Jackcrawfish Inaugural App-o-rama | Paid AOR Early | 2.0 Launch = Aug 18, 2008

July 29, I jumped in @ 4:30 am CDT. By 7 am I was finished (I added 2 business apps 5 days later). Thanks to markkundinger for his inspiring 1st and 2nd AORs (similar template follows):

Goals:++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Personal Info:
My objective is strictly interest earnings. Rewards are secondary.++++++++++++++++++++++++___Reported HHI $89,240
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++___Business INC $0

___TrueCredit FAKO scores:
TU=769 EX=763 EQ=768____7-19-07 OPENING SCORES
TU=696 EX=669 EQ=721___10-16-07 ALL BALANCES/LINES/BUMPAGE REPORTED (inquiries = 1,12,1 respectively)
TU=780 EX=750 EQ=792___08-16-08 ALL BALANCES paid off (inquiries = 1,12,1 respectively)

(moved daily detail to separate post here)
(moved "Utilization/BT Game Plan" to separate post here)

Beginning Credit Lines(all $0 balance):
____Citi Dividend________**$31,000__ 10/1996__ Ind
____ING LOC____________$10,000__ 06/2003__ Jnt
____FirstPremierBank LOC_$7,500____06/2003__ Jnt
Beginning Mortgage Balances:
____WAMU Mortgage (1st)__$141,399__04/2005__ Jnt $806/mo
____1st Premier Mort (2nd)__$7,111____04/2005__ Jnt $1450/mo (PAID OFF 8/31/2007)
** includes (possibly regretable) hard CLI inquiry dated 06/2007 (up from $11,000)
Prep Work:
__1.__Read forum notes - A MUST of anyone doing an AOR I gathered
__2.__Research cards using multiple sources including FW (i.e. cardoffers)

Cards (Issuer, order of application, personal or business, status/line)
PERSONAL
AMX_________01_P_APPRVD_64100_AMX IN:CHICAGO LINK (EX bureau)bang! 11.9k | softreq 8/5=35k | 8/7 realloc biz=64.1
BOA_________03_P_APPRVD_20000_B of A Platinum Plus M/CLINK 0% 12 mo NO FEE bang! $7.2K | soft req 8/5 | $20k | soft req 9/25 |
BOA_________04_P_APPRVD_02000_NEA WorldPoints Platinum Plus Visa Card LINK 0% 12 mo $30 fee
JUN_________06_P_APPRVD_01000_Nat'l Park Platinum Visa LINK 0% 12 mo $50 fee TU bureau bang! 10k | realloc to biz
CHSE_______08_P_APPRVD_00503_HOME IMPRVMNT REWARDS LINK 0% 12 mo $75 fee bang! $5k | realloc to Sony |
CITI_________10_P_APPRVD__1000_Citi AT&T Universal Platinum 0 feebang! $4.5k | realloc biz=3.5
CITI_________11_P_APPRVD__0500_Citi UPromise 0 fee bang! $4.5k | realloc to Prof |
CITI_________12_P_DECLND_00000_Citi Home Rebate 0 fee ... reason here
CITI_________14_P_APPRVD_23500_CITI PROFESSIONAL LINK 12 MO 0% NO FEE bang! $1k|realloc $26/$4 from Div/UProm | realloc biz=7.5
DISC________15_P_APPRVD_01000_Discover Miles 50 fee Instant EX bureaubang! $8k | 8/10 realloc $7k to biz |
DISC________16_P_DECLND_00000_Discover More 50 fee
DISC________17_P_DECLND_00000_Discover Open Road === 50 fee
RBSKROGER_20_P_APPRVD_06500_LINK 0%12 mo $75 feebang! $6.5k |
NATLCITY____21_P_APPRVD_15000_LINK 0% 6 mo $0 BT FEEbang! $15k | soft req 8/6 (no dice)
CHSE_______23_P_APPRVD_00997_Chase Sony Card 75 feebang! $5k | realloc from Home then to Biz
INFIBANK____24_P_APPRVD_14000_PRINCIPAL LINK 0% 12 mo $75 feebang! $14k |
HSBC________25_P_APPRVD____600_GM Flex Earnings Card ... same line as rest of FW members!misfire! 2¢
07/30/2007
WAMU_______26_P_APPRVD_09000_App via relationship here...instantbang!$8k | CLI's=auto=NEVER ask
CITI_________**28_P_APPRVD_00000_CITI PREMIER PASS EliteLINK 12 mo 0% uncapped BT fee and $75 annual fee bang! $8.5k immed consolid to Citi Div |
PULASKI____**30_P_DECLND_XXXXX_Pulaski Bank Gold Visa® Card === 35/50 fee... did not apply until 8-2
WELLS__*******31_P_APPRVD_16500_Wells Fargo Platinum LINK ... did not apply until 8-6bang! $16.5k |
BUSINESS
AMX_________02_B_APPRVD_05000_AMX Starwood Pref Gst Biz LINKbang! 34k | soft req 8/6 | 8/12 cli no show
BOA_________05_B_DECLND_00000_Power Rewards Platinum Visa Business Credit Card LINK 0% 9 mo BT fee not found
JUN_________07_B_APPRVD_29000_BankAtlantic Rewards BizCard LINK 0% 15 mo $75 FEE bang! $20K | req realloc 8/6=29k
CHSE_______09_B_APPRVD_16500_Chase Biz Rebate LINK 0% 12 mo $75 feebang! $8k | realloc Sony=16.5
CITI_________13_B_APPRVD_28000_CITI BUSINESS CARD LINK 0% 12 mo $0 Feebang! 15k | realloc PROF,ATT,PPBiz=7.5,3.5,2.0
DISC________18_B_APPRVD_10500_DISCOVER BIZ LINK 0% 12 mo $75 feebang! $3.5k | realloc miles=10.5 | FIGHT
CAP1________19_B_DECLND_00000_24 Capital One Biz Platinum LINK 0% 12 mo Purch ONLY $0 fee.EQ bur
ELAN________22_B_APPRVD_10000_M&T Visa Biz Platinum LINK 0% 6 mo $0 feebang! $10k | see 8/6 appstat call | 8/10 cli req |
WAMU_______27_B_DECLND_00000_Washington Mutual Business Card 0% 6 mo
CITI________**??_B_APPRVD_02000_CITI PREMIER PASS 12 mo 0% uncapped BT fee and $75 annual fee bang! $4.0k | I also was mysteriously approved for this card (must have been a phone application which I had forgotten about). Realloc $2k to CitiBiz from PPBiz
ADVANTA___**29_B_DECLND_XXXXX_Advanta Business 0% 15 mos LINK... did not apply until 8-2
WELLS__******32_B_DECLND_00000_Wells Fargo Biz Platinum LINK... did not apply until 8-6
ADVANTA___**33_B_DECLND_00000_Advanta Business 0% 15 mos LINK... RE-APPLIED 8-8 following 8-2 decline

DID NOT APPLY
BOA_________XX_B_NO APP______0_Platinum Visa® Business Credit Card LINK 0% 9 mo 3% no cap
JUN__________XX_P_NO APP______0_USAirways Dividend MASTERCARD LINK 0% 6 mo $100 fee
WAMU_______XX_P_NO APP______0_ESPN Total Access™ Visa® Card LINK 0% 6 mo no fee if w/in 90 days of opening
NATLCITY_____XX_B_NO APP______0_LINK 0% 6 mo UNKNOWN BT FEE. This card required a business checking account to be opened with Natl City. I tried and was advised not available in my state.
TOTALS 8/30 = PERSONAL 21 apps/17 open $158.7K ....................................BUSINESS 13 apps/7 open $101.0K

Your info looks very solid and you should have good results as long as you do your research first. If you have any questions you can't find, you can PM me if you wish. Good luck!

Yeah, unless you're about to get a car loan or refi, your circumstance is appropriate for an AOR.

Now tell us what the plan is and we can tell you what's wrong with it.

I would go with 1 discovercard.
Not likely to get all of them.
Drop one of the citi personal but keep the att card in the mix.
I would switch one out for the professional

Thanks for the input. I do not have a business (I haven't even sold anything on e-bay) so I hesitate in applying for business/professional cards.

Thanks to MikeR397 for his business card encouragement. Thanks also to thisguy for his MAJOR recent app-o-rama. I have learned much. As for diversifying, telflonmail, I'm adding some business cards and diversifying as well (see revised planned apps to enter next week).

You are correct. Thank you for catching the error. It's 12 months 0 % for PURCHASES... OP modified accordingly/

Just an FYI on the BofA Power Rewards biz card, some people are saying there's no fee on the BT, while others are saying it's the standard 3% uncapped. I did a chat with a BofA small biz "consultant" before applying and she said there was no BT fee (I know - can't always trust the reps). Wife was approved today for 20K - I'll update when we get the card and I can see the actual terms.

cant wait to see results

The three instants you got were all good approvals (especially the all-important zero-fee BofA card). I wouldn't trip too much about there being only three of them, instants are the exception no the norm.

Capone gave you an instant-denial? That's harsh. For a bank that pulls from all three credit bureaus, they shouldn't be so picky about too many inquiries.

You applied for all three Discover cards at once? that might be a little too hardcore for them. But then again, guys like AMEX Chase and Citibank will approve some folks for 4 or 5. If you do get approved for multiple, I recommend consolidating into one giant card, both to reduce BT fees, and to (probably) reduce the negative impact on your credit scores.

Also, good call on saving the HSBC/GM card as the very very last application.

Now is when patience becomes important, grasshopper. The soonest you'll get a card is one week. 2 or 3 weeks is more common.

Could you put in the OP the date that you kicked off all the apps? At first it looked like did the apps 10 days ago instead of 2.

MikeR397 said: jackcrawfish said: Thanks for the input. I do not have a business (I haven't even sold anything on e-bay) so I hesitate in applying for business/professional cards.Ok, I'm posting my standard response to the "I don't feel comfortable with business cards answer:
.....
.....
Also, just put $0 revenue and 0 years in business if this is the truth (There is no problem with getting credit for a start up company). I have done this with applications before and received 9 of 9 business credit card approvals with business credit lines totaling over 120k. They care more about your personal score/report than your business revenue. GO FOR IT!



Wholly crap! HUGE thanks for the encouragement... I was approved today for $20,000 at Barclays! Per business credit dept, reallocating my personal line of $10,000 is not an option.

aimnasa said: lrothkcsa said: Just an FYI on the BofA Power Rewards biz card, some people are saying there's no fee on the BT, while others are saying it's the standard 3% uncapped. I did a chat with a BofA small biz "consultant" before applying and she said there was no BT fee (I know - can't always trust the reps). Wife was approved today for 20K - I'll update when we get the card and I can see the actual terms.
My experience that happened today:
When I did my balance transfer on this card over the phone, the rep specifically said there was no balance transfer fee, and I even asked again to confirm it. So today, I log in to my BoA account to see if the BT hit yet, and sure enough it did , and there was a sweet 3% fee in there as well. I called immediately to get them to reverse the fee, but they said there was no Notations on the account that showed I was given the NBTF. They are telling me I have to transfer the balance back to get the fee reversed, I asked to speak with a supervisor to see what could be done, but none were available. Just giving you the heads up. Anyone got an old scan or email or screenshot of the application that states no BT Fee?
Thanks very much for thinking of me. N/A for me as I was declined. As for terms, you wouldn't believe me if I told you but the terms and conditions I printed as a *.mdi file and for some reason... (GOD telling me not to do AOR)... the image from 7/29/2007 for terms is garbage and unviewable. (I have only clean *.pdf files of each page of my original application)....Sorry cant help....

jackcrawfish said: I reported $0 income and 0 years in business for Discover Business Card. They called asking exactly how long I had been in business. I said I just started a few days ago. I'm pending currently but will be declined unless I can get Discover proof of business with e-bay sale(s) within 30 days. Any suggestion on what might sell quickly?I'm not exactly sure what Discover requires with regards to proof of business. What kind of eBay activity have you had in the last few weeks? Perhaps you can suggest purchases as inventory if you don't have any sales but have bought a few things recently? Will a listing suffice or did Discover ask for actual sales? I will continue to think about other venues since it would behoove us all to see you get the card.

I'm also troubled that Discover is going to this length. I did not receive that level of scrutiny, though I did report 7 years of business and $2,500 in income (some versus none).

jackcrawfish said: Wholly crap! HUGE thanks for the encouragement... I was approved today for $20,000 at Barclays! Per business credit dept, reallocating my personal line of $10,000 is not an option. Hey, there you go! Congrats on the 20k business line. Just be aware that bank atlantic does not send you BT checks and you can't bt straight to checking. So send the money off to another card you already did a BT on and the balance is showing. Then if you have checks already for it (and no BT fee, such as with Citi or BoA personal), you can get the $ as soon as it shows up as a payment.

jackcrawfish said: Once I receive the Barclays/Juniper cards, and per BobbyRobert's experience, I'm going to try to reallocate my Juniper Parks to the Bank Atlantic Business Card leaving $1000. wohooo $29000 in unreported debt (ok probably only 28,500 to Citi for later refund). I am a bit concerned regarding nymgiants experience here back in January of 2007. We'll see

1) BankAtlantic caps their BTs at 20K. Not sure you can do 2 (or more) to get around this, but be aware of this possible limitation.

2) BobbyRobert (among others) consolidated 2 Barclays personal lines. Not sure anyone has reported moving between biz and personal with Barclays.

Good point on the 20K cap. I vaguely recall reading that a few weeks back.

Approved for Professional card today. Rep said only $1,000 C/L due to fact my existing Platinum Dividend card is at it's max of $31,000. When I innocently inquired about options to shift much of the line to the Professional card, she said the min limit on the Platinum Dividend card is $500 however Citi is only permitted to transfer a max of $5000 from dividend platinum to professional (arghh!). (I think I recall reading somewhere where someone converted their Platinum Dividend to something else and then was able to reallocate more than $5000 to the Professional???? anyone recall reading that???)

Get this (I'm nervous now) after she saw I had another app (PPass) still pending, she put me on hold briefly. All she said was that this Premier Pass app was still pending but I'm worried she thinks I'm AORing my bureau...

I told her I'd have to think about whether I wanted $5,000 moved to the Professional after I see whether PPass gets approved.

I would try a different CSR- I was able to reallocate $8k from Dividend Platinum Select to Professional about 10 days ago.
hint: call the Professional CS line- they've been more helpful

jackcrawfish said: Good point on the 20K cap. I vaguely recall reading that a few weeks back.

Approved for Professional card today. Rep said only $1,000 C/L due to fact my existing Platinum Dividend card is at it's max of $31,000. When I innocently inquired about options to shift much of the line to the Professional card, she said the min limit on the Platinum Dividend card is $500 however Citi is only permitted to transfer a max of $5000 from dividend platinum to professional (arghh!). (I think I recall reading somewhere where someone converted their Platinum Dividend to something else and then was able to reallocate more than $5000 to the Professional???? anyone recall reading that???)

Get this (I'm nervous now) after she saw I had another app (PPass) still pending, she put me on hold briefly. All she said was that this Premier Pass app was still pending but I'm worried she thinks I'm AORing my bureau...

I told her I'd have to think about whether I wanted $5,000 moved to the Professional after I see whether PPass gets approved.

markkundinger said: With citibank reallocating, you are going to get a different answer every single time you call. See the "reallocation DENIED" thread for details. Just keep calling and working at it.Yes, persistance is key with City young grasshopper. (and a random note I just thought of, Citi does Key bank apps/credit issuing and they see all the info, so I would recommend you NOT doing a Key bank app )

MikeR397 said: markkundinger said: With citibank reallocating, you are going to get a different answer every single time you call. See the "reallocation DENIED" thread for details. Just keep calling and working at it.Yes, persistance is key with City young grasshopper. (and a random note I just thought of, Citi does Key bank apps/credit issuing and they see all the info, so I would recommend you NOT doing a Key bank app )
Thanks for the reallocation denied thread the two most important comments I read were here and here which effectively say personal to biz = OK if calling business CSR and especially OK if talking to retention rep.

I'll attempt move of $25,000 from existing personal line to Citi UPromise account tomorrow.

Cheers fellows! Thanks for the feedback.....

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