FlightNurse

Amex will not give in to the higher bonus, I got the SPG card and two days later they came out with the 30K bonus, I called in and got a very nice, sorry but no...

When it comes to US Bank it is well documented that they REALLY look at reports, and if you have gone after other cards before theirs, you will more likely not get a card from them.

regoarrarr

Thanks again for your feedback. Amex did not give in to the higher bonus. As another datapoint, I also got "bit" by the same thing on the SPG card. I called then and they would not give me the higher bonus but they did just give me 3K points, which was nice.

I did do the US bank card first on this app-o-rama and it's for my wife, who does not have (as) many applications.

Is it generally considered better to wait until you get an official yea/nay before calling the reconsideration line?

Churnman

I never wait, but always call them within 24 hours of my application so they don't have a chance to deny me yet and I can talk to them and if need be I can have them move credit around if I have other accounts/cards with them.

My wife and I are big churners. We travel free every year and never buy airline tickets. In fact, we applied and received 18 cards between us within the last 6 months in order to get enough points for a completely free airfare, hotel and food for 11 nights in Bora Bora and 1 in Tahiti (also used points to pay for upgrades to overwater bungalows). It was a lot of work and manufactured spending to get the required minimum purchases for the bonuses. We even got the flights to/from Bora Bora/Tahiti (Air Tahiti) free using the Arrival Card or Capital One type cards. Those flights aren't affiliated with any miles program, but where there's a will there's a way. Our flights from home to and from Tahiti are from using AA miles (American in U.S. and then Air Tahiti Nui from/to LAX to PPT). After all those cards our scores are still high 700s (was 805, but dropped a tad). This is our third free trip to French Polynesia. This past summer was our fifth free vacation to USVI/BVI. We also enjoy Europe. We are addicted to points and can't fathom having to pay for vacations.

jeanie

+1

I am not in finance, but I had an uncle who was an accountant who filed personal bankruptcy multiple times back when it was easier to do so. He earned a good living, just liked new expensive cars he couldn't afford. I never would have hired him to manage my money.

regoarrarr

Any advice on what to say on a reconsideration line when you already have an existing card (Barclays US Airways, which I had seen was churnable)?

Churnman

My approach isn't the only way, but I usually call to inquire about the application status (I give it a few hours after app for it to show up in their system) and if they see it and they are an actual credit analyst then they will begin the credit check then and ask me questions. Sometimes the card issuer will need to follow up with the applicant anyhow so this shaves off a week by calling them. If they see I already have credit issued by them they may ask if I want to move some existing credit if they feel they've maxed out what they will give me. They also ask why you want another card with them and I am always trueful and state I want this new card because I'm wanted to build points for a vacation and using this new card for my everyday purchases will help me achieve that. I always pay off balances each month. They don't mind that since they make money on every purchase anyhow even if I'm not paying interest since I pay it off each month.

funtrainsf

Separate business from personal expenses. It's too confusing to have them on the same card.

jarpkor

Hey guys! Been lurking since July. Current cards:

11/2010 Orchard Bank Secured (first cc ever, automatically became unsecured as of this summer and converted to CapitalOne Platinum)
3/2011 Chase Freedom
6/2013 Amex BlueCash Everyday (instant)
6/2013 Discover It
7/2013 Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard

Perfect payment history. 1 baddie on EX from 2007 (maybe removable? haven't looked into it), EQ and TU clean

Total CL 13k. Highest are Amtrak (4.8k) and Amex (4.5k). Am comfortable with ~30k/yr MS (maybe more in the future, who knows). I'm a full time student, so I report income as 30k (24k for AMEX since I read 25k is trigger point for them asking that you submit documentation).

Dec 2013 AOR Strategy

Top priority: SW CP
Second priority: Barclay Arrival for basically 50% off all paid travel when miles are bought for 1 cpm
Third priority: Hotel cards for higher number of low-end, (mostly) domestic redemptions so that the gf and I can fully take advantage of the mountain of Southwest flying credit we'll have if I score the CP.

Since I read that Barclay hates inquiries, I'll click submit on their app first. But here's the current lineup, in order of application:

0. (~1.5 month before AOR: request CLI on my current cc's that can do it with only a soft pull)
1. Barclay Arrival
2. Southwest Plus Personal
3. Southwest Plus Business
4. Amex SPG Personal (seems like good idea since Amex will backdate to my first Amex account, so this will help my credit score eventually)
5. Amex SPG Business

The Club Carlson card looks REALLY good for what I want, but I read US Bank also hates inquiries, so I'd have to put it on the top of the list. I don't want to put two cards ahead of the Southwest apps, because my top priority is getting the CP so I need to get approved for both Southwest cards. Or do I not have anything to worry about? Will Chase not care that I apply for the Barclay and Club Carlson, then go for the personal AND business Southwest cards?

Also, should I tack on more hotel credit cards at the end in case I get approved for more (am I leaving points on the table by not applying until I get a denial)? I'm thinking Hilton Reserve or maybe even the Choice Privileges card.

I really want the Chase Ink Plus and Chase Sapphire Preferred but I'll have to wait on those (probably until June 2014) since I'm doing two Chase Southwest cards

MDtR-Chicago

It's time.

Let's assume 30k is a real number and you're attempting to avoid a review because of the hassle, not because of fraud.

Is there another account older than the Blue? Otherwise, you won't get any backdating. They only backdate the year, so the SPG's open date of 12/2013 would backdate to... 12/2013.

US Bank is more concerned about identity theft. It would be worth your time to freeze ARS and IDA. Check the top of the Club Carlson thread for info.

Since you care much more about the CP, try to lock down the Chase cards first. You have low income and short credit history so it's not a slam dunk that you would be approved for those. What's your backup plan if you can't get both?

I would probably NOT apply until denial in your situation, simply because your history is so short. Might take longer to rebound. But I have no hard data to support that opinion.

Overall, kudos to you for putting so much time and research into this. Best of luck!

jarpkor

Nope, all the cards I have I listed above. Hmm, maybe I should bump the Club Carlson card ahead of the two SPGs then? That would be 6 cards total this AOR, 4 personal 2 business. Too much?


Just saw that yesterday, actually.

I dunno actually. I'll be pretty busy the first half of next year with school anyway, so I suppose it's no biggie if I only get one. I could just wait til June to go for the other one.


Thanks for the help!

mnscout

Don't do two SPG at the same time. There have been successes reported, but it's likely, they would treat it as a duplicate and cancel the second application.

Jophiel

I'm planning my next AoR as well, and I wanted to get some quick thoughts.

I was planning on applying for the Gold Delta SkyMiles Amex as well as the Mercedez-Benz Platinum card, but I wasn't sure what order I should apply for them in. I want the Platinum card more, but I kind of thought it would be easier to get a charge card approved as the second card, assuming that I'll get one instant approval.

Second question is, I kind of really want the US Bank Cash+ card, but it's a branch-only application. I don't think I want it more than any of the other cards that I expect to pull from Equifax, so should I still go for it, knowing that there will be several new inquiries on that bureau that day? Anyone have any experience on mixing in branch apps as part of an AoR, and doing that app after the main online portion of the AoR?

AveApostle

Anyone have any thoughts on the relationship between date of application and the date of the closing/posting/payment due of a new account?

Obviously they won't let you change it for a few months, and I need to get it close to the pin (not PIN) from the start

ruahamore

I've gotten it by just calling them and doing a phone app. No US Bank branch anywhere near me.

FlightNurse

There needs to be a wiki for this thread...

What is your plan for these cards you want?

Are you collecting Skymiles? Or MR miles? Why do you want the Amex PLT? Will the benefit's of the Amex PLT pay for itself in a year time?

Which US Bank card are you going for?

There are lots more questions out there, but these are the basic questions to help make a sensible your question.