I did my first A0R last March and was pretty successful in terms of approvals, bonuses and BT money gained. At the time I had 4 cards in my name.
For whatever reason, I didn't follow up with a WOR. Not until a couple months before most of my A0R BT offers are set to run out did I decide to do one for the wife.
Goals 1. Gain as much 0% BT $ as possible 2. Collect rewards/miles/points 3. Acquire cards from new banks
Knowing that she didn't have any inquiries on her TU or EX reports, I chose not to monitor all three scores until I launched the A0R. I currently have Experian Plus Triple Advantage for EX data. I also had TC via their free trial for TU data. However, I upgraded to all 3 reports and scores via TC today.
Cards Applied For Not knowing what affect my wife only having two (store) cards in her name and being an AU on the other two cards would have on the results, I was a little skiddish about the number of cards I should apply for. However, after some reassurance from dmlavigne1 and others that the AU status wouldn't matter, I decided to apply for quite a few.
I didn't post my list ahead of time like others have because I wasn't even sure I was going to post these WOR plans or results. However, after seeing SecondCor521's thread and list of cards, and knowing I was planning on launching this WOR early this week, I decided to go ahead. If nothing else, I figure the results would provide a good comparison since SecondCor521 and I applied for several of the same cards, but we have different personal and credit profiles. It should be interesting to compare the overall results and those of the similar cards applied for.
Cards without links can be found at Card Benefit.
1P = First purchase TYP = Thank You Points CB = http://www.cardbenefit.com (I used the referral mentioned here, which is supposed to yield higher bonuses than normal.)
Total Cards Approved by Issuer AMEX: 3 Total - 1 Business and 2 Personal Citi: 5 Total - 2 Business, 1 Professional and 2 Personal Chase/First USA: 3 Total - 2 Business and 1 Personal Juniper/Barclays: 2 Total - 1 Business and 1 Personal Discover: 2 Total - 1 Business and 1 Personal BoA: 2 Personal US Bank: 1 Personal National City: 1 Personal Advanta: 1 Business WAMU: 1 Personal
Credit Scores Using TC - Includes major changes and/or updates Date EQ EX TU - Inquiries 3/04 776 3/05 752 760 776 - 9,2,4 including 2 from BRCLYSBANKDE 3/06 752 760 776 - 9,2,1 including NCBK-NCCS; Juniper card appeared on EX 3/07 778 750 776 - 9,2,3 NCBK-NCCS inquiry disappeared; Juniper and BoA NEA on EQ; Discover on EX 3/09 778 750 774 - 9,2,4 as reflected below; Juniper and BOA on TU 3/11 765 750 762 3/12 765 747 760 - 9,2,5 new inquiry from BRCLYSBANKDE; Citi AA and Citi Prof on EX 3/17 758 747 757 - 9,2,6 new inquiry from BOA 3/21 756 745 757 -10,3,6 new inquiries from BOA and Chase for new card apps 3/28 752 745 757 -10,3,6 4/08 728 738 751 -10,3,6 4/17 689 698 747 -10,3,6 BoA NEA BT balance showing on all 3; removed as AU from my BoA MC 4/24 686 698 747 -11,3,6 First USA pull on EQ 4/29 663 690 694 -11,3,6 Disney and Citi Associated BT balances showing on all 3 4/30 663 676 694 -11,3,6 Nat'l City BT on EX 5/01 663 691 694 -11,3,6 SPG and IN:NYC cards showing on EX 5/05 684 678 682 -11,3,3 Baylor BT showing up 5/16 685 678 689 -11,3,0 All TU inquiries fell off
Inquiries from A0R FIRST USA 04/23/2008 EQ CHASE BANK USA, NA 03/20/2008 EX FIA CSNA 03/20/2008 EQ BK OF AMER 03/15/2008 TU BRCLYSBANKDE 03/11/2008 TU NCBK-NCCS 03/06/2008 TU BANK OF AMERICA 03/05/2008 EX AMEX 03/05/2008 EX USBK 03/05/2008 EQ CBUSA/CBSD 03/05/2008 EQ CITI USA 03/05/2008 EQ CITI 03/05/2008 EQ CITI 03/05/2008 EQ CHASE 03/05/2008 EQ ADVANTA 03/05/2008 EQ FIRST USA 03/05/2008 EQ WASHMTL/PROV 03/05/2008 TU BRCLYSBANKDE 03/05/2008 TU DISCOVER FIN 03/05/2008 TU AMERIAUTO 05/04/2007 EQ
Available Credit before and after A0R Before AOR: - Total CL Before A0R: $55,600 - Total "own" personal CL Before A0R: $1,100 After A0R: - Total new CL: $246,500 - Total "own" personal CL: $137,500 - Total business CL: $109,000
Completed Balance Transfers BoA NEA - $8,900 (Deposited BT check provided with card) Chase AMA Biz - $17,000 (Deposited BT check provided with card) Associated Bank - $13,350 (Deposited BT check provided with card) Disney - $10,680 (Deposited BT check provided with card) Discover Biz - $11,125 (BT online to my CitiBiz) Lifespring - $13,300 (Deposited BT check mailed to me) Bank Atlantic Biz - $20,000 (BT over phone to my CitiBiz PP) Baylor - $18,690 (BT over phone, split between my AT&T and CitiProfessional) - Totals: $113,045
Rewards/Bonuses Expected While I'll probably use many of the points for flights, I'll put an estimated value in GCs for ease of providing a total value. From AOR: 45,000 Thank You Points = ~$450 in GCs (all points showing a/o 4/15) 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest = ~$200 in GCs (10k points showed up on 4/8 from Biz card; 10k points showed up on 5/6 for personal card) $250 Card Benefit Cash (confirmed for all $250 as of 3/21; checked received 4/19) $65 worth of statement credits ($50 AMA and $15 Juniper...both received) 12,000 miles from Discover (1,000/month for 12 months) - ~$100 GC value 25,000 United Airlines Miles - ~$250 value (posted on 4/8) 25,000 American Airlines Miles - ~$250 value (posted on 4/14) Other/bank signup bonuses: 25,000 American Airlines Miles (for Fidelity account) = ~$250 value (received 15k miles on 5/9, 4 days after transferring in initial $10k) ----------------------------- Total = $1,815 estimated value (~$1,615 received a/o 5/6/08)
Thanks to...SIS and DaveHanson (the godfathers) for pioneering and continuing to stay active and comment on A0R and other threads...Glitch99, lhendricks92, markkundinger, polardude, cyberkost, win333, Technologist and others who continue to comment on each A0R thread...SecondCor521 for his recent (concurrent) A0R, which allowed me to see many comments/thoughts and additional card apps/links right before launching mine...Thisguy, DjPiLL, dmlavigne1 and others for detailing their WORs...and dvm395, Venturion, elleve, Alimo, squid3, jakeru, brianLp518, hotpep, JohnYeWest and others for the recent A0R threads.
Observations/Notes - I spent a lot of prep time for this...even when I thought my list of apps was complete, I'd do some more research and reshuffle again. I didn't receive any instant declines...keeping up with comments, trends, etc. from other A0Rs is key (i.e. no wasted apps). Of course, I'm still waiting on several decisions and I'll probably receive a few declines via email/mail, particuarly on the business side. - More Instant Approvals than I expected, but about the same as I experienced with my A0R. 10 out of 23 this time...8 out of 16 last time. - RoboForm was helpful and saved me time as compared to my A0R, but I did have to correct and/or delete data that it filled in automatically in most applications. More comments and updates to come... - I wasn't planning on applying for the WAMU ESPN card, but decided to once I saw SecondCor521's comment and the unexpectedly high CL. Oh well. - Credit inquiries make a big difference on the success/failure of apps (obviously). However, not every issuer pulls the same database and the creditboards.com credit pull database isn't 100% accurate. Chase pulled EQ two times during my A0R, but pulled EX on the Disney card post A0R, even though others have reported EQ pulls for my state (GA). - Per a conversation with a Citi rep, it's not a problem to have a credit balance on a card and you'll be transferred to another department to request the balance via a check. In addition, she also said that $4k was the magic number...if the balance was $4k or more, an additional review would occur to make sure the balance was legit...under $4k and the check would be processed with no issues. I hadn't seen that threshold mentioned elsewhere and thought it was interesting. - Handling this A0R on behalf of my wife has been pretty easy. With the exception of my wife talking to a CSR when she calls to activate cards, I talk to all CSRs now on her behalf. I call and tell them that I'm calling on my wife's behalf, they ask to speak to my wife to verify her identity and make sure it's okay to speak to me, and then I take it from there. It's been very easy with no questions asked after the verification and approval with my wife...and it's worked for items ranging from general questions to processing BTs.
When's the last time you saw a natural 0/0/0?? Out of curiosity, how did you discuss the option with her and in what time frame did she provider her approval? Asking b/c I'm contemplating the same...
Thanks and good luck (though the initial results are already successful).
I am planning to the same for my wife and will follow your thread closely. Thanks.
dvm395
Addicted Member
posted: Mar. 6, 2008 @ 9:07a
Only 2 EX inquiries so far... nice.
That's a lot of instant approvals. I think you'll have good success with this one.
On the United Mileage cards: I also applied for both the personal and business and was deferred for both. Turns out a couple days later when I called them, they told me they didn't even process the personal version as they considered it a duplicate app. Doesn't make much sense to me as I thought the Chase personal/business departments were separate. I'm curious what result you get.
Good luck!
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 6, 2008 @ 9:10a
Venturion said: ... Out of curiosity, how did you discuss the option with her and in what time frame did she provider her approval? Asking b/c I'm contemplating the same... ...
My situation may be a little different than others since I handle all of our finances. So, she trusts me with decisions like this, i.e. if I think it's a good idea, she'll go along. She saw first-hand (i.e. got money to spend) the benefits of my A0R and understands that this should be a good thing as well.
However, because I handle all of our finances, she isn't in tune with the types of actions that might be required during an A0R, namely talking on the phone with CSRs to reallocate credit lines, request BT checks, etc. In addition, she doesn't like talking on the phone to people she doesn't know, especially about something she's not familiar with. To be honest, this was the biggest deterent for me in deciding to do this or not.
So, after I decided to go forward, I just tried to stress the benefits and tried to minimize the impact it would have on her. I explained that she would probably have to talk to CSRs from time to time, particularly in the first few weeks, but then it should be minimal to no involvement on her part.
Based on information I've read in other wife-o-rama threads (e.g. Thisguy's 2-part AOR, DjPiLL's Wife-O-Rama 1.1, dmlavigne1's Bonus AOR 2.0 WOR) and information I received from other users, I've learned a few options for how to handle CSR interactions: 1) Call and pretend your her...works particularly well if your wife has a gender neutral name (mind doesn't). 2) Let her call and handle it (obviously), but lay out instructions beforehand. 3) Have her call and verify her identity and then say "my husband will be handling it from here"...or, call and tell them you're calling on someone else's behalf, let her verify her identity, and then take over from there. This is the option I plan on doing. 4) Use the online chat or messaging options.
I'll be providing updates handling her WOR and on using these techniques.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 6, 2008 @ 9:18a
dvm395 said: Only 2 EX inquiries so far... nice.
That's a lot of instant approvals. I think you'll have good success with this one.
On the United Mileage cards: I also applied for both the personal and business and was deferred for both. Turns out a couple days later when I called them, they told me they didn't even process the personal version as they considered it a duplicate app. Doesn't make much sense to me as I thought the Chase personal/business departments were separate. I'm curious what result you get.
Good luck!
Yes, the inquiries are shaping up like they did on my A0R, mostly EQ and a few TU and EX. This lends further credence/evidence to the idea that where you live has a bearing on which reports are pulled.
I saw that on your thread about the duplicate apps issue, and I thought it was odd. I applied and was accepted for both when I did my A0R last year, and I know others had before me. Hopefully I don't have that issue.
YiFeng said: So how many wives have you managed so far?
lol...this is my first and only.
skysurfer1976
Member
posted: Mar. 6, 2008 @ 10:35a
2 USBank Baylor Alumni Association Visa Platinum Card (12/$0) - Deferred
For this one, somehow I read the term as "No balance transfer fees for balance transferred with this application". So did you request balance transfer with the application? I am wondering if this condition applies to BT requested after receiving the card/credit line.
skysurfer1976 said: 2 USBank Baylor Alumni Association Visa Platinum Card (12/$0) - Deferred
For this one, somehow I read the term as "No balance transfer fees for balance transferred with this application". So did you request balance transfer with the application? I am wondering if this condition applies to BT requested after receiving the card/credit line.
Any idea?
There's no need to request a BT with the application. I did this 3 days ago and it has posted just as the CSR said it would.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 6, 2008 @ 11:21a
skysurfer1976 said: 2 USBank Baylor Alumni Association Visa Platinum Card (12/$0) - Deferred
For this one, somehow I read the term as "No balance transfer fees for balance transferred with this application". So did you request balance transfer with the application? I am wondering if this condition applies to BT requested after receiving the card/credit line.
Any idea?
I did request a BT on the application, but only because I was hoping it would boost my resulting CL...based on others' experiences, the amount you request as a BT on the application does seem to have an impact on the CL.
Also based on others' experiences and comments, US Bank is apparently liberal in waiving the BT fee even if you don't do a BT with the application.
There's no need to request a BT with the application. I did this 3 days ago and it has posted just as the CSR said it would.
I think you have 90 days post app to do a BT.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 6, 2008 @ 9:30p
I checked my CR tonight via TC and noticed something odd. Tonight my inquiries looked like this: NCBK-NCCS 03/06/2008 TU BANK OF AMERICA 03/05/2008 EX AMEX 03/05/2008 EX USBK 03/05/2008 EQ CBUSA/CBSD 03/05/2008 EQ CITI USA 03/05/2008 EQ CITI 03/05/2008 EQ CITI 03/05/2008 EQ CHASE 03/05/2008 EQ ADVANTA 03/05/2008 EQ FIRST USA 03/05/2008 EQ AMERIAUTO 05/04/2007 EQ
Whereas last night they looked like this: BANK OF AMERICA 03/05/2008 EX AMEX 03/05/2008 EX USBK 03/05/2008 EQ CBUSA/CBSD 03/05/2008 EQ CITI USA 03/05/2008 EQ CITI 03/05/2008 EQ CITI 03/05/2008 EQ CHASE 03/05/2008 EQ ADVANTA 03/05/2008 EQ FIRST USA 03/05/2008 EQ WASHMTL/PROV 03/05/2008 TU BRCLYSBANKDE 03/05/2008 TU BRCLYSBANKDE 03/05/2008 TU DISCOVER FIN 03/05/2008 TU AMERIAUTO 05/04/2007 EQ
Any ideas where those 4 TU inquiries from last night might have disappeared to? Maybe I bumped them off in one day.
Oh, and the Juniper I Fly America card is already showing on my EX report.
jevon90
Addicted Member
posted: Mar. 6, 2008 @ 9:36p
ahself said:
Any ideas where those 4 TU inquiries from last night might have disappeared to? Maybe I bumped them off in one day.
Oh, and the Juniper I Fly America card is already showing on my EX report.
The 2 BRCLYSBANKDE I got in my last AOR reported the 1st day, then both went away on day 2, and then 1 returned on day 3, so I think that's going to happen for the Juniper Cards, but i'm not sure about the other 2 missing inqs.
You know I had the same exact thing happen with Barclays. I think Barclays is very smart about multiple apps (my four Juniper apps all got the shaft) and also respectful in consolidating the inquiries as a result of multiple apps. However, I don't know why all of them disappear (edit: one of them should stay on)... I hope it isn't b/c you got the shaft too.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 7, 2008 @ 10:31a
Venturion said: You know I had the same exact thing happen with Barclays. I think Barclays is very smart about multiple apps (my four Juniper apps all got the shaft) and also respectful in consolidating the inquiries as a result of multiple apps. However, I don't know why all of them disappear (edit: one of them should stay on)... I hope it isn't b/c you got the shaft too.
Thanks, and thanks Jevon90.
The interesting thing is that of those 4 inquiries, I know I was instantly approved for 3 of them: Juniper I Fly America, WAMU ESPN and Discover More. I guess I'll check again tonight and report back if any of those inquiries return.
I got an approval email for the CitiBusiness card. My wife also got a phone call from Discover Business. She handled the phone call well and was told she was approved for the card. She didn't ask for the CL, but I plan on reallocating from the Discover More anyway.
SecondCor521
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 7, 2008 @ 1:58p
Hey there!
Thanks for the props...I like the way you formatted your post, too!
Good luck on your AOR and glad mine could help out in any way. I did what you appear to have done also -- read a bunch of A0R threads in my planning stages.
You seemed to get a higher proportion of instant approvals than I did. When I spoke with the credit ninja at Discover last night, it seemed like she didn't have any concerns with my credit history, it was just a matter of verifying that everything was in order. That got me to thinking that perhaps my lack of instant approvals were due to some inconsistencies in my address and employment information on my credit reports. For example, if I lived at 123 North Main Street apartment 101, one credit agency has it listed as "123N Main #101" and another might have it as "101 123 North Main". Also, my employer is listed as "123N Main Street Previous Employer" in one case, as the CEO of 2Cor521 Enterprises in another, and as my regular job on another. I think these inconsistencies could be causing grief to the identity-matching software that the CC companies must surely be using to automate the process. Anyway, that's my theory.
Good luck to you!
2Cor521
lefty331
Member
posted: Mar. 7, 2008 @ 2:22p
I was a little reluctant to do an AOR for my wife, for pretty much the same reasons as you - She had pretty much been letting me handle most financial things. At first, I had to coach her before she called the CSRs, but she picked it up pretty quick. After a few weeks, she called me at work one day to tell me that she had just called a Citi CSR and consolidated her CLs onto her new 0% Home Rebate card and requested a BT check for 89% of her new CL, and I hope that's OK??? Yup, that's OK, and now we have a new shared hobby.
little4ce
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 7, 2008 @ 3:35p
That Bank Atlantic card from Juniper has this statement about the 0% BT:
"The 0% introductory Annual Percentage Rate(APR) applies to Balance Transfers for the first 15 months after you open your account and requires that you maintain your current level of credit performance and that timely payments are received."
What do you guys think about the credit performance thingie? If I am at 740 when applying and then I arrive in the 670 range from the AOR, do they take away the BT??
Red for leaving me out of the acceptance speech (J/K)!
so, you still get GREEN!
BTW, AMEX has something called "account manager" or something like it.... your wife calls, tells them she wants YOU added to speak on her behalf for HER account (not an AU, don't let them add you ...). I will get the formal name for you in a bit (unless someone beats me to it!). I call AMEX all the time for my wife's card... and move stuff around.
You can find out the title by calling on one of your own cards, and if it asks if you are the account holder, say no.... then it asks if you are the ???? account manager????.... whatever it asks, that is the real title they use!
Hang up, then have your wife call about her card, and have you added as the ???xxx???
PS... nice lines for a "homemaker" with high 5 figure HHI!!!!
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 7, 2008 @ 8:23p
Technologist said: Green for title!!!
Green for doing it, and great formatting!!!
Red for leaving me out of the acceptance speech (J/K)!
so, you still get GREEN!
BTW, AMEX has something called "account manager" or something like it.... your wife calls, tells them she wants YOU added to speak on her behalf for HER account (not an AU, don't let them add you ...). I will get the formal name for you in a bit (unless someone beats me to it!). I call AMEX all the time for my wife's card... and move stuff around.
You can find out the title by calling on one of your own cards, and if it asks if you are the account holder, say no.... then it asks if you are the ???? account manager????.... whatever it asks, that is the real title they use!
Hang up, then have your wife call about her card, and have you added as the ???xxx???
PS... nice lines for a "homemaker" with high 5 figure HHI!!!!
What?...you're in there...you must have just missed it the first time through.
Thanks for the info. about account manager. I'll have to check into that. And hopefully she'll get accepted for all of the AMEX cards to make it worthwhile.
Hey ahself, it's nice to be married, isn't it? It's only after reading some WOR threads did I start to understand the mormons .
I'm pretty much in the same situation as you described and seeing my wife's FAKOs hovering around 780 "unused" generates quite an itch ... I've almost had my wife join the club, but then the HYS rates started to drop, so we're back to applying for great bonus cards only while my AOR 1.0 is winding down.
I think your WOR plays out pretty well (congrats!) and I like the fact that you emphasized bonuses as I believe it's almost as profitable a thing to pursue in a current rate environment as BT arbitrage, but a lot safer one. I do have some questions/comments: 1. You have your wife as an AU on an AMEX and a BOA cards. Do you plan to keep her as an AU after all of the WOR decisions are in? I've read that should A/A ensue it might affect spouse's accounts, esp. with AMEX... 2. BOA NEA card is key, don't forget to CLI (I'd ask for 20-25K) and reallocation from that GA Alumni card should be easy. 3. AMEX cards -- I'd not do a BT on any them (not sure what your plans are for the IN:NYC). As far AMEX as "account manager" -- I don't think you need that. You can reallocate and CLI online, but should you chose to close/convert the cards -- there isn't anything tricky in those kind of calls (except, perhaps, the ability to evaluate the retention offer on the spot).
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 7, 2008 @ 11:30p
Cyberkost - Yeah, it's good to be married.
I told my wife yesterday that I'm kicking myself for not doing this last year.
As you noticed, I focused on bonus cards, but also chose at least one BT card from the same issuer. So, if it pans out how I plan, I should be able to get bonuses from Citi, Chase and AMEX personal and business cards and then reallocate CLs to take advantage of the BT offers from the same issuers...keeping my fingers crossed.
1. Yep, I thought about removing her as an AU on both accounts. However, that Platinum Skymiles AMEX is our everyday spend card. I don't plan on doing anything to tick AMEX off. 2. That was exactly my plan, on both ideas. 3. I decided to get the IN:NYC card in case I get worthwhile CLs between the AMEX cards and I want to do a BT...and the CL on the SPG card is a good start. If I keep the utilization below 50% on the BT, would you still discourage it?
Red for leaving me out of the acceptance speech (J/K)!
so, you still get GREEN!
BTW, AMEX has something called "account manager" or something like it.... your wife calls, tells them she wants YOU added to speak on her behalf for HER account (not an AU, don't let them add you ...). I will get the formal name for you in a bit (unless someone beats me to it!). I call AMEX all the time for my wife's card... and move stuff around.
You can find out the title by calling on one of your own cards, and if it asks if you are the account holder, say no.... then it asks if you are the ???? account manager????.... whatever it asks, that is the real title they use!
Hang up, then have your wife call about her card, and have you added as the ???xxx???
PS... nice lines for a "homemaker" with high 5 figure HHI!!!!
Double Green!
thetrump
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Mar. 8, 2008 @ 5:54a
Venturion said: ... Based on information I've read in other wife-o-rama threads (e.g. Thisguy's 2-part AOR, DjPiLL's Wife-O-Rama 1.1, dmlavigne1's Bonus AOR 2.0 WOR) and information I received from other users, I've learned a few options for how to handle CSR interactions: 1) Call and pretend your her...works particularly well if your wife has a gender neutral name (mind doesn't). 2) Let her call and handle it (obviously), but lay out instructions beforehand. 3) Have her call and verify her identity and then say "my husband will be handling it from here"...or, call and tell them you're calling on someone else's behalf, let her verify her identity, and then take over from there. This is the option I plan on doing. 4) Use the online chat or messaging options.
My wife doesn't like talking to credit card CSRs so I use a software-based voice changer and make calls using VoIP. My wife thought I really was a woman the first time I called her with it. Good times... Just make sure she knows about it or you could get in some real hot water.
little4ce
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 8, 2008 @ 6:55a
thetrump said: Venturion said: ... Based on information I've read in other wife-o-rama threads (e.g. Thisguy's 2-part AOR, DjPiLL's Wife-O-Rama 1.1, dmlavigne1's Bonus AOR 2.0 WOR) and information I received from other users, I've learned a few options for how to handle CSR interactions: 1) Call and pretend your her...works particularly well if your wife has a gender neutral name (mind doesn't). 2) Let her call and handle it (obviously), but lay out instructions beforehand. 3) Have her call and verify her identity and then say "my husband will be handling it from here"...or, call and tell them you're calling on someone else's behalf, let her verify her identity, and then take over from there. This is the option I plan on doing. 4) Use the online chat or messaging options.
My wife doesn't like talking to credit card CSRs so I use a software-based voice changer and make calls using VoIP. My wife thought I really was a woman the first time I called her with it. Good times... Just make sure she knows about it or you could get in some real hot water.
Wow I need that software myself. Could you post a link to the software page?
TIA Little
thetrump
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Mar. 8, 2008 @ 7:06a
little4ce said: Wow I need that software myself. Could you post a link to the software page?
TIA Little Here's a free 2 week trial: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Audio-Mixers-Synthesizers/AV-Voice-Changer-Software-Diamond-Edition.shtml
I use the 4.0 version of this software and it works well enough to fool CSR's. I haven't tried the 6.0 version yet.
ahself said: Cyberkost - Yeah, it's good to be married. 3. I decided to get the IN:NYC card in case I get worthwhile CLs between the AMEX cards and I want to do a BT...and the CL on the SPG card is a good start. If I keep the utilization below 50% on the BT, would you still discourage it?
Well, the thing is that you are very likely to get a worthwhile combined CL with AMEX, especially if you wait a month and use AMEX CLI link (my wife went from $8K to $24.9K on her SPG after 30 days -- I did not believe my eyes and her profile is very similar to your wife's) ... you can then reallocate online to IN:NYC ... it's almost guaranteed to be tempting to do a BT. Now, what AMEX is gonna be seeing: 3 new cards, BT, and at least one of the "high risk activities": CLI or reallocation (I don't think 6 mo. BT is worthwhile on the IN:NYC without at least one of these). Given how sensitive AMEX has been lately, chances of FR and other A/A are not insignificant at all.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 9, 2008 @ 2:39p
ahself said: Any ideas where those 4 TU inquiries from last night might have disappeared to?
Update on this post from earlier...
As Jevon90 said, the two BRCLYSBANKDE inquiries were consolidated into one, and the other 3 TU inquiries came back as well. Not sure what happened, but all of the TU inquiries I've seen are back now, as updated in the OP.
glxpass
Senior Member - 5K
posted: Mar. 9, 2008 @ 4:20p
Nice thread, especially the commments about communication issues with a wife-o-rama. I strongly advise, though, against pretending to be her during phone conversations. Not only could that lead to trouble (possibly legal and otherwise), but it's unnecessary.
One alternative is for your wife to make the call, and for her to say to the CSR that she'd like her husband to join the call since he handles most of the finances, in case there are issues which need clarification. So your wife initiates the call, and is a participant in a joint call, with you helping out with certain details. No, not her name, birthdate, SSN, etc!
My wife is somewhat shy on the phone with people she doesn't know, but this worked out fine for us when she applied over the phone for the Citibank checking account $200 MVS4 promotion. We discussed it first, she agreed, and actually I initiated that call, saying that we'd heard about the promotion, and I wanted to verify the promotion was still available before my wife spent the time to apply for it.
When the promotion was confirmed as available, I said to the CSR that I'd turn over the phone to my wife, but with her permission, I'd join the call in case any questions arose that I could help out with since I took care of paying the bills and such.
With her agreement during the phone conversation, I was able to decline add-ons such as overdraft protection (me saying to the CSR: "But that would result in a hard credit inquiry on our report, right?", and to my wife: "I think we're OK without the overdraft protection and the inquiry.").
It all worked out fine, although it's much easier to communicate as much as possible online -- with her knowledge and consent, of course.
glxpass
Senior Member - 5K
posted: Mar. 9, 2008 @ 5:33p
ahself said: Cyberkost - Yeah, it's good to be married.
I told my wife yesterday that I'm kicking myself for not doing this last year.
As you noticed, I focused on bonus cards, but also chose at least one BT card from the same issuer. So, if it pans out how I plan, I should be able to get bonuses from Citi, Chase and AMEX personal and business cards and then reallocate CLs to take advantage of the BT offers from the same issuers...keeping my fingers crossed.
1. Yep, I thought about removing her as an AU on both accounts. However, that Platinum Skymiles AMEX is our everyday spend card. I don't plan on doing anything to tick AMEX off. 2. That was exactly my plan, on both ideas. 3. I decided to get the IN:NYC card in case I get worthwhile CLs between the AMEX cards and I want to do a BT...and the CL on the SPG card is a good start. If I keep the utilization below 50% on the BT, would you still discourage it? I'd be careful about having your wife as an AU on your cards (or you on her cards) with high balances. I'd thought that FICO was no longer affecting the authorized user's score with cards they're an authorized user on, but this hasn't been implemented yet. It looks like it will be implemented in May of this year. Thus the name FICO 08.
I also made the mistake of adding my wife as an authorized user on most my AMEX cards (where there was no additional fee to do so). Since then, I've received offers from AMEX of (IIRC) 2500 points for each authorized user added to various cards. Oops.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 11, 2008 @ 10:18a
Received quite a few cards and results yesterday.
Cards received: CitiBiz, CitiBiz PremierPass, Citi AAdvantage, CitiProfessional, Advanta Biz, WAMU ESPN, and Discover More.
Updates to unknown CLs and results. - I got an approval email for the IN:NYC AMEX - CitiBiz: $15,000 CL - CitiBiz PP: $9,000 CL - Advanta Biz: $2,500 CL
Defective line from Advanta. Not even worth a BT with teh fee.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 12, 2008 @ 2:47p
dmlavigne1 said: Defective line from Advanta. Not even worth a BT with teh fee.
That's pretty much what I was thinking. However, I was thinking that if I called to just cancel the card right off the bat due to the low CL compared to my wife's other cards, perhaps they'd consider raising the CL. Has anyone else been successful in getting them to raise the CL to something useful? The 15 mmonth BT offer is so attractive.
BobbyRobert
Ancient Member
posted: Mar. 12, 2008 @ 4:03p
ahself said: dmlavigne1 said: Defective line from Advanta. Not even worth a BT with teh fee.
That's pretty much what I was thinking. However, I was thinking that if I called to just cancel the card right off the bat due to the low CL compared to my wife's other cards, perhaps they'd consider raising the CL. Has anyone else been successful in getting them to raise the CL to something useful? The 15 mmonth BT offer is so attractive.
I had no luck doing just that back in October. FWIW Advanta was the only card showing on my Equifax business report at the time.
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 13, 2008 @ 3:32p
A few updates:
Received more cards today than the other day: Juniper I Fly America, SPG Biz AMEX, SPG AMEX, Chase AMA Biz, Chase United Biz, Discover Biz, National City Lifespring, BOA NEA, and Citi Associated Bank.
Updates to unknown CLs and results. - I got an approval email for the Juniper Bank Atlantic Rewards Biz with an unknown CL. - SPG Biz: $30,000 CL (wow) - Chase AMA Biz: $10,000 CL - Chase United Biz: $10,000 CL - Discover Biz - $5,000 CL - National City Lifespring - $15,000 CL
All updated in the OP.
I also got some disappointing news in that I received two "unable to approve" letters from Chase. Neither one says the specific card they'e referring to, but I assume it's the two personal cards since I received both business cards...I'll have my wife call on that later. The reason they were unable to approve was: (1st letter/card) Too many inquiries, and (2nd letter/card) Too many credit or loan accounts opened recently...both based on the EQ report. Both reasons seem odd since they did one inquiry on the day I did the A0R and the same day most of the other CC companies did their inquiries. In addition, unless they checked back in the last few days, my wife only had the few personal cards I mentioned pre-A0R. Is it worth appealing their decision?
Vmaxer
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 14, 2008 @ 4:04p
Are there any issuers that require the BT's payoff CC's in YOUR name (i.e not let you payoff a spouses card). Most of my offers say "payoff your credit card balances..."
Vmaxer said: Are there any issuers that require the BT's payoff CC's in YOUR name (i.e not let you payoff a spouses card). Most of my offers say "payoff your credit card balances..."
I've never had a problem paying off my wife's CC's with BT's or her paying off my CC's with BT's. Most recently went from Chase to Citi and Citi to Chase. I thought it might be an issue but no worries. The only thing I got bit on once was trying to pay off a Chase with a Chase a few years back (amateur mistake).
ahself
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 15, 2008 @ 4:10p
dougneb said: Vmaxer said: Are there any issuers that require the BT's payoff CC's in YOUR name (i.e not let you payoff a spouses card). Most of my offers say "payoff your credit card balances..."
I've never had a problem paying off my wife's CC's with BT's or her paying off my CC's with BT's. Most recently went from Chase to Citi and Citi to Chase. I thought it might be an issue but no worries. The only thing I got bit on once was trying to pay off a Chase with a Chase a few years back (amateur mistake).
Thanks for that info. My A0R is wrapping up and I may use my wife's BTs to pay off my balances.
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