After several weeks of reading the forum I'm preparing to throw my App-O-Ramma hat into the ring. Hopefully those veterans that are interested in following the App threads may take a minute and check this one out. My sincere thanks if you do as I'm a bit nervous on my first go around. I've never messed with my credit before so it's a semi large step for me, not that I'm not comfortable with it, it's just first time jitters. I've been learning a lot reading the forums, hopefully it will pay off.
My purpose in the thread is to chronicle in a (hopefully) coherent manner my app-o-ramma process. I will be updating this with the various steps I'm taking along the way. It's my intent to start the Apps in a few weeks. I've read through a majority of the app threads and many of my questions have been answered but I'm still shaky on a couple of parts and doubt I'll start the rama without fully understanding them.
Intent To build existing credit for future app-o-rammas To take advantage of sign up bonuses To take advantage of 0% BT money by depositing into high yield savings
Applicant Information Household Income: ~70,000 Currently Renting living in Manhattan Experian: 784; Equifax 788; Transunion 774 Checking: Chase Bank High Yield: Emigrant Direct
As you can see, I don't have a lot of previous credit. Since I never charge more than a few thousand dollars on my credit card at one time I never thought about building my credit up. Then I found FW....
Preparation
Preparation & research started a few weeks ago. 1. ~1/2: Began research on potential cards. Cards of interest are listed below
2. 1/2: Opened Yodlee account to track automatic payments
3. 1/9: Applied for a CLI on AMEX Blue & Chase Blink. Both previous CL's were $11,000. Instant approval on a soft pull to CL's listed above.
4. 1/13: Opened Emigrant Direct savings account and made initial transfer of funds from checking account to test. To my dismay funds were held for 7 business days before clearing despite electronic transfer from checking. Hopefully that was only for a first time deposit. Interest was being gained entire time however.
5. 1/17: Pulled annual free credit report from Annual Credit Report.com Transunion: 855 Did not pull scores from Equifax and Experian as both had no blemishes, I figured they would be close to the Transunion score. I probably will pull prior to app.
6. 1/22: Called several card issuers to verify the following information: -Reallocation of Credit Lines: Discover, Chase, BofA, Citibank, AMEX all indicated reallocation between cards was not a problem. -BT transfer policy: Citi, Discover, BofA CSR's indicated they would BT direct to checking which if I recall correctly is contrary to some members experiences as far as BofA and Discover are concerned. AMEX, Chase would only BT to another Card.
7. 1/23 Called Chase to make sure funds transfered from Emigrant Direct would not be held for an extended period of time. As Emigrant Direct only allows six pulls of funds a month I intend to transfer the funds needed to cover the minimum credit card payment to my checking account and pay from there.
Potential Cards
Credit Card--------BT Fee---------BT Period-------Bonus Sony Card-----3% to $75------12 billing cycles-------$100 credit Chase Priority Club-----3% to $75------6 billing cycles------$20 credit & 30,000 miles Citi Premier Plus-----3% to $250 waived-----15,0000 TY points Citi Professional SM-----None-----9 billing cycles-----$100 gift card $40 cardoffers Citi Simplicity Rewards-----None----12 billing cycles----$100 gift card Citi AT&T Universal Rewards-----None-----12 billing cycles-----$50 gift card w/ first purchase $30 cardoffers Discover Platinum-----None-----12 billing cycles-----5% CashBack $40 card offers BofA Worldpoints-----Will not BT-----12 billing cycles-----$50 statement credit & Ipod Nano Choice Privledges Visa-----Will not BT-----8,000 bonus points $30 card offers American Express Rewards Gold-----will not BT with this card-----10,000 pts w/ first purchase $40 card offers In:NYC-----None-----6 months----$40 cardoffers Starwood Preferred Guest-----Will not BT with this card-----10,000 pts w/ first purchase $40 card offers PNC Platinum Rewards-----None-----12 billing cycles-----$50 credit w/ $500 in purchases First National Rewards-----3% to $75-----9 billing cycles-----$50 gift card w/ first purchase Chase Free Cash-----3% to $75-----12 billing cycles-----1,000 points with first purchase Charles Schwab Visa-----Will Not BT-----$50 statement credit Capital One Platinum Max-----Will Not BT w/ this card-----No rewards Midwest Platinum Mastercard (Juniper)-----3% to $50 max----5,000 bonus miles 10,000 miles with BT
Total Potential Bonus Personal: $295 Statement Credits $220 Card Offers 67,000 miles for hotel night stays or other credits
1/24 update
Decided I will apply for six business cards. They are below:
Total Potential Bonus Business $150 Gift Card $125 card offers 40,000 points 2,500 miles
2/8 Update
App-O-Ramma commenced with 17 cards. The Chase Card that I never applied for (or so I still think) appeared in the mail. I destroyed it. So with the identity theft issue put to bed I went ahead with the app. Several were deferred as noted below. After much hemming and hawing I decided that I wouldn't apply for any of the business cards for my first AOR. I think in the future when I'm more comfortable with the process I will, but after the FR problems a bunch of folks have been having I'm not comfortable applying for the business cards yet. Results posted below.
2/16 Update
Put in the new approvals and denials along with the credit checks. Looks like AMEX only did one pull, subsequently I got approved for three new AMEX cards. Denied for all of my Chase cards which really sucks.
RESULTS Card--------------Status-----------------Limit Sony Rewards------Denied---------------Too many credit or loan accounts have been opened {Experian} Chase Priority----Denied---------------Too many credit or loan accounts have been opened {Expreian} Citi Premier Pass-Approved---------------$8,500 {TransU} Citi Professional-Approved---------------$6,000 Citi Simplicity---Deferred---------------unknown Citi AT&T Univ.---Approved---------------$5,900 BoA World Points--Approved---------------$8,100 Choice Privledges-Approved---------------$8,100 AMEX Rewards Gold-Approved---------------No pre set spending limit {Experian} In:NYC------------Approved---------------$10,000 Discover Platinum-Approved---------------$6,000 {Experian} Starwood Preferred-Approved--------------unknown PNC Plat Rewards---Deferred--------------unknown {Experian} Charles Schawb Visa-Approved-------------$5,000 Chase Free Cash---Denied---------------Too many credit or loan accounts have been opened {Experian} Capitol One Plat--Denied----------------Too many inquires {Experian, TransU, Equifax} Midwest Platinum Mastercard -Approved----$15,000 {TransU}
So lots of deferreds which seem to be about the norm, I thought I would get a few more instants but I think most should come through. I plan to BT to my Citi cards then deposit after the initial purchases are made and balances paid off.
Implementation
After approvals I plan to make required purchases and reallocate credit lines on my AMEX, Chase, and Citibank approvals to save on BT fees from individual cards then BT to my checking account and transfer into my Emigrant Direct account. Utilization will be kept to under 50% on all cards and 75% on any single card. My nerves come from two places.
1. I've never BT'd previously. Despite my inquiries, I have reservations about which cards will let me BT to a checking account. If they do not, I'm still not 100% clear on how to access the BT'd funds. As I understand it BT's from one credit card are a means of paying off exisitng balances on another credit card. So to receive the BT money if there is no balance the credit card company would issue a check (upon request) for the overage amount as the BT would count as a payment overage.
-If this is the case would I need to have a 0% credit card open on two cards from the same issuer? I.E. If I am approved for all three AMEX cards (bringing my cards to four total with my AMEX Blue) I would want to reallocate to a single AMEX card with a 0% BT policy. My question is where would I tell them to BT to if my credit line is on a single AMEX card? Would I have to keep another 0% AMEX card open to BT to that AMEX? Would I tell them to BT to a different 0% account (Citi, Chase etc?)
-When applying, the credit applications ask for a BT amount. How do I know what to put w/o knowing my limits? Reading previous threads people seem to ask for as much as possible and the issuer will determine how much to give you. If I want to reallocate to a single card however would the proper course of action be to leave that section blank and worry about it once the reallocation is done?
2. I'm hoping that using the Emigrant-->Chase Checking-->Yodlee Bill Pay pulling from checking is the best way for me to pay the monthly minimums. I plan on transfering the correct amount of funds for minimum payments early on in the billing cycle so I have no problems with the automatic bill pay pulling from my checking account. It's not a big worry of mine but as I haven't used yodlee extensivly before I have a small bit of nervousness.
Other than that I think I'm in a pretty good place with this AOR. I want to wait at least another few weeks so the CLI's show on my credit report. Again thanks for reading and any comments are appreciated.
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posted: Jan. 23, 2007 @ 9:36p
PolarDude
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jan. 23, 2007 @ 9:56p
Barclays/Juniper is one I noticed your missing, also Wamu, and there may be others. Also, since you plan to invest to get interest income, that could pass for a business if you want to try for those. People have gotten approvals with $0 business income as long as they PG it, and have decent credit. The trans union score is a FAKO, but if those accounts you have are old enough, it should be high.
Isifhan said: 1. I've never BT'd previously. Despite my inquiries, I have reservations about which cards will let me BT to a checking account. If they do not, I'm still not 100% clear on how to access the BT'd funds. As I understand it BT's from one credit card are a means of paying off exisitng balances on another credit card. So to receive the BT money if there is no balance the credit card company would issue a check (upon request) for the overage amount as the BT would count as a payment overage.
To ease your nerves a bit, if you cant figure this out you can always request a balance transfer to a 'loan' that isnt a credit card. To your sister, father-in-law, a family member's business, etc. They'll just ask for the name, address, and account number (make one up), then mail a check. Just dont use someone with the same address or last name as you (and make sure its someone you trust, this person will be getting a really large check......).
It will take a couple weeks to process, but it is a very simple, very legit way to take advantage of a balance transfer offer.
markkundinger
Senior Member - 2K
posted: Jan. 23, 2007 @ 11:04p
Assuming you get even one citibank card, just do all your bt's to that, then use the citicards website to request an overpayment refund check to yourself, which you mail to emigrant. Once all the overpayment activity is done, you can request the BT off the Citibank cards as a check payable to you (which you deposit into Emigrant). Citibank is handy because the 12 mo doesn't start until you make the first BT, so there's no hurry.
Does the checking account normally have money in it? If not, then having to rely on timely transfers from the HYS seems to be a recipe for overdrafting if you don't manage it carefully. And if you leave a buffer in there, then that will reduce your profit somewhat (but not as much as overdraft fees would hurt). However, if you get the BofA Worldpoints (and maybe the Money Return) card, then you can use their billpay service to pay off other credit cards, which is super handy. It would also have the benefit of collating all your payments into one.
Note that there is nothing in the terms for the Worldpoints card that says that the fee is capped. This turns your 0% interest card into a 3% APR card, which is barely profitable (I'd probably rather use it for billpay than BT).
Finally, if you want to be more aggressive, you could always hit up a few more lenders.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Jan. 24, 2007 @ 8:05a
PolarDude said: Also, since you plan to invest to get interest income, that could pass for a business if you want to try for those. People have gotten approvals with $0 business income as long as they PG it, and have decent credit.
Hmm, I didn't think about that. I think I'll try and go that route if they ask for financials. I'll update with business cards once I do some research.
Markkundinger said: Assuming you get even one citibank card, just do all your bt's to that, then use the citicards website to request an overpayment refund check to yourself, which you mail to emigrant. Once all the overpayment activity is done, you can request the BT off the Citibank cards as a check payable to you (which you deposit into Emigrant). Citibank is handy because the 12 mo doesn't start until you make the first BT, so there's no hurry.
I was thinking about that last night after I posted this actually. I think this is what I'll do. Appreciate the advice. Glitch thanks as well as that was another option I hadn't thought of.
Markkundinger said:
Does the checking account normally have money in it? If not, then having to rely on timely transfers from the HYS seems to be a recipe for overdrafting if you don't manage it carefully. And if you leave a buffer in there, then that will reduce your profit somewhat (but not as much as overdraft fees would hurt).
Checking always has money in it so I'm not worried about a couple of thousand in minimums. If not then I'll check into the BofA idea.
Markkundinger said: Note that there is nothing in the terms for the Worldpoints card that says that the fee is capped. This turns your 0% interest card into a 3% APR card, which is barely profitable (I'd probably rather use it for billpay than BT).
Hmm, I'll update that then. For some reason I thought I read that it was capped at $75. Thanks for the catch.
WalStMonky
Happy Member
posted: Jan. 24, 2007 @ 8:47a
markkundinger said: Assuming you get even one citibank card, just do all your bt's to that, then use the citicards website to request an overpayment refund check to yourself, which you mail to...
So if I were to start to day, that would land in the 'mail to' account at the end of February if I'm lucky, mid march if I'm not.
I have an established Citibank card that has a promo offer of 6.99% with no BT fee. I requested BT checks and am using that as my destination account, then mailing the check wherever it's going. That costs about $2/day in interest per 10k but still better than waiting for Citi to get off their duff and mail that refund check. OP has an established Chase account, and he might check for a similar offer as I have one and they're promo is 5.99/life no bt fee. I've already gotten unsolicited BT checks from them but that's an account with only a 1K credit line as the rest moved over to the Sony Card. Of course these BTs will be active only for a few days to a week at most so it's the no BT fee that's most important aspect.
The noly card I remember seeing recently with no BT fee (unless done at the time of the app) was teh PNC Select Rewards Visa card.
everything else is pretty standard at 3% with a max of $75
for the Citi BT checks options, how large an amount are you guys able to get generally? I'm assuming it's a good idea to keep the BT amount under the total CL of the Citi card you are transferring to.
Question...I though FICO scores only went up to 850???? How did you get an 855??????? you typed it twice...so...guessing not fat fingers...
Isifhan
Member
posted: Jan. 24, 2007 @ 10:25a
dgoedken said: Question...I though FICO scores only went up to 850???? How did you get an 855??????? you typed it twice...so...guessing not fat fingers...
This is a FAKO score actually. I'm going to pull FICO prior to apps and update accordingly.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Jan. 24, 2007 @ 10:29a
iSpecK said: The noly card I remember seeing recently with no BT fee (unless done at the time of the app) was teh PNC Select Rewards Visa card.
everything else is pretty standard at 3% with a max of $75
for the Citi BT checks options, how large an amount are you guys able to get generally? I'm assuming it's a good idea to keep the BT amount under the total CL of the Citi card you are transferring to.
The ones that I had listed with No BT fees were outlined in the T&C's as fees being waived on this offer. I.E. from Citi's Simplicity Rewards & AT&T Universal Rewards:
3% of the amount of each balance transfer, $5 minimum, $75 maximum. However, there is no fee with the 0.00% APR balance transfer offer described above.
To be on the safe side however I will go back through each and reconfirm or update accordingly. Hmm thinking about it, does "APR balance transfer offer described above" mean that the waived fee is only offered at the time of application? I didn't read it to be like that but it could be.
1/9: Applied for a CLI on AMEX Blue & Chase Blink. Both previous CL's were $11,000. Instant approval on a soft pull to CL's listed above.
You might want to wait a while to make sure your credit report is reporting your new, higher limits.
I've also had good luck requesting BT checks from Chase and discover, make sure to read the fine print on them and/or call to verify that you'll get the promo rate.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Jan. 24, 2007 @ 9:08p
rogue409 said:
You might want to wait a while to make sure your credit report is reporting your new, higher limits.
Doing that for sure.
1/24: updated with Business Cards I'll apply for. Using them for overall credit however and probably won't BT on those cards. Also fixed the Worldpoints to note that I won't be BTing with that card.
Do you have a goal in mind of how much BT $ you wish to play with? $60K, 80K, 100K,??
Also, do you know what cards you plan to keep for actual use and not BT? I am just curious, because there are some higher initial perk cards which are out there, but ones you are not considering so wanted to see if BT is your #1 priority and how much $ you are shooting for.
I admit that I was conservative in my app-a-rama if that isn't actually an oxymoron. <g>. For my first time out of the gate, I was apprehensive about going too high, until I got the feel of things. Also, it is much easier to balance fewer accounts with $20K each than 4 accounts with $5K each.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Jan. 25, 2007 @ 9:48a
tashayar said: Do you have a goal in mind of how much BT $ you wish to play with? $60K, 80K, 100K,??
Well, that probably will be dependent on how much credit I'm approved for. My credit is good, but my history is small, so I don't know how much realistically I should be expecting. I want to keep utilization to 50% across all cards 70% on any one card so my guess is if I get approved for the 20 cards that I'm applying for I'll have over 100k credit but would probably only BT around 60-65k depending on what the limits are. Now if I surprise myself and get 200k plus in credit then I would love to BT 100k.
tashayar said: Also, do you know what cards you plan to keep for actual use and not BT? I am just curious, because there are some higher initial perk cards which are out there, but ones you are not considering so wanted to see if BT is your #1 priority and how much $ you are shooting for.
Right now (and this can certainly change) I wasn't planning on BTing the following: BofA Worldpoints, AMEX rewards gold, Starwood Preferred guest, Captial One Platinum Max based on the fact that they either don't have 0% BT offers or the BT isn't capped, but they do have good sign up bonuses.
I wasn't planning on BTing any of the Business cards as I wanted to use those to boost my overall credit and help towards utilization. However, if the CC companies wouldn't count those as a part of my overall credit utilization when looking at the 50/70 rule then I would probably re-evaluate. If you have suggestions as to which perk cards would be better than the above listed I'm open to switching around for sure.
tashayar said: I admit that I was conservative in my app-a-rama if that isn't actually an oxymoron. <g>. For my first time out of the gate, I was apprehensive about going too high, until I got the feel of things. Also, it is much easier to balance fewer accounts with $20K each than 4 accounts with $5K each.
Lol, totally an oxymoron. My plan is to reallocate a lot of the lines so I can either eliminate altogether or use those small 5k limits towards my overall utilization.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Jan. 25, 2007 @ 9:14p
Updated with some new cards and moved the Citi Professional SM card to business section as I guess that's considered a business card. Wondering if applying for five AMEX cards (including business) will set off any alarms when I BT a significant amount of money. Don't really want to have to deal with a FR my first AOR We'll see what happens.
I did Citi Professional and Citi Business recently through Cardoffers. Each was offering 15,000 thank you pts and they were credited to my account just yesterday.
There is a lot of differing info going around, but I can tell you from MY experience Citi considers Citi Professional to be a PERSONAL card. That was the reason they gave me for closing an inactive personal card in order to open this one. It acts like a biz card, but is not one like the Citi Biz card. Soooo, tread carefully and consider how you wish to proceed.
My suggestions for cards/perks
1. Just checked card offers and if you click on the link for Citi Prof, then click "back" you will get a popup (make sure you have enabled popups) for an offer with 15,000 ty pts and still the $40 through cardoffers.
2. AMEX Business Gold Rewards w/25,000 pts Too many people have been upset about not getting the Tiger gc so I would skip that one totally and go for the proven method. PLUS, you score more.
3. Schwab $50 Statement Credit I didn't do this one recently but have done it 3x when they were offering $100 and $150. This gets credited pretty fast, too.
That's it for now. Too bad you missed out on the recent AMEX platinum. I did search to see if you could get in on that one, but looks dead now.
cardjuggler
Senior Member
posted: Jan. 25, 2007 @ 10:52p
Isifhan said: I wasn't planning on BTing any of the Business cards as I wanted to use those to boost my overall credit and help towards utilization. However, if the CC companies wouldn't count those as a part of my overall credit utilization when looking at the 50/70 rule then I would probably re-evaluate. The whole point of bus. cards (for an AOR) is that they don't appear on your personal credit report! So, they're useful for "hiding" a BALANCE, and worthless for lowering utilization.
Also, AFAIK, CitiProfessional is "mostly" a personal card, i.e. I think it shows on your personal credit report. But there's some chance it doesn't count towards the "2 Citi apps" limit (that most but not all have hit; noting that some co-branded cards may also fall outside that).
Isifhan
Member
posted: Jan. 26, 2007 @ 10:10a
tashayar said:
1. Just checked card offers and if you click on the link for Citi Prof, then click "back" you will get a popup (make sure you have enabled popups) for an offer with 15,000 ty pts and still the $40 through cardoffers.
Tried that and I get an error message (can't display page) when I hit apply. Hopefully this will resolve itself soon. Thanks for the heads up on the Charles Schwab, the AMEX Gold and the nano link, will forgo the tiger direct as it does seem like too many people are having issues.
As far as the business cards go I didn't realize that they don't help with your overall utilizaiton I just knew that they don't count against your personal credit...I guess they go hand in hand though. I may have to re-evaluate which business cards I apply for then as some of them had uncapped BT's and were not 0% I was just going for the rewards. Ok, well thanks again guys.
Tried that and I get an error message (can't display page) when I hit apply. Hopefully this will resolve itself soon. Thanks for the heads up on the Charles Schwab, the AMEX Gold and the nano link, will forgo the tiger direct as it does seem like too many people are having issues.
Just tried clicking on the popup to apply and it directed me here.
Don't use that link or you wont get the cardoffers bonus but it does appear to be working now. Just told a friend about it.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 2, 2007 @ 9:18p
Just had a strange/disconcerting experience, didn't think it waranted another thread though. Received a hard pull on my credit from what I thought was my HSBC savings account application yesterday. I was kind of peeved b/c I didn't think there would be a hard pull, but I didn't think any more of it.
Log into my yodlee account and find a new chase credit card that wasn't there before...hmm, go to my chase account and sure enough there was a Chase card opened with a 5k limit. Well, I certainly didn't open it up especially with this AOR coming up.
It turns out that HSBC did not do a hard pull (pull was listed as First USA bank) to open the account, so more than likely it was due to this new credit card that I never signed up for.
So I closed the new credit card but am wondering if/how much this will impact my AOR in any way. I'm still quite confused on how a card that I never applied for would appear on my account.
Isifhan said: Log into my yodlee account and find a new chase credit card that wasn't there before...hmm, go to my chase account and sure enough there was a Chase card opened with a 5k limit. Well, I certainly didn't open it up especially with this AOR coming up.
The FUSA pull was indeed for a Chase card. Did you apply for the $150 Sony card statement credit last month?
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 2, 2007 @ 11:08p
taxmantoo said:
The FUSA pull was indeed for a Chase card. Did you apply for the $150 Sony card statement credit last month?
No. The pull was done on 1/31, same day as I opened the HSBC thus why I thought it was that at first. To my knowledge I didn't apply for any card that's why I'm perplexed and a bit worried. I talked to fraud protection at Chase and all they could tell me was that the card was applied for and sent out on 1/31. The only thing that I did in relation to my chase credit card account was apply for a CLI on my existing card from 11k to 30k which was done ~1/17.
WalStMonky
Happy Member
posted: Feb. 2, 2007 @ 11:23p
You should have requested they move the 5k line to your 30k card!
Did you ask the nice CSR to what address the new card was sent?
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 2, 2007 @ 11:42p
WalStMonky said: You should have requested they move the 5k line to your 30k card!
Did you ask the nice CSR to what address the new card was sent?
Doh, no I did not, I was so thrown by the whole thing I didn't even think of asking where it was sent. Since I had it canceled would it be possible to call up fraud protection again and see where it was sent or is that pretty much done now? Ditto for the reallocation, they actually asked me if I wanted to do that and I said no b/c I just didn't know where the hell it came from and just wanted everything shut down heh.
WalStMonky
Happy Member
posted: Feb. 3, 2007 @ 12:16a
Actually the address to where that card is headed might tell you what you need to do. If it's going somewhere you don't know you might really need those fraud alerts. If it's going to a relative's or an ex-friend's you still need to address it but I guess I think that might be something you'd want to handle differently. If it's headed to your home you'll want to verify with the USPS that a change of address order hasn't been placed on your mail. And if none of the above maybe you have a sleepwalking problem? I guess you want the fruad alert in any case.
I hope you figure it out. Chase fraud is open 24/7 if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure you won't be the last person to call back with a subsequent question...this morning.
PolarDude
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 3, 2007 @ 1:41a
WalStMonky said: Actually the address to where that card is headed might tell you what you need to do. If it's going somewhere you don't know you might really need those fraud alerts. If it's going to a relative's or an ex-friend's you still need to address it but I guess I think that might be something you'd want to handle differently. If it's headed to your home you'll want to verify with the USPS that a change of address order hasn't been placed on your mail. And if none of the above maybe you have a sleepwalking problem? I guess you want the fruad alert in any case.
I hope you figure it out. Chase fraud is open 24/7 if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure you won't be the last person to call back with a subsequent question...this morning.
Maybe it was an identity theft, but he could redirect it to his house, and report the first one stolen! I wouldn't cancel it, but a fraud alert would help, although slow down instant approvals, and (does a fraud alert mean a denial at some places?) I would be very mad if it was an ID thief. He should find out where the card was sent, and check out the address. I remember seeing a website where you can post an address, and free vigilante type spies will go there and check it out for you. I can't remember what site it is though!
WalStMonky
Happy Member
posted: Feb. 3, 2007 @ 7:42a
I find it amusing that I'd keep the credit line, and you'd keep the account. I must admit my first inclination would be to get rid of that thing like it was infected garbage so can hardly blame OP as I think that's human nature. At minimum you'd have to ask Chase to reissue the account number. If it is ID theft, it seems that this AOR thing can nip it in the bud in more ways than one.
I'd really be concerned about the redirected mail. I ponder from time to time how easily one can file a change of address order with the USPS and how a clever identity thief could exploit that. Yes, online you have to use a credit card with either the new or old address but considering how darn easily one can change the billing address of an account with online access that's not that much of a protection. Paper trail you say? ID thief I counter, how likely is it that this is the first account he's stolen? Also I think you can still fill out the paper form and send it in without ID. Hopefully this isn't what happened as OP will be in for a major annoyance if those little yellow address correction labels go back to people who automatically change the address (Chase for one), not to mention all the unrelated mail he would lose. Reminds me of having my wallet stolen, my biggest concern was my driver's license. Wouldn't you know I was out of town and scheduled to fly that same day. It's a royal pain to get on a flight nowadays without proper ID. Yes, it can be done but it took almost two hours and a very thorough search before it happened. Though thankfully the search didn't have KY jelly involved.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 3, 2007 @ 8:47a
Well I appreciate all the help. I called fraud protection again and they verified that it was sent to my address. I'm going to the post office to see if there was an address change placed on my residence. I dunno maybe I do have a sleep credit card ordering problem but I really don't think I applied for the cards even though all signs are pointing to the fact that I did.
I don't know how this will affect my AOR. I didn't ask them to put a fraud alert on my account because if they did that then all applications would be under review w/ my social security number and if they see an influx of applications it would raise flags, so I just asked them to close the card. I'm going to give it a few weeks and see if anything else squirly happens, which sucks b/c I wanted to do my AOR next Friday, but better to be safe than app happy. Thanks again to all who gave their advice.
WalStMonky
Happy Member
posted: Feb. 3, 2007 @ 10:21a
Actually, you might consider doing your AOR sooner. Having a pile of brand new inquiries can foil an ID thief by itself. It was balance transfers in progress that foiled the id thief who attempted to hijack my wife's credit in 2001. The balances were being shown on the credit report twice as the payors had sent off to the payees, but the payees hadn't yet updated. Those were much less sophisticated times as we didn't hide the debt before requesting the transfers. I'll never forget that fellow's name either. Lonnie Mack, same as the bass player for the Doors near the end. Poor Lonnie, all those apps and no free money. Had he not tried during that particular window his efforts likely would have paid off. It really is a not often mentioned benefit of taking your credit to the limit.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 8, 2007 @ 9:34a
Well the mystery chase card appeared in my mail so I don't know maybe I applied for this somehow although I still don't think I did but with the evidence pointing to yes what can you do. Anyway the card was cancelled and torn up when I got it in the mail. So, with the identity theft issue put to bed I commenced with my App-O-Ramma. Results posted in OP.
grendhal
Addicted Member
posted: Feb. 8, 2007 @ 9:51a
i second the juniper card tip. i received my highest non-business lines from them. also, i eneded up applying for the second card two weeks after my initial AOR (17 apps total) and was still approved with almost as a high a limit as the 1st juniper card i applied for during the AOR.
PolarDude said: Barclays/Juniper is one I noticed your missing, also Wamu, and there may be others. Also, since you plan to invest to get interest income, that could pass for a business if you want to try for those. People have gotten approvals with $0 business income as long as they PG it, and have decent credit. The trans union score is a FAKO, but if those accounts you have are old enough, it should be high.
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 8, 2007 @ 10:34a
grendhal said: i second the juniper card tip. i received my highest non-business lines from them. also, i eneded up applying for the second card two weeks after my initial AOR (17 apps total) and was still approved with almost as a high a limit as the 1st juniper card i applied for during the AOR.
Woops, missed this somehow. Noted and applied for. Updated in OP. Thanks again!
cardjuggler
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 9, 2007 @ 11:18p
grendhal said: applying for the second {Juniper} card two weeks after my initial AOR (17 apps total) and was still approved with almost as a high a limit as the 1st juniper card i applied for during the AOR. Great tip! I had forgotten that no time period was mentioned on my "2 at once" rejection. They reject the second "while your initial application is pending" but go on to say "Please feel free to apply again once we have responded to your initial application." I guess I should have done so!
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 15, 2007 @ 6:53p
Well I'm starting to get cards in as well as denial letters. I was denied all three of my Chase cards which was somewhat surprising. I did however learn, I have a chase checking account with $2,000 "overdraft" protection which Chase counts as a credit card surprisingly enough. When I called customer service they sighted the fact that I have $32k worth of exposure with them.
So it looks like that in combination with the mystery card put a halt to further credit with Chase at this time which is bad as I don't have a 0% Chase card currently. So I have $30k of credit sitting on an unusable card which is annoying.
little4ce
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 27, 2007 @ 7:30p
Why do I get the feeling that this was a bit of unthought aor? Did you find your credit scores before applying? Did you look to see how many and where hit the credit inquiries, have you heard of B? Did you call CA about the inq?
Can you post some results with the actual transfers?
Isifhan
Member
posted: Feb. 27, 2007 @ 7:57p
little4ce said: Why do I get the feeling that this was a bit of unthought aor? Did you find your credit scores before applying? Did you look to see how many and where hit the credit inquiries, have you heard of B? Did you call CA about the inq?
Can you post some results with the actual transfers?
Not sure why you think this. If you read the post credit scores are one of the first things listed. I had one credit hit in 2005, then a mystery credit card which I didn't believe I applied for from Chase were the only two credit inquries prior to the AOR. Also the credit hits I listed further down the post. Not sure if you read it all the way through but you may want to re-read. Have I heard of B? Not sure what you mean. As of yet I haven't transfered any money as (again if you read through the post) I wanted to complete the initial purchases for rewards, pay them off then proceed with the BT's.
Skipping 8 Messages...
internetle
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 1, 2007 @ 6:16a
cardjuggler said: internetle said: I just started my AOR too. I applied for 10 CC's and Truecredit report shows my credit scores stay the same the entire time. The credit bureaus update them daily or monthly? Are you refreshing the score? Right side, towards the bottom. (I don't know if it's available with a 30-day free trial.)
yes, refresh 2/28/2007. Only one of the scores went down by 4 points. Just have to wait for those new accounts to show up to see what happen.
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