pattermj

So, I have decided (rather late sadly) that I need to track the cards I have had to start better churning activities. The problem is I have been doing this for 5-7 years now and not really been proactive about it. I have gone through my credit report to identify the cards I have opened and closed but sadly cant easily differentiate which card was which. Most are from Chase so probably different southwest or united but i want to be sure.

Is it possible for me to call chase (whom I do still have cards with) and ask which cards I have had? If I have the information from the credit report will that be enough for them to find it (and release such information)? I just want to make sure we are making use of our credit score now that I don't have to worry about keeping it at 800 as we just bought our house. Might as well make something from it is my opinion but I don't want to waste annual fees.

Thanks much

sdsearch

At Amex, which as a "once in a lifetime" (per specific card type) rule which actually means "until they drop off of our records after about 7 years", you can certainly call and have them list the cards you've had before. You might want to call twice just to make sure you got the list correctly, but after you get that list, any card not on the list you should be able to get a signup bonus for.

However, I don't know if you need to call the bank at Chase. You may have the records you need and not realize it. That's because Chase gives the bonus if you no longer have the card (that's easy to tell, isn't it?) and if it's been more than 24 months since you last go the bonus. Well, depending on which card it is, in many cases (for example, United) you should be able to look up activity 2 years back. If going back 2 years in activity doesn't show a signup bonus, that means it was longer ago, and give it an extra month of padding perhaps just to be sure, and you should good for getting another signup bonus on that card again.

So (at least for partner cards) Chase doesn't care when you closed the card, they card when you got the bonus.

I'm not sure how it works for UR cards, except that there's now a new limit of one Sapphire card per customer, so if you have one Sapphire card don't bother trying to apply for a different kind of Sapphire card.

So it depends very much on the specific bank's specific churning rules for that card as to whether you need to call the bank or whether you need to look for info somewhere else.

pattermj

Hmm good point on the bonus dates through rewards programs. Since the ones I am most interested in are southwest and United they should be there. Still have some questions on others but not as crucial. Thanks.