DJSpray's First AOR - Nov. 2006, Bonus-oriented.

Goal: Totally different, hence no more Mr. Nice Guy. BT offers (>6 month) with new issuers. One app business, one personal, for each major Issuer - each with BT offer(if available). Bonuses if possible.

First AOR established lines of credit (business and personal) with major credit issuers, and made me some low-hanging fruit. This one should be interesting due to short credit history, but high CL's built up with only moderate HHI. I still have $13k on Citi 0%-for life borrowed, and I don't inted to pay back before beginning. I have been bumping with PM123 trial and Key Bank trial (keeping) for a couple weeks, and just started bumping TU inquiries yesterday. Plan to commence attack next week.

Situation
Age/Profession: 25, graduate student/research assistant
Income: 21k personal, 65k HHI(housemates)
Oldest Credit History: Chase - 2yrs+, Citi - 1.5yrs, Rest - 1yr
Available credit: 88k (personal), 50k (business) - CLI buttons are my friend (60k total after AOR 1.0)
Balances: None except 13k(of 15.8k) on Citi 0%-for-Life.

Current Lines
Personal
Chase Rewards Plus Visa - 10k
Chase Freedom - 11.5k
Citi Diamond Preferred Mastercard - 15.8k (13.7k @ 0%-for-life)
Citi Diamond Preferred - 5.8k (%5 TY all purchases till mid-Jan)
Citi MtvU Visa - 1.8k
Discover Student Card 2.5k
AMEX Blue Cash - 15k
BofA Iowa - 13.3k
Fidelity 529 Rewards Card - 6k
HSBC Direct Rewards Mastercard - 1.1k
Meijer Platinum Mastercard - 5.2k

Business
Advanta Platinum Business Mastercard - 5k - Cancelled (11/4)
AMEX Blue Cash Business - 24.9k
CitiBusiness with TY Network - 10.2k
Chase United Mileage Plus Business Card - 10k

Preparation: Cancelled Citi PP(avoid annual fee), Citi Prof(after converting, reallocating), Chase Sony, Chase United, AMEX Gold Rewards(avoid annual fee), BofA Worldpoints (consolidated to Iowa). Awaiting CLI request of 13k -> 20k on BofA Iowa. Plan to cancel Advanta to get new BT offer, attempt conversion of Chase United Business to avoid fee. Maybe reallocate Chase Rewards(HSBC better for G/G/DS) to get 20k line on Freedom. Launching after most inq's removed from TU and EX(first from TU left yesterday, bumping 2x daily). Still need to open CountryWide Savings for 5.5% on $10k+.

List in Order
1) LifeSpring Visa (National City) - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee - Declined - Reason mailed, what a waste of the #1 app.
2) GE Money - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee - Approved - $4,500 (from CR) - EQ
3) Advanta Business - 0% 15m BT, $90 fee (changed), $25 Cardselection - Approved, $10,000 - TU
4) Bank Atlantic(Barclay's)- 0% 15m BT, $75 fee - Approved - $7,000 - TU (one inq for both)
5) Fifth Third Business - 0% 12m BT, no fee - Declined - excessive inquiries, new lines, short relationship with bank, etc. Pulled EQ on 11/13(late)
6) US Bank - 0% 12m BT, no fee (via Glitch99's suggestion) - Approved - No CL yet. After talking of the Valpak offer, CSR confirmed twice that I will have no BT fee, even though pdf says expired 9/30 - TU
7) National Parks Visa(Barclay's) - 0% 12m BT, $50 fee - Approved - $3,500 - TU (one inq for both)
8) BofA NEA WorldPoints - 0% 12m BT, $30 fee - Approved - $3,300 , 2nd to last after skipping exp. offer - EX
9) Key Bank Visa - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee - Approved - $2,000 - EQ
10) Discover Miles Business - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee, $40 Cardselection - Approved - $3,000 - TU (one inq for both)
11) Discover Miles - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee, $40 Cardselection - Approved - $6,000 - TU (one inq for both)
12) Chase Sony - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee, $100 after purchase, $25 Cardselection - Approved - $5,000 - TU (one inq for both)
13) Chase Business Rebate - 0% BT $75 fee, $30 Cardselection - Approved - $8,500 - TU (one inq for both)
14) Citi Platinum Amex - 15k TY pts, 5/3% TY back 24m, Airline VIP lounges, Free Identity Monitor, $99 fee - Approved- $2,000 - EQ
15) CitiBus PremierPass - 0% BT(no fee), 15k TY pts after purchase - Approved - $1,000 - EQ
16) Amex IN:Chicago - 0% 6m BT, no fee, $30 Cardselection - Approved - $5,000 - EX
17) Amex Business Gold Rewards - 25k points and $100 TigerDirect GC - Approved - No PSL - EX
18) Principal Bank Low Rate - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee - Declined (called 11/10)
19) RBS Platinum Visa - 0% 10m BT, $75 fee - Approved - $4,000 - EQ
20) Wamu ESPN Visa - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee - Approved - $3,000 - EX
21) HSBC Mastercard - 0% 12m BT, $75 fee - New Link - "Pre-qualified" for only secured version, lol. Applied last after skipping exp. offer. - TU
22) Penfed Platinum Visa - High CL for lowering Personal util. - Declined - Not enough HHI for requested $24k, won't consider roommates - EQ
23) Hooters Card - Aggravate gf, and above. - Approved - $500 (yeesh) - TU
24) Kohl's Card - For Kohl's deals. I know, boooring. - Applied 11/11, Approved - $1,500
25) Macy's Card - Same as above. - Approved - $500, CLI'd to $1,000 (thanks, lol) - EX
26) Best Buy Reward Zone Mastercard - Applied 11/11 instore, declined. (Man, these store cards are hard to get, lol)

Advice?
1)Always up for other banks with BT offers, but trying to stay to 1 app (2 with B & P lines) per given issuer(bad idea?)
2)Move Chase, Citi, Discover further up? I know they usually pull instant, so I put further down.
3) I'm not sold yet on this Credit Freeze idea for Experian. Convince me?

Inquiries: TU - 6 EX - 7 EQ - 10 (10/31)
TU - 2 EX - 7 EQ - 10 (11/5)
TU - 2 EX - 7 EQ - 10 (11/8)
TU - 9 EX - 11 EQ - 13 (post AOR)
TU - 10 EX - 11 EQ - 13 (11/10)
TU - 8 EX - 11 EQ - 13 (11/11) - Bumped last 2 inq's on TU
TU - 9 EX - 12 EQ - 13 (11/12) - Kohl's pulled twice when machine stalled TU - 9 EX - 12 EQ - 14 (11/13) - Best Buy pull showing
TU -10 EX - 12 EQ - 12 (11/14) - EQ continues to bump
TU - 9 EX - 12 EQ - 11 (11/15)
TU - 9 EX - 12 EQ - 11 (11/18)
TU - 10 EX - 12 EQ - 11 (11/19) - Asked Bank Atlantic for CLI, didn't realized they would pull TU.
TU - 10 EX - 12 EQ - 11 (11/27)
TU - 10 EX - 12 EQ - 10 (12/3)
TU - 10 EX - 12 EQ - 9 (12/6)
TU - 5 EX - 12 EQ - 8 (12/11)
TU - 4 EX - 11 EQ - 9 (12/12)
TU - 0 EX - 11 EQ - 9 (12/19)
TU - 0 EX - 11 EQ - 3 (1/07)
TU - 0 EX - 11 EQ - 2 (1/09)
TU - 0 EX - 11 EQ - 1 (1/17)
TU - 0 EX - 11 EQ - 1 (2/01)
TU - 0 EX - 11 EQ - 1 (3/14)
TU - 0 EX - 10 EQ - 1 (4/15)
TU - 0 EX - 10 EQ - 1 (5/07)
TU - 0 EX - 10 EQ - 1 (6/24)
TU - 18 EX - 10 EQ - 1 (7/07)

FAKOs: TU - 743 EX - 712 EQ - 690
759 737 702
774 739 712
759 717 705(post AOR)
773 701 705
754 700 705
752 698 705(11/13)
750 697 689
752 697 691
735 687 691(11/18) - BofA BT reporting on EX
732 687 691
721 684 691
721 684 691(12/3)
688 669 675
686 669 672
697 667 658(12/12)
700 668 687
706 662 667
706 668 676(1/09)
699 668 680
699 662 680
699 668 674(3/14)
706 688 699
706 688 699
715 702 715(6/24)
678 702 715

Post AOR Hijinx

11-12 - Reallocated BofA to $15.1k on NEA, $500 on Iowa, took $13k BT deposit to checking (86% util. - pers)

11-15 - Reallocated AMX's, now have $43,400 available on IN:Chicago.

11-19 - Reallocated 3k from National Parks to Bank Atlantic, now $10k.
- Reallocated $8.9k from CitiBus TYN to CitiBus PP, now $9.9k. Will attempt reallocation of some personal CL to business soon.
- Reallocated 1.5k from Discover and 5k from Discover Miles to Discover Miles Biz, now $9.5k. Awaiting BT checks...

11-20 - BT'd $9,000 from Advanta to checking, will transfer to FNBO.

11-21 - BT'd $6,300 from USBank to BofA Iowa, will request ACH to FNBO.

11-27 - Requested $9,000 BT check from CitiBiz PP after making small purchase.

11-29 - Requested another $3,000 BT check from CitiBiz PP after reallocation showed up.

12-10 - Sent $42,500 and $12,000 checks from Chase Biz Rebate and Citi PP to SBoT.

12-12 - BT'd $9,500 from Discover Biz Miles to Chase Check Card and $14,500 from Bank Atlantic to Citi Diamond Preferred.

12-17 - $12k and $42.5k were deposited into SBoT.
- $9.5k from Discover Biz posted in Chase Checking.

12-19 - Requested refund of $6,300 negative balance on Iowa in form of mailed check.

1-3 - Recieved BofA refund check, deposited into Chase Checking, transferred to FNBO.

1-10 - Recieved Citi refund check, mailed to FNBO.

1-16 - Watching money make me more money.

1-30 - Moved all funds from FNBO to Fidelity MMA (FSLXX). Opened OneUnited HYS (5.3% APY)

2-14 - Moved all funds from Fidelity MMA to OneUnited(4.6% APY).

3-7 - OneUnited at 4.0% APY now.

Thanks to all who have been an inspiration in the forums, especially jairocon and thisguy for well documented AOR's with strategy and links.

Seems like a solid plan.

If BofA increases your credit limit, you might want to wait until it hits your credit reports until you apply.

- thisguy reported that he might have gotten a bigger Nat City limit if he applied to them early before many inquiries showed up. worth considering.

- If chase will let you close/consolidate your UA business card with a personal card, I'd try that. They probably won't allow it though.

- FNBO (Principal) and WAMU may lead to tears. FNBO with a denial for too many inquiries, WAMU with a 75% chance of a $3k CL on an unsolicited app.

- The credit freeze idea is for Experian, not Equifax. And if you're unsure, don't do it.

- Isn't there still a $100 bonus on the Chase Sony card out there?

- You can't avoid the fee on the Citibank Platinum AMEX card, it's charged up front.

Thank you for the well-reasoned and detailed A-O-R post. I apologize for raining on your parade, but I suspect your situation is precisely the one creditors will squeeze in the coming months. Short history, high CLs already, and low salary with moderate-to-low HHI. I hope your A-O-R is a blockbuster, though my intuition tells me that you're going to start bumping up against underwriting policy limits with various issuers. Please make me eat my words!

Removed a WAMU card, kept ESPN as I have seen some just ok CL's on that card in the past, and they upped their BT offer to 12 month (was 6). I'm not looking for large, new lines with my existing banks (Citi, Chase, BOA in particular) but just acceptance. That's why I tried to get down to just a couple cards with each. Heck, I prolly won't even take a BT on the personal side of Citi. I will probably start attempting to transfer CL from per to bus on Chase immediately and take the BT on the new card (fingers crossed).

Edit: TU inq's down to 2, but haven't started bumping EQ yet.

maddybeagle said:5) Fifth Third Business - 0% 12m BT, no fee

I would be curious on the details of your experience with them....
None right now, but there are 3 branches in my town. I have to be in their "target area."

Consider Chevy Chase Bank (MD regional). I got the business credit card with 0% for 12 months and capped $75 fee. My CL was $10K and I think (can't recall) I consolidated it with a Chase Business card that had no BT fee. Chevy Chase Biz Card Link

Venturion said:Consider Chevy Chase Bank (MD regional). I got the business credit card with 0% for 12 months and capped $75 fee. My CL was $10K and I think (can't recall) I consolidated it with a Chase Business card that had no BT fee. Chevy Chase Biz Card Link
If I remember right, Chase = Chevy Chase. I'm trying to tread ever so lightly with Chase after others' recent stories. If I don't hit the ceiling with 1 bus. and 1 per. approval, I'll have to be pretty close.

Whatever happens with Chase, get your BT money into your bank account fast and hold on for a wild ride. Expect that in a few months your Chase personal lines will be cut, if not closed. Don't count your Chase credit lines into your calculations of overall utilization because they may not be there.

I'm not saying don't apply for Chase...you'll likely get a good sized BT out of them. It's just that lately they've been very conservative, espeically in regards to CC debt to income ratio.

Update: OP, I just saw your recent post about treading lightly with Chase. You might consider going all out with them to get as much BT money as you can. In my case, I didn't do any BTs with them after my last AOR, for the same reason you cite. But still, several of my lines were closed and others cut - with $0 balance with Chase.

i wonder if the existing 13k balance with citi will affect you. i have a similar situation with a 20k balance and am unsure if i should bite the bullet and pay it off early, or just leave it and hope it won't affect new apps. are you confident it's not going to hurt you?

clyde_frog said:i wonder if the existing 13k balance with citi will affect you. i have a similar situation with a 20k balance and am unsure if i should bite the bullet and pay it off early, or just leave it and hope it won't affect new apps. are you confident it's not going to hurt you?

as long as an existing balance is not killing your FICO, i say leave it. we're starting to gather some evidence that having a significant balance or 2 during an A0R might be a good thing.

speculation as to why this might be:

1) it shows you actually might have a balance to transfer when requesting BTs on apps.
2) your increase in post-A0R debt isn't as huge, on a relative basis. for example, going from $0 to $100K of debt is more likely to spook your creditors than going from $50K to $100K.