500,000 Points in a single churn
Mar 2, 2012, 2:14 pm
#227
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SLC
Posts: 392
After that, the rest of the spending requirements were pretty easy...
Mar 2, 2012, 2:45 pm
#228
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 586
...You timed your apps according to when you thought your pipes would burst to meet the minimum spend. Amazing!
May 7, 2012, 11:09 pm
#230
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SLC
Posts: 392
The End of the Experiment
When I performed my 13 card Super-Mega-App-O-Rama, on November 1, 2011, I committed to providing regular updates on the status of my credit score for at least six months. At the time I executed my massive AoR, I surmised that it would probably take about 6 months for my scores to recover. I don’t have any secret insight about the formulas credit bureaus use to calculate credit scores, but six months seemed like a nice number after which inquiries could disappear from the score calculation. Well, as it turns out, I don’t think six months means much of anything. My credit scores have show regular improvement, but a couple of the reporting services actually showed a dip in the final weeks, for which I have no explanation. See the chart below.
Despite some pretty substantial abuse to my credit profile, my scores are in pretty good shape. I should point at that I started with some depth to my credit file. The three bureaus currently report between 44 and 48 total accounts with average ages of 5.7 to 6.2 years. I suspect someone with a slimmer credit file would likely see a greater impact to their scores, while the opposite would be true for someone with a larger credit file.
You may remember that when I started this experiment, I had carefully mapped out my spending requirements as there were some pretty large spend limits I needed to meet. Thanks to the SkyMall promotion, some very high spend levels to fix a flooded rental home, and some Christmas shopping, I had little trouble meeting all of the limits. I wouldn’t like to set myself up for that kind of spending obligation again, but I’m pleased that I was able to manage it without resorting to anything too crazy.
The most important question to answer now is: When is the next churn? I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I’m actually not in much of a hurry. Spending six months on the sidelines has forced me to develop a bit more patience. There are definitely some cards I am eager to get, but I can also afford to be patient and wait for the big offers.
Despite some pretty substantial abuse to my credit profile, my scores are in pretty good shape. I should point at that I started with some depth to my credit file. The three bureaus currently report between 44 and 48 total accounts with average ages of 5.7 to 6.2 years. I suspect someone with a slimmer credit file would likely see a greater impact to their scores, while the opposite would be true for someone with a larger credit file.
You may remember that when I started this experiment, I had carefully mapped out my spending requirements as there were some pretty large spend limits I needed to meet. Thanks to the SkyMall promotion, some very high spend levels to fix a flooded rental home, and some Christmas shopping, I had little trouble meeting all of the limits. I wouldn’t like to set myself up for that kind of spending obligation again, but I’m pleased that I was able to manage it without resorting to anything too crazy.
The most important question to answer now is: When is the next churn? I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I’m actually not in much of a hurry. Spending six months on the sidelines has forced me to develop a bit more patience. There are definitely some cards I am eager to get, but I can also afford to be patient and wait for the big offers.
May 8, 2012, 8:54 am
#231
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 49
average age of accts
does this mean that you have a handful of accts that you keep continuously and don't cancel to get the age up? or what exactly is the key to a high average age? thanks
May 8, 2012, 11:07 am
#232
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Programs: AA Plat, Sixt Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Platinum, Avis First, Caesars TR Diamond, Mlife Gold
Posts: 4,928
Secured Card Options for Miles, even with good credit
US Bank has several Secured VISA cards for a low min of $300-$5,000 deposit. This might be a option for those with even good credit, if they have had too many pulls. The cards are for Korean, Avianca/Tacca, LAN, AeroMexico.
http://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/compare.html
May 9, 2012, 8:45 am
#234
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SLC
Posts: 392
May 9, 2012, 6:18 pm
#235
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 297
When I performed my 13 card Super-Mega-App-O-Rama, on November 1, 2011, I committed to providing regular updates on the status of my credit score for at least six months. At the time I executed my massive AoR, I surmised that it would probably take about 6 months for my scores to recover. I don’t have any secret insight about the formulas credit bureaus use to calculate credit scores, but six months seemed like a nice number after which inquiries could disappear from the score calculation. Well, as it turns out, I don’t think six months means much of anything. My credit scores have show regular improvement, but a couple of the reporting services actually showed a dip in the final weeks, for which I have no explanation. See the chart below.
Despite some pretty substantial abuse to my credit profile, my scores are in pretty good shape. I should point at that I started with some depth to my credit file. The three bureaus currently report between 44 and 48 total accounts with average ages of 5.7 to 6.2 years. I suspect someone with a slimmer credit file would likely see a greater impact to their scores, while the opposite would be true for someone with a larger credit file.
You may remember that when I started this experiment, I had carefully mapped out my spending requirements as there were some pretty large spend limits I needed to meet. Thanks to the SkyMall promotion, some very high spend levels to fix a flooded rental home, and some Christmas shopping, I had little trouble meeting all of the limits. I wouldn’t like to set myself up for that kind of spending obligation again, but I’m pleased that I was able to manage it without resorting to anything too crazy.
The most important question to answer now is: When is the next churn? I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I’m actually not in much of a hurry. Spending six months on the sidelines has forced me to develop a bit more patience. There are definitely some cards I am eager to get, but I can also afford to be patient and wait for the big offers.
Despite some pretty substantial abuse to my credit profile, my scores are in pretty good shape. I should point at that I started with some depth to my credit file. The three bureaus currently report between 44 and 48 total accounts with average ages of 5.7 to 6.2 years. I suspect someone with a slimmer credit file would likely see a greater impact to their scores, while the opposite would be true for someone with a larger credit file.
You may remember that when I started this experiment, I had carefully mapped out my spending requirements as there were some pretty large spend limits I needed to meet. Thanks to the SkyMall promotion, some very high spend levels to fix a flooded rental home, and some Christmas shopping, I had little trouble meeting all of the limits. I wouldn’t like to set myself up for that kind of spending obligation again, but I’m pleased that I was able to manage it without resorting to anything too crazy.
The most important question to answer now is: When is the next churn? I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I’m actually not in much of a hurry. Spending six months on the sidelines has forced me to develop a bit more patience. There are definitely some cards I am eager to get, but I can also afford to be patient and wait for the big offers.
And it seems like the minimum spend wasn't all that hard to make, which is great! Of course, the flooded house is no good, but it does help soften the blow sometimes when you know you're helping meet a minimum spend!
May 9, 2012, 9:15 pm
#236
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 349