After spending months reading what seems like an endless amount of posts and taking notes along the way, I’m ready to try my hand at an AOR. Thanks to everyone who's documented their AOR or gave advice.
Goals: – Acquire as much 0% money as (hoping for $100k+) – Rack up bonus points (FF miles are secondary) – Bank bonuses after CC apps are done
HHI: $82k AGE: 30 Mortgage: $209k / $352k No car loans or student loans Have an eBay business that makes ~$5k/year
Credit Scores (through Privacymatters):
DATE TU EX EQ
1/31/08....764(0)...755(8)...793(4)
2/12/08....763(4)...762(11)..758(14)
2/14/08....775(4)...762(11)..758(14)
2/18/08....775(4)...762(11)..752(14)
2/19/08....775(4)...762(11)..759(14)
2/20/08....775(4)...707(11)..758(15)
2/26/08....723(4)...708(11)..702(15)
EXISTING CREDIT LINES
Personal:
Card Name Age in yrs Balance Credit Limit Utilization
AMEX Blue............2............0.........$25,000........0.0%
Chase Platinum.......8............0.........$18,000........0.0%
Citi Professional....2............0.........$14,200........0.0%
Discover.............1............$8,000....$12,000........66.7% (0% apr for life)
Circuit City.........3............0.........$9,000.........0.0%
Citi Pref Rewards....2............0.........$8,800.........0.0%
Macys................1............0.........$4,000.........0.0%
Best Buy.............1............0.........$3,900.........0.0%
Total Personal CL..........$94,900
Total Business CL..........$10,500
Total Credit Lines.........$105,400
Reported CL utilization....8.4%
PLANNED APPLICATIONS (tier 1 = most desired)
CB = cardbenefit.com – see here for details
NBT = not for balance transfer
Card BT Terms BT fee CB Bonus Decision CL Notes
Tier 1:
1)Amex In:LA....................0%(6 mo).......$0.........$35.........APPROVED(i).....$14,200.....
2)BofA NEA Worldpoints Plat.....0%(12 mo)......$30........$0..........APPROVED(i).....$17,000.....CLI over phone from $10,700
3)Chase Bus Rebate Card.........0%(12 mo)......$99........$35.........APPROVED........$11,000.....
4)Citi PremierPass Elite........NBT............N/A........$0..........APPROVED........$2,000......25k TYP; $75 annual fee; convert to regular PP card
5)Juniper Bank Atlantic Bus.....0%(15 mo)......$75........$0..........APPROVED........$15,000.....
Tier 2:
6)Citi Business MC..............0%(12 mo)......$50........$0..........APPROVED........$6,000......15k TYP
7)Discover Business.............0%(12 mo)......$75........$45.........DENIED..........$0..........(denied, reconsidered, denied again)
8)Discover More.................0%(12 mo)......$75........$45.........DENIED..........$0..........
9)Nat City Lifespring Health....0%(12 mo)......$0.........$0..........APPROVED........$10,000.....
10)Chase United Miles...........NBT............N/A........$25.........DENIED..........$0..........25k miles; $60 annual fee after 1st year (considered a duplicate app and denied)
11)Chase United Miles Business..NBT............N/A........$35.........APPROVED........$11,000.....25k miles; $75 annual fee after 1st year
12)Citi Business PremierPass....0%(12 mo)......$50........$0..........APPROVED........$6,000......15k TYP; $75 annual fee after 1st year
13)Penfed Visa Platinum Gas.....NBT............N/A........$0..........DENIED..........$0..........(asked for $25k CL; denial: insufficient income for CL)
14)Amex Starwood Pref Guest.....NBT............N/A........$65.........APPROVED(i).....$6,200......10k pts; $45 fee after 1st year
15)Juniper Nat Parks Plat Visa..0%(12 mo)......$50........$0..........APPROVED........$5,000......free tote!
16)BofA Plat Plus Visa..........0%(6 mo).......$0.........$0..........APPROVED........$2,500......
17)BofA Reward Amex.............NBT............N/A........$0..........APPROVED........$1,000......$50 credit after 1st purchase
18)Wells Fargo Visa Platinum....0%(6 mo).......$0.........$0..........APPROVED........$9,000......already have account with them
19)Citi Professional............0%(12 mo)......$0.........$25.........DENIED..........$0..........15k TYP; too many accounts already
Tier 3:
20)Amex Plat Bus FreedomPass....NBT............N/A........$65.........APPROVED(i).....$3,000......5k pts
21)Chase Disney (targeted)......0%(12 mo)......$50........$0..........APPROVED........$12,000.....CLI after original $9,400 CL
22)Citi Plat Amex...............NBT............N/A........$0..........DENIED..........$0..........15k TYP; too many apps within 60 days
23)Wamu ESPN Visa...............0%(6 mo).......$0.........$0..........APPROVED(i).....$10,000.....$25 ESPN store
24)RBS Plat MC..................0%(10 mo)......$60........$0..........APPROVED........$6,500......
25)US Bank Visa Platinum........NBT............N/A........$0..........APPROVED........$10,000.....use for overall utilization
26)Chase Freedom (targeted).....NBT............N/A........$0..........APPROVED........$12,000.....$100 credit after 1st purchase; CLI after original $9,400 CL
# of Approvals....20
# of Denials......6
New Personal Credit = $111,200
New Business Credit = $58,200
TOTAL NEW CREDIT = $169,400
- I don’t plan on requesting BTs during the application stage. Will wait until cards come in and reallocate where I can to save on fees. - Planning on keeping utilization <70% on any one personal card and <50% overall. - I'm including a good mix of business cards and will be reallocating to them whenever possible. Not too worried about utilization on those.
Suggestions on cards to add/remove/replace? I have the Citi Professional card listed even though I already have one. Will that be a problem? answer: YES
update 1/31: Considering National City Visa Business for a large credit line – 0%, 6 months (maybe 12), ??? fee? (site did not let me apply) update 1/31: Changed link to Citi Business PremierPass to $0 fee BT card (thanks Rorer714!) update 2/5: Submitted applications. Results updated. update 2/8: Chase Disney & Chase Freedom approved. Requested online CLI to $12k on both cards and granted. update 2/11: Received email approval for Citi PremierPass Elite. update 2/10: Received email from Cardbenefit.com notifying me (3) AMEX cards approved and $165 will be credited to me. update 2/12: Reformatted post for eligibility update 2/13: Recieved Wells Fargo card in mail. Citi Pro and Citi AMEX Plat denials. update 2/14: US Bank card came in the mail. Citi Business PremierPass email approval (no CL given). update 2/20: All app decisions in. Further updates will be done in posts.
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I dont know the status of that $6k balance on Advanta, but it may be worth considering payign it off and closing the account, so you can add a new Advanta 15-month offer.
I would highly recommend requesting large BT's on the application (especially with National City). I would do it as much as possible. You can almost always call the issuer soon after approval, tell them to cancel the BT request after you get the large line, and then just ask for checks to be mailed. I have seen much larger lines on average with most companies when requesting large BTs.
Also, I'd add the national city business card. It typically gives large CL's (20-35k) and despite saying 6 mo promo with no fees, mine is somehow extended for 12 months. Make sure to request a large bt.
One warning, they will fax/mail you a page you must sign and fax back to them before getting approved. A little bit of a pain, but worth it for the lines they give.
Glitch99 said:I dont know the status of that $6k balance on Advanta, but it may be worth considering payign it off and closing the account, so you can add a new Advanta 15-month offer.
I did consider that but it would make things a bit tight moneywise. I forgot to mention it's at 2.9% so I wouldn't be losing too much.
MikeR397 said:I would highly recommend requesting large BT's on the application (especially with National City). I would do it as much as possible. You can almost always call the issuer soon after approval, tell them to cancel the BT request after you get the large line, and then just ask for checks to be mailed. I have seen much larger lines on average with most companies when requesting large BTs.
I was afraid if I'd request a 20k transfer they'd do it but with a 20k CL. Good to know you can cancel it and redo it. I think I read someone saying 20k is the most they'll transfer at once so I'll give that a shot. Thanks.
MikeR397 said:Also, I'd add the national city business card. It typically gives large CL's (20-35k) and despite saying 6 mo promo with no fees, mine is somehow extended for 12 months. Make sure to request a large bt.
One warning, they will fax/mail you a page you must sign and fax back to them before getting approved. A little bit of a pain, but worth it for the lines they give.
MikeR397 said:I would highly recommend requesting large BT's on the application (especially with National City). I would do it as much as possible. You can almost always call the issuer soon after approval, tell them to cancel the BT request after you get the large line, and then just ask for checks to be mailed. I have seen much larger lines on average with most companies when requesting large BTs.
I respectfully disagree. This may cause a logistical nightmare and there are no guarentees that the line will be any bigger.
dmlavigne1 said:MikeR397 said:I would highly recommend requesting large BT's on the application (especially with National City). I would do it as much as possible. You can almost always call the issuer soon after approval, tell them to cancel the BT request after you get the large line, and then just ask for checks to be mailed. I have seen much larger lines on average with most companies when requesting large BTs.
I respectfully disagree. This may cause a logistical nightmare and there are no guarentees that the line will be any bigger.I've done 6 AOR's, as well as been personally involved in about 4 more. From first hand experience, I've seen major differences (with similar vital stats) between asking for large BT's on the app and not asking. I'm not saying you can't be very successful without asking by any means, but any issuer that allows you to call up after being approved and ask for a CLI will have a higher tendancy to give you a higher line if you've requested a BT on the app.
With national city, I know someone who worked there and have used the BT request to get many higher lines. For example, my first card I was approved for 10k line, I called and asked for a CLI, they said "do you want to do a BT?" I said yes, for $25,000. They gave me a $30k credit line. They explictly said that they can give higher lines if you are doing a BT. I think the reps even get a bonus for doing it.
Just use Excel to keep track, be methodical with your progress. If you have a HELCO you can BT to (16 digit card), that is the perfect situation.
dvm395 said:MikeR397 said:I would highly recommend requesting large BT's on the application (especially with National City). I would do it as much as possible. You can almost always call the issuer soon after approval, tell them to cancel the BT request after you get the large line, and then just ask for checks to be mailed. I have seen much larger lines on average with most companies when requesting large BTs.
I was afraid if I'd request a 20k transfer they'd do it but with a 20k CL. Good to know you can cancel it and redo it. I think I read someone saying 20k is the most they'll transfer at once so I'll give that a shot. Thanks.For their business card, I'd recommed requesting $35k.
I was also concerend about "asking from 25 BT and getting 25 line" problem, so I asked for $22,100 BTs on many cards, and ended up getting $23,000 credit lines. I think this is evidence in and of itself that requesting them does help higher limits.
However, one note of concern, is that while you have execelent credit, and a good credit base, your HHI will likely not allow you to get the mega sized new lines. I've seen most of the lines above $20k go to those with HHI of $200k plus. Regardless, don't let that stop you from trying!
dmlavigne1 said:MikeR397 said:I would highly recommend requesting large BT's on the application (especially with National City). I would do it as much as possible. You can almost always call the issuer soon after approval, tell them to cancel the BT request after you get the large line, and then just ask for checks to be mailed. I have seen much larger lines on average with most companies when requesting large BTs.
I respectfully disagree. This may cause a logistical nightmare and there are no guarentees that the line will be any bigger.I will agree with you that while profit maximization is obviously the main goal, you do need to keep things within your own level of orgainzation. One mistake (ex: writing a AMEX check to yourself) can slam you with hundreds or a thousand $ of finance fees. Make sure you don't get overwhelmed. If organization isn't a problem, and you don't mind spending time on the phone cancelling, then I'd recommend asking for BTs.
You can just let the BT's go through, rather than cancelling, but that actually tends to take longer sometimes than requesting the check. Furthermore, many times the receiving card will put a long hold on your transfer if you don't have a balance on the card, which is not a good tiem when you lose 2 months of potential interest.
Rorer714 said:You might want this one, 0% 12mo NBTF. Citi Drivers Edge
Right now I have 2 personal, 2 business, and a professional card listed for Citi. I don't think I can add another. I ended up putting the Citi Platinum AMEX on there instead of that one since the 15k thank you points would be guaranteed while I haven't seen others get really high lines on the Drivers Edge to make it a better option. Thanks though.
Pulled the trigger on the applications this morning. Started out great with 2 nice instant approvals but pretty much everything else was deferred.
Only instant denial was from Discover Business (no reason given yet). Penfed went from "deferred" to "denied." Reason given was "insufficient income for credit line request." I had asked for $25k on the app since I would assume they would just give me a lesser line if they thought that was too much. Should have probably asked for $15k. I might call them to reconsider depending on how the rest of the results go.
I'll keep updating the original post as results come in.
dvm395 said:Only instant denial was from Discover Business (no reason given yet). Penfed went from "deferred" to "denied." Reason given was "insufficient income for credit line request." I had asked for $25k on the app since I would assume they would just give me a lesser line if they thought that was too much. Should have probably asked for $15k. I might call them to reconsider depending on how the rest of the results go.
Exact same thing happened to me, asked for $24k, same response. I communicated back and forth regarding my HHI, but they eventually denied me just the same. I don't know what their deal is with their "guess what CL I'm thinking" game, but I don't like it.
djspray said:Exact same thing happened to me, asked for $24k, same response. I communicated back and forth regarding my HHI, but they eventually denied me just the same. I don't know what their deal is with their "guess what CL I'm thinking" game, but I don't like it.
Good to know, thanks. I'm sure I read your 2.0 thread a couple times through since our HHI are not far off and I shouldn't made a note of that. Maybe I'll just leave this one alone. I wasn't impressed with the customer service in their mortgage dept. last year so I probably shouldn't expect much better here.
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