I'd like to know where it is?

What's the best Chase Freedom offer right now? I wasn't aware that there was a 35K offer.

No one can give you that information. It all depends on which bureau a cc company pulls - and that varies by location. In my case, everyone but Barclay's pulls from Experian. Because of this, I am more limited than many on how many cc's I can get in any set period of time.

Thanks for the luck wishing!

I actually have 2 new cards in the past 90 days (first was early Jan) and on different credit reports. I did get approved for the Chase Freedom although I had an Experian inquiry from Amex only 60 days before. That said, I am using a 90 day rule in that I am not applying for two cards from a single bank within 90 days (except I am considering Chase, whom I have a particularly good relationship with at the moment and a low credit limit) and my next round of applications after now will be at least 90 days from now as I am going to submit 3 very soon.

Thanks for the moral support on that. I'll work on that along with the bump to 60K for Ink Bold so I get all my phone calling in one shot.

Regarding 90 day for chase (Experian) ..... my record...

BA Visa Chase 4/22/2011
CO Visa Chase 5/1/2011
Amex Gold Amex 5/9/2011
Amex Gold Biz Open Amex 6/3/2011
Chase Saphire Chase 6/21/2011
SPG Amex Biz Amex 8/1/2011
Delta amex gold Amex 12/15/2011
SouthWest Airlines Chase 1/11/2012
United Airlines Chase 3/30/2012

As you see ... all of these pull from same Experian beuro. Sometimes I got approved right away and some times I had to shift credit around. So can't confirm the 90 day rule



Barclay's pulls TransUnion .... ALSO .... Citi cards don't use Experian. I think they use Equafax.


good luck.

P.S. I'd also go for Chase Saphire first. and try to get US Airways 40K as it has no spend requirement. May want to try both apps in one day. Might get away with one credit pull. don't know.

What credit agency report is pulled is different based upon where you live. Chase pulls Transunion for me. Citibank pulls Experian for me and so does American Express.