Credit Card Application Results
Has it really been (checking notes) almost ten months since I’ve written about our credit card application outcomes? Yes! Geez, I let time get away from me. I guess I’ve been way too busy applying for cards, and I haven’t had time to write about the results. Yeah, I’ll just go with that to easily justify my own procrastination. In the meantime, my wife and I have been busy applying for new cards with varying levels of success. Indeed, today’s article just covers a selection of these credit card application results, because including everything would be a bit much for anyone to read. Here we go!
Our Recent Credit Card Application Results
Delta Gold SkyMiles Amex
Perhaps highlighting how overdue this article is, my wife and I each pursued the Delta Gold Amex at different ends of the year. My wife and I each opted to apply for this card during an elevated bonus period when Amex offered 80k bonus SkyMiles on $3k spend. The strong Membership Rewards referral bonuses, waived annual fee, and the card’s TakeOff 15 benefit made each application worthy. I greatly benefitted from that savings perk when booking a Delta One transcontinental route.
Application Outcomes: Approved via Reconsideration
Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard
In April, my wife and I teamed up again for two applications for the higher-end Amtrak credit card from First National Bank of Omaha due to an elevated offer. Cardholders could pick up 40k Amtrak points on that spring offer, and it’s back now. We still obtain remarkable value out of Amtrak points, most recently when I tried out the Next Gen Acela’s first class. Amtrak points are still widely worth 2.5 cents per point or more, and often closer to 3 cpp in certain instances.
Application Outcomes: Immediately Approved
Amex Gold
Things have been a bit quieter than usual for us this year on the Amex Pay Over Time card front. My wife pursued an Amex Gold this year without a welcome offer. We valued the referral bonus, ongoing Amex Gold benefits, and the flexibility of not earning a welcome offer. She’ll probably hold the card until the second year annual fee hits, but it’s nice to know she doesn’t absolutely need to.
Application Outcome: Immediately Approved
Verizon Visa
I got a little weird earlier this year and decided to apply for the Verizon Visa card from Synchrony. The signup bonus was minimal – only $150 – but that wasn’t my primary reason for pursuing the card, anyway. This card is all about the bonus categories. The Verizon Visa earns 4% in Verizon Rewards dollars on dining, gas, and grocery store purchases. We’re only Verizon FIOS customers; we enjoy almost-free wireless service from Mint. But we enjoy the variety of redemption options we have within the Verizon program.
Application Outcome: Immediately Approved
Citi Strata Elite
Citi’s new premium card finally arrived, years after we’d hoped. Not surprisingly, my wife and I were more excited perhaps than we should’ve been applying for the initial 80k ThankYou point welcome offer. That’s because the offer is 100k now. Still, we consider the Strata Elite the good-kind-of-wacky in terms of point earning and other benefits. But none of that mattered.
Application Outcomes: Immediately Declined
P.S.: My wife product changed her MileUp card to the Strata Elite via chat several weeks ago.
Rakuten Amex
Despite the Bilt craze, I’m sticking with earning Amex Membership Rewards via Rakuten. The new Rakuten Amex card from Imprint can’t reach the greatness of the previous one, which offered an extra 3x uncapped earning on purchases via the Rakuten portal. The latest version offers an additional 4x on such purchases, but wait, that’s only on the first $7k of spend per calendar year.
The card does earn an extra 5x on top of the 5x Rakuten Dining options; 2x at grocery stores and other restaurants is just okay. Beyond maxing out the $7k portal spend, I particularly find this card interesting for 10x Membership Rewards earning at a wide variety of restaurants locally and while traveling. This earn rate vastly outperforms other cards for many restaurants which I can’t discount via other methods (gift cards, loyalty programs, etc). I’m also curious to experiment with this card in less-than-obvious ways.
Application Outcome: Immediately Approved
Conclusion
That’s probably enough for now. I’ll try to be better with a more timely article on this topic in the late winter or early spring. In the meantime, I’m confident there will be plenty of credit card developments to pursue. I’m looking to kick Amex into higher gear as we get closer to year’s end (hello, triple dip opportunities). Plus, I also have my eyes on a few more weird products.
What cards have you picked up lately and why?
