SNAFU123's (hopefully not a FUBAR) mini AOR

My first post…please be gentle.

Thanks to all the members who have contributed to AOR threads.

Purpose:
Priority One: Take advantage of 0% BT offers
Priority Two: Bonus rewards and incentives

AOR Date:
Planning to do this on 02/07/2007 (Wednesday)

Existing Accounts:
Credit Card ----- Issued ----- Limit ----- Balance
Bank of America Platinum Visa ----- 1/2005 ----- $15,000 ----- ~$0
Citi Professional ----- 7/ 2005 ----- $5,550 ----- ~$450
Citi Divident ----- 7/2005 ----- $7,800 ----- ~$221
Chase ----- 11/2004 ----- $5,600 ----- ~$0
Chase Flexible Rewards ----- 6/2003 ----- $10,600 ----- ~$34
DCU ----- 8/2000 ----- $7,000 ----- ~$0
Affinity Federal CU ----- 9/1999 ----- $1,500 ----- ~$0
Kohls ----- 11/2004 ----- $1,000 ----- ~$0

Total Current Credit Limit: $54,050

Personal Info:
Age: 34
Annual Income: $115,000
House Payment: $999
Loans: None

Credit Score History:
02/05/06 -- TU: 738 -- EX: 745 -- EQ: 738
(I have had one late payment by 30 days more than 3 years ago and 3 hard inquiries last year)

Plan:
1) Keep overall utilization on each card to below 50% (or alternately below 75%)
2) Do not apply for cards that have an annual fee.

Cards to Apply For:

Personal Cards:

Advanta Life of Balance Platinum Card --- 2.99 for life --- BT Fee: $50 max --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $50 --- Annual Fee: None
Conditions: Transfer balance within 90 days for 2.99 for life
Status: Did not apply for this under personal cards. Applied for Business Card

AMEX Rewards Plus Gold --- None --- None --- Points/Miles: 25,000 pts --- Card Offers: $40 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: Bonus after 500 in purchases (25,000 = 250 Gift Card), Annual Fee: $150 after 1yr.
Status: Approved. No Credit Limit

AMEX Hilton HHonors® Platinum --- None --- None --- Points/Miles: 10,000 pts --- Card Offers: $40 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: 10000 pts after first purchase
(Note: Cancel application to get window for additional points – YMMV: Did not work)
Status: Approved. CL: $7,500


BoA WorldPoints™ Platinum Plus™ --- None --- None --- $75 Statement Credit --- Card Offers: $40 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: After 3200 in purchases
Status: Approved. CL: $2,500

Chase SonyStyle --- 0% for 12 months --- $75 max --- $100 Stmt Credit --- Card Offers: $50 --- Annual Fee: None
Conditions: After first purchase.
Status: Approved. CL: $13,000

Citi PremierPass – Elite --- 0% for 12 months --- $0 --- Points/Miles: 15,000 TY pts --- Card Offers: $33 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: After first purchase
Status: Approved for Diamond Preferred Rewards AMEX card. CL: $6,800

Citi® Diamond Preferred® --- 0% for life --- BT Fee: $75 --- Points/Miles: 10,000 TY pts --- Card Offers: $30 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: Points after first purchase. 0% until 5/1/2007 and 0% for the life of the balance if 2 purchases are made every month.
Note: Although this promotion is not available through card offers, I’m trying to get the $30 bonus from CO by using their link and modifying the ‘sc=xxxxxxxxxxx&’ parameter in the URL of the Citi application page to ‘sc=4DNFN636&’. I’m not sure if I’ll get the bonus, but it’s worth a try).
Status: Approved. CL: $6,800

Discover Miles --- 0% for 12 months --- BT Fee: $0 --- Points/Miles: 12,000 pts --- Card Offers: $40 --- Annual Fee: $0
Condition: After first purchase and 1000 more points for every month a purchase is made.
Note: I’m not sure I’ll be approved for Discover cards as I’m not a citizen/permanent resident. I was rejected before but I’m going to try one more time using the Reservation # that I received through mail.
Status: Approved. CL: $8,000

Washington Mutual --- 0% through July 08 --- BT Fee: $0 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: Transfer balance within 90 days for 0% apr. Use the reservation # received in mail.
Status: Approved. CL: $13,000 - reduced after initial approval of $30,000

First National Bank – Visa Signature --- 0% for 12 months --- BT Fee: $75 --- Points/Miles: 5,000 --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: After first purchase. 6000 pts = $50 Gift Card
Status: Approved. Cl: $15,000

PNC Platinum Rewards --- 0% for 12 months --- BT Fee: $0 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: Spend $500 before 6/01/07 for statement credit.
Status: Approved. CL: $20,000

Pulaski Bank Gold Visa® Card --- 0% for 6 months --- BT Fee: $0 --- None --- Card Offers: $40 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: Transfer balance within 90 days.
Status: Denied --- Need to be a U.S citizen ... Maybe I need to come into the country illegally to get citizenship!!!

Free Spirit ONYX World Mastercard (Juniper) --- 0% for 6 months --- BT Fee: $50 --- Points/Miles: 15,000 --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: After first purchase. Upto 10,000 pts for Balance Transfers. First year fee($69) waived.
Status: About to be denied. Need to be either a citizen or permanent resident. Asked for proof of permanent residency or citizenship

National Park Foundation Platinum Visa --- 0% for 12 months --- BT Fee: $50 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: None
Status: About to be denied. Need to be either a citizen or permanent resident. Asked for proof of permanent residency or citizenship

RBS Platinum MasterCard --- 0% for 10 months --- BT Fee: $60 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: None
Status: Approved. CL: $7,000


Business Cards:

Advanta Platinum Rewards BusinessCard MC --- 0% for 6 months --- BT Fee: $50 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $50 --- Annual Fee: $0
Status: Approved. CL: $10,000

CitiBusiness w/TY Network --- 0% for 12 months --- BT Fee: $0 --- Points/Miles: 15,000 TY --- Card Offers: $10 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: After first purchase.
Note: Close window to get additional 5000 pts.
Status: Approved CL: 7,000

Gold Delta SkyMiles Business --- 9.99% for life --- BT Fee: $0 --- Points/Miles: 15,000 miles --- Card Offers: $75 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: Annual fee waived for the first year. 0% for 12 months on purchases.
Update: Received email regarding company verification.
Status: Deferred--- Approved. CL: $3,000

AMEX SimlyCash Business --- None --- None --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $75 --- Annual Fee: $0
Update: Received email regarding company verification.
Status: Deferred--- Approved. CL: $3,000

PNC Platinum Business Rewards --- 0% for 12 months --- BT Fee: $0 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Conditions: Spend $500 before 6/01/07 for statement credit.
Status: Approved. CL: $7,500 Additonal line of Credit: $7,500

Bank of America --- 1.99% for 8 months --- BT Fee: $90(max) --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $0 --- Annual Fee: $0
Status: Approved (over phone - waiting for card). CL: $20,000


Total Rewards expected:
Cardoffers: $573
ThankYou Points:
Statement Credits: 50 + 100 ( BoA WorldPoints + SonyStyle)
Points: AMEX – 35,000 pts, Citi – 40,000
Miles: AMEX – 15,000, Juniper – 35,000, First National – 6,000, Discover – 12,000


I still haven’t figured out the whole process for BT to checking. I guess I’ll plan for that after getting all the approvals. Citi, Discover, BofA allow BT to Checking Account. AMEX and Chase do not.

Any advice/comments/constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated.

Summary status:
Approved Cards: 11 - Personal Cards, 6 - Business Card
Denied Cards: 3 - Personal Cards

Total New Credit: $133,700

Keep us posted on the effect on your credit score. We have similar profiles/debt/scores...

snafu123 said:
Advanta Platinum Rewards BusinessCard MC --- 0% for 6 months --- BT Fee: $50 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $50 --- Annual Fee: $0 --- Link

I applied for this card directly through Advanta.com and got 0% for 15 months rather than 6 months. Depending on how much you plan to BT, you might prefer that to the $50 Card Offers bonus. When i called to activate the card, i did a BT directly into my (personal) checking account, and the money appeared in 48 hours. Very good experience.

If you're looking for another BofA personal card, the Financial Rewards VISA has 0% for 6 months, with no BT fee.

WashWest said: snafu123 said:
Advanta Platinum Rewards BusinessCard MC --- 0% for 6 months --- BT Fee: $50 --- Points/Miles: None --- Card Offers: $50 --- Annual Fee: $0 --- Link

I applied for this card directly through Advanta.com and got 0% for 15 months rather than 6 months. Depending on how much you plan to BT, you might prefer that to the $50 Card Offers bonus. When i called to activate the card, i did a BT directly into my (personal) checking account, and the money appeared in 48 hours. Very good experience.

If you're looking for another BofA personal card, the Financial Rewards VISA has 0% for 6 months, with no BT fee.

Thanks for the info. I have added the card to my list. I do not want to apply for another BoA card at this time.

Good income, good scores, little debt, I expect generally good results. I'm especially curious how well modifying the links on cardoffers will work.

Two cautions:

1) You've got three personal citi cards listed. That usually doesn't work. Might want to swap one out with another Professional card (and another business card!)

2) FNB Omaha has been denying apps on recent AORs for too many inquiries. If you really want that particular card, you may want to apply early in the process.

BTing is easy, if they can't do it straght to checking, just designate an unused citibank card (new or old) and request credit refund checks from it, it's a breeze.

Xeon852 said: Doesn't seem very "mini" to me, but appropriately sized. Looks very similar to the one I am planning on doing in March. A couple notes:

1) I think the fee waived PremierPass Elite deal is dead. The Citi business one has first year waved, but the personal one has the annual fee again.
I just checked and this offer still shows up.

2) Advanta Life of Balance is a Business card. They may only allow 1 card, double check this.
I have heard about this. I'll apply for the personal card first. It's ok if I don't get the Business card.
3) EmigrantDirect is a Juniper card. (1 card, double check as well)
4) Why only 1 Chase card? Why not any chase business?

I was not aware of the fact that Juniper issues just one card. Oh! Doesn't matter. I was not sure about the BT process from Chase and opted to go for just one card for now. Maybe next time.

5) Check your Citi Professional and Citi Dividend cards if they have FEE-FREE BT offers (via citicards.com). If they do, you can just BT your AMEX there and request a BT check to be mailed to you via citi, or just do a credit balance refund check.
6) Not to scare you off, but some have reported PNC and Pulaski not being too AOR friendly.

Do let us know how the offer code swapping in URL's goes.

I do not have any fee-free bt offers left on the existing Citi cards

Consider this one...

CITI Diamond Rewards AMEX

5 TY point for $1 spent on supermarket, gas station, etc for 1st 12 months.
No fee BT until 1/1/08
10000 TY points after 1st purchase,

snafu123 said: Xeon852 said:
1) I think the fee waived PremierPass Elite deal is dead. The Citi business one has first year waved, but the personal one has the annual fee again.
I just checked and this offer still shows up.
Do you have a link for it?
2) Advanta Life of Balance is a Business card. They may only allow 1 card, double check this.
I have heard about this. I'll apply for the personal card first. It's ok if I don't get the Business card.

I was saying that they are both business cards - I haven't heard of any Advanta personal cards. I could be wrong, however.

Xeon852 said: 6) Not to scare you off, but some have reported PNC and Pulaski not being too AOR friendly.

I have had no problems with PNC - they even increased my personal limit from 5K to 10K with 1 phone call after I was initially approved.

The only thing to watch out for with Pulaski is to not make out their BT checks to yourself - it will get denied. You will have to wash this through a different account. I took mine into a BofA branch, paid off most of the BofA BT, and then called back in a few days later and had them do another BT to my checking account (no fees of course).

snafu123 said: Xeon852 said:Do you have a link for it?
Here's the link </blockquote>

It says: Annual Fee Applies</blockquote>

my $0.02 ...

when new CC w/ 0% BT won't transfer to checking account ... I just BT to another card account which will BT to checking account ( BoA ... esp. Business cards) or to card which will send BT checks ( Citicards ...). Slows process a little ... but eventually free BT money starts working for me.

Note.. find a local bank branch w/hi-yield account (Wamu, Countrywide, Citi, etc.) to deposit BT checks, while clearing. Once cleared, then ACH to your target HI-yield account (Everbank, HSBC, IGObank, etc.).

snafu123 said: Updated the results.

Did the AOR this morning. Began at around 12:30 AM. Finished at around 3:30. It took that long because I almost FUBARed the process. Please do not use Firefox while doing an AOR. I kept getting errors from AMEX. I switched to IE and everything went ok after that.
I used roboform as suggested in the forum. That helped a bit. I opened all applications in different tabs and tried submit them at the same time. It takes time to submit each app. A lot of the applications timed-out on me .

But frankly after the different error messages and snafus I'm not sure of what exactly I applied for !!! Over planned... under delivered (if there is such a phrase!!)

Well.. live and learn
Any instant approvals? Denials?

$30,000 on wamu, nice score.

snafu123 said: Please do not use Firefox while doing an AOR. I kept getting errors from AMEX. I switched to IE and everything went ok after that

There's a Firefox extension that "Enables you to use the embedded IE engine within Mozilla Firefox"; it's called IE TAB; before starting the whole process you can set up all AMEX pages to display as IE. I love it!

In my experience there was no different in getting applications in 10 seconds apart versus 10 minutes or an hour apart, so don't worry about the technical difficulties.

JusRelax said: Hey Snafu,

a word of warning: I think you should double-check your WaMu terms before making that balance transfer -- I received a similar offer in the mail today (0.0% APR until Sept. 2008!), and it said I would only get that rate if I did a balance transfer at card opening. However, what it told me in very small print in an indistinct place is that the APR on that balance transfer would be 9.99%, and all purchases made AFTER that balance transfer (until Sept. 2008) would be at 0%! There was also a minimum amount to balance transfer; I think it was 100$. Anyway, I hope they didn't dupe you on this!
They mentioned in the offer that I have 90 days to do the transfers. I also verified it in the T&C while applying.

Green for you! Question: were you able to get your BT from Discover directly to your checking account? I couldn't do it that way; I had to deposit a BT check.

Hey Snafu,

Have you read the posts here about credit limit utilization? I'm a little concerned with the fact that you're BT'ing more then 80 percent of your total credit line. BT'ing such a large percentage of your total credit line will greatly increase the risk of adverse actions by the CC companies. I believe the numbers followed by most FWF'ers are as follows:

1. Conservative -- 70/30: No more then 70% of any single credit line BT'ed; no more then 30% of total credit line BT'ed.
2. Aggressive -- 90/50: No more then 90% of any single credit line BT'ed; no more then 50% of total credit line BT'ed.

Currently, you're even beyond the aggressive constraints of FWF'ers; I think it may be a good idea to pay down some of those BT's quite a bit in order to lessen your chances of adverse actions.

vcxzfdsa said: Thanks for the update!

That's pretty high utilization! Are you planing on paying it down before 1st statement?
1st National, I assumed it's First National Bank of Omaha, right? They'll probably close your acct soon when they review your report. But you should get to keep your BT for the year.
Infact First National was the last card received (last week). I requested a BT of $13,300 to CitiBusiness. But received an email stating that they could only transfer upto $11,000(which happens to be the limit on the card).

The total BT includes BT on existing cards. So the utilization looks very high.

JusRelax said: Hey Snafu,

Have you read the posts here about credit limit utilization? I'm a little concerned with the fact that you're BT'ing more then 80 percent of your total credit line. BT'ing such a large percentage of your total credit line will greatly increase the risk of adverse actions by the CC companies. I believe the numbers followed by most FWF'ers are as follows:

1. Conservative -- 70/30: No more then 70% of any single credit line BT'ed; no more then 30% of total credit line BT'ed.
2. Aggressive -- 90/50: No more then 90% of any single credit line BT'ed; no more then 50% of total credit line BT'ed.

Currently, you're even beyond the aggressive constraints of FWF'ers; I think it may be a good idea to pay down some of those BT's quite a bit in order to lessen your chances of adverse actions.

I have not crossed the 90% limit on any card. The total BT includes BT on existing cards. So the utilization looks very high. The overall utilization on all cards is close to 50%. But just to be sure, I'll pay down a couple cards to ensure that the total debt doesn't increase beyond 50%.