Dougneb’s Save Grandma AOR (1st AOR) - MORE AA

Never done an A0R before but I’ve been doing the free money BT game for several years. My wife’s grandmother needs a place to live or she is going to a convalescent home. We’re adding on to the house in order to accommodate and don’t want to spend all of our cash on an addition.

Primary Goal:
• 'Free' money to finance addition to house so Grandma can move in.

Secondary Goals:
• Get my own AM3X card for CostCo trips
• Get my first A0R done
• Keep the balance transfer money going

Existing Balances:
• Chase: 14K on 16K CL at 0% expiring April
• Lowes: 5K on 9K CL at 0% expiring April
• Citi AM3X: 2K from wife’s extensive CostCo trip

Other Cards (at or near zero balance):
• Total $88K CL – Discover, Citi, Chase x2, BOA, Target Visa, PB, NFM

Props:
• SIS and DaveHanson
• Cashmonkey's cautious AOR
• SecondCor521’s Somewhat-Less-Lazy-O-Rama A0R 2.0 – March 4, 2008
• dmlavigne1's Bonus AOR 2.0 WOR started 10-19-07 With Links and Results
• Jevon90's 1st AOR
• markkundinger and jackcrawfish for wisdom and inspiration
• win333 and others for laughs. Is this the first time that 'Gramm-O-Rama' has been coined?
• All the other FWF A0R’ers – too many to mention

Cards Applied (3/26) and results:
1. US Bank Linux Card - 12 mos, 0%, 0 BT Fees; Approved for $18.5K - transferred balances online to just under 90% utilization (thanks Cashmonkey)
2. Citi Professional Cash Card – 12 mos, 0%, 0 BT Fees; Approved for $6K (ouch, I expected more) - will reallocate from existing Citi and request BT check (Update 3/31 - received card)
3. US Bank Baylor - 12 mos, 0%, 0 BT Fees; Deferred - entered balance transfer info for $8K to hopefully get approved for at least that amount. (Update 3/27 - received email stating that more information needed and would arrive by mail in 7 to 10 days) (Update 4/2 - declined via mail)
4. National City Lifespring Health Everyday Rewards - 12 mos, 0%, 0 BT Fees; Deferred - will request BT check if approved (Update 4/2 - approved for $10K?; received welcome mail with BT check)
5. Citi Associated Bank – 12 mos, 0%, 0 BT Fees; Approved for $12K, requested BT check for $10.8K (Update 4/1 - received check and deposited)(Update 4/3 - received card)
6. BofA NEA Rewards - 12 mos, 0%, $30 fee cap; Approved for $5.3K (another ouch) - will reallocate from other BOA card ($10K), call and request direct deposit of funds (Update 3/31 - received card)(Update 4/2 - reallocated $8.7K from old BOA card and ordered ACH to checking account)
7. Juniper National Park Foundation - 12 mos, 0%, $50 fee cap; Approved for $12.5K will request BT check
8. Chase Sony - 12 mos, 0%, $75 fee cap; Deferred (Update 3/30 - approved for $6K) (Update 4/3 - received card) - will make purchase and payoff for 1500 point bonus (whoopie), reallocate from other cards ($8K, $16K on old cards), write check to me after reallocation done
9. Juniper I Fly Personal - 12 mos, 0%, $50 fee cap; Deferred (Update 4/1 - approved for $5K via email)- will xfer CL to Juniper National Park Foundation

Spending Card
10. Bank of America Rewards AM3X Card - 12 mos, 0% on purchases, $50 first statement credit - Deferred (Update 4/4 - approved for $2K via BofA application status page)
11. Pentagon Federal Visa Platinum Gas Cash Reward - applied through Net Teller and Approved for $11.8K.
12. CostCo AM3X - didn't do. Will get a CostCo business AM3X with the wife soon

Other
13. WF CLI - $7K CLI - phone call
14. Discover CLI - $2K CLI - phone call
15. Target Visa CLI - $2K CLI - phone call (automated)
16. Lowes Visa CLI - $1K CLI - phone call
17. Citi MC CLI - $5K CLI - online
18. Chase MC CLI $4K CLI - online
19. Chase Checking - $125 bonus - this afternoon

Questions
• I'm looking to get $40K to $60K in cash to cover the addition plus another $21K in balance transfers. Am I aiming too low by only trying for 7 cards?
• Planning on doing this Tuesday or Wednesday morning – (5 AM to 7 AM PST). Is this a good time to do this?
• Any tips/advice for an A0R noob?

Stats
• Approvals: 10/11 - 7 instant, 3 deferred
• CLIs on existing: $21K
• New CL: $89.1K
• Before CL: $88,250, After CL: $198,350
• New Inquiries: Exp-2 (BofA, US Bank), Eq-5 (Citi x 3, Chase x 2), TU-2 (Juniper, Nat City)
• Credit Score: Exp-?, Eq-(4/23:761), TU-(4/23:759)

Any idea what your current Credit Scores are? If not I would recommend signing up at CreditKarma(FW thread on it) for a free credit score and/or Privacy Matters 123(FW thread on it) for more details for each of the 3 credit bureaus and what seems like daily credit report/scores for $1 (though supposedly it is 29.95 for a year's subscription after doing the call to cancel trick...sorry if that isn't clear just look in the QS of that FW thread I just mentioned and it'll make more sense).
Right now it might be worth seeing your scores to see if waiting until the 0% balances from Chase and Lowes are paid off might significantly boost the number of cards you're approved for and credit limits you receive or if your scores are already really high and you're ready to fire an AOR off in a couple days without much worry about those current balances.

Also are you not considering any Business Credit cards? If you chose not to, ok, but if you just were uninformed there's more info via MikeR397's FWF post on the appeal of using Business Cards in an AOR and you can see some potentially beneficial Biz card offerings in the SecondCor521's latest AOR you reference.

Anyways best of luck to you. I'll look forward to seeing how your Save Your Grandma AOR turns out!

dougneb said: Questions
• I'm looking to get $40K to $60K in cash to cover the addition plus another $21K in balance transfers. Am I aiming too low by only trying for 7 cards?To attempt an answer we would need your household income and credit scores. If they're decent, you're fine.
• Planning on doing this Tuesday or Wednesday morning – (5 AM to 7 AM PST). Is this a good time to do this?I suspect it would be fine, but I've never applied so early in the morning for anything. You might also consider not applying all at once; if your stats aren't fantastic you could revise your plan if you get denials. I applied over the span of two weeks with no problems.
• Any tips/advice for an A0R noob?One thing I would recommend is to submit a big BT request with your US Bank application, as people have generally been getting credit lines with them that are just over the size of the BT.

Good luck with Grandma!

Make taking care of Grandma a business and apply for some biz cards.

Hey, thanks for the props!

I echo what markk said about making sure you can handle the addition without relying on the A0R money. I've noticed a trend of people relying on A0Rs in various ways, either on the profit generated, which is one thing, or on the A0R BT $$$ itself, which is quite another. I think the latter is extremely dangerous, but I also think the former is a bad idea. What are you going to do in 12 months? (Even before that, can you afford the minimum payments on the BT's you do? My first A0R had about $92K in BT money and my total monthly minimum payments was around $1500 per month.)

If you don't have a good plan -- including an exit plan for March 2009 -- you're going to get bitten in the rear and you may wish you'd never done an A0R!

5 - 7 am PST may actually work out well, because most banks and CC companies seem to open at 8 CST or 8 EST. Generally, though, if you're doing online apps and aren't doing phone apps you'll be just fine. On my last A0R it took me about 5 hours to slog through everything, but that was doing more apps. You should figure on about 10 minutes per app and you should install and use Roboform. Add more time if you're a slow typist.

I think you're going to run into problems getting $40k-$60k in cash plus $21k in BT's off of just 7 cards. That's an average of $11K or so per card, which means you'd need an average limit of $22K to stay under 50% utilization. Unless you already have a number of existing cards with limits in the $25k-$50k range, you're not going to hit that average limit. This will leave you with the option of going above the 50% overall utilization on a number of cards (which will likely garner adverse action by your creditors) or applying for more cards. If it were me, I'd do the latter. But then again, if it were me, I wouldn't rely on A0R cash or profit for anything. The game can be shut down any time, and you don't want Grandma sitting in the rain because you didn't have the money to put the roof on.

2Cor521

1. I had the same HHI and similar scores, so I think you're good.
2. Two weeks is not typical, but it works. The original idea behind the rapid application spree is that lenders wouldn't see the inquiries that had been submitted the same day. I think (but am not sure) that this has been debunked; I think that as soon as an inquiry is made, the file is updated. A few inquiries (such as in my case) don't seem to hurt your chances much in any case.
3. It is both. A red flag is triggered if any card hits 90% or above, and a red flag is triggered if your total utilization hits 50%. So you can have several cards sitting at 89% as long as you have a few more that have little utilization, to make your total < 50%.
4. You wouldn't be able to do another A0R with high balances showing, so that's tough. A WOR could potentially be a great way to do that, but I have no experience there.

I think that the mortgage strategy is overrated. My wifes AOR was done while in transition and mine was static and we both got similar results on all cards. My general AOR rule on credit seems to be related to HHI. With a few exceptions, an AOR seems to generate about HHI to 1.5*HHI in new credit per AOR with good scores.

ScrawneyWallet said: Time for a Grandma-O-Rama: "Grandma, what was your social security number again? Here are some more papers for you to sign, Grandma..."

Hell ya!

dougneb said: 2. Is a two week A0R typical? It sounds like everyone tries to get'er dun in a 1 to 2 hour window.
The practical goal is to have every lender do their credit inquiry before any new accounts get reported on your credit report.

This means your goal should be to get all the apps in on the same day.

Time intraday doesn't really matter. You can't beat inquiries, they show up and are reported instantly.

hasni said: I would want to insure my investment, so i would make sure Grandma was insured with a life insurance and you are beneficiary on the policy

And once grandma is on her sweet eternal final journey, i would rent the addition rooms of the house, and collect policy. This way everyone went home happy, and grandma would end up being productive while she was alive and then when she passed away !! LMAO

How true! Lifes a Biotch, don't kill the messenger (pun intended)

Jevon90 has provided ample material for you to review in advance of your 1st tiny A0R.

Markkundinger is certainly a vetran of the game as well.

While ScrawneyWallet suggested using Grandma's SSN for a Grandma-A0R, I expect you've ruled this option out.

While I have nothing specific to add in terms of strategy enhancement, I would like to take a moment to remove ourselves from the "head" of this game and speak briefly of the "heart" of the game:

Your hearts are in the right place in taking a family member less fortunate into your home. May God bless your family for sharing in such a selfless manner.

Ephesians 6:7-8... Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Luke 12:48 The man to whom much is given, will have to give much; if much is given into his care, of him more will be requested.

I would reccommend not only sourcing the finance guru's here but also divine expertise as well... perhaps: Lord, give me a servant's heart. It's easy for me to focus on my own needs, but I know you have placed people in my life who have needs that I can meet. Help me to place others' needs before my own as I strive to live the life that Jesus modeled for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Good luck and may God bless your family in this time of great need.

Chase Freedom Visa - $100
Citi Premier Pass Elite - 25000pts after spending $500

Another question - what are the advantages/disadvantages to doing a personal A0R at the same time as a business A0R? If none of the business CC's hit you personal credit report, does it really matter if you do it at the same time?

Updated with results...

More Lessons Learned
1. Roboform is awesome
2. Have everything in front of you for BT info. I had to go fishing and added at least 5 minutes and unneeded stress.
3. Have your cards with your when trying to do a CLI. WF asked for my expiration date and CVV.
4. Have more cards ready in case things aren't going well.

Questions
1. Was it bad to request two cards each from US Bank, BOA, and Juniper? Notice I was Approved for the first one of each and deferred for the seconds.
2. Getting deferred makes me nervous, especially with Chase. Should I submit another Chase app for a different card or wait it out? I need to tap the $24K from my other Chase cards. Is deferred fancy talk for declined?
3. Should I go for another Citi - fotomaniak's contribution?

Yes this is the 1st mention of a grandma-O-rama

I've never gotten an instant approval with a limit and I have 400,000 in total.

Hope that makes you feel better.

Updates
1. Approved for $11K on PFCU; new spender

2. Approved for $7K CLI on WF Visa. Asked for $2K, they gave me $7K. Thanks Wells Fargo!

3. I received an e-mail from US Bank, and I assume it was for the Baylor card since I was instantly approved on the Bank One Linux:

Thank you for your interest in the Select Rewards Visa(R) Platinum Card.

We were unable to approve your application based on the information you provided. You will receive additional information on your application request via U.S. Mail in 7-10 days.

Anybody get this before or have an idea of what they can be looking for? On second thought, it is definitely for the Baylor card since I selected the 'Select Rewards Visa Platinum Card' instead of the Linux 'Visa Platinum Card'. Maybe they want to verify that I went to Baylor? I'm considering not going through with the US Bank Baylor card, but the 0% for 12 mos and 0 BT fees is inticing. Any thoughts?

dougneb said: Updates2. Approved for $7K CLI on WF Visa. Asked for $2K, they gave me $7K. Thanks Wells Fargo!Congrats on the 7K!

How did you apply for the CLI (internet, call-in, snail mail)?

Was there a HARD inquiry as a result of the request? If so, which bureau?

I sent an email correspondence 4 weeks ago asking whether a hard CLI would result (hoping they would reply "soft inquiry only). I was sent a form asking for:

last 4 of aact
New line requested
home phone
employer
work phone
gross monthly salary
total housing payment
*alimony income (optional)

The form also lists a call-in cli request phone number (800)642-4720

Curious.....

jack

I'm sweating BOA rejecting my AM3X request. I go to their check status page and it no longer appears. Not getting an AM3X card out of this A0R would definitely cramp my style. I need an AM3X spender for CostCo.

Question - if my wife added me as an authorized user to her Citi AM3X card, how does this affect her credit report, my credit report, etc.? When I go to the 'Add an authorized user', it asks for the name and states 'Authorized User's Social Security Number (optional)'. It sounds like it won't go on my report but might affect hers. I would rather it impact mine and not hers or even better, neither. Any thoughts?

Didn't realize you were so hard up for an AMX for Costco.

Quick, apply for the Costco AMEX right now. Worth a shot.

jidteach said: win333 said: ScrawneyWallet said: Time for a Grandma-O-Rama: "Grandma, what was your social security number again? Here are some more papers for you to sign, Grandma..."

Hell ya!LMFAO
Seriously, it is a good idea: to apply for some cards in your grandma name. It will not hurt her, and she may have a stellar credit report resulting in huge CL...only with good intent of course

Juniper closed both of my I Fly and Farm Bureau cards last week after I opened them in October. I guess they didn't like the mini AOR with seven other new cards. I've already got their money in the bank, so no loss really.