A Round Of Applications
Note: I do not receive compensation if you apply for any of the cards mentioned in this post.
A couple of weeks ago I applied for a few credit cards. While I hadn’t specifically planned a round of applications, a couple of good offers made me jump. Let me take you through my thought processes and the results of my applications.
Applying On The Same Day
Many people in this community feel that they need to apply on the same day and within hours so that the inquiries from one bank don’t show to the others. After having studied this, I am of the belief that the inquiries show right away. I have personally seen proof of this with at least one bureau.
Since all of the banks can see my activity anyway, I tend not to worry about applying for everything at once. If I do have several applications, then I will do them concurrently, but if another offer comes up a few days later, I will apply for that as well. This is the case with this round. Three of the applications were done on the same day with the fourth done several days later.
The Specifics
Citi Executive Aadvantage World Elite Mastercard
My Bonus: 100,000 miles after $10,000 in spending within 3 months.
Last week I brought you a rumor that the Citi AA Executive card 100,000 mile offer was possibly going away the next day. The rumor was enough to get me to apply for my third version of the card thus starting this round of applications. While the offer did go away officially, you can still find the application directly.
After applying, I got the dreaded “Application Received” message. This had happened on both of my previous applications for the cards so I wasn’t too worried. In lieu of calling, I decided to wait it out. The next day Citi called me and said they could only approve me for the minimal credit line. While this wasn’t ideal, it is an approval and another 100,000 miles in the bank.
Bank Of American Alaska Airlines Visa Signature
My Bonus: 25,000 miles + $100 statement credit after $1,000 in spending during the first 3 months.
Since I had already applied for one card, I decided that it was a good time to pickup a few others. I headed over to Bank of America and applied for the Alaska Airlines card. There are three main versions of the offer right now. 25,000 miles with a $100 statement credit, 30,000 miles with no statement credit and 40,000 miles with a higher spend requirement. (The $75 annual fee isn’t waived on any of the cards.)
Since I have so much spend to hit right now on new cards and since I always try to keep my cash outlay low, I decided to go for the 25,000 miles & statement credit. Alaska Airlines miles are super valuable and can be used for awards on Emirates & Cathay Pacific, so there is always a good use for them. Looking back, I kind of regret not going for the 40,000 miles since I can meet the spend if I want to.
My application for this card was instantly approved. For some reason Bank of America had denied me for this card the last time I applied. Even reconsideration wouldn’t approve me. While I am not sure why that happened, things are back on track with them, even if they gave me a very low limit.
One thing to keep in mind with Bank of America is that they can approve you for a lower version of the card with a lower bonus. For example, the Platinum Plus version of this card only gives a 5,000 mile bonus while the Preferred version only pays 3,000.
Barclay’s Arrival Plus
My Bonus: 40,000 Bonus Miles after spending $3,000 within 90 days of account opening.
It used to be that you could get multiple versions of the same card with Barclay’s and it was easy to get approvals of multiple cards on the same day. They have since tightened things up and it is pretty commonly accepted that you can only get one card every six months or so from them.
It has been 9 months since my last Barclay’s application, so I thought it was time to change that. I debated between the Lufthansa card with its 50,000 mile bonus (Now expired) or the US Airways 30,000 offer. In the end, I decided to get a second Arrival Plus card since I love the $440+ sign up bonus and I have real use for that.
The truth is I don’t need Lufthansa miles right now and I have a ton of US Airways/AA miles, so those won’t be as helpful. Besides, with this timing, I should be able to get the US Airways card one more time before it is pulled when the programs combine next year.
Barclay’s instantly approved me for this card with a generous credit line. I actively use my current Arrival Plus card, so I wasn’t surprised. In my state, Barclay’s pulls Transunion credit reports. Since they are the only one of the major banks who uses Transunion in my area, there wasn’t much activity on my report which was helpful in getting that instant approval as well.
If you aren’t instantly approved, things get much more difficult. Barclay’s reconsideration reps are extremely difficult to get approval from, especially if you have a lot of recent credit card applications. Thankfully I didn’t have to go through that process.
American Express Platinum Card
My Bonus: 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first three months.
I have long wanted to get the American Express Platinum card. For awhile American Express didn’t like me and wasn’t approving any applications, but the past year or so has been different and suddenly I am on their good side.
I applied for the Platinum Card and didn’t get an immediate approval. Since I didn’t have the opportunity to call immediately, I decided to wait it out. The next day someone from American Express called me to ask a few identity verifying questions before approving me for the card.
Given my situation and this offer, the benefits of this card far outweigh the costs. I will utilize the airline fee credit, global entry credit, lounge access, SPG Gold status, free internet and the other benefits. Lets just say I am excited about this one! I wrote extensively about this offer and what benefits the card gives last week if you are interested in more information.
Conclusion
This was more of an impromptu round of applications, but it resulted in 150,000 points/miles & $440+ to spend on travel. Looking back, I do regret not going for the higher offer on the Alaska Airlines card, but I am still happy to have been approved for that card since I am saving for an award on Emirates.
At this point I don’t feel the need to apply for 7 or 8 cards at once. In fact, I usually don’t even apply for this many. It just happened that I saw a couple of good offers and combined those applications with others I had already wanted to apply for.
Have you done any app-o-ramas lately? What were the results? Are you happy? Let me know in the comments below!
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Thanks, as always, for the great info and sharing your personal experiences. On June 30th, I did the same AMEX and 100k Citi AA card (my first) you highlighted, getting approved for both. The Citi application told me to call in (which I did the next day) and they asked me a few questions (nothing tough – although it gave me the chance to verify with the rep that the 100k miles deal was still alive and that’s what I was getting), before approving me verbally (after putting me on hold for a few minutes). On the AMEX card, I got the “we’ll be in contact with you soon” message, and then I followed your advice to NOT call them. Two days later I got a “your approved” email, and two days after that (today) I got a “your card has shipped” email.
I’d be interested in doing the Arrival card again, but I did it for the first time almost exactly 6 months ago (no other Barclays cards). So maybe I should wait another month or two. Interesting that Barclays will approve two of the same card, given the fact that they are otherwise more strict/tough. I’d be interested in your strategy on this card. Seems like there’s no reason from a spending standpoint to have more than 1 Arrival card, so does that mean that you’ll likely cancel at least one of them when the next annual fee is due (unless they waive it)?
And forgoing the 40k Alaska card (in favor of the 25k one) seems reasonable. $10k in spend to get the extra 15k miles is a lot (and you don’t get the $100 statement credit). I guess it’s worth going for the extra 15k if you have a lot of spending, but going with the 25k card seems reasonable. I don’t have a BofA card yet … maybe I should …
The only slight gamble is if they approve you for a lesser card then you don’t get the higher bonus. Reports are that you can churn this card every 90 days though, so it may be worth it.
Hi Shawn, congrats on getting all of your applications approved! By the way, how did you able to get 2 same Barclay Arrival Plus card? How long did you wait since your first application for first Arrival Plus card until you applied for the second one? So is that mean we can churn this….I heard Barclay are strict in approving card.
Does this card Chip and PIN? If so, how to set up the pin?
It does have chip & pin. I believe you have to call Barclay’s to setup the pin although it may come with the card. My second card hasn’t arrived and I received the first card before the chip & pin functionality. You can get multiple versions of the same card from Barclay’s, but the key is to be instantly approved. It was 9 months since my last application. Thanks Amanda.