CarloNYC

I just did an AOR last week and these are the outcomes:

US Bank Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa - pending for 7 – 10 business days – called reconsideration line at 800-947-1444 and was informed that it’s going through a normal process – rep said that they just tend to be a bit more conservative with lending and to wait for the next few days for approval. It was approved via email 2 days later.

AMEX SPG Personal Card - Instant approval

Chase Sapphire Preferred - Pending for up to 10 business days – approved after calling reconsideration line at 888-245-0625

Barclays World Arrival Mastercard - Pending up to 30 days but approved after calling reconsideration line at 888-408-4064

Citi HHonors Visa Signature -Instant approval

B of A Hawaiian Airlines Visa Signature - Instant approval

So it was 50% instant approval, 2 were approved after calling, and 1 not approved with a call although ultimately approved.

FYI: I had 100% instant approval for 4 CCs last December and the short-lived 100k AMEX Platinum last January.

My best guess is that multiple variables come into play depending on one's credit history. I have no trouble calling the reconsideration lines but I'd prefer not to so hopefully my recent AOR experience is not going to be the norm. US Bank seems to be the least likely to approve instantly. FrequentMiler was given the same response that I got when he applied for the US Bank Club Carlson card during his recent million-mile madness.

midnightinharlem

Hey all,

Wanted to hear thoughts on which cards I should sign up for next. I fly frequently but don't book many stays in hotels. My airlines are US Air (soon to become AA) and United. My goals are either to accumulate miles on these airlines or cash back. Also, after this quarter I won't have a good card for >2% back on restaurants (I eat out often). My CreditKarma score is 774, and my oldest account is from 2007.

Total credit lines of ~115k. Each card that I've opened in the past few months has been a 10-20k limit. I'm not necessarily looking to open a few credit cards now, but more want to know which cards provide good rewards and which I should spring for should a signup bonus come up. I have plenty of VRs in my area to manufacture spend.

Current cards:
Penfed Cash Rewards Visa - 17k limit, use for gas (5%)
Amex Blue Cash Preferred - 12k limit, use for groceries (6%)
Amex Premier Rewards Gold - no limit, don't use
Chase Freedom - 13k limit, use for restaurants in 2Q (5%)
Chase Sapphire Preferred - 20k limit, don't use
Chase United Explorer Card - 17k limit, United flights
Fidelity Amex - 12k limit, use for anything else (2%)
Fidelity Visa - 2k limit, barely use
Barclays US Air Mastercard - 15k limit, US Air flights
Citi Dividend World Mastercard - 5k limit, my oldest credit card; don't use

I am thinking about (i) the SPG card but not sure what that does for me (United miles I suppose), and (ii) one or two of the Citi AA cards, but I'm not sure if a promotion is coming. What cards should I go after next?

firsttimeflying

After you open a card, how long should you wait with a $0 statement balance to cancel the card (in months)?

Slickw

Does lowering your credit limit negatively affect your scores? Or is there no change as long as utilization is low?

MadeInTheUSA

Thanks for the advice!

I think I will definitely get at least a Hyatt card for myself. Any thoughts on a Priority Club CC for Holiday Inn/Express hotels in NYC?

aresay

How do you lower your credit limit, do you just call up Citi and ask? I would assume no, but does doing so result in a hard inquiry as it does with requesting an increase?

Lemma

Yes, you should be able to do that, and no, it shouldn't trigger a hard pull. I always call Citi to have them set my cash advance limit to $0 so I don't have to worry about them unexpectedly coding something as a cash advance - the transaction would just be declined (not all banks will do that - sometimes cash advance limit is a fixed % of overall credit limit). When you do that they warn you that lowering your credit limits is irreversible without applying for a credit limit increase in the normal way and triggering a hard pull.

michael_v

I do it via secure messages. It does not result in hard pull.

ChurnBabyChurn

Do the SPG in your and your wife's name, and do the same with the business SPG card...

Will end up with 120,000 SPG points...

Use them on the New york St Regis, and show your mom you really love her...

Sunburn644

Well if there is no annual fee, keep it until wants to move the CL when you do your next AOR.

If there isan annual feef, I would call them up at about 10 months and see if they can either waive the annual fee or offer you more rewards. For exmple, I called Chase to cancel my WN card and they offered to double my renewal bonus of 3000 to 6000 so I kept it.

gtu2004

I don't know why you'd want to reduce the credit limit just so you *may* be able to avoid reconsideration calls in the future. Once the credit limit is reduced, you'd need another hard inquiry to bring up your credit limit with the bank again. Not only that, your credit utilization will be hampered for no good reason, thus lower your credit score.

BrandonDuh

Need some advice on timing my next (and 2nd) AoR! I am planning on waiting the 91 days, but recently had fraudulent activity on a card (so it was closed and reopened). So my question is: Does that new account opening restart the clock or am I still on track?

businessmachine

I completely agree. Unless you're afraid of chase closing you down due to excessive credit, there is no reason to lower your credit with a bank

birdseye

The SPG card is a horrible source of United miles as the transfer ratio is 1:2, meaning you get half as many miles as you have SPG points. The transfer ratio from SPG to AA and US Air is 1:1 with a transfer bonus of 5,000 miles for every 20,000 SPG points transferred (20,000 SPG = 25,000 AA or US Air). The SPG card is a great card, but make sure you know what you are getting. If you want more United miles, Ink Bold or Ink Plus is your best bets.

The SPG Amex has historically had a higher bonus offer in the summer, 30,000 points. I think you are more likely to see this offer this summer than you are to see an AA card offer higher than 50,000 miles. Historically there was a 100,000 AA mile offer in 2011, but don't think that will come back anytime soon, as the offers have been stable at 30,000 to 50,000 miles ever since.

I would sign up for an AA card next if I were you, since they will eventually combine with your US Airways miles.

MileRunn3r

I plan on applying for few cards today which offer travel rewards. Thinking about Amex MB, Chase Hyatt, etc... Any suggestions or advice from the experts out there?