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I saw some increased sign-up bonuses for a few credit cards that looked lucrative, so I applied for those as well as some additional cards (since it makes sense to apply for multiple cards on the same day), making this my June 2015 Credit Card App-o-Rama
Gold Delta American Express
I tend to ignore Delta points since they aren’t very lucrative. They tend to have high redemption rates, don’t offer first class partner awards, and frankly, I don’t know the last time I flew a Delta flight or Delta partner flight. (Actually, I take that back. I do know. It was 12 years ago, in 2003, when I flew on Air France.) Delta doesn’t seem to have a big hub in the DC area.
However, I always kind of have a trip to Australia or New Zealand in the back of my mind. And these are where Delta Skymiles points can come in handy and can be redeemed on Virgin Australia’s business class.
So, I figured there was no harm in having some Skymiles in the coffers.
Bonus: 50,000 Delta Skymiles after spending $2000 in the first three months.
Approval Details: Instantly approved with $10,000 limit. However, in a strange twist, they took $10,000 of credit I had on a different American Express card without notifying me first. I mean, I barely use the card that they took the $10,000 from, and both cards still have five digit limits, but it was the first time this happened to me. (Although apparently similar things have happened to other folks as well!
Citi ThankYou Premier Mastercard
Now that you can transfer Citi Thank You points to various airlines (like you can do with Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex Membership Rewards), I wanted to have a bank of ThankYou points. I don’t have any specific plans for the ThankYou points right now (although that can always change), but I like having options available!
Bonus: 50,000 ThankYou Reward Points after spending $3000 in the first three months
Approval Details: “Pending Decision.” I feel like this happens with about half of my Citi card applications. About half the time I’m approved right away, and the other half I get a “pending decision” notice. I initiated a chat with Citi Customer Service, and after verifying a few elements of my credit card application (essentially re-asking several questions I had already completed on the original application), my card was approved with a $9700 limit. One of these days, I swear ONE OF THESE DAYS, Citi will actually make me close one of the 8 or so accounts I currently have open with them before approving me for a new card. But so far, that day has not come. Although I should point out that this is one of my lowest credit limits on a Citi card.
Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card
This card was also offering a temporarily increased signup bonus. I’ve had this card before, but it’s been three years since I first applied, and two years since I cancelled it. So I wasn’t sure if I’d be approved for it again. (Current Chase “churning” anecdotal evidence states that you can get a signup bonus for the same card about every 24 months. Although this might be changing for some of their Ultimate Rewards points earning cards.) I depleted a lot of my MileagePlus points last year on our business class tickets to Istanbul, so I thought this was a good time to replenish my account.
Bonus: 50,000 MileagePlus points after spending $3000 in the first three months.
Approval Details: Received “pending decision” message. This wasn’t surprising, as I currently have four open Chase cards and figured I’d have to close one. I called a few days later, and, after the LONGEST RECONSIDERATION CALL OF MY LIFE (It was 25+ minutes, most of which was spent on hold), and reallocating credit from a Chase Hyatt card (but not requiring closure), I was approved for the card with a whopping $22,500 credit limit.
Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card (3 cards)
After reading closely some tutorials about applying for, and getting approved, for multiple Bank of America cards in one day, I decided to try my hand at it. And, surprisingly, it worked. I applied for three Alaska Airlines Visa Signature cards.
Bonus: 25,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan points upon account opening (2x since I was approved for two cards).
Approval Details: The first one was approved instantly with a $17,500 credit limit, and the second and third received “pending decision” messages. I decided to wait this one out for a little bit. I kept checking the Bank of America credit card status site. Within another day, the second of my three applications moved from “pending” to “approved.” (But with “only” a $4300 credit limit). But the third application stayed on pending. And to be honest, I kinda forgot about it because we left for our Alaska cruise the next day. When I got back, I had received a letter from Bank of America indicating that they believed my third application to be a duplicate request. I haven’t called to see if I could be approved for the third one, and I probably won’t. I’m happy with the two for now. Why be greedy?
Barclays Arrival Plus Mastercard
I already have this card, but I really like Arrival Plus points because they can be used on travel expenses that aren’t normal “chain” or mainstream travel outlets. So, since I had already applied for cards from most of the other banks already for my app-o-rama, I decided to try my luck at a second Barclays Arrival Plus card. (This was before Barclays decided to revamp this card). I know that Barclays tends to be stricter about having multiple credit cards open, but I had successfully opened multiple US Airways Dividend Miles Mastercards through Barclays in the past.
Approval Details: Denied. My first denial of a credit card in more than a year. Sad panda.
Have you taken advantage of any of the recent increased credit card sign-up bonuses? What cards did you get in your last app-o-rama?