bobert24

That's pretty much what I thought. I've already got my list going, ordered by value and likelihood that they'll still be around in 3-6 months. Thankfully there will be 2 of doing AORs, so we should be able to pull in most of the key features between the two of us. Thanks for the confirmation that we're on the right path.

bobert24

I think you're right, but the situation is pretty much the opposite in my case. We've already got all our travel for 2014 already paid for at this point. My problem is that I'm looking down the road, trying to figure out the fastest way to get these cards and start the clock so I can churn them again in the future. That, and SW just started flying out of my home airport, so the companion pass is suddenly very interesting to me, especially if I can get it sooner rather than later in the year.

mnscout

Marriott is not a good idea unless you're transferring a bunch with a bonus. I believe Hyatt points work the best (5K to 2.4?) if transferred in small numbers.

mnscout

Not often, but I believe I saw at least three last year (?), and they lasted like a day or two each.

Where to watch for them? We have a dedicated Amex thread here in Credit Card Programs, although I'm sure the excitement will spill over

rodsren

MAke sure not to put each other s authorized users on each others account, or it will look like each of you have twice as much credit (yours and hers). You can do an authorized used with a child with a SS# or parent if they aren't into credit.

Just my 2 cents,for what it's worth.

rodsren

g8trgr8t

thanks. will keep my eyes open but don't always have time for daily check. 50k would definitely motivate me to file an application

whitey4545

I'm new to this and would like some advise.

I currently have a 666 Credit score with Trans and 700 with Experian.

I recently signed up for on October 1st Arrival (1K CL)and CSP (5K)

I would like to sign up for new cards soon, but I am concerned with my credit score. I currently have 1 negative from 6 years ago that was an unpaid college housing bill. Other than that I have no missed payments. I have a mortgage AAoA is less than 2 years as I had never really used credit before the mortgage. Utilization is at about 3% and I have 4 hard pulls total in the past 12 months on all CR combined.

Is it too risky to add any new CC to what I have? Here is what I would like to do.

I would like to get the Freedom card while it is 20,000 points
Citi AA executive card for 50k points
Amex Old Cash blue card (I may do a decent amount of MS)

Is this a risky move? I am also planning on taking a trip that would like to stay at a hyatt and I would like to APP again around summer time to get the Two weekend certificate from Hyatt?

Am I crazing thinking about doing another set of Apps right now? I get that the reward on the cards I am looking at getting really are not that great all things considered. Any advise would be great.

Thanks

TravelingRabbit

With your credit score it will be pretty rough to get approved. That being said, you can still TRY to apply, just don't be overly aggressive, and expect lots of rejections. You can always call recon and explain.

The worst is they'll reject you and you'll not be able to apply for 6 months... which isn't going to hurt you anyway.

MDtR-Chicago

So this will drop off next year?

One approach would be to just wait the year out. (Which, incidentally, is what I would do, for what that's worth.)

The other would be to arrange to have it taken off your report now. There are many (legitimate) ways of doing this, especially if you're prepared to actually pay some portion of it.

Best resource for that would be to go to the forums at myfico.com and search for either "pay for delete" or "goodwill letter", depending on if you've actually paid it yet or not.

(Incidentally, why would you get an AA Executive card with a huge annual fee rather than a Platinum? Are you going to use the lounge access that much?)

whitey4545

I actually paid the bill the day after they sent it to collections. I (college athlete) was told by the coaching staff that they would pay my housing and all I wanted was for the coach to tell me that I was lied to and I had to pay the bill and I would have paid it on time and I told them that they entire time. Not to mention that this was a high ranking Jesuit institution that told me they would not send me to collections and we had an understanding.

Sorry long story short it is paid and I would love to know of a way to get it removed early from my credit report.

I meant the platinum AA card and said the wrong card.

How much will getting that removed impact my credit? All other credit has been paid on time.

MDtR-Chicago

When the last negative mark from my misspent youth fell off, it was ~40 points gain.

Since you paid it, either wait one more year or research a goodwill letter, as I referenced above.

farwest101

Meh, when you are just starting out, you don't really know what works, so getting a lot of cards in different programs isn't a terrible thing as you quickly learn what programs are junk, and what aren't. Reading about it, without have miles in your account and trying to figure out the nitty gritty is almost a fool's errand.

Heck, even a year later of starting this game, and a few million in redemptions under my belt, I am still surprised how worthless Skypesos are, even when SO is Diamond. Yet well known pimps (who "proudly censor") are out there praising that worthless program - bottom line is you can't trust much what is spewed online - you just gotta try it yourself.

bobert24

Even though it wasn't aimed at me, thanks, that's very useful info. To make sure I'm understanding correctly: it's never a good idea to add an authorized user who may be doing an AOR of their own? Because the next time they go to apply for a card, it shows up as them having their credit limits on all of their cards, as well as the limits on all of your cards that they're an authorized user on. Is that right?

MDtR-Chicago

Not never... if the authorized user has a thin credit file or a high utilization, it could theoretically be helpful to have additional empty credit lines available.

nrdk

This.

I added my girlfriend as an AU, as she has some CC debt and I received a bonus for it. At the same time it actually added a nice CL to her thin file, which bumped her score up 15 points to better than mine at 760