JakeW

Wait, so you're saying I can get 2 RT tickets to Hawaii with 1 CC? I live on the west coast with direct flights.

EDIT: Just read the mommy points post on this topic. This is GREAT news! We have a family member who works for Alaska, so I'll have her keep an eye out! Superb! Thanks for the tip!

PainCorp

It all depends on your income and credit score, it's hard to say without knowing anything.

kpd905

I ended up getting approved for the four that I applied for. Amex Premier Gold, citi aa, united mileageplus explorer, and barclays us air.

Spends are all pretty low, so after I hit them I'll have my girlfriend apply for a few cards.

tosaket

This is my current status:
Experian score - 749
Creditkarma - 759
Hard pulls - 12/31/12, 8/10/12, 02/07/2012, 07/13/2011
Credit Cards:
CSP - 9200$
Chase freedom - 8500$
BofA travel rewards - 3000$
Citi AA visa - 10k$
Citi AA amex - 10k$
Average account age - 10 months
Oldest account age - 2yrs 6 months
Current utilization rate - 13%


I`m thinking about applying for a few of the following cards in my first round:
1. Amex PRG - 50k offer
2. Amex Delta - 45k offer
3. Chase southwest premier- 50k offer (I already have 2 Chase cards and would prefer variety this time)
4. US Bank FlexPerks Visa - 17,500 flex points
5. US Airways Premier - 50k offer
6. Amex SPG

Meeting the minimum spend is not an issue. Questions -
1. Should I wait till 2nd Mar to apply? (91 day rule)
2. Any cards which I should add/remove ?
3. Chances of getting approved?
4. Should I apply 2 Amex on a single day? Would this cause just one hard pull or two since one is revolving and other is charge?
5. How many cards should I aim for given my low average age of accounts?

RhubarbPie

Im def not a seasoned churner, but the 2 things that stand out to me are your util % and average age of accounts. It does seem like you have decent limits on some good cards already, so you probably wont have a problem, but I might wait a little bit and get my utilization down.

tosaket

I pay all my accounts in full on time. I`ll try to pay them off before the bank reports the balances as outstanding and bring down the number to <5%. This might take a few weeks.

PainCorp

Do the US Bank first, they'll use anything to reject you.

What about the Amex SPG? I'm assuming you mean Chase SWA Premiere, right? Although that only really matters if you're keeping it. What about the UA MP Explorer card?

Wait the 91 days.

tosaket

What do you mean by doing US Bank first? I was planning to do all of them at the same time. I`m not sure if there is a difference ?

I would prefer SWA over UA MP.

PainCorp

You are going to do one app and then the next and then the next, right? You will have to do one that starts the AoR, thus do the US Bank one first, then go on to the rest.

If Chase can give you even $2,300 more in credit you can get both, but if you don't want it, don't worry about it.

tosaket

Got it. So how many and which cards should I aim for given my low average age of accounts? I`ve a lot of travel coming up this summer (international and domestic) so I`m aiming for airlines cards and may be one hotel card.

panamafever

Hi All!

I just started working the points/rewards system back in November, and am hoping to do a legit App-o-Rama this time around. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!

Here's my current status:

CreditKarma score: 751
Hard pulls - 3, back between Nov 1 and Octoberish
Credit Cards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred - $10,000 limit
Chase Ink Cash - $3,000
Wells Fargo credit card - $800
USAA card - $3500
USAA card - $4200
Average account age - 2yrs 4 months
Oldest account age - 8 yrs 3 months
Current utilization rate - 13% (should drop to 0% in a few days when I pay all balances down to zero, like I do every month)

OBJECTIVE: Maximize Chase UR points, to ultimately transfer them to United. That said, since it's an app-o-rama, I wouldn't mind adding on a non-UR card or two if it won't go above my minimum spend and is a good call.

Cards to Apply for:
Chase Freedom
Chase MileagePlus

I'm also interested in applying for the Mastercard version of the Chase Freedom if that's allowed, as well as the Sapphire Preferred World Mastercard (but still trying to confirm if that'll work, as some say it does and others say I'll get a letter stating that I already *have* a Sapphire preferred (even though the one I have is Visa)). I'd also consider adding in other cards like the British Airways card, the Southwest card, or one of the hotel cards (I haven't dabbled in hotel stuff at ALL yet). FYI, we haven't had Masha apply for any Chase cards yet, though I got an extra Sapphire card for her to use, so I'm guessing we could apply for her to have one but I'm tying to keep hard inquiries to a minimum for her.

OK, that's it. Again, any suggestions are definitely welcome. I'm guessing most people would suggest a lot more than 2 cards for an app-o-rama, so which other ones should I pick? Thanks!!!

aarif1

I've heard of people getting approved for 2 Chase personal cards at the same time with a call to reconsideration, but I don't think I've ever heard of more than that. Most of the cards you listed (Sapphire, BA, Southwest, some of the hotel cards) are all from Chase. You have to spread out over different card issuers. If you really want to go all out, I would suggest:

- The 2 Chase cards you mentioned originally
- Maybe a Chase business card (Southwest business or Ink)
- A citi card (AA or Hilton, with the former being a much greater value)
- An Amex card (the Preferred Rewards Gold has a limited time 50k offer; otherwise SPG is good too)
- USAir card from Barclays

punjabi2

Another vote for max of 2 chase cards in one aor. That is what I was told when I was planning on doing my first aor. You dont want to be in Chase's bad books

c2d

Just wanted to post an update and ask a related question. I received all my 10 cards over the last week.

Min spend completed: 3 of 10 cards.
Min spend $ remaining: $15750

While doing this spend, I realized that I'd like to maximize points by leveraging the bonus categories for each card, but it is hard to remember which card has bonus for which categories. Do you have some sort of small cheat sheet to remind you which card will earn you bonus for which categories?

Here's my 1st attempt:
Amex PRG - 3x Air, 2x Gas/Supermarkets, 1x rest
Amex HHonors - 6x Hilton, 3x rest
Ink Bold - $50k/yr[5x office/Cell/TV/Internet, 2x Gas/Hotel-direct], 1x rest
Freedom -1Q - $1500[5x drugstores/Gas/starbucks], 1x rest

I want to print this in small size and keep in my wallet or save to my iPhone. What do you think?

WhateverDude

I read a tip to write in sharpie on each card what to use it for. if that changes, a little nail polish remover will erase the sharpie. then leave that written on section exposed in your wallet (if your wallet is arranged that way).