App-O-Rama Updates: Day 1
5:30AM my alarm goes off. It’s App-O-Rama day!
I turn on my computer and know exactly which cards I am going to apply for and in which order I am going to apply. In case you didn’t read yesterday’s post, here is my strategy list:
- Club Carlson Personal (US Bank) – instant approval! I guess my ARS and IDA credit report freezes might have worked. Learn more here.
- US Airways Personal (Barclays) – denied! Why do you hate my Barclays? I didn’t both calling the reconsideration line, they will tell me that I have too many recent inquires and I have no leverage with them since I have no Barclays credit cards. Good bye US Airways Card. Good bye Arrival Card. Good bye every other Barclays card.
- Alaska Airlines Personal (Bank of America) – pending decision. After a short reconsideration call, I was approved after “sacrificing” my Virgin Atlantic card that had an annual fee coming in a few weeks.
- Platinum Mercedes Benz (AMEX) – pending decision. Called AMEX and was told there was no way to reconsider the app at this time. I would have to wait 2-3 business days for a response. My gut feeling is a denial since I already have 4 personal credit cards, but want to sacrifice my Delta or Hilton HHonors card. Will post an update soon.
- Citi Dividend (Citi equivalent of Chase Freedom and Discover It cash back card) – downgraded. I decided to save a credit inquiry and call Citi and ask them to downgrade/switch my Citi AA AMEX to this card. The rep told me it could take up to 51 days for the switch to take place. WTF?!? Citi, please send me that card soon so I can get the 5% cash back for 4Q 2013.
- IHG Hotel Personal (Chase) – pending decision. I called the Chase reconsideration department, was placed on hold for a few minutes and approved with a low $2,000 credit line. After moving credit from my Marriott Card, I got my credit line up to $5,000.
- Hilton HH Surpass (AMEX) – skipped. I am waiting to see what happens to my Platinum Mercedes Benz application before I do anything with this card. I can always upgrade my AMEX Hilton HHonors to the AMEX Hilton HHonors Surpass card for free online (no credit inquiry).
Side note, I was trying to convert my Chase Sapphire card to a Chase Freedom card this morning but the representative was unable to do so over the phone. I believe it was because I had a $585 current balance on the card, even though she told me that shouldn’t be the reason. Later today it turns out that the Chase Freedom card has increased its sign up bonus from 10,000 Ultimate Reward Points to 20,000 Ultimate Reward Points. I wonder if Chase was updating their servers which is why I couldn’t upgrade. It is a mystery…
A friend of mine was able to show me a sign up bonus (through Chase’s site) for the 50,000 Ultimate Reward Points for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. I told him to go for it since the sign up bonus hasn’t been that high in a very long time. Apparently you can get 5,000 bonus Ultimate Reward Points for adding 1 authorized user to your CSP card too.
All in all, I am pretty happy with my results and love how easy it is to work with Chase. I look forward to getting my IHG card soon.
Easy to move credit line from Marriott to IHG card.
I will post an update if anything happens to my US Airways card, Platinum Mercedes Benz card, and which year I get my Citi Dividend card. If you have any app-o-rama questions, let me know.
