comptalk

Any suggestions on the best way to get round trip tickets to London for little or no cost? Time frame is for a May 2014 trip.

dvs7310

Depends on where you live. A couple of Credit Card sign ups in the US might accomplish it. Example, Skymiles Credit card, get the bonus. Amex card with Membership Rewards bonus, combine the miles into DL and cash in for a Skyteam partner or DL ticket to London.

It's not foolproof, they have to have award availability but with flexibility in your schedule there's a good chance.

DL isn't the only program you could use, but it's probably the easiest to do just for doing 2 credit card signups. US Airways Barclays Card + Amex SPG card could do the same as well. Otherwise search the credit card forums for some alternative ways of amassing mega points quickly.

ashap

I would like to sign up for the Barclays arrival card, some quick stats below:

Last small churn October 28. So not due for another until jan/feb

However, every app since feb when I grabbed a Barclays usairways has hit experian/equifax, so I'm only showing 2 pulls on TU.

Would it be safe to apply for this out of cycle because it's a TU pull, or best to just wait until the next churn?

Thanks for the help!

Wisemas

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kcstraveler

Going for first AOR but had some questions.

Background: 771 credit score. Only have one hard pull in last 6 months (Chase SW on 10/27). Chase SW card is only travel card I have, only holding a BofA Amex for 4+ years and a CapOne Venture for 1 year, no debts. Have been authorized user on dad's cards for many years, so have credit history on other cards going back at least 10 years.

Main goals are 2x Economy RT to Europe on AA in summer 2014 and possibly 2x Economy RT on United to Europe in summer 2014. Trying to get my dad over there for his 60th! Plan now is to do both AA Personal/Business and SPG (transfer points to AA), which will easily get me the 120K needed.

I'd like to get:

Citi AA Personal (50K offer)
Amex Starwood (10K+15K)
Club Carlson (85K)
Chase Sapphire Preferred (50K)
Citi AA Business (50K offer)

It is most important for me to rack up 120K in AA miles to get the economy RT tickets at the moment, but I would also like to begin accruing hotel points as well, either this AOR or next

1) I know I need to wait at least 8 days (or more) between Citi apps. Does it matter if I go with personal or business first? I have ZERO business cards but I actually have a small business that will begin charging membership fees/sending paper invites in January, so would actually like a business card for this.

2) Should I do one card (ex: Citi AA personal) followed by the AOR in 8 days or should I start with AOR and then followup 8 days later with one card app (ex: Citi AA personal)?

3) Heard US Bank can be picky. Apply for Club Carlson card first out of AOR batch?

4) Any additional ideas for cards to add? Hotels? Cards that will help rack up AA OR United miles? Can easily do 3500 in expenses per month via BB and have great access to VR/2 BBs as well to help with MS on cards when needed.

How would you do this? What order to apply and what day cycle? Ready to pull the trigger but I am nervous as it's my first AOR! Thanks again for the help.

StartinSanDiego

No luck-- here's what I got:


Thank you for your recent inquiry concerning your
application for a Chase credit account.

At this time, we do not offer guaranteed, co-signer, or
secured accounts.

Please visit our website referenced below for the most
current offers and terms available.

www.creditcards.chase.com

Also, may we suggest a way to obtain a credit history is
to establish accounts with department stores, gas
stations, or local financial institutions. Many of these
companies may not require an established credit history.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact a
Credit representative at 1-888-245-0625 , Monday through
Friday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 10:00 PM Eastern
time.

Thank you for choosing Chase. We welcome the opportunity
to be of service.

healthnut

I just did a similar AOR (and my first too!) and I did the Citi AA card with my first batch of apps and then a single Citi HHonors card 8 days later and was instantly approved for both. I think it's best to do a batch of apps and then a single Citi app 8 days later, especially if you're pulling for the Club Carlson Card.

I did Barclays first, then US Bank and was instantly approved. I had wayyyy more inquiries than you as well, so I think you are fine without freezing the two additional credit bureaus that are discussed on the Club Carlson thread, but YMMV. Since no Barclays in your AOR, no worries.

Have you thought about churning the Citi HHonors card? If you head over to their thread I think you'll find it very useful for trips to Europe... Although Hilton devalued, it looks like this card can be churned at a faster rate than most.


Hope this helps!! I am as excited for you as I am for myself!

Edit: and as to your last question... I would try for the Barclay's US Air. No required spend (single purchase only) grants you 35k which will shortly be AA points!

dawhipsaw

I'd add SPG personal and business to your lists. Those will transfer at 1:1 (or better if done in 20k chunks) straight into AA. 25k bonus for each + 5k spending on each = 75k AA miles.

If you are going to go for the Club Carlson card, I would put that first. Do the full AOR and then the second Citi card 8 days later. IMO.

cowboyguy

If someone already has CSP, Ink, BCP, Freedom, Discover, Southwest, Delta Gold, United Explorer, what are the next best cards to get?

Ok, I know it is hard to get the best of both worlds, but what if someone wants to? Looking for 2-3 options for the next app-o-rama.

timothy10

I would go with the Barclays US Airways and the Citi AA cards (personal and biz). After the merger you'll be able to combine all of those points into one and there some good redemption options out there depending on where you're coming from.

rvandeut

I would agree. If you're not as interested in miles, the Barclay Arrival card is a great option!

cowboyguy

Hmm, how about another Amex card like Platinum or something? I've never been a fan of their high AF but people say its worth it.

On a separate note, I don't have any hotel cards yet. So I'm thinking about getting one soon.

nrdk

If you're doing AmEx plat, best time is towards the end of a year (get 2 years of Airline fee reimbursement for 1 AF) and also to wait for a juicy targeted offer. I actually received an offer about a month after my last AOR for 100k MR with the AmEx Plat and jumped on it, even with all my recent inquiries because it seems relatively rare to have such a high offer on it. Figure I'll get my moneys worth alone out of the Airline fee reimbursement for 2 years and all of the AmEx offers, and the 100k is just gravy.

cowboyguy

Is this card generally hard to get approved for? Due to my last app-o-rama back in July, my score fell down to around 695. Also, how to get the 100k kind of offer?

nrdk

Ouch, with a sub 700 score you may want to cool the burners a bit regardless and nurture it for awhile.

After all my recent apps, I was sitting at ~730s across all my scores when I received the 100k offer in snail mail, and only went for it because 100k MR, $400 reimbursement, and the other fringe benefits were too good to pass on.

No clue what prompted the offer for myself, maybe something to do with the fact I had applied for plenty of cards recently however have not had any previous relationship with AmEx? Couldn't really tell you for sure, I've got good credit, recent (spring time) first mortgage, student loan debt, and about 8 CC since the start of the year so not sure what criteria they were looking at.