Credit Card Application – UPDATE

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Here Are The Results of My Latest Round of Credit Card Applications

A couple of days ago I applied for a few cards and shared which they would be.  I mentioned that becuase of being out of the country off and on over a recent four-year span, my credit history looks like swiss cheese with holes all over the place.  I wasn’t terribly confident in how many of the cards for which I was applying, I would be approved.  I have some preliminary results, here they are.  It’s also worth noting that one credit bureau had an old address on file (part of my moving around issue) and another had my wrong birthday, so that deck was stacked against me from the start.

1. Citi American Airlines Executive Card

Immediate Decision: Pending

Verification: Approved

With every Citi experience I have had recently for myself or when helping others, they immediately get a flag that asks them to call in.  One or two questions later and I was approved for an absurdly high amount I never intend to fully use.

2.  US Airways Dividend Miles World Mastercard

Immediate Decision: Pending

Reconsideration: Approved!

As others have noted (and I did before I applied for this one), Barclays is a tough nut to crack.  Many others have numerous cards and can not get a Barclays approval, though the Sherpstress has not one but two cards from the bank.  Unlike the others, when Barclays says “Wait 7-10 days” before contacting them, they mean it.  They have an automated phone system and my information doesn’t even register with them.  I also tried the website entering my information in and the response was to call the number I just mentioned.

But I called anyway, and spoke with a human being.  A very nice human being.  He went over my credit report in detail, pulling up questions from as far back as 10 years ago (how does that happen?) and was polite but meticulous. He mentioned that my application had not actually been run because it was denied in December (a very odd reason, I told you they were tough). He stated he would have to pull my credit today as it was not actually pulled at the time of application. He did not mention any other applications I may have placed.  Another anomoly is that he broke down my income between salary, bonuses and commission, something no other card company has done.

When speaking with him, I was very polite as well, but I mentioned two key things. First was that I was not seeking tens of thousands of dollars in a credit line, a small line would do fine.  I didn’t want the stumbling block to be trying to approve me for $10-20k, they can always increase my line later if they like.  Secondly, I mentioned that this would be my final application with them.  I wasn’t rude, but just honest.  Barclays has already been too much work for me to continue trying to work with them, clearly there are other cards that want my business, and US Airways miles are often sold inexpensively during promotions.  While I value them highly, I will just buy them if the card is not approved.

After about a 15 minute phone call I was approved for a very small line, $2500 which was fine by me.  Compared to the other approvals I received (there were many) this was almost inconceivably low, but to be fair, this is exactly what I asked for and all that I needed.

This is a HUGE win, I would say my biggest win simply because of the guantlet some of us have to go through with Barclays.  The Sherpstress has the same information, same household income, address, mortgage and holes in her credit report from when we were out of the country and yet she has two cards, the latest was approved within 60 seconds online.  I couldn’t stand carrying her’s in my wallet any longer.  To other bloggers that have not yet gotten Barclays approvals, I understand, I empathize, and wonder why some have such a hard time and others breeze right past.

Either way, I’m a happy camper. And if you too want the Barclays card you should apply here.

3.  Hawaiian Airlines World Mastercard

DID NOT APPLY

During the application I noticed that this was issued by Barclays.  I knew (because of the Sherpstress) that the card was offered by Barclays, but also by the Bank of Hawaii.  I was unable to locate a link for the BOH offer, and amidst my flurry of activity, gave it a pass for right now.  It’s a great offer, and I am still not going to sit at home in Pittsburgh while she goes off on holiday to Hawaii. But there are a thousand other ways to get to the islands, and I don’t want to anger Barclays with two applications in the same day.

If you would like to apply for this card click here.

4.  LifeMiles Visa

Immediate Decision: Pending

Status: DENIED!

This required address verification.  This is actually my most intriguing card application. I like the idea of LifeMiles and a Star Alliance consolidator. Because I always try to book the most outsized value possible, I am also looking forward to using this for either the 25,000 mile economy redemption from mainland USA to Guam either via the Island Hopper or 50,000 miles for business via Tokyo or Hawaii with a stopover.  The Island Hopper is such a unique route, it’s like it was back in the 1930s hopping across the Pacific starting in Hawaii and ending in Guam via a hndful of US territories you may have never heard of.  The only difference is instead of a flying boat with beds and entertainment, it’s a 737.  Right, maybe business class via Tokyo is the way to go.

This denial was because US Bank was processing the application over a number of days and despite my previous calls where I was told the card was all but shipped out to me, I did receive a denial due to multiple inquiries on the report.  That’s fair enough, and in retrospect, our Guam trip is probably a ways off in the distance.  It would not be prudent to gather the miles now with no intention on burning them for at least 18 months.

5.  Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX

Immediate Decision: Approved

Of all the cards I applied for, I had previously thought that the AMEX and the Barclays cards would be the toughest.  How wrong I was, American Express instantly approved me.  I will be trying out all of the features of using an AMEX and looking forward to staying in some Le Meridien hotels again, especially Le Meridien Bangkok.

6.  Alaska Airlines Visa Signature

Immediate Decision: Pending

Verification: Approved

The same address problem is causing me fits all over the place here, hopefully this won’t happen next time.  A funny thing happened when I called in to the reconsideration line, it was the business credit reconsideration because all of the consumer reconsideration lines I found online were wrong.  So then a funny thing happened…

7.  Citi American Airlines Business Card Alaska Airlines Business Visa

Immediate Decision: Pending

Verification: Approved

Initially I wanted the Citi AA Business card for a couple of reasons.  I have a business for which I would like to establish credit.  Sherpa Services has come a long way, but I would like to help even more people save money on their travel, and a business card seemed like a good next step.  The second reason is that AA miles are extremely valuable to me.  I have been better at accumulating (and will continue to be through this year due to Executive Platinum status 100% RDM bonus miles) more than I need this year.  I try to earn and spend within at most a two year span to maintain the value they have and hedge against devaluations.  I’m sitting at about 175k AA miles right now (the Sherpstress has about the same) and I just got approved for the Citi Exec, meaning I will have at least another 110k without any more flying which I have already booked, and some shopping bonuses for which I am still waiting.  This is too many miles and I won’t be able to redeem them all before the next assumed devaluation to take place in March or sooner.  So I need to slow my accumulation.

I called in to the Alaska Airlines Business credit line to sort out verification for my personal card because I could not find the personal line anywhere.  Now at this part of the day I had applied for six other cards, had one instant approval, one verification approval, and the rest were still processing.

The agent says, “Before I transfer you, let me tell you about the benefits of having a separate business card”.  Go on… I am in sales and I love hearing a good pitch.  I tested the agent with some questions for which I already knew the answer but wanted to see how she did.  She got off her script just enough for me to decide to apply with her, something I am sure she will receive compensation for doing.  My thought process was, what could it hurt to apply for a 7th card, and further, though I was not rejected by any of the cards technically yet (or actually as it turns out), I did not feel it would hurt to try for one more.

Status: Pending

I called in this morning to check on the status, we did some verification AGAIN, this time it was the address.

Verification: Approved

Well that was an unexpected twist.  Who knew?

8.  Chase Sapphire Preferred

Immediate Decision: Pending

Verification: Approved

I am surprised this one was not an instant approval.  I have a British Airways card with them, and within two months of being a good boy they increased my credit limt 40% without me asking.  My only concern was that Chase would be hesitant about giving more credit on a separate line.  My plan was to split the creidt line in this event.  There was no need for this contingency, and the verification was not even the address nor the birthday question.  It was basically just making sure it really was me (one of their existing customers) applying for the card.

Wrap-Up

I am really happy I applied for these, and now I will be on a mission to spend the bonuses.  In order to receive all of my miles I will need to process $20,000 on the cards within the next 90-180 days.  That’s some serious money to push through, but I will get there.  And then with my ridiculous haul, I will get anywhere I like.

Total cost of annual fees: $464 ($664-$200 statement credit)

Total value of miles accrued: $8,563

Arbitrage: $8,099

Full Disclosure:  Some of the cards I will discuss I may receive a commission for, if you choose to support the blog and UPGRD, we certainly appreciate it.