Hi!! I am a new member and have some questions related to terminology I read on this site. What does it mean to "churn" credit cards? Does it mean to go from one to the next and the next; to open one, cancel it and reopen sometime later?

Second, I read somewhere that someone had been "frozen out of Citi AA and maxed out by Chase and AmEx". Does that mean that they can't get a card from that company? If so, what causes that; how long does it last; and how can it be avoided?

I have been using several cards for various airlines for several years, usually canceling them within a year to avoid the renewal fee and get new free points when I sign up anew many months later. Does this fall into one of the above catagories?

Thank you for your help. Dave

churn is when you apply for cards to get the sign-up/short-term spend bonus(es) and then cancel the card, wait a short period of time and do it again.; usually doing multiple cards at the same time.

frozen out is where the issuer won't issue new lines to you. there can be various reasons for this: too many inquiries, too many open lines, bad score, etc... It can be useful to find out exactly why you get denied and ask for a reconsideration (e.g., if you limit is to high, you can move credit line from an existing card to a new card).

yep, you're a churner... :-)

you might consider giving them a chance to keep you at the end of the fee-waived year. if they've treated you right, you might get some spiff to stay "in the family"...