– $400 statement credit after meeting $1,500 spend in three months – 30,000 AA miles after meeting $1,500 spend in three months – Waived annual fee the first year
If you’re AA miles poor I’d wait for a higher mileage offer. If you’re not AA miles poor, this is a nice zero cost offer. (Thanks to coole106)
Capital One has increased sign-up bonuses online for the Venture X Business mileage card, and for the Spark Cash Plus card. The bonuses are tiered:
– 150,000 miles or $1,500 cash back after $20,000 spend in three months – 150,000 additional miles or $1,500 additional cash back after $100,000 spend in six months
With the base earning of 2x or 2% cash back on these cards, you’re earning 5x total for $100,000 spend in any category, which is frankly a great multiplier provided you’ll hit the spend.
There’s an even better version of the above two offers, but it’s only available through a business relationship manager:
– 400,000 miles after $250,000 spend in six months – $4,000 cash back after $250,000 spend in six months
With a base earning of 2x or 2% on these, you’ll earn 3.6x total for $250,000 spend in any category. If you’re a heavy hitter, this is almost certainly a better offer. (Thanks to JR)
– 60,000 points after $5,000 spend in 90 days – 15,000 additional points after another $7,000 spend in six months
You can get both back-to-back with a modified double dip. For those of you manufacturing globalist, getting both and hitting the minimum spend will earn you 16 status nights and two category 1-4 free night certificates.
In case you were wondering how airlines in general are doing, or how Delta’s new elite program in particular is doing, the fact that this promotion exists should tell you everything you need to know.
If you have upcoming travel on Spirit Airlines, especially if it’s more than a couple of months away, I’d suggest booking refundable backup flights on another carrier because Spirit is exploring bankruptcy and may file as soon as next week.
Safeway, Albertsons, and other Just4U stores have a promotion for 10x points on $50 or more in certain gift cards running through either Tuesday or Friday depending on your region. The good options for our purposes are Choose Your Card gift cards which can be converted to other high resale value cards.
Note specifically that Choose Your Card gift cards have a Visa BIN, an expiration date, and a CVV. Does this mean anything? I honestly don’t know currently, but always be probing because in the past it’s meant something. (Thanks to GCG)
Have a nice weekend friends!
The currently display on Spirit Airlines’s in-air aircraft alerting system.
The Alaska MileagePlan Personal Visa card said “hey guys, I’m cool too” after yesterday brought an increased MileagePlan Business card sign up bonus. Yes, you can get both under a single hard pull if you apply on the same day:
Advanced churners don’t stop at just these two cards though. Don’t worry too much about bonus language with Bank of America cards either, if you’re approved and hit the spend, you’ll get the bonus.
American Express has new bonuses for adding authorized users and meeting minimum spend on a few personal cards:
Remember that if American Express can correlate an authorized user card with a real person’s identity, it’ll show up on their credit report. (Thanks to SideShowBob233 and Agile.Travel)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Surely you noticed that yesterday autocorrect got surly and took it out on me. It’s corrected though, and rest assured that I’ve given myself the requisite face-palms. Oh, and don’t call me Shirley.
– $225 statement credit on $1,250 or more in airfare purchased directly with Air New Zealand through March 16 for flights originating in the US – $150 statement credit on $750 or more at Omni Hotels through May 15
Yes, one can game these offers, but also yes, both are nice products for non-gamers.
The Motley Fool has a storied past with churners, and I typically avoid writing about their promotions as a result. However there’s a confluence of deals and multiple positive reports show that they work together on this round, so here we are. The promotions:
The Motley Fool Stock advisor happens to cost $99, so with the two offers together you’re buying 6,200 AA miles and Loyalty Points at 0.79 cents per point, which is a great deal if you’ll use them. Just set a reminder to end your subscription at least 61 days after subscribing. (Thanks to Paul and Ryan)
Happy Wednesday!
Taking ‘knocked out in a single trip to the right gas station’ literally.
Kroger has a 4x fuel points promotion on third party gift cards and fixed value Visa and Mastercard gift cards running through Tuesday, January 24. The market for fuel points remains strong, but as is typical, the market for gift cards to go along with those fuel points is relatively weak.
For gift card beginners: An easy way to dip your toes into the water is to buy a single $250 gift card (like Amazon or something else you’ll probably use). You’ll earn 1,000 fuel points worth $1 per gallon at Kroger and Shell gas stations, up to 35 gallons total.
For non-beginners: It’s go time.
Hyatt has a corporate status challenge for the third year in a row, and in theory this one allows for registration throughout the entirety of 2024; many large corporations are eligible, so if you’ve got a way to get an email address at a major corporation then you can probably register. The challenge:
– Earn Explorist for 90 days – Keep Explorist through February 2026 with 10 nights – Earn Globalist through February 2026 with 20 nights
The now defunct, defacto way to manufacture this status was mobile check-ins at MGM’s Excalibur (or is it Exaliburist? I forget). After a status match, you’d effectively be buying elite nights at $20 each, and could complete a Globalist challenge for about $400. Now it’s a bit harder but there are always angles. (Thanks go Guilane2)
– Delta Platinum: 70,000 miles on $2,000 spend – Delta Platinum: $1,200 on $4,000 spend – Delta Reserve: 90,000 miles on $3,000 spend
To check retention offers, call or chat with AmEx and say something like: “I’m considering closing this card due to [reasons, like budgeting], but before I decide what to do, I’m wondering if there are any retention offers available?” If they give you an offer, always ask if there’s another offer available before accepting, often there is and it’s better than the first. (Thanks to royalic)
Stop & Shop, Martins, and Giant Food stores have 2x points on Vanilla Visa gift cards running through Thursday of next week. Note that Vanilla Visas have been rocky for the last couple of weeks, and you may find that some liquidation channels have a three swipe limit before the cards start declining for a while. (Thanks to GCG)
Have a nice weekend and watch for tomorrow’s guest post from SideShowBob233!
Unfortunately, we also no longer have access to Excalibur’s elite member welcome amenities.
It’s probably already familiar to seasoned churners that sometimes you’ll get a better offer for an airline credit card when you’re making a dummy booking or when you’re applying for a card from an in-flight application. What’s probably less obvious is that sometimes your account or credit profile will be impacted differently based on how you apply too. Specifically:
With Comenity co-branded cards, if you add a dummy item or two to your shopping cart and then apply for the card during check-out, they’ll almost never perform a hard-pull of your credit report.
Of course if you have bad credit or no credit, this is an enticing proposition. For most of you reading the blog, at face value there’s not much there other than as a mental insight into bank processes.
The Lesson
The public facing side of credit cards, like lifetime language, sign-up bonus terms, and which card has the worst design, aren’t the only aspects of a card and its impact on your finances. Instead, credit reporting, unregulated debit payments, and pseudo-loan like products play a role in the immediate enduring value of a card too. Always be probing!
Happy Monday!
Pictured: SideShowBob233 attempts the Fluz shopping cart trick.
Yesterday we discussed the Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard‘s targeted monthly for the entirety of 2024. I wasn’t targeted then, but yesterday I got my own targeted offer via email and so did others. The offers are all good once per month each month of 2024, and are for cumulative spend at restaurants, groceries, and gas. We’ve seen:
– $200 back per month on $2,000+ in spend, up to 12x – $150 back per month on $1,500+ in spend, up to 12x – $100 back per month on $1,000+ in spend, up to 12x – 20,000 ThankYou Points on $2,000+ in spend, up to 12x – 15,000 ThankYou Points on $1,500+ in spend, up to 12x
For those of you who can’t math, the best version of this offer is worth $2,400, and that stacks with other category and spend bonuses throughout the year. There’s a reason that this card is the best Unsung Hero. (Thanks to Doug, FlashStash, Brooke, jeff2486, and Tom)
Unfortunately, like the band Technotronic, there aren’t any US cities on this month’s tour. Montreal, Ottowa, and Toronto are included though, so there are still options for those of you in the Northeast (for flights, not a Technotronic concert. Sorry).
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m on an annual blogging vacation for the last two weeks of the year. To make sure you still have content, some of the smartest members of the community have stepped up with guest posts in my absence. Special thanks to today’s author, the consummate churner TeddyH, for writing this post while I’m on vacation. I’ll see you on January 1!
2024 is rapidly approaching, and while that may be disappointing news for some of you who have been getting fat from all the Q4 offers, for many of you it may mean some good news: a new Player may be turning 18.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows: churning while new to credit is like trying to take public transit in Lubbock, TX (aptly called the Citibus!)
I moved to the U.S. when I was 12 with no other family members, so when I turned 18, I had to start my credit from scratch. When I first got my SSN, I was declined for even the most basic credit cards. But while I was trying to figure out what cards I could get approved for, I ended up discovering churning. With the right moves, even I was eligible for high sign-up bonus (SUB) offers from elite credit cards after just a couple of months of credit history.
In this post, I will try to break down a guide to churn while new to credit based on my personal datapoints (DPs) as an immigrant as well as my other players.
1. First Day: Preparations
While it is possible to get into this game without a Social Security number, your options will be VERY limited. If you cannot get an SSN, try for an ITIN, which can be obtained by gambling.
2. First Month: Your First Card
While many people believe that the Chase Freedom Rise or the Discover It are great first cards to begin with, I invite you to think bigger: the personal Amex charge cards. Here are some almost concerning DPs:
P1 getting approved for an Amex Personal Gold with 2 months of credit history – no FICO score!
P2 getting approved for an Amex Personal Platinum WITHOUT a Social Security Number – will talk more about this later
P3 getting approved for an Amex Personal Gold on a 3-day-old SSN with nothing but an Amex AU
At this point, I don’t even think Amex bothers checking for a pulse when approving credit lines for their charge card products. Amex will, however, expect to see a valid credit report when they perform a hard pull, so your new player must have something on their credit file. An Authorized User card, especially an Amex AU, is a great solution without sacrificing their 5/24 slot.
If you are first-generation and don’t have someone who can add you as an AU, go for the Discover It rather than the Freedom Rise. My rationale as to why:
10% rotating categories up to $1,500 and a $100 SUB is better than even the most 7-ft-man-with-an-affiliate-link-inflated valuation of Ultimate Reward points
Your oldest account remains safe even in the case of a Chase shutdown as your Discover is likely to have less than $500 in shenanigans per month
You can request a credit line increase every single day, online, with no harm. This will help with later Chase apps as banks like to beat other banks’ credit lines.
If you start with a Discover, wait until your second statement cuts before trying Amex to ensure Discover posts to your credit report. Then move to step 3/4.
3. 3 Months In: Patience is Key
By now you’ve probably finished your Amex Gold SUB and your hands might be itchy for some more apps. But there is a crucial Amex velocity limit you should be aware of when you are new to credit: 1 card before 6 months of credit history.
AmEx will grant you one credit line before you have a FICO score, but won’t approve you for any more without proof of income until you actually receive a FICO score (6 months of history).
This 4506-C form to prove your income through your tax returns is a huge PITA and you probably don’t have good enough income to show them if you are new to credit (as you’ll need a tax return to show for it) so I would wait until you are 7 months in for your second AmEx.
4. 4-6 Months In: Stepping into Chase Territory
Many points-and-miles bloggers point out how conservative Chase is at approving cards to those with a thinner credit file. While this is true, there is one simple trick that the Chinese churning community found that breezes past the Chase applications. Before I tell you though, I need to wait for SideshowBob233 to walk into the rake I placed.
Okay, now that he is unconscious for a bit, let me quickly tell you the simple trick: open a Chase deposit account and deposit $10,000 to $30,000 into it. It only takes 2-3 business days for the credit card side of their systems to catch on to the fact that you have a large deposit account, which in turn allows you to breeze through the application process. DPs are showing that your initial credit line on the Freedom products will usually be under $3k, so I wouldn’t try for a Sapphire here. I personally put $30k in an account and got a $3k line for the Chase Freedom Unlimited with 5 months of credit history (still without FICO!). If I were to do it all over again I would have waited a month and jumped to the Chase Sapphire Preferred, as 6 months of history will give you a FICO score.
You can withdraw the funds immediately after card approval, and close the account shortly after, or within 12 months if you also hit the bank bonus with it. Whatever you do, listen to Sideshow and don’t pull shenanigans while you have a deposit account with them. I have just been maxing out my credit line at CVS without cycling, and then paying it down quickly.
5. 8-9 Months: “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man”
By now you should have a FICO score and be past the Amex pre-FICO velocity limit. From here you can start applying for AmEx business cards. If they ask for income verification or deny you, don’t worry, just apply again next week. While you may think that this non-stop application and denial may seem concerning to AmEx, people who cancel applications because of Pop Up Jail do the same thing so they are used to this. Eventually, you will see an approval, either instant or through a simple identity verification. In my case, they wanted my social security card and they approved me even though my card said “valid with work authorization only,” in typical Amex fashion.
Tip: If you are having trouble getting approved for the business cards, try applying for the Biz Checking (and get the SUB!). That helps the Amex Biz applications sail through as well.
After approval, you can immediately get started on the employee offers. You’ll need those to keep you occupied since you’ll still be quite limited on card approvals until you are 12+ months in.
12 Months+: Fourteen Million, Six Hundred and Five Possibilities
Okay, maybe Dr. Strange was exaggerating when he said that, especially if you’re planning to stay under 5/24. If you still kept your Chase account, there are DPs of Chase Sapphire Reserve approvals with a 12-month history, as well as various data points for INKs and cards from other issuers as well. If you are curious about your chances, check out the myFICO forums for various approval DPs and even better, the US Credit Card Forum in Chinese, as many there start with a fresh credit file. I like to Google Search the card name along with “uscardforum” and translate the results. Know that at the end of the day, you can just eat the hard pull and your confidence will pay off with a thick and stable credit file in years to come.
So there you have it. A one-year, five-step guide for a new player to the game. Good luck!
