|
132 CCs and counting
In the last year I've opened and closed 132 CC accounts for myself, my wife and my business. Unfortunately my kid is only 10, but I can't wait til he turns 18 so I can apply for him as well!
Most of the miles have been with AA, but also NW, UA, CO, AMEX MP, Delta, Citi TYP, Midwest, Starwood, and Hilton, for a total of over 2 million miles/points. I am most proud, however, after years of telling my parents about the free business class trips we take all over the word, that my mother finally has the CC churning bug. And driving my father crazy! Any other tales of CC excess out there? |
Originally Posted by j3brooklyn
(Post 10708536)
In the last year I've opened and closed 132 CC accounts for myself, my wife and my business. Unfortunately my kid is only 10, but I can't wait til he turns 18 so I can apply for him as well!
Most of the miles have been with AA, but also NW, UA, CO, AMEX MP, Delta, Citi TYP, Midwest, Starwood, and Hilton, for a total of over 2 million miles/points. I am most proud, however, after years of telling my parents about the free business class trips we take all over the word, that my mother finally has the CC churning bug. And driving my father crazy! Any other tales of CC excess out there? |
Credit Bureaus
Sorry, but I haven't really paid any attention to the credit pulls. I have, however, been careful with the Citibank 60 day (2 personal) and 90 day (1 business) limits.
|
Originally Posted by j3brooklyn
(Post 10708536)
In the last year I've opened and closed 132 CC accounts for myself, my wife and my business. Unfortunately my kid is only 10, but I can't wait til he turns 18 so I can apply for him as well!
Most of the miles have been with AA, but also NW, UA, CO, AMEX MP, Delta, Citi TYP, Midwest, Starwood, and Hilton, for a total of over 2 million miles/points. I am most proud, however, after years of telling my parents about the free business class trips we take all over the word, that my mother finally has the CC churning bug. And driving my father crazy! Any other tales of CC excess out there? |
Originally Posted by jpdx
(Post 10710133)
132 applications is certainly impressive, but you could have gotten the same amount of miles with a lot fewer applications. Most of the cards you list (NW, UA/CO, DL/*W) rarely produce multiple bonus miles. You may have gotten multiple cards approved, and an occasional multiple bonus may have slipped through, but you mostly received bonus denial letters. Although we exchange information away from this site, our network of hardcore churners does have quite a few data points, enabling us to call BS on your story. Welcome to FT, though!
|
BS?
Wow, wasn't expecting such nastiness from an FTer. Yes, I have had some denial letters (about 5 in 2 years) and a few times I didn't get the bonus, but those cards were not included in the 132.
I don't really see what's so unbelievable to my claim. Just opening (and closing) 2 personal cards (myself and my wife) each month, and a business card every 90 days equals 700,000 miles EACH YEAR at 25,000 a pop. Add to that 130,000 Starwood points (before they started refusing the bonus) and two unsolicited 50,000 MP AMEX Gold cards and the 2 million is easy. I don't know what kind of "data points" you're talking about, but I'll give you a list of the cards and the bonus received for each. Maybe you just aren't as good at this game as you think... United Mileage Plus VISA 20,000 United miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 20,000 Aadvantage miles United Mileage Plus VISA 20,000 United miles Citi Simplicity Rewards Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Simplicity Rewards Card 10,000 Thank you points Amazon.com VISA $30 off first purchase Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 15,000 Aadvantage miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 15,000 Aadvantage miles Amazon.com VISA $30 off first purchase AMEX Gold Rewards Plus 50,000 AMEX points AMEX Gold Rewards Plus 50,000 AMEX points United Mileage Plus VISA 20,000 United miles Citibusiness Platinum Select 10,000 Thank you points Delta Sky Miles Gold (Amex) 15,000 Delta miles Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Aadvantage World Mastercard 15,000 Aadvantage miles United Mileage Plus Platinum Business VISA 20,000 United miles AMEX Business Gold Rewards $250 off first purchase Delta Sky Miles Gold Business Card (Amex) 12,500 Delta miles Delta Sky Miles Gold (Amex) 17,500 Delta miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 20,000 Aadvantage miles World Perks Visa Signature 15,000 Worldperks miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 20,000 Aadvantage miles World Perks Visa Signature 15,000 Worldperks miles Citibusiness Platinum Select 10,000 Thank you points CitiBusiness Premier Pass 15,000 Thank you points Citi PremierPass Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Professional Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Professional Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card 10,000 Thank you points CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (VISA) 20,000 Aadvantage miles Bank of America Extra Bases Yankees MC blanket Midwest Mastercard 5,000 Midwest miles Midwest Mastercard 5,000 Midwest miles AMEX Platinum Business FreedomCard 5,000 Freedom Pass points Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Starwood Preferred Guest Business AMEX 10,000 Starwood points AMEX Business Green Card 5,000 AMEX points Amazon.com Buisiness VISA $30 certificate United Mileage Plus Platinum Business VISA 16,000 United miles AMEX Business Gold Rewards $100?, 5,000 AMEX points Amazon.com Buisiness VISA $30 certificate AMEX Business Gold Card $100 off 1st purchase Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card 6,000 Thank you points Citi Professional Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi PremierPass Card 5,000 Thank you points CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Aadvantage AMEX 15,000 Aadvantage miles United Mileage Plus VISA 21,000 United miles Starwood Preferred Guest Business AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 15,000 Aadvantage miles United Mileage Plus VISA 21,000 United miles Delta Sky Miles Gold Business Card (Amex) 15,000 Delta miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 20,000 Aadvantage miles United Mileage Plus Platinum Business VISA 21,000 United miles Delta Sky Miles Gold Card (Amex) 15,000 Delta miles Delta Sky Miles Gold Card (Amex) 15,000 Delta miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (VISA) 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Aadvantage AMEX 15,000 Aadvantage miles HiltonHonors AMEX 10,000 HiltonHonors points HiltonHonors AMEX 10,000 HiltonHonors points Citi Professional Card 15,000 Thank you points Citi Professional Card 15,000 Thank you points CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Premier Pass AMEX 5,000 Thank you points Citi Premier Pass AMEX 5,000 Thank you points Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Starwood Preferred Guest Business AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards AMEX Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards AMEX Card 10,000 Thank you points Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 40,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 40,000 Aadvantage miles AMEX Business Gold Rewards 25,000 AMEX points AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold Card 10,000 AMEX points AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold Card 10,000 AMEX points United Mileage Plus VISA 21,000 United miles United Mileage Plus Platinum Business VISA 21,000 United miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage MC 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Aadvantage AMEX 40,000 Aadvantage miles Starwood Preferred Guest Business AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Citi Platinum AMEX 15,000 Thank you points Citi Platinum AMEX 15,000 Thank you points Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points United Mileage Plus VISA 21,000 United miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Advantage AMEX 25,000 Aadvantage miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Premier Pass AMEX 10,000 Thank you points Continental World Mastercard 20,000 OnePass miles Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX 10,000 Starwood points Citi Premier Pass AMEX 10,000 Thank you points Starwood Preferred Guest Business AMEX 10,000 Starwood points United Mileage Plus VISA 21,000 United miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Advantage AMEX 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Advantage AMEX 25,000 Aadvantage miles World Perks Visa Business 20,000 Worldperks miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 25,000 Aadvantage miles AMEX Business Gold Rewards 25,000 AMEX points World Perks Visa Platinum 15,000 Worldperks miles World Perks Visa Platinum 15,000 Worldperks miles Citibank Aadvantage Visa 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citibank Aadvantage Visa 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles United Mileage Plus VISA 25,000 United miles Delta Sky Miles Gold Card (Amex) 22,500 Delta miles Delta Sky Miles Gold Card (Amex) 22,500 Delta miles Delta Sky Miles Gold Business Card (Amex) 22,500 Delta miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 25,000 Aadvantage miles Continental World Mastercard 21,000 OnePass miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Advantage AMEX 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citi Platinum Select Advantage AMEX 25,000 Aadvantage miles Citibank Aadvantage Visa 20,000 Aadvantage miles Citibank Aadvantage Visa 20,000 Aadvantage miles United Mileage Plus Platinum Business VISA 25,000 United miles Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles CitiBusiness Aadvantage Card (MC) 25,000 Aadvantage miles WaMu VISA $50 gift card AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold Card 10,000 AMEX points AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold Card 10,000 AMEX points Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MC 25,000 Aadvantage miles |
Well, I am impressed. :D
I thought I was doing well keeping 20 or so cards in my wallet at a time--not including the live ones that are sitting in a box waiting for cancellation--because I allready collected the bonuses. Just typing up that list of cards looks tiring. ;) Thanks for the info. Care to share your organization methods? :cool: |
It is surely an impresive list I have had only like 62 in my whole life (I am 25) and thought I was doing good but WOW
|
j3brooklyn,
Do you keep an eye on your FICO score? How much has it fluctuated in the last two years? |
I enjoy credit card bonus's also, but when my boy turns 18, no way am I cosigning a card for him for more than maybe a hundred bucks.... He's gonna have to show he knows how to pay them off....
|
Some FTers definitely think way too much of themselves.
Great job j3brooklyn and welcome to FT. We don't all bite. |
Keeping track
The list above is just a dump from my Excel spreadsheet that has the following columns:
Card name Bonus offered Date applied Date activated Spend amount required for bonus Date spent Amount spent Date paid off Bonus received Date canceled Offer source (web site, mail, etc.) I'm also careful to record any kind of bonus offer # or print a pdf of the web site as when it comes time to get the miles the original offer is often gone. I should probably add columns for initial credit limit and revised limit, but I'm pretty good about reducing the limit (usually from $15,000 to $5000 or less) when I activate the cards. I also keep a Quicken file for each card so I know what's outstanding and rarely have more than one personal and one business card in my wallet to avoid confusion, though if I'm working an AMEX card I'll have a MC/VISA as well as AMEX is more difficult to use. I've discovered that most merchants are happy to split charges on as many cards as you want. I (my wife) recently bought a lot of furniture that took 10 weeks from the time of order to delivery. After paying the initial deposit, I called back every couple of weeks with a new card and charged an additional $750. I'm doing the same for a vacation next February. As for the FICO score, I've never checked, though the credit limits my wife and I are being offered haven't gone down over time. I guess if I start getting rejected I'll look into the FICO scores for a reason. |
Sounds like you are on the same plan as me, although my spreadhsheet includes these columns (Retention Miles, username/Password/URL)
And A table that shows me the last applied date +60 days, by card type. So I can see CitiAA Personal + 60 and know when to apply again. Of course, I have a spreadsheet that only has about 40 cards on it, over 2-3 years.... |
Retention miles
I've been indicating the Retention miles (or dollars) in the Bonus received column, but lately I've stopped looking for retention bonuses. I've been canceling all my cards by e-mail, as I really can't stand the "Retention" experience. I realize I'm forfeiting some miles, but I can't stand having that conversation once a week and my wife was really balking.
I skip a line between the cards that are active or applied for and then list the next 6 or so cards that I'm planning to apply for with the date to apply. I've considered linking it to my iCal so it sends an e-mail alert on the day, but I realized that I look at the spreadsheet every few days so it isn't necessary. |
Originally Posted by jpdx
(Post 10710133)
enabling us to call BS on your story. Welcome to FT, though!
Ouch!!!! Don't know who the "us would be" I think JDPX just has had a bad day. Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:19 pm. |
This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.