SIS comes back with the App-O-Rama FAQ - AKA MAKING THOUSANDS OF $$ FROM CREDIT Link AOR stories and post your successes

ToHellWithUGA said: Thanks for the replies cardjuggler, I don't know that I would've read the link you provided if you hadn't given it. Good discussion there.
What % utilization on each card, all cards, and what credit score (from which service)?
The 2 Citi cards with the remaining open BT are at around 75%. Everything else is at 0% or is paid every month.

My wife just missed a payment on one of our (regular, joint) cards, didn't even notice it until the next month. I don't know how that will affect things. (I set up auto-payments for the BT cards, but she does the rest of the bills - I suggested maybe setting an autopay for the minimum amount, 'cause this is the 2nd time this has happened )


Who did you miss the payment with? They may put a black mark on your file, and 1) jack your apr 2) Deny CLIs for the next 12mos 3) not approve new credit apps. Hopefully it is less than 30 days late, so it won't report to the CRAs, if it did report, you would be screwed. If it is just a little late pay it, and maybe the issuer forgives 1 late in 12mos. Sometimes calling them and giving them a story works once every few years. When I was late before, the above actions happened to me, and I was late just once. You can still do AOR for the other banks. You want your overall utilization as low as possible, definitely under 50%.

I've been considering a "high risk" AOR. Here's an example:

Get $100k from an AOR. Into a no risk account paying 5% put only the principal necessary to guarantee a future value of 100k when it is time to pay back, ~$95125. The rest of the AOR money, ~$4875, goes to a risky investment. If the $4875 earns anything over 5%, you will come out ahead. If the $4875 is completely wiped out, you have still covered your original $100k. Of course, there is the opportunity cost of what the 100k would have earned by socking the whole thing in a 5% account. Hence, the "high risk" AOR.

Has anyone done this? If not, why not?

FloorsMat said: Vanilla10 said: I've been considering a "high risk" AOR. Here's an example:

Get $100k from an AOR. Into a no risk account paying 5% put only the principal necessary to guarantee a future value of 100k when it is time to pay back, ~$95125. The rest of the AOR money, ~$4875, goes to a risky investment. If the $4875 earns anything over 5%, you will come out ahead. If the $4875 is completely wiped out, you have still covered your original $100k. Of course, there is the opportunity cost of what the 100k would have earned by socking the whole thing in a 5% account. Hence, the "high risk" AOR.

Has anyone done this? If not, why not?

I'm doing this right now, I've got about 75k in BT money with ~7k in the stock market. This is my first time investing in the market and I'm not really doing well so far (one of my picks was AMD lol), but I don't expect to lose too much and expect a 7-10% return on that money. As always, YMMV but I figure if I lose 1k I'm still ahead.

Good for you! Real world experience in stocks, commodities, currencies, etc. with no loss potential may be the greatest benefit of this approach.

SiS or other AOR experts, have a question for you:

I plan to do a major AOR and I am pondering over the timing. Following is the situation:
Credit Score: 742/738/716
Total Credit Limit: approx. $150,000
Utilization: $0 (0%)
Housing: Renting (same apt. for 3 years)
Marital Status: Got married last month!
I am changing jobs and hence will be moving to a a different state end of Feb.
I have a bunch of cards, from my previous AOR (thanks!), whose lines of credit have been re-allocated to my older cards. I wish to close these accounts.
I have to qualify for a lease next month on a new house for rent.
I also wish to purchase a car for my wife.

I wish to do an AOR before I move so that the length of stay at my current residence is longer than 2 years. But then I may not qualify for a car loan/home lease etc. I can pay for the car outright (have enough savings).

In your opinion, what would be a good time to do an AOR? I hope to go up to $400,000 in credit limit. Is it possible? My household income is $110,000 (only me working).

Please suggest. Thank you.

OK, I'll try a different question since nobody answered my original one.

I know Discover only allows one app within a certain period of time. Right now I have three "Morgan Stanley Discover" cards on my AOR list as well as an additional regular Discover card. What's the answer?

1. Apply for all 4, the rule doesn't apply to Morgan Stanley co-branded cards.
2. Apply for 2, one Morgan Stanley co-branded card and the regular Discover card.
3. Apply for just one, either a Morgan Stanley co-branded card or the regular Discover card.

2Cor521

I know this is covered elsewhere, but I am so confused by too many threads.

Is it still possible to get any new credit card with mbna bill-pay type feature, allowing payment of other credit cards,
or did that all disappear with BOA merger?

If so, any recommendations?

revheck said: I know this is covered elsewhere, but I am so confused by too many threads.

Is it still possible to get any new credit card with mbna bill-pay type feature, allowing payment of other credit cards,
or did that all disappear with BOA merger?

If so, any recommendations?

I've read there is a discover biz card that let's you pay some bills AND earn CashBack.
It won't let you pay mortgage, or payroll, but says "bills" so you should be able to pay other CCs.
Discover biz card link

MegaDethPantera said: SiS or other AOR experts, have a question for you:

I plan to do a major AOR and I am pondering over the timing. Following is the situation:
Credit Score: 742/738/716
Total Credit Limit: approx. $150,000
Utilization: $0 (0%)
Housing: Renting (same apt. for 3 years)
Marital Status: Got married last month!
I am changing jobs and hence will be moving to a a different state end of Feb.
I have a bunch of cards, from my previous AOR (thanks!), whose lines of credit have been re-allocated to my older cards. I wish to close these accounts.
I have to qualify for a lease next month on a new house for rent.
I also wish to purchase a car for my wife.

I wish to do an AOR before I move so that the length of stay at my current residence is longer than 2 years. But then I may not qualify for a car loan/home lease etc. I can pay for the car outright (have enough savings).

In your opinion, what would be a good time to do an AOR? I hope to go up to $400,000 in credit limit. Is it possible? My household income is $110,000 (only me working).

Please suggest. Thank you.

It sounds like you are short on time! Some cards may take up to 5-6 weeks to arrive. The inquirys from the auto/lease/home loan will hurt your AoR potential also. If you have few inquiries (0-3) in the last 6 mos, I would do it ASAP. When you have the new place, notify the issuers of the new addresses, and have them cancel any cards that may be in transit to the old place you did not get yet. I am in a similar situation, and I am waiting until my new address is updated on my reports for my AOR. It is a home I have lived in for 6 years, so I can honestly answer 6 years at residence. I am getting rid of a Private mail box I've had for 10 years (It is about 12 miles from my house, and a pain in the ass to go out there all the time, plus they raised the rent 5+ times since I got it) I called EQ to asked about updating my addy, and they reported it as of 1/07. Exp has it right, and was the quickest in updating it. I did an online dispute w/ TU and awaiting the outcome. I would be upfront about the issuers, and see if they can expedite the apps. Many will work with you. If you can get a good 0% offer, you could buy the car w/ a credit card. The payments will be much lower, and you could roll it to another card when it expires. AMEX blue offers 0% for 15mos on Purchases. Just make sure the dealer will take AMEX for the full amount. Many Auto mfrs will subsidize the loan, and offer sub 5% loans. Those may be worth taking, as they will usually check your credit even if you don't finance through them. If you are renting, some landlords may take a self supplied copy of your credit report. If your previous address was 2+ years, and you just moved, it might not be that bad. They just don't want to see 1-2 months here, 3-4 months there, and 6 addresses spread for the last 2-3 years.

What are you looking to to find out about my AOR? I am willing to share anything you need to know short of my SSN and Account #'s Ask away.

PolarDude said: MegaDethPantera said: SiS or other AOR experts, have a question for you:

I plan to do a major AOR and I am pondering over the timing. Following is the situation:
Credit Score: 742/738/716
Total Credit Limit: approx. $150,000
Utilization: $0 (0%)
Housing: Renting (same apt. for 3 years)
Marital Status: Got married last month!
I am changing jobs and hence will be moving to a a different state end of Feb.
I have a bunch of cards, from my previous AOR (thanks!), whose lines of credit have been re-allocated to my older cards. I wish to close these accounts.
I have to qualify for a lease next month on a new house for rent.
I also wish to purchase a car for my wife.

I wish to do an AOR before I move so that the length of stay at my current residence is longer than 2 years. But then I may not qualify for a car loan/home lease etc. I can pay for the car outright (have enough savings).

In your opinion, what would be a good time to do an AOR? I hope to go up to $400,000 in credit limit. Is it possible? My household income is $110,000 (only me working).

Please suggest. Thank you.

It sounds like you are short on time! Some cards may take up to 5-6 weeks to arrive. The inquirys from the auto/lease/home loan will hurt your AoR potential also. If you have few inquiries (0-3) in the last 6 mos, I would do it ASAP. When you have the new place, notify the issuers of the new addresses, and have them cancel any cards that may be in transit to the old place you did not get yet. I am in a similar situation, and I am waiting until my new address is updated on my reports for my AOR. It is a home I have lived in for 6 years, so I can honestly answer 6 years at residence. I am getting rid of a Private mail box I've had for 10 years (It is about 12 miles from my house, and a pain in the ass to go out there all the time, plus they raised the rent 5+ times since I got it) I called EQ to asked about updating my addy, and they reported it as of 1/07. Exp has it right, and was the quickest in updating it. I did an online dispute w/ TU and awaiting the outcome. I would be upfront about the issuers, and see if they can expedite the apps. Many will work with you. If you can get a good 0% offer, you could buy the car w/ a credit card. The payments will be much lower, and you could roll it to another card when it expires. AMEX blue offers 0% for 15mos on Purchases. Just make sure the dealer will take AMEX for the full amount. Many Auto mfrs will subsidize the loan, and offer sub 5% loans. Those may be worth taking, as they will usually check your credit even if you don't finance through them. If you are renting, some landlords may take a self supplied copy of your credit report. If your previous address was 2+ years, and you just moved, it might not be that bad. They just don't want to see 1-2 months here, 3-4 months there, and 6 addresses spread for the last 2-3 years.
Thanks for the comments. So you're suggesting that if I did the AOR probably a month after I moved, it would have no impact on my credit approval since I do not have a history of moving every 6-months or even a year?

Also, as someone else pointed out, is there any basis for the credit limit to be up to 1.1 x Household Income? Can one inflate his household earnings while speaking with the credit card banks to increase the limits?

MegaDethPantera said:
Also, as someone else pointed out, is there any basis for the credit limit to be up to 1.1 x Household Income?

Income is only part of the equation. Credit score, existing limits and age play a factor also.


Can one inflate his household earnings while speaking with the credit card banks to increase the limits?

Technically Yes. If they ask for docs, you may be screwed. Legally, it can be considered a serious crime, and if you ever have to file BK, it can be considered BK fraud. In reality, usually they don't verify income, or assets. It does help alot if you are a homeowner, and having a mortgage can boost your FICO.

SecondCor521 said: I checked Equifax today and my HELOC reports under their "mortgage" category and not as revolving, but it does show my limit there and a zero balance.

As for MegaDethPantera's question, I currently have over 3x my household income in credit lines, but a lot of that was acquired when my income was higher and my credit score better. I have run into the "you have enough credit from us for your income" declines from some of the major issuers recently (Citi, Chase, AMEX), so I am curious to see what the results of my AOR will be. I would expect to get approved with really low limits from the likes of Citi and Chase and would expect to get big lines from the new issuers in my list like Advanta and PenFed.

Here is my AOR list in descending priority order. I am interested in 0% BT's >12 months with a fee <$75, don't want any annual fees or complicated hoops to jump through, no bonuses < ~$75, and would strongly prefer online apps (the only exception to this is the AMEX personal card; I'm going to try for the $250 statement credit via a phone app). I am also somewhat interested in 5%-style cards and may add some more of those.

Personal Card Name
Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards MC
Citi Professional Card
Chase SonyStyle Card
Morgan Stanley Discover Gas
Morgan Stanley Discover Platinum
Citi AT&T Universal Rewards
Citi Platinum Select Card
Citi AT&T Universal Platinum Card
AMEX Platinum Business Premium Cash Rebate
FNB of Omaha Platinum Edition Visa
Chase Disney Rewards Visa
HSBC GM Flexible Earnings Card
Bank of Omaha Platinum Visa
Bank of Albuquerque Platinum Visa
FNB Bucks Back Platinum Visa
Chase Freedom Visa
Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa
Bank of Texas Platinum Visa
Penfed Visa Platinum Cash Rewards

Business
Citi Business Card with Thank You network
Citi Business Card with Thank You network
Advanta Platinum Rewards BusinessCard MC
Advanta Platinum BusinessCard MC
Advanta BusinessCard
Chase Business Cash Rewards
Chase GM Business
AMEX Simply Cash Business Card
AMEX Platinum Business FreedomPass Card
AMEX Platinum Business Card

I would appreciate any comments. The above list, if I were to get everything, would be about $650 in signup bonuses (TY points, etc.) and $510 from cardoffers.com.

2Cor521

Second discover app will not go through as they limit 1 per 30 days, I think. You said you didn't want any signup bonuses less than $75; I don't think the Citi AT&T Universal Platinum Card has any bonuses other than the cardoffers bonus and some people have reported a limit of 2 Citi apps per 60 days but its YMMV on that one.
GL.

SecondCor521 said: Here is my AOR list in descending priority order.

I agree with others on Discover, Advanta and Citi. See the AOR notes in the CC Issuer FAQ -- which are not perfect but anyone is welcome to update!

cardjuggler said: To all: note that my ad hoc "1.1x" is for new CL from an AOR, not total CL afterwards. (And, it's not based on anything except the stats thread. It's certainly not set in stone; some have gotten and will get less, some more. e.g. mine was a bit above 1.4x)

dbalkunjr said: What are you looking to to find out about my AOR? I am willing to share anything you need to know short of my SSN and Account #'s Ask away.
First, congrats on a stellar AOR, and thanks for jumping in here. The basic question: how did you do it? Why are your results much higher than the avg reported on that thread so far? What lessons can we draw from it?

Here are a bunch of questions that I think might be useful; answer as few or as many as you like.

I don't care about your ACTUAL income, but did you really include $140,000 HHI in the applications? (no additional rent or interest $ or whatever?)

How much of the "new credit limit from AOR" was from CLI on existing cards? When did you do these (before or after the AOR), and did you accept a "hard pull"?

How much of the $295K new was from business cards? What did you report for bus. age & income? SS# or EIN? Sole or Corp?

Did you supply additional data for any cards, e.g. paystub or tax returns?

Roughly how long have you had credit? What's the avg age of your $150K pre-AOR CL?

Do you have a mortgage? What's the % utilization? (An aside: I have no idea whether that matters -- though it should. Someone at 99% is likely to be a higher risk than someone at half that.)

Do you have a HELOC? What % utilization?

(All of these questions are "what did your credit report show at the time of the AOR?" -- i.e. what information did the CC issuers have?)

Ok, to start off:

HHI is just gross earnings for my DW and I, no other interest or rental income.

The $295k in new credit is just that new credit from new card accounts. It does not include any CLI's. I did add about $60k of new credit to my total new available credit by getting CLI's on two of wife's chase cards then reallocating it to one of our joint cards from Chase essentially increasing that particular credit line by $40k. So that hard pull was on her credit report. Others were soft inq.

Business credit accounted for about $64k of the new credit lines received. Business is 5 years old, used SSN as a sole proprietorship.

Did not have to supply extra docs to any creditor.

Credit is no more than 6 years old. Do not know avg age of credit before AOR.

No HELOC. But have mortgage that was just refinanced last April.

Had 1-2% util. on existing cards before AOR.

Did all apps on Nov 10. only a few were instant approvals. Last approval came over 5 weeks later from Chase. Checked scores on Creditsecure yesterday and they were TU-742 EX-708 and EQ-732. Mind you that this is with $95k showing as utilized. Pre AOR they were TU-781 EX-723 or so and EQ was somewhere around 740 +/- 10(Not 100% sure because I don't have that info in front of me.) Do not have info on who pulled what, but it is interesting that Experian only dropped like 10 points.

SecondCor521 said: Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback.

On the multiple Discover cards, I was wondering aloud elsewhere in this thread if the fact that they are co-branded or managed by Morgan Stanley would make any difference. I am suspecting that you are all correct and that I will get a reject on the second card.

SNIP

Hadn't heard about the 1 card limit on Advanta. Can you cite a source?

2Cor521Yeesh! People aren't making it up.

Cite me as a source.

Today I was approved for one of the Discover cards. I applied for two other personal Discover cards and neither would allow submission, saying "You already have a Discover Card." (I considered applying for the small business Discover card but there is nothing useful or redeeming about it.)

Also today I was approved for an Advanta card (business). When I tried to apply for another one the web process would not consider the application saying, "You already have an Advanta Card."

kingofms said: NorCalSci said: SecondCor521 said: Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback.

On the multiple Discover cards, I was wondering aloud elsewhere in this thread if the fact that they are co-branded or managed by Morgan Stanley would make any difference. I am suspecting that you are all correct and that I will get a reject on the second card.

SNIP

Hadn't heard about the 1 card limit on Advanta. Can you cite a source?

2Cor521Yeesh! People aren't making it up.

Cite me as a source.

Today I was approved for one of the Discover cards. I applied for two other personal Discover cards and neither would allow submission, saying "You already have a Discover Card." (I considered applying for the small business Discover card but there is nothing useful or redeeming about it.)

Also today I was approved for an Advanta card (business). When I tried to apply for another one the web process would not consider the application saying, "You already have an Advanta Card."


so why do discover ppl keep calling me offering to get a new card (2nd, as i already have one) with discover?Hmmm...I don't know, maybe because you didn't apply for one today or yesterday????

Please, please prove me wrong. Apply for a new card. Then apply again for another. Tell us all what happens with your second and third applications in a day.

I told you what happened when I tried it today. I'm not trying to deprive anybody of a precious additional Discover card, just sharing my fresh, first-hand experience. Second and third applications did not go through. If you think I was an anomally by all means, do it yourself.

What are everybody's experiences with cardoffers? I signed up for a card through them last October as a part of an AOR and was approved, but my bonus still has not showed up in my account. I've submitted two support emails through their site over the past few weeks, but I haven't got any response yet. What is the typical turnaround for a bonus?

Tax question

How do you report the interest earned on your taxes?
Is it just on the 1040 form? I'm assuming the bank will show you exactly how much interest you earned in the taxable year so do you just enter that number in the form somewhere?

I am gearing up for another AOR. As info, here is my/our current situation:

Me – Equifax 721
--AMEX Gold Rewards Plus (No CL, which I assume means this card is bad for credit, i.e. always looks like 100% utilization; $150 fee in mid-Feb; sitting with ~45,000 points)
--Citi PremierPass - $7000 CL, 0% utilization (just paid off BT)
--Citi Simplicity Rewards - $6000/$6800 utilization, 0% BT ends 2/5/2007
--Citi Professional - $8000/$10,800 utilization, 0% BT ends 2/13/2007

Wife – Equifax 804
(the following cards are joint)
--Discover Gas $13,500 CL (8 years old, paid monthly)
--Citi Dividend Platinum Select, $13,000 (paid monthly)
--BP Visa (Chase), $16,600 (5 years old, paid monthly)
--Starwood AMEX Platinum, $10,500 (paid monthly)
--JCPenney Mastercard, $13,000 (paid monthly)
--A couple of other dept. cards

So, I have about $100,000 CL with $14,000 utilization (+ current balance on daily use cards)

So here's what I'm thinking about doing. Any advice/criticism is welcomed:

Me (was thinking that I would only do targeted offers):
1) Discover Miles Card (targeted offer 0% for life, 2 purchases per month starting in October)
2) Chase Freedom World Mastercard (targeted 0% BT until April 2008, no fee)

Wife:
1) Blue Sky from AMEX, $40 from CardOffers.com, 0% on purchases for 6 months (was thinking of actually using this card – I’ve started to travel ~10 times a year for work, not sure if this is better than Starwood)
2) Advanta Platinum BusinessCard with Rewards, $50 from CardOffers.com, 0% BT for 15 months, $50 BT fee
3) Citi® ProfessionalSM Card with ThankYou NetworkSM, 0% for BT for 9 months, no BT fee, $40.00 Cash Reward from CardOffers.com, $100 gift card after 1st purchase (10,000 bonus TY points)
4) Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card, $75 from CardOffers.com, 15k bonus miles w/ 1st purchase, 0% on purchases for 6 months
5) Citi PremierPass, $33 from CardOffers.com, 5,000 bonus points after 1st purchase, 0% BT for 12 months, no fee, have up to 12 months to do BT
6) etc, etc

I also plan to ask for CL increases.

Questions:
- I assume I should close the AMEX Gold Rewards before doing this, right (I was offered the standard $65 off the $150 fee, but I still don’t think it’s worth the fee – agree?)? Is converting to Starwood the best thing to do with my existing points?
- Should I go ahead and try for other cards for myself, or wait until the balance on the Citi cards is paid off (and my FICO goes up/utilization goes down)?

NorCalSci said: SecondCor521 said: Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback.

On the multiple Discover cards, I was wondering aloud elsewhere in this thread if the fact that they are co-branded or managed by Morgan Stanley would make any difference. I am suspecting that you are all correct and that I will get a reject on the second card.

SNIP

Hadn't heard about the 1 card limit on Advanta. Can you cite a source?

2Cor521Yeesh! People aren't making it up.

Cite me as a source.

Today I was approved for one of the Discover cards. I applied for two other personal Discover cards and neither would allow submission, saying "You already have a Discover Card." (I considered applying for the small business Discover card but there is nothing useful or redeeming about it.)

Also today I was approved for an Advanta card (business). When I tried to apply for another one the web process would not consider the application saying, "You already have an Advanta Card."

Slow down there.

All I meant was that I hadn't read about the Advanta limit, and I thought the Discover limit was YMMV. I will take your experience into strong consideration.