Are "app-o-ramas" still a thing?
 

I started this game back in 2012, but I've been out for a while since having kids. Back then we'd do these 6-8 applications in a day (app-o-rama). Can we still do those? I'm trying to get like 300k AA miles in the next few months, so taking a look at my options.

The App-O-Rama theory was that applying simultaneously hid the credit Inquiries from other issuers, but...

1) Inquiries now post in near real time,
2) Issuers have become more interested in factors other than Inquiries,
3) There are only two issuers of cards which earn AA miles.

Citi, in particular, is prone to reject applicants with large credit lines and no/low apparent utilization.

Short answer: no. Long answer; yes, of course you CAN, but as per mia above and history of the past few years AOR’s no longer work successfully.
​​ Not sure how expensive your kids and your wife are and unsure of your personal financial situation, are but ~$600,000 in a Bask Bank account will earn ~100,000 AA miles per month (depending on the # of days in the month).

while there are exceptions i'd take 2500-ish or so cash interest that amount would generate..
while apporamas of old days are not relevant theses days for family you can still go with both spouses doing citi and aviator cards (and/or perhaps business mixed in).. plus getting AS miles can be a good alternative to AA with access to similar awards - that opens the options of BoA, Barclays Hawaiian and even amex via HA miles

Unfortunately, those points are not loyalty points.
Apparently, opening a new Bask Bank saving account for at least $50K and keeping it for 6 months will get you 10K AA LPs.
As said above, it will also generate AAdvantage miles (2 per every dollar saved annually)

Not a terrible deal if you have the cash lying around. Their savings interest rate is quite competitive, IMO.

Do they all have to be AA miles, or can they be a mix of several kinds of miles that can all be redeemed to AA?

Because it would a lot easier to earn 300k combination of AA miles, AS miles, BA miles, etc, fairly quickly, than just to earn 300k of AA miles itself.

Hell yes. Depending on how you define an AOR. I've never in 10 years tried to drop two apps on two browsers with two banks who pull the same bureau expecting that they wouldn't be seen by each other(like why?). I AOR to double or triple up with any single bank to combine hard pulls same day, and then hit the next bank same day because your new accounts won't show up for a day or more (and that's only if they're personal cards). Depending on where you live, you could apply for 6+ cards in 1 day with only 1 hard pull per bureau. Not even counting amex who doesn't even pull. Even if they do pull the same bureau, which is probably TU, I've gotten barclays and BoA or USB all same day, multiple cards with each.

You can still grab 3 AA cards right now, assuming you haven't had the citi cards in 4 years (and you don't have PTSD). Add in AS and HA, you could pull more than 400k same day, one player, assuming you're not bothered with 5/24

That thinking was applicable 10 years ago but has been unlikely to be successful since. Maybe for someone who has never had a CC before, but very unlikely for anyone who has had more than a few CCs. 10 years ago I (one player) was at 40/24 for 4-5 years running, including many AORs, it’s just not possible anymore.

Every issuer has tightened their approval criteria, every issuer has instituted specific anti-churning (anti-AOR) policies. Be it 7 years (AmEx), 5/24 (Chase), 2/3/4 (BOA), 1/24 (Barclays), basically never for some people for some issuers (Citi, Cap 1) :eek:, the issuers have made AORs unlikely to be successful.

Additionally, the downsides of AORs (other than declines), have become more severe (e.g. pop-up jail) rendering AORs even more detrimental.

None of this negates that you can still pull 6+ cards in a day, if you know what you're doing. You can still "AOR". Even if you "had more than a few CCs". If he's been "out for a while", but still has some current banking relationship (even a single no-AF card) with BoA, Citi, Barclays, Amex(irrelevant), and he respects the citi 48 month timelines, he could absolutely pull 400k across AS and AA in one day, with barely any hiccup. At worst, he has to fax in ID verification for the second Barclays app. If any of these banks approve you for the first, the second is basically guaranteed same day.

Again, no. You reference "pop-up jail" as a downside, something exclusively Amex and unrelated to anything you're doing at any other bank. Amex doesn't even pull credit if you're already a customer. And how long has the 5 credit card cap been in effect? Seems like forever. The bonus language on many cards, especially citi, is obviously detrimental. As well as Marriott, Hilton...like these games are over. These are all just blanket caps that have nothing to do with applying for a bunch of cards in one day. Again I'm not sure what exactly "AOR" means to you. Getting 20 personal cards a year? I don't understand how it means anything other than hammering a bunch of apps to a bunch of banks on the same day, multiple times a year, which is fully possible in 2025. Not even including glitches and NLL shenanigans.

Saw someone do a US Bank app-o-rama with 3 cards mentioned on reddit recently, i believe 2 business and 1 personal card

While there are 2 sides to every coin, available consensus is that AORs are no longer prudent and unlikely to be successful.

All the bloggers used to write about AOR, recently (past 6-10 years) few (if any) have. There used to be extensive discussions on these forums about AOR, recently bupkis. Although not directly pertinent, the last 2 posts on 500K, or more, miles on Credit Card bonuses alone possible? are from 2019 and 2016 by which time there were few people supporting the theory (500k, every year, 1 person, no real business).

Granted there are exceptions and anecdotal reports. But just as with the practice of medicine advancing with the shift from exception and anecdotal based to evidence based and considering that today many (? most) people see the downsides of AORs (including possible shutdowns, permanent “pop-up jail”, repetitive declines, lower credit scores due to multiple inquiries) to outweigh the upsides, it’s prudent to very carefully evaluate the AOR course of action.

And of course, many people embrace the basic theory of “it’s a marathon, not a sprint”.

There's 2 kinds of people in this space, those who read blogs and live in fear, and those who are actually doing things, who tend to communicate in smaller groups in private. I can tell you there's still plenty of information being shared publicly, mostly not here. Although the shutdown threads here are good.

please present the evidence of said downsides. Who are these many "people"?

Please present recent evidence, other than yours, of “6+ cards in 1 day with only 1 hard pull per bureau” and “gotten barclays and BoA or USB all same day, multiple cards with each” and “grab 3 AA cards right now”.

Please refer or link us to ANY recent references supporting your contentions.

Thank you.

SenorGas is way ahead of you already, and he doesn't spend any time here. Wisdom in that. If you want public information there's a data point thread every week, go get to work. The evidence is pretty clear, because people overshare when they get approved. On the other hand "possible shutdowns", "permanent “pop-up jail”, "repetitive declines", "lower credit scores due to multiple inquiries" are all vague and multi-factorial and unprovable, and the banks themselves are the true arbiters and they're also not talking to you, so I'm not surprised you have no response to my request. I've been waiting 7 years for someone to show me a new shutdown dp for doing MS on the USB AR. I can wait.

But if you can't even fathom how someone could get 3 AA cards, today, I can't help you. Soon it's only going to be 2. If OP ever comes back to this thread, I hope he jumps on it soon.

If OP ever comes back to this thread I hope OP understands what the vast majority of fellow FTers and also almost all bloggers have learned: Consensus* (of opinion) is clear that AOR’s are no longer the most productive way to generate approvals (and SUBs).

“The silence is deafening.” If AORs were still commonly successful, it would be shouted from rooftops by many people. But there’s only shouting from 1 or 2 people.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint, even when we’d like it to be a sprint.