JohnnyGraz

Thanks for the info. Very disappointing to hear though. Oh well.

jatink129

I've heard of people who've had luck with getting CITI to pull TU, but that was in CA and not here.

I've only ever seen Citi and Amex and Chase pull EX for us here in CT (and MA).

dukerau

I'm planning an AOR and want to run my plan by the experts:

Existing cards:
Amex: PRG, BGR, BCP
Chase: Freedom (PC from CSP), United, Ink Plus
Citi: Forward, TY Premier, AA Visa, AA Amex, Dividend, AA Biz
BoA: 1-2-3
Barclays: USAir, NFL, Priceline

Inquiries in last 6 months / 12 months / 24 months:
EQ 1/2/5
EX 2/4/7
TU 0/2/5

Thinking about applying to:

Amex: SPG (30K)
Chase: Priority Club / IHG (80K)
Citi: AA Visa (50K), possibly another AA Visa or Hilton the following week

Questions:
1. Can I apply for both personal and business versions of SPG? Even with 3 existing Amex cards? If not, which should I do on this go-round?
2. Is it easy to get Ink Bold if you already have Ink Plus? I do not have a "real" business.
3. The Arrival and the United biz card are tempting, but I've seen so many reports of declines I'm leaning against trying. What's the experience on those 2?
4. I've tried churning the USAir card once and was declined. Does anyone have experience with getting approved for a 2nd card on 2nd try? I still have my 1st open because it provides the 5K discount on awards and the 10K anniversary bonus.

ma91pmh

how much you want to bet? i am seeing multiple days next june with as many as 5 F seats

jatink129

1. Amex will let you have 4 credit cards. Personal or Business, makes no difference but not more than 4. Charge cards are not counted.
Also, apply for both on the same day, you might just get lucky and get your credit pulls combined, but one will be denied automatically...That card will then get approved later on on it's own or by calling recon in a few days.

2. Depending on how long it's been since your last AOR and how much credit Chase is willing to extend to you, you might just get auto-approved for it. If you don't, you can always say that you need it for the ability to transfer points to partner hotels and airlines.

3. You'll have to read the respective threads and go back about 10 pages or so to get the current status of applications.

4. How long has it been? If it's been more than 6 months and you've put a lot of spend on it, you may just get auto-approved or you may be able to talk them into giving it to you by saying you need it for separate expenditures. Again, I'm not the authority here so you'd be best helped by reading the thread.

Cheers.

saacman5033

For FEB 2014? Sorry though, I should have clarified I was talking about flying in Y as that's what OP can afford for now. And finding Y availability on HA from JFK using any partner's miles is nearly impossible no matter how far in advance the booking.

dukerau

To be clear, since I have the personal and biz golds (PRG and BGR) and a Blue, I only have 1 non-charge Amex, so I can get 3 more, right?

ma91pmh

ah yes my bad, apologies

bobert24

I may be misunderstanding you, but I think you're confusing charge cards and credit cards that have annual fees. AmEx still issues charge cards. Those cards are not counted towards your limit of 4.

bobert24

Just to clarify: is that (one getting denied, then approved) true because he already has 3 AmEx cards, or is that how it works for anyone who applies for 2 AmEx cards on the same day?

I'm thinking about doing a mini AOR in a few days, with the AA 50k mile card and both SPG cards. I was going to use 3 browsers and submit them all at the same time. Would I still most likely have automatic denial, followed by later approval (or having to call reconsideration)? Thanks.

dukerau

Right. Since PRG and BGR are charge cards, I assume they do not count towards the limit of 4, so I can get 3 more Amex cards?

dukerau

Looks like there's plenty of availability with UA miles for the month of Feb, save V-Day weekend. Seems like an easy choice, 40K for the flight is 2 cpm. Your other UR points can get you to OZ/NZ one-way, but as others have said, the AA explorer award might be a better option for you, and it's possible the US->AA merger will happen quickly enough that your 40K miles can get you closer to the miles you'd need to get that. If it were me, I would use UA miles to book the flight to HI and start applying for AA cards.

jatink129

That's just how it works for Amex cards. They won't approve you for both on the same day. And then the second just auto-approves itself a few days later or you can call recon for it.

The AA card doesn't really play into whether or not you'll be approved for the SPG. So you could apply for the SPG and then apply for the AA 5 minutes later. Or the other way around. Makes no difference.

As to whether you'll be auto-approved for the 2nd SPG later on or if you'll have to call recon, I really can't tell you. It depends on a LOT of factors.

Theoretically, yes.
Practically, no. Amex won't even approve two cards in one day...much less approving three cards.

The second card either through recon or automatically will only get approved 4-5 days later. A third card would not be easy to explain to recon.

Unless if you were just asking generally...In which case the answer is a simple Yes.
Cheers.

ma91pmh

And if the OP wants to build their AA account quickly it seems the Citi cards are churnable once again and should be possible to build a decent balance quite quickly.

See the excellent thread wiki:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...ost-first.html

dukerau

Yep, I was asking more generally. I will be applying for at most 2 at this time. Thanks!