Hi guys,

I'm planning to do my first app o rama with the following cards:
- SPG Amex
- Citi AA
- Chase Hyatt
- Barclays US Air

I recently signed up for the Premium Milepoint membership and am awaiting my free Platinum status on Hyatt to apply for the Chase CC. I'm planning to apply only for the SPG Amex right now and the rest when I get my platinum membership (within 6-8 weeks).

Do you think applying for the Amex now and the rest of the cards later will be an issue? I certainly don't want any bank to decline me because I applied for the SPG Amex first. Or do you think I would need to wait 90 days after applying for the SPG Amex before going for the rest of the bunch? FYI my credit score is 760+.

Thanks.

I think there is less risk if you can apply for all of them on the same day.

Depends somewhat on your credit inquiries over the past 3-6 months. If not many, getting the SPG amex now won't affect your apps a few weeks later considering your credit score (FICO I'm assuming?). Also, don't forget the two browser method for your Citi AA cards (use 50K links on FT). By the way, what's your reason for the US Air card? Is AA going to be your main airline?

Remember you can apply for two AA cards simultaneously (for only one inquiry). See the thread on the Citi AA cards if you haven't heard of that before.

I would also do them all at once if you can, although it probably won't make much of a difference.

Some people say doing all the cards on one day fools the banks because your credit report won't have updated. I think that is false, and some others have pointed out that the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA's) update your report in real time.

What does take some time (a week or more) is for the other CRA's to show that you have a new account open. What this means is that if you apply for two cards from Chase one after the other, then Chase obviously knows you are applying for two cards and they will know about any other cards you've applied for from other banks if the hard pull for the other card was done with that CRA.

But say Chase pulls from Experian, and you applied for a Barclay's card earlier in the day (Transunion), Chase will have no idea you applied for that card. It's not even the same day, as it will take several days for the new card to be reported as open on your Experian report. But if you applied for a card with Amex earlier in the day, and they pulled Experian, I'm pretty sure Chase will see there was an inquiry earlier that same day (this is the debatable part).

This is why it does matter to have a general idea of which CRA's are going to be pulled, although this can be random and varies by location so it's very hard to predict and I wouldn't expend too much time trying to figure it out.

I would do the Starwood AMEX since the 30K bonus only comes once a year. I would do the two browser trick and apply for the two Citi AA cards (AMEX & Visa).

You could also do the Barclay's US airways card but Barclays is a weird creditor and may close down the credit card if they think you have too many new accounts to their liking. If you got that card, charge something small on the card right away and put in away in drawer. (right after you activate the card is best--I go down to the gas station and put a few dollars of gas using the "card" reader. I did that with my wife's cards that have "bonus at first spend" since she does not like using the card reader).

The only thing is that each AA card has a 3K spend within 4 months (maybe 6 but I'm too lazy to look up) and the Starwood AMEX has a 5K spend within 6 months to get the 2nd batch of miles (20K).

I also joined MP prem and I read they may take some time for Hyatt status to be updated to Plat. (as long as 8-12 weeks)

Bottom line: If min spends are not a problem, I would do the following:

1. Starwood AMEX (5K min spend within 6 months)

2. Citi AA: AMEX & Visa: 3K min spend each card within 4-6 months (look up)

3. Barclay's US Airways: 40K US Airways awarded on first spend. Good for 2 domestic savers when CC is used to pay for award (5K off on US metal) . Finding saver award inventory on US is NOT easy.

Thanks for all the replies and tips.

I'm still not certain after reading these posts which path I should follow. I want the SPG Amex since it's a once a year deal, but also want to hit Chase up for a no minimum spend card. I want to keep my spending manageable.

The AA card I had mentioned in my post was a targeted offer of 35K after $1K in spend. I know I could probably hit $6k in the next few months so that's why I chose the cards I mentioned.

What would you do in my situation? Are the upgrade vouchers from Hyatt really worth delaying the apps?

Thanks.

It seems you need to do some more reading then of other topics in this forum. Several people have explained in various depth of detail what they would do. To summarize
1) Get Amex SPG now to get the extra 5K bonus (gone by sept 4)
2) Now or later, get the Citi AA (use two browsers to get two cards) and use the 50K after 3K spend that is located in it's own thread in this forum. That's 100K AA miles which is great
3) Get your Hyatt card whenever it is beneficial with your voucher
4) Get US airways whenever you want

No more hand-holding. This is probably the best you will get. Something everyone (including me) has to do is read, read, read. Then make a decision. I just did a 7 card app-o-rams (my second in 3 months), and was approved for all seven while making 4 reconsideration phone calls. This was done based on what I read on these forums and a few blogs. Everything you need to know is on here, including creative ways to meet spend requirements

and all those reading will pay off in the long run too, not just this round of apps.

Thread moved to Credit Card Programs because there is no buzz, see this Announcement for guidance:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...opics-523.html