As some of you might know, I was absolutely delighted to get on this incredible American Express Platinum credit card offer that netted me 100,000 Membership Rewards points. I already wrote about my love for this card (and the bonus) in this post so won’t repeat. But Amex Plat was not the only offer I got on Monday night. I also applied for 6 other cards at the same time. Seven total. And I’ve got them all.
See, I rarely apply for one card. Your credit inquiry that we lovingly call a “hard pull” is most noticeable by other lenders within first six months after applying. Whether you apply for one card or 6 it’s still gonna be there. So if damage (relax it’s minimal) is done anyway–why not go for more?
Well, let me play a devil’s advocate here. There are plenty of reasons for not going for more. You might not have a very strong credit, you might see yourself applying for a major loan within the next year, or you may not be able to meet so called “spend requirements” imposed by credit card companies in order to get your bonus. Finally, if you have never done it before you shouldn’t start with 6 or 7 cards if you want to avoid a nervous breakdown. Don’t dive in, without testing the waters. Two cards are plenty.
For me, however, spend is not a problem, I don’t expect having to apply for a mortgage in the near future, and I’ve been doing it long enough to remain calm. And while I’m nowhere near “rich” I have no problems with the spend because I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve. So what’s the loot and what’s the damage?
Here are the cards I applied for.
Amex Platinum
US Bank Carlson
Chase Ink Plus
Bank of America and Bank of Hawaiian Hawaiian Air
Citi AAdvantage Business
Citi Hilton
You can find all the offers except for Amex Plat (which is dead) in 2 sections: Free Flights and Free Stays. These are not affiliate links and I do not receive commissions
Total Annual Fee: $608
Total Spend Requirment: $17,000 within 6 months
TOTAL LOOT:
Membership Reward points: 100,000
US Carlson (Radison hotels, etc.) points: 85,000
Ultimate Rewards points: 50,000
Hilton HHonors points: 190,000 (after transfer from Hawaiian)
American Airlines AAdvantage points: 50,000.
TOTAL: 475,000 points in one churn!
Life is good. Again!:-)
If you think you could use some FREE, quality travel time in your near or even not so near future, check my books. More free flights and free luxurious hotel stays are just moments away! Check them out. You’ll be glad you did!
If you think you could use some FREE, quality travel time in your near or even not so near future, check my books. More free flights and free luxury hotel stays are just moments away! Check them out. You’ll be glad you did!
THE LAZY TRAVELER’S HANDBOOK: USE FREQUENT FLYER MILES TO TRAVEL THE WORLD FOR FREE
FLY ME TO ATLANTIS: ALMOST FREE TRAVEL TO PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS
HILTON SECRETS REVEALED
