waingro

I haven't heard of that HA Biz deal. Sounds good since they never waive annual fees. Link?

Anyway, watch out for this:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...-accounts.html

webazoid

i had no idea that there was a problem merging the accounts. i thought first year was free but maybe i was mistaken. at any rate, its $50/year, which is lower than the personal account. this is the link: https://www.applyonlinenow.com/USBCa...sb&sc=UABO4G#b

waingro

Yeah, it's weird since HA allows free personal miles transfers.

I think I will move away from the traditional 90+ day AoR as well. As long as I'm 60 days between apps with a particular bank and can meet the min. spend, I'll go for it.

jatink129

But then what happens if a good deal comes around during that 1 month period that you're waiting between your mAOR(Ha! I like that.)?

StartinSanDiego

I'm on the slow path...Unless I change strategies, I think I'll be doing 2-3 cards 2x a year or so. So far this year, 2013, I've only grabbed one new card, and one for my husband. We both did app o ramas in 2012-- 3 cards for him, 4 for me. I thought I was going to do AOR's on a 90 day schedule, but instead, it's June and I never got around to it.

I know some people want to blaze through as fast as possible to get the good offers out there before they evaporate, but I find the logistics just too hard to keep track of.

I think my focus will be on the best offers (we had a targeted 75K Amex gold card/low spend... sweet!), and I'll do it whenever it falls on the app calendar.

ctruzzi

Hi all,
I am looking at advice for how to actually start doing churning. I am specifically interested in frequent flyer miles and can provide my information for any and all to help.

Payment:
I spend about $1500-$2000 a month on CC's.
I also have a 10k cost coming up around mid July.

Interest:
Looking mainly at international trips from the NW (Seattle),domestic are less important.

Credit: 718 - 752 when I got my mortgage back in October.

I currently have:
CITI FORWARD - 3+ years had aprox 160k TYP and is my daily card (should I change it?)
Macy's CC - never used and doesn't show on credit pulls (strange)
BECU CC (credit union).

I see suggestions for both doing all my CC's at once and for throttling them.
My questions are as follows
Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred still the best card to start with?
The citi AA is only at 30k bonus, should I wait to see if it bumps to 40k or 50k or is that most likely never going to happen?
Starwood by American Express - I have never used an AE card before and don't know how many places in the Seattle area accept that.
BoF Alaska card - AS is based in Seattle.

Would those be the best four cards for me to start with since my focus is on international tickets?

I keep seeing the Lufthansa Premier with 50k and people say wait if you are just starting, but won't it go away sooner then later?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

jpwizard111

due to the length of my total credit cards owned, my credit score is suffering. Any way to increase a credit score? Credit Karma says my score is 682. According to Credit Karma's scoring I score As on everything except for a wicked D on length of credit cards owned and a C on Credit Inquiries... and i'm planning an AOR of the following
-Hilton Surpass
-Lufthansa M&M
-Virgin Amex
-Hawaiian Airlines 2x
-Ink Plus
-Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard

Any advice?

jmw

That is a FAKO score. No lender uses that. The only real FICO scores are from lenders or from myfico. Just about everything else is FAKO. If you go to myfico, get the Equifax one. Hardly anyone uses the Transunion score from there.

dcpilgrim

Ink is better imho, (5X categories, bigger bonus, same transfer partners, greater willingness to waive the fee on retention, citi Forward covers the dining category for you which is one of the CSP's edges over Ink).



Check the thread, I though 40K was the going offer. If you want AA miles, go get the US Air card (35K, first purchase) also, as eventually they *should* become AA miles.

Good card, the last few years the bonus gets bumped 5K to 30K sometime in the summer months. Amex is very widely accepted, just not quite as widely as Visa. Once you are in this game, you will never be carrying just one card in your wallet anyways.


A couple months ago you could get it with 25K bonus, $75 AF and $100 statement credit with 1K spend. Look for that link if you can.

Ink Bold, AA, US, United, CSP, SPG, maybe Alaska (one ways), wait for high bonus offers 50K+ for the Amex MR cards. Why limit to four cards? If you are just getting started make a list of 10 cards, just don't go get them in a single AoR.

I'd want to get some high spend cards (Ink, SPG, CSP) in place for that July spend. You best rewards come from meeting min spend.

kevinwangjk

Just to give an update on my AOR that I just did today (super delayed I know):

Barclay USAir - Instant Approval
US Bank Club Carlson - Pending, called still pending, said 2-3 days (I guess this is common?)
AA biz 30k after 1k - Pending, called and approved (address did not match, I recently moved)
Chase Hyatt - Pending, called and approved, needed to shift some credit (address did not match, I recently moved)
Chase Ink Bold - Pending, called and approved, needed to verify biz info

Funny how I changed my address on both Citi and Chase website after I moved about 1 month ago, but it still wasn't refreshed in their systems.

Should I bother calling US Bank again or should I just wait?

I don't know why I chose the Citi 30k offer instead of the 40k or 35k... Wasn't awake enough to make the right decision in the morning I guess...

chubbuni13

For the past 2 1/2 years, I've hit the credit card bonuses pretty hard... I'm kind of getting to the point where I don't really have any obvious choices on which cards to get anymore. Wanted to see if someone wanted to chime in with their thoughts on what I should apply for in my next 91 day churn.

So far I've already gotten signup bonuses on:

- All Chase UR products (Ink Plus, Bold, Sapphire, Freedom)
- All three Citi AA cards (although it's been 18 months for one since last bonus)
- Pretty much all Chase airline/hotel cards with exception of BA and Southwest
- All iterations of Amex MR earning cards (PRG, PRG Biz, Plat, MBZ Plat, Biz Plat)
- All Hilton cards (Reserve, AMEX, Visa, Surpass)
- B of A cards (Alaska, Hawaiian, Virgin)
- SPG Personal and Business (twice after 18 month hiatus)
- US Airways Personal MasterCard (3x already)
- All Delta cards


So far, I'm sort of leaning towards getting another 40k signup bonus for a Citi AA card, the 50k bonus for Lufthansa from Barclays and the 85k signup bonus from Club Carlson, but I'm trying to see if I can round out a couple more bonuses from either Chase and/or Bank of America. I'm holding off currently on Southwest cards until my EXP status on AA runs out next year, so I can try and apply for both personal and business cards to get 90% of the way to a Companion Pass.

I know I've pretty much covered most of my bases, but can anyone suggest a card that I might be leaving out?

ctruzzi

Awesome, so for dining category the Citi Forward is already the best (no wonder I have so many points with my 9-11k a year in restaurants). For the Ink Bold I would need to set up a business system under the govt though wouldn't I?

Right now on the Citi site it's only 30k, will look around to see if there's any links for the 40k deal.

That is what I have heard. Thanks

Will look for that, I currently think it has the 25k bonus with the $100 statement.

Thanks again, so the Amex MR cards I can follow the forums and if there is a good deal I would see it here.

I am fine with having more, however I thought it was usually advised to only do 2 cards per month. Please correct me if that's wrong, but then four cards would be at least until August and with the spending requirements would the other CC's I look at be lower goals for points to hit (like 30k points for 1k spent)?

Thanks for all the help, I knew the best rewards are from meeting min spends, so the Ink and CSP look good. The AA is middle but since it seems the best for me to fly other then AS from SEA that would be a good card to grab now as well.

ctbarron

One of the "points" cards, like US Bank, Cap One Venture, Barclays Arrival? Virgin America (if you can actually use it...)? You've got quite a list covered already!

chubbuni13

I wouldn't mind getting the Cap One card if they come out with that "Match whatever you have in another mileage account" promotion. Otherwise, the bonus doesn't seem worth it.

Strangely enough, the only rejection I've gotten in 10 churns was the Virgin America Barclay card. I might have to try that again!

dcpilgrim

5x TYP vs 2.14 UR - a debate for the ages.

Gov't has nothing to do with it. Some people do it based on e-bay, rentals, etc. Don't lie on the apps, but lots of people's pathetic sidelines, paired with a strong personal credit file have gotten biz cards like Ink.

Pretty much don't apply for a card w/o reading the last couple pages of the thread.

I got 100K for the plat earlier this year, and am working on 75K for the biz BR Gold. Having either the personal gold or even green cards can block you from a hot offer. Don't settle for 25K. These offers can have a short window.

Four is a fine number. Just plan on getting a bunch of cards over the next year or so. Whether its 4 cards every 90 days, or 1-2 cards every sixty, is a question of preference and strategy. Keep reading.