met152

Just wanted to provide an update and some data points for others. It's been about 3.5 months since my first AOR documented in this thread. I have since applied for several more cards, but have decided to cool it for at least 6 months to let the inquiries age. This was my path to about 1M points in just over 6 months.


Scores based on USAA Monitoring:
Transunion: 762
Equifax: 780
Experian: 762 (down from about 780-790 before I started)

Oldest Account: 20.4 years
Average age: 4.3 years
Perfect payment history and no negative marks
My age: under 30

Here are my inquiry counts (12 month, 6 month, 3 month):
Transunion: 5, 3, 3
Equifax: 3, 1, 1
Experian: 20, 13, 7 (6 from auto loan in 2/2012 when dealer shopped around for rates for me)

Utilization under 5%


Here is my card history in just over 6 months along with the bonuses:

6/12 - Chase Southwest Personal Plus - 50k Rapid Rewards
7/12 - Barclays US Airways - 40k Dividend Miles
7/12 - Chase Sapphire Preferred - 40k UR
7/12 - *Chase Southwest Business - 50k Rapid Rewards
8/12 - Citi AA Visa - 50k AA
8/12 - Citi AA Amex - 50k AA
8/12 - Amex Starwood (SPG) - 30k SPG
8/12 - BOH Hawaiian - 35k Hawaiian (transferred to 70k HHonors)
8/12 - BOA Hawaiian - 35k Hawaiian (transferred to 70k HHonors)
10/12 - *Citi AA Business - 50k AA
10/12 - Amex Hilton - 65k HHonors
10/12 - Citi HHonors - 50k HHonors
10/12 - Citi HHonors - 50k HHonors
10/12 - Barclays NFL card - $400 cash
11/12 - *Chase Ink Bold - 50k UR
12/12 - Chase Sapphire Preferred (converted from Visa to MC) - 40k UR
12/12 - Chase Ink Bold - 50k UR
1/13 - Citi HHonors - 50k HHonors
1/13 - Citi HHonors - 50k HHonors
1/13 - DENIED for 2nd US Airways card due to number of recent accounts.

Total of 905,000 points, not counting any points from spending. Minimum spend of $43k to get the bonuses. Plus probably 30k+ points from bonus categories (5X office supply, gas, groceries, pharmacy) and 30k from Citi AA checking offer.
Cost to me from ATM fees, reload fees, Vanilla fees, annual fees: ~$250 profit (400 cashback from NFL card, Citi AA card statement credits from purchasing AA gift cards and selling at Plastic Jungle)

*The Southwest Business, Citi AA business and 1st Chase Ink Bold were applied for through an LLC in which I'm a partner, though the approval is based on my personal income since the business has little to no profits right now. The 2nd Ink Bold I used my SSN for the Tax ID.

Spend achieved through:
Vanilla Reloads: ~$18k
Target Amex: $3k
OneVanilla debits:$4k
Amazon Payments: $10k
Regular spend: ~$3k/month

Hate to sound like I'm bragging (even though I'm pretty proud), but I wanted to share my experience.

fdbowie

Very nice work! Where are you planning to go with your new miles?

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"Oldest Account: 20.4 years
....
My age: under 30"

Which bank issued a credit card to a nine-year-old?

met152

As of right now, I have no trips planned. I got into the "game" because I want to take my wife to Paris sometime in the future, but we have a 1.5 year old and another one due next month. I guess the 4 of us could head to Paris, but it probably wouldn't be the same

met152

Haha, Bank of America. Authorized user from years ago on one of my parents' accounts. Opened in 1992.

DapperPenguin

I am a confessed noob to this, I am very excited at the prospect of being able to also take my wife to exotic and far off destinations at a fraction of the price, but could you explain to me this breakdown? I know Amazon payments (helped me get my miles for Capital One) but could you explain Vanilla Reloads, Target Amex, and OneVanilla debits?

My wife took me to Paris for my birthday 2 weeks ago and I already want to go back.

domino007

Are all the cards "first year no annual fee"

amolkold

From the looks of it, the Southwest cards have either a $69 or $99 fee and the Hawaiian Air cards have $79 fees.

tigers2007

I question the accuracy of these monitoring services. I have Experians credit monitoring for a couple bucks a month. They were showing my score at 795. I'm in the marking to buy another house and I went ahead and paid for a full "all three bureau report with score". They were about about the same -+10ish

Here is where I get pissy. The mortgage company ran their classic "CBC Innovis" report and it showed something like 725. The mortgage insurance company claims a three bureau score of 690, 672, 712. ... is going on? I have a rotating regular balance of about $2000 a month that I pay off regularly. I have never missed a payment in a decade. I own cars, have owned cars, and have never had an issue.

Twodawgs

Outstanding accomplishment. Only getting your Southwest so late in the year doesn't let you maximize on the companion pass. I do hope you got the companion pass.

LivelyFL

Wow. You have more guts than me. Every month?

met152

A little searching in the Milesbuzz section should lead you in the right direction. Vanilla reloads purchased at a certain pharmacy can load to Bluebird and Amex prepaid card. Target has an Amex that you can load $1000 onto for a $3 fee and then withdraw cash from Atm. One vanilla are prepaid visas that office Depot sells (for the Bold 5x points) that can be cashed out through amazon payments.

met152

Yep, you nailed it. Southwest fees were $69 each and Hawaiian cards $79 each. Note that the fees do not count toward minimum spends.

met152

I qualified for the companion pass at the end of August. Have only taken advantage of it for 1 r/t flight so far.

djrez4

Wrong thread, but quickly: credit monitoring services provide fake scores. They may or may not correspond to real scores. Example: My fake TU score from CK has been up to 80 points lower than my real TU score.

Back on topic: Nicely done, OP! That's some serious chutzpah.