OK, here in about 2 weeks I’m planning on starting my very own AOR. My wife recently lost her job, and even an extra $100 or $200 a month would be helpful for us. Over the past month or two, I’ve been reading through the mountain of material available on FW and am just starting to feel comfortable with the overall idea. I certainly don’t want to mess up on something involving so much money, so I would greatly appreciate your input. (BTW, thanks ahself, I’m using your basic layout for mine.)
Goals: 1. Get rewards/miles/points 2. BT 0% money into my HYS account 3. Expand on my relatively thin credit history (Because I didn’t understand how credit works, I closed some accounts a few years back. The end result is that the oldest card I have is 5 years old—I’m 30—and the average age of my accounts is 3 years old).
Pre-AOR Accounts: Current Card/Limit/Age/Utilization AMEX Blue Cash/$20,000 (CLI from 13,000)/4 yrs/0% Chase Rewards/$10,000 (CLI from 2,700)/5 yrs/5% Citi Dividend Select (changing to Dividend World)/$4,700 (CLI from 2,700)/2 yrs/10% Citi Diamond Preferred/$10,000 (CLI from 4,800)/1 year/0% Macy’s Visa/$10,000/half a year/0% Macy’s Store/$1,500/half a year/0%
Summary: 6 cards/$56,200 CL (CLI from $34,700--increase of $21,500)/Average of yrs = 3/% total utilization = 2%
1 month before AOR: $34,700 CL Day before AOR: $56,200 CL After AOR: 139,900 CL
Personal Info: HHI: $60-65k Age: 30 Length of Employment: 11 years Also, I don’t have a mortgage (and won’t be applying one for another 2 years, at least)
Cards Applied For (listed in order applied for) Card/Bonus/BT Promo Info/Annual Fee/(Current Status w/CL--this will be updated) Citi Driver’s Edge/($25 cardselection.com)/12 mo. 0%, no BT fee/No annual fee/Deferred--then Approved--$1,400 Chase SonyStyle/$100 statement credit and 0% for new purchases/12 mo. 0%, 3%, $75 cap/No Annual Fee/Deferred--then Approved--$6,000--reallocated for total of $14,000 BoA Plat Plus Visa/none/12mo. 0%, no BT fee/no ann fee/Instantly approved--$9,800--reallocated for total of $11,800 Juniper National Park Visa/none/12mo 0%, 3% BT fee, $50 cap/no ann feeInstantly approved--$12,500 AMEX IN:LA/($30 cs)/6 mo. 0%, no BT fee/No annual fee/Approved--$3,000--reallocated for total of $20,000 Discover Miles/1,000 miles per mo. for 12 mos. w/purchase each mo. AND 0% new purchases ($40 cs)/12 mo. 3%, $75 cap/No ann fee/Deferred--then Approved--$8,000 (reallocated into business card) HSBC GM Flex Earnings/none/12 mo 0%, 3% BT fee, $99 cap/no ann fee/Deferred--then Approved for a whopping $700--I closed this account--OK, I knew HSBC was stingy, but come on CitiProf with TY/15,000 TY points (cs)/12 mo. 0%, no BT fees/no ann fee/Deferred--then approved--$1,400 Schwab WorldPoints Visa--I will consolidate this into the BoA Card/Deferred--then Approved--$2,500 Chase Amazon.com Platinum/($25 cs)/6mo. 0%, 3% BT fee, $75 cap/no ann fee/Deferred--then Denied due to too many recent credit openings WaMu ESPN/($25 cs)/6 mo 0%, no BT fees/no ann fee/Approved--$2,000 (crossing my fingers for CLI--denied) National City Visa Personal/5k points/6mo 0%, no BT fees/no ann fee/Deferred--then approved--$7,500 RBS Kroger 1-2-3/none/12mo 0%, 3% BT fee, $75 cap/no ann fee/Deferred
(Note: The following are business cards. I’m starting to sell stuff on eBay, so I figured I’d apply for some business cards as well. My wife also has a business of sorts selling makeup products. I guess we’ll see if I get the business cards or not.) AMEX Business Gold Rewards/25,000 Rewards Points/no BT special/Ann fee waived 1 year/Approved--no pre-set limit Chase GM Business/($40 cs)/12 mo 0%, 3%, $75 cap/no ann fee/Deferred--then approved--$7,000--reallocated for total of $12,000 Chase Business Rebate/($40 cs)/6 mo 0%, 3%, $75 cap/no ann fee/Deferred--then approved--$6,000 (reallocated to GM) Citi Business with TY/15,000 TY points/12 mo 0%, no BT fee/no ann fee/Deferred--then approved--$8,000--reallocated for total of $19,800 Discover Business/($40 cs)/12 mo 0%, 3% BT fee, $75 cap/no ann fee/Deferred--then Approved--$5,000--reallocated for total of $12,000 Advanta Platinum Business/($25 cs)/15 mo 0%, 3% BT fee, $50 cap/no ann fee/Approved--$5,000
Total Applied For: 13 personal/6 business
I will update this with further sections once I start the AOR
BT Initiated Card----Limit----BT Amount----Method of BT Chase Sony----$14,000----$12,500----Mailed convenience check to FNBO BoA Plat----$11,800----$10,500----ACH to checking over the phone Discover Bus----$12,000----$10,500----Paid BoA balance online BoA Plat----$11,800----$9,500----ACH to checking over the phone Juniper Park----$12,500----$11,000----Mailed convenience check to FNBO WAMU ESPN----$2,000----$1,750----Deposited convenience check in local bank Advanta Bus----$5,000----$4,500----ACH to checking over the phone Chase GM Bus----$12,000----$10,500----Mailed convenience check to FNBO AMEX IN:LA----$20,000----$7,900--Reduced Sony card to < 50%; reduced Juniper to < 70% National City----$7,500----$3,700----Paid part of BoA balance to keep BoA < 50% Citi Bus----$19,800----$17,800----Requested check from Citi; Mailed check to FNBO
BT to be done All done!!!
Expected bonuses $260---Card Selection (received $215 of it) $100 Statement Credit---Sony 30,000 TY Points---Citi Prof and Citi Bus (Received) 25,000 Reward Points---AMEX Bus Gold 12,000 miles---Discover Miles (will take 12 months for this)
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Only a few general suggestions for you at this stage:
1) I don't really recommend depending on the income from any AOR. The results can be unpredictable, and $200 a month might be overly optimistic for the cash flow you can generate.
2) Seperate all the debt between you and the wife. No joint loans, no authorized users. That way, when your credit tanks, hers will still look pristine, and vice versa.
3) The ideal method to get cash from a BT is for the lender to send it directly to your bank (FNBO) account, some might offer this. The second-best way is for the lender to give you a check which they allow to be deposited into the bank. If neither of these work, I recommend BT'ing to your unused citibank card. This will take it to a massive credit balance, which you can get refunded by check.
Either way, once you have a check, my inclination would be to mail it directly to FNBO. Their online transfers are slow, and there's no risk of the funds being held in your checking account for a week or two. (If your checking account has zero holds and really fast ACH ability, then it might be useful).
treasurebeacon said:i care a lot about this topic Treasurebeacon, that is touching indeed .
OP, good luck, I hope everything works out well, but as markkundinger said, do your best not to budget and plan to spend the income from BT money. Also keep in mind you have to pay taxes on your interest earnings. It is a game and things can go ill (such as a financial review or missing a payment and having the whole balance due or using a convenience check that was really a cash advance check and getting slammed by a 25% fee). Just do some massive reading on this site and you will learn a lot and avoid a lot of common mistakes.
Per Sonnysighedup's correction, you can send checks to FNBO (however this may not be the fastest method, see below for discussion). Regardless, it usually takes close to 3-4 weeks from when you apply for a card to when you actually get it in your FBNO. Here is a summary page on how to get money from your cards: Summary of techniques for getting 0% $ into your checking account
PS: I would definately recommend going for the Citi Professional card (it is a business card but shown on your personal statement). I and others have got very high limits on it (20k for me with my average CL of 5k).
MikeR397 said:You cannot send a check straight to FBNO (if they had to deal with all these services and costs, they could never offer such a high interest rate). You have to deposit it to checking first, then schedule a transfer within FBNO to get the money. Sorry, Mike, where exactly did you get this info? Are you privy to info that's contrary to the Quick Summary of the FNBO thread or on FNBO's website: (3) Mail us a Check Mail checks for deposit into your account to:
FNBO Direct PO Box 3707 Omaha, NE 68103-0707Inquiring FW-minds want to know.
sonnysighedup said:MikeR397 said:You cannot send a check straight to FBNO (if they had to deal with all these services and costs, they could never offer such a high interest rate). You have to deposit it to checking first, then schedule a transfer within FBNO to get the money. Sorry, Mike, where exactly did you get this info? Are you privy to info that's contrary to the Quick Summary of the FNBO thread or on FNBO's website: (3) Mail us a Check Mail checks for deposit into your account to:
FNBO Direct PO Box 3707 Omaha, NE 68103-0707Inquiring FW-minds want to know. My bad, sonny is right, you can mail checks directly to them. I'm not sure what I was thinking of in particular. However, I still personally think that it is faster (even with FNBO's cashedge slowness) to just deposit the check in your local bank and then electronically pull it out with FNBO. If you deposit your check monday morning, it should post and be ready for withdrawal by Tuesday so if you schdule your transfer from FBNO on Tuesday, you should see the funds in your account by Friday. If you mail the check, Monday, you will probalby be lucky to see it in your account anytime before 7-10 business days. What do others think about mailing vs electronic funding to FNBO? I've only done electronic so would like to hear others results with mailing.
Sorry for the misinformation above, I will correct my previous post.
I think the most important thing is how Mik's bank will put holds on a CC check.
Scenario 1 (absolute best case). Goes into bank on Monday with a CC check. Bank makes entire amount available same/next day. Bank has badass ACH transfer capability, orders a "push" to FNBO on Monday. FNBO gets it on Wednesday, where it immediately starts accruing interest.
Scenario 2 (near best case). Makes local deposit on Monday. No holds. Orders an ACH "pull" on Monday via FNBO's website. From what I hear, money arrives in account something like Thurdsday/Friday, and begins accruing interest.
Scenario 3 (middle case). Mails check to FNBO on Monday. FNBO receives check in mail on Thursday. Interest starts accruing on Thursday, Friday, or Monday, depending on FNBO's "collected balance" rules.
Scenario 4 (worst case). Makes local deposit on Monday. Balance of check up to $5000 is held until next Monday (5 business days), Balance over $5000 is held until monday after that. Then FNBO pulls are ordered, so money gets into FNBO on Thursday (+1 week) and Thursday (+2 weeks).
This is why it's best if the bank can just direct deposit the amount to you FNBO account
Note that your wife can do an AOR, perhaps 2 months after yours. Rinse and repeat, in tag-team fashion. Most apps ask for household income; some have separate boxes for personal + other.
A BoA card should probably be earlier in the process; that's the easiest to get $ from. See recent AOR threads for $0 or capped BT fees.
You're unlikely to get approved for 2 HSBC (even with 1 via GM) ... though perhaps I've missed some success stories here.
No CapOne? Though widely mocked here, it's a great card for many of us.
Be sure to review the CC Issuer FAQ. It's incomplete but still a good summary.
You guys are great. Thanks for all the great information so far. I've heard so much information about depositing into a checking account that I just wanted to double check that savings accounts were fine. It sounds like, as long as the terms of the BT check don't prohibit a savings account, I should be fine.
Also, I just wanted to give a brief clarification. My wife and I aren't really depending on the extra income. I certainly won't be budgeting for it. We have enough set aside in liquid assets to be fine for a long time. However, until my wife gets a new job (and frankly, given the absolute disaster that was her previous job, I'm trying not to push her into getting a new job for a little while), we have a negative cash flow of about $200/month. I would like to correct that as much as possible. So, a little extra income would be helpful for us. A little stronger credit history would be helpful in the long run. And, I've wanted to do an AoR ever since reading SIS's original posts.
cardjuggler said:Note that your wife can do an AOR, perhaps 2 months after yours. Rinse and repeat, in tag-team fashion. Most apps ask for household income; some have separate boxes for personal + other.
A BoA card should probably be earlier in the process; that's the easiest to get $ from. See recent AOR threads for $0 or capped BT fees.
You're unlikely to get approved for 2 HSBC (even with 1 via GM) ... though perhaps I've missed some success stories here.
No CapOne? Though widely mocked here, it's a great card for many of us.
Be sure to review the CC Issuer FAQ. It's incomplete but still a good summary.Thanks cardjuggler. I've read so many negatives about CapOne (too many negatives and expletives to list) and BoA (the whole no cap thing) that I largely ignored these issuers. I'll take another look at them.
One quick update and question. As I mentioned earlier my Citi Dividend card is changing to a World card. Well, I opened my mailbox last night and there was a note saying my card would arrive in about a week. The problem is that the envelope was open and all of the paperwork scattered in my mailbox. Since my new account number was on that paperwork, I called Citi and they did a security close of the old and new account and will reissue a card on Monday (the CSR said the new card would show the same history as my old card for credit reporting purposes). I'm not really confident on all the ins and outs of credit reports. How much of an effect will this security close have on my planned AoR. Is it pretty much a non-issue? Or, will that close put up red flags that will prevent me being accepted for new cards? Any thoughts?
I cannot stress enough how useful BUSINESS cards are. Doesn't matter if it's a tiny business with tiny income, load up on business cards. Get at least one from every major. Reallocate as much as possible to them. Chase and Citi allow personal to business reallocation. You can (fairly) safely max these suckers out with little downside.
Good luck!
cardjuggler, what cap one cards are useful for BTs? i can't find anything on their site that looks appealing.
I made a brief update to my original post. I added 2 business cards (Advanta and a 2nd Chase). With BoA fees, I'm debating whether to scrap them entirely. However, I'd like to establish a history with them; and who knows, I might get lucky and they might waive the fee. Following cardjuggler's advice, I've moved the BoA card up the chain. I'm still planning on avoiding CapOne, but if a particular card of theirs looks promising, I'm all for signing up for one.
Finally, I called Citi to try for a CLI (soft pull, of course) on my one remaining Citi account. The CSR told me to wait for 8 hours and check back to see if it was approved (I thought I remembered reading here, that that wasn't good; I guess we'll see what happens). Does anyone have any input on the affect of that security close I mentioned a few posts up?
Update: Well, I looked online, and Citi did increase my Diamond Preferred CL to 10,000. That should work well, since I was planning on consolidating this card (actually reallocating if I can) after I apply for the new Citi card.
I don't think that security close matters to your reports/scores, they just change CC # in their system and send new info to the bureaus, however the history of that account should be the same (no inquiry,no new acct opened)=no impact on credit score.
fafura said:I don't think that security close matters to your reports/scores, they just change CC # in their system and send new info to the bureaus, however the history of that account should be the same (no inquiry,no new acct opened)=no impact on credit score.Thanks for the input. That's what I was starting to think, but it's great to hear someone else in agreement. Unfortunately, I found out today, that Citi did a hard pull before issuing the new credit card. So, my credit score was affected in a round-a-bout way. From the looks of it though, my score only dropped one point.
i've got several old "lost" cards that still report as open on my CR, and the latest cards show the full histories of the accounts. for me, having my wife lose her cards a few times has been a win-win as far as FICO.
medievalsoldier said:With BoA fees, I'm debating whether to scrap them entirely. However, I'd like to establish a history with them; and who knows, I might get lucky and they might waive the fee. Bah, don't count on luck. Just look for a card with a $75 cap. They exist and have been covered here recently. (Though I agree that BoA will be useful in the future too, e.g. get a nice CL now and move lots of it to a new BoA card 14 months from now in your second AOR.)
cardjuggler said:medievalsoldier said:With BoA fees, I'm debating whether to scrap them entirely. However, I'd like to establish a history with them; and who knows, I might get lucky and they might waive the fee. Bah, don't count on luck. Just look for a card with a $75 cap. They exist and have been covered here recently. (Though I agree that BoA will be useful in the future too, e.g. get a nice CL now and move lots of it to a new BoA card 14 months from now in your second AOR.)Sorry about missing that some of BoA's still had a cap. I see the Efectiva has a 6 month promo with a $75 cap. The Platinum Plus Visa also has a 6 month offer. Are there any 12 month offers remaining (Star Wars card used to, but I'm not seeing a way to apply for that one)?
I'll try to update my list on Monday evening, and hopefully begin the AoR Tuesday or Wednesday morning.
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