The Next Credit Card To Get. Here Are Our Next Picks.
Part of this hobby is thinking about the next credit card to get. Developing a strategy (and then amending it as banks change their welcome offers / redemption offers / earning offers) is important. For us, the strategy includes looking at holes in our travel redemption options or points earning categories. What can help us get better bang for our buck? Where do we want to go that we can’t go for free right now? Here’s a look at the plan for my wife and I on what the next credit card to get is and why.
Next 2 Credit Cards For My Wife
My wife has a fair amount of credit cards but also has closed a good number of cards in the past few months. My wife has closed every American Airlines card she has, since they shut down our accounts. She also closed her American Express Business Platinum Card and downgraded 2 other Amex cards, so now she’s been seeing the Amex pop-up.
For these reasons, she needs a break from American Express. She was denied for several cards earlier this year, so business cards are the best plan for her right now. Why? They won’t show up on her personal credit report, which helps her number of new accounts go down. This helps with the banks that have stricter application rules. Here are the next credit cards my wife will apply for and the reasons why.
Card 1 – Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card
First up is the Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card from Bank of America. The card comes with a juicy welcome offer of 40,000 miles after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days. You also earn a companion certificate, where a guest flies with you for $121. Alaska’s Mileage Plan program is one of the best out there, and I value their miles very highly.
My wife was denied for this card earlier this year. What have we done to improve her odds? She opened a checking account the week before applying last time. Now, the account is older. We’ve also added more money to it, so that her account has an average daily balance over $1,000 for 3 months now. Right before applying, we’ll put some more money in it to offset their previous issue with her low balance / new account.
The other issue with ‘uncertainty of your industry’ is more difficult. This time, we will push harder to provide documents to Bank of America. We’ll send them tax returns, statements, etc. if she is denied on the first look. This is a card we really want for her, since Alaska miles are so valuable. For a $75 fee, the value is incredible on what we’ll get.
Card 2 – JetBlue Business Card
The 2nd card my wife is applying for is the JetBlue Business Card. This card came by process of elimination. Living in Brazil, we don’t do much domestic travel within the U.S. That being said, we do a lot of positioning flights and may need domestic flights in the U.S. or to the Caribbean at some point.
Additionally, since my wife is sticking to business cards for the time being, we start by asking what banks she should and shouldn’t apply with. We’re already doing Bank of America. She needs a break from Amex and isn’t eligible for anything with Chase. Since she just closed a bunch of cards with Citi, that seems unlikely for a card approval. Barclays seems like a winner by these factors, and we liked the JetBlue Business Card over the Hawaiian option.
The card also has an increased welcome offer right now, which sealed the deal. Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. Also, earn an extra 10,000 points by adding a 2nd user who makes a purchase within 90 days. The card also offers free checked bags, which is a good perk when flying domestically in the U.S. or to the Caribbean. Lastly, we love Mastercards, since we can use these on Plastiq for mortgage payments.
Next 2 Credit Cards For Me
For me, the next credit card to get is based on holes in my earning strategy and holes in my redemption options. One helps me earn bonus points in an area I don’t currently get and the other helps me at upcoming destinations.
Other factors included the banks, of course. Since I am on the Bank of America blacklist, they’re out. I’m not eligible for anything with Chase. I keep getting denied with Barclays, so I’m giving them a break. Smaller banks don’t have anything that meets my needs the way the 2 cards I’m going for can.
Card 1 – American Express Green Card
I’ve had my eye on this card since its refresh. The American Express Green Card public welcome offer is 30,000 Membership Rewards after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days. However, referral links are showing up to 45,000 points, plus the extra points from referrals. My wife can refer me for this card, and we should earn at least 55,000 points between us.
The draw to this card for me, aside from more Membership Rewards points, is the earning categories. It earns 3X points on all things travel, which is awesome. Things like ride shares, public transit, and even third-party travel sites like Kayak or Expedia will earn 3X. Right now, I earn 2X at best on some of those categories. Having a card that we can use for uber, travel sites, and some upcoming tours we hope to take makes this a go-to card for us, even after the welcome offer.
I’ll also make use of the $189 CLEAR credit and could buy some lounge passes for friends or family with the $100 LoungeBuddy lounge credits if they’re going on trips and want to visit a lounge. I can also maximize the temporary credits from Amex. This card would provide much more value to me than its $150 annual fee.
Card 2 – Radisson Rewards Premier Visa
The next credit card is one I’m not confident about: The Radisson Rewards Visa Card. It’s issued by U.S. Bank, and I’ve been denied for everything I’ve ever applied for with them. A year ago, I opened a checking account with them, in order to start building a relationship. At the time, I also applied for one of their standard cards, since this option is built into opening a checking account. I was denied.
Earlier this year, I applied for the Radisson Rewards card during the elevated bonus. I was denied again. U.S. Bank has some really tight application rules, and they’re really sensitive about your recent number of new accounts and credit inquiries. It’s been almost 6 months since my last application, and I have no new accounts on my credit report since then. Several inquiries have fallen off my credit report. My checking account with them is almost a year old. I’ll also pump some extra money into it before the application. Hopefully, these things improve my chances.
The Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature Card has a 2-tiered welcome offer. Earn 50,000 points after your first purchase. After spending $2,500 in 90 days, you earn another 35,000 points. It comes with automatic status (Gold) with Radisson. Additionally, you get 40,000 points when you renew your card each year, and you earn a free night certificate after spending $10,000 on the card. All of that plus travel perks for a $75 annual fee.
Persistence
Why do I care so much on a card with low odds? I need this card to round out my hotel strategy. 3 times in the last year, I found myself in a city where the only hotel in town where I could redeem points for a hotel was with a Radisson. (These were in Congo-Brazzaville, Trinidad & Tobago, and Brunei) Unfortunately, I had no Radisson points, so I paid cash for other hotels. Here are cities in countries I haven’t visited yet where Radisson is the only hotel where I could stay on points:
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Gabon
- Libya
- Niger
- Sierra Leone
I hope that the combination of reduced new accounts, reduced inquiries, and longer account age with them will help me get approved.
Final Thoughts
Thinking about the next credit card to get isn’t always straightforward. It should involve considering what’s missing in your wallet (for earning purposes) and in your redemption capabilities. What banks are your safest bet right now is another factor to consider. Increased welcome offers or temporary perks come in and make you readjust the strategy. That’s part of what keeps me on my toes. These are our next cards in the chute, and I don’t feel like any of them are a “sure thing”. Here’s to hoping the fact we laid low on applications for a while will increase our chances.
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Good luck with that Alaska Air Business card. It took me 5 months last year to finally get that approved and start charging on it and get those 40K miles. I already had at least 5 cards with BoA, including 2 Alaska Air personal cards, my business has been going since 1979, and we have another 4 or 5 (at least) business cards (Amex, Citibank, USBank etc), with credit lines on some of upwards of $25K. I had to send multiple documents, which I promptly did, but then there were more. I spent hours on hold only to find that I needed to be transferred to someone in a different department, at least 2 times per each call. The final hoop to jump through was to buy a 1-year CD for $1500 to guarantee the credit line, which was all they would give us. The CD earned a total of 74 cents interest in that one year, and it was another huge 2-month hassle to cash it out and get the money into the local credit union for more interest. It took many calls, again transferred from one department to another, to confirm that the account was now elevated to a regular account and I could cash out the CD, without paying the penalty on the 74 cents interest. (Seriously!!) Why did I keep after this? About the 3rd month of this process, I just got really stubborn about it, and I USE Alaska Air miles to fly people to Montana from Seattle to perform. I do NOT recommend to anyone to try to open an Alaska Airlines business credit card with Bank of America.
Kerry – Wow, that’s a lot of effort! I’ve had the Alaska biz card twice (as a sole proprietor and with our LLC) and didn’t have nearly that kind of headache, so it was surprising to read what you had to jump through. I hope my wife’s experience is much more straightforward, because there’s no way I can talk her into doing all of that haha.
Why are you on the black list of so many banks???? I think that should be explained in your commentary.
Am sure your readers would appreciate advice on steps to avoid such a predicament!
Why is my comment awaiting “moderation”?? What was offensive, or does it conflict with your narrative?
Wally we get thousands of spam comments a week. The first time someone comments on the site it gets held for moderation. Now that you have approved comments if you use the same email when you comment again it should go through without being held. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks. Now may I have my question answered?
Libreville Sheraton is off my radar! I prefer Munich. Why still no response to my legitimate question??
Entitled and impatient little booger aren’t ya?
Wally – I’m not on the blacklist of “so many banks”. I’m not sure where you got that idea from.
Then why are you denied credit cards? There has to be a reason! One could learn from your failures!
Everyone in this hobby is denied credit cards. If you’re actually interested in the information to answer your question, it’s provide in this article and the links contained in it. After you read those, let me know if you still have questions 🙂
Interesting report about the new Radisson in Niger and Tripoli. Both would have been welcome when I visited. The Radi in Cote d’ Ivoire is excellent and the one in Libreville is okay but really the best place in town.
There used to be a Sheraton in Libreville, which I had a reservation to stay at before my flight got canceled and I had to bag the trip. However, it had gone under new management, was total junk from what a friend told me a month prior, and now it’s no longer in the Marriott portfolio. So now the Radisson in Libreville is literally the only points hotel around.
Hoping to get to Abidjan sometime in the next 6-7 months.