My 4th Quarter Application Results
I haven’t done an update on my applications in a while so I thought it would be good to share my 4th quarter application results. If you have been following along with me on my way to earn $25,000 this year via miles and points then you have been getting some of this info indirectly. I figured it was worth giving people a sneak peak into some of my 4th quarter numbers though. I’ll also share what I am planning on grabbing before year’s end.
Application Results
Here they are in no particular order:
Capital One Spark Travel Elite
First up is the new big bad boy on the block for travel business cards. The Capital One Spark Travel Elite comes with a massive 250,000 point welcome offer but it also requires a huge $50,000 in spend over 6 months. That may not even be the hardest part of this offer though. The hardest part would be actually unearthing an application for it! Have no fear though … I can help you with that. This card comes with perks similar to the Capital One Venture X card and earns 2X on everything. The Spark Travel Elite comes with a $395 annual fee but offers a $300 travel credit when booking through the travel portal.
I plan on cashing the points out towards travel at 1 cent per piece versus transferring to their travel partners. None of them excite me much and I want that money, money for my year end goal.
Results: Approved – $2500 in travel eraser credit
US Bank Business Triple Cash
We went from the big bad boy of the travel business space to maybe the most underrated business card offer out there from the US Bank Triple Cash card. This is a no annual fee card with a decent earning structure. That is if you read the fine print at least. It comes with a $500 welcome offer after spending $4500 within the first 150 days. My wife applied for it and it went pending. Luckily, the application was approved a few days later. I am guessing her having a business checking account with US Bank, for the $500 bonus, helped her approval odds. Don’t sleep on this card and offer!
Results: Pending & then approved – $500
US Bank Altitude Connect
I decided to stay on the US Bank bandwagon and go for my favorite under the radar personal card, the US Bank Altitude Connect. I shared why this card is powerful over the short term, and long term, in the past. It has been one that I toss in an application for pretty much every round. My wife was able to get it earlier in the year but I haven’t had any luck. The card comes with a 50,000 point welcome offer after spending $2,000 within the first 120 days of account opening. Those points can be pretty easily turned into cash. The card also earns 4X at gas stations (with no transaction cap), travel and EV charging stations. It comes with a $95 annual fee that is waived the first year. Unfortunately this application came up snake eyes, just like all of my previous ones.
Results: Denied
Fifth Third 1.67% Cash Back Card
Yes, that is really the name of the card. Or, at least I think it is, creative I know. I received a targeted mailer for this that had a $200 welcome offer after spending $200. I said why the heck not! The current public offer is 5.3% back on gas for the first 90 days which may be a better offer for some. The card isn’t really worth going into detail on beyond that. The offer went pending and I assumed that it was a denial, but I was surprised with a your card is in the mail email a week or so later.
Results: Pending & then approved – $200
Bank of America Business Advantage Travel
Even though I loathe Bank of America’s business bill pay system I am a horse in the desert and Bank of America is a full trough in the distance. So I naturally go to drink over and over again. This card comes with a 30,000 point offer after spending $3,000 within 90 days of account opening. There is no annual fee and the card earns 1.5 miles per dollar. If you Bank of America Preferred Rewards status then the earning rates can get significantly better. The “miles” are really travel eraser points like the Capital One Venture X and Spark Travel Elite card. I plan on using it to wipe off some pool side drinks in Hawaii next month! Nothing tastes better than poolside beers, well besides FREE poolside beers!
Results: Instant approval – 30,000 points
Upcoming Applications
Do I really need anything more to finish out 2022 in style? No, but American Express just targeted the wife and I for the Business Platinum plus Business Checking Account 200,000 point offers. Who would I be if I passed that up? We will probably throw in those applications next month when the timing is simply perfect.
Final Thoughts
We were able to get in 4 approvals without even touching the big 3 banks. I call that a win in my book. The total haul will be 280,000 points and $700 in cash for a net cost of one $95 annual fee (after accounting for the travel credit). I will likely be cashing out all of those points too so you could call it $3,500 for $95 out of pocket and a butt ton of spend required. It will be a long road to hoe but we’ll get there!
What are your most recent applications? Let me know down in the comments.
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Mark. I’m really tempted by the capital one spark, but I’m worried that the credit limit will be so low that I won’t be able to meet the minimum spend. (I have a huge tuition payment for my son). How are they in credit limits?
The card has no preset limit but I find it starts out between 10K-20K but regular payments increase that to way above that. They actually encourage making frequent payments to train the system essentially.