7/14/08 4pm Update: Final update to this post. I accomplished what I wanted and got the cash I needed.  - Scores updated below. They've understandably tanked, though not as bad as I thought they might. - Final card results are updated below as are INQs. - Not all cc's came with convenience checks (that was a pita) and I didn't note how quickly the cards came, I really wish I had. - In the future I think I'll do rolling mini-AOR's, there's no point in trying to do it all at once, it took a lot longer to set up and stay organized and the INQ's show up instantly so there's no outrunning them. FIA CSNA 5/20/2008 TransUnion WASH MUTUAL CARD SERVI 5/13/2008 Experian STATE FARM FINANCIAL S 5/8/2008 Experian STATEFARM 5/8/2008 Equifax FIRST USA NA 5/8/2008 TransUnion INFIBANK 5/7/2008 Experian CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian CBSD/UFC 5/7/2008 Experian CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian U S BANK CONSOLIDATED 5/7/2008 Experian CITI 5/7/2008 Experian SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Experian BANK OF AMERICA 5/7/2008 Experian WASH MUTUAL/PROVIDIAN 5/7/2008 Experian FIA CSNA 5/7/2008 Experian ADVANTA FINANCIAL CORP 5/7/2008 Experian GEMB/GEMON 5/7/2008 Equifax PEOPLES CC 5/7/2008 Equifax SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Equifax ST FARM BANK 5/7/2008 TransUnion BRCLYSBANKDE 5/7/2008 TransUnion KROLL FACTUAL DATA/060 1/9/2008 Experian FACTL DTA 1/9/2008 Equifax FDC 1/9/2008 TransUnion
5/12/08 4pm Update: - Scores updated below. Looks like the First USA Inq is the only change @TU accounting for the 2pt drop there and the 13 pt drop @CK.
- WAMU Biz - I got the welcome packet for S's WAMU biz card today. A letter with it says they reduced the BT to 15.3k (90% of the 17k CL) - Got a letter from Chase to S/me saying that app is a dupe so they're ignoring it. Weird since I submitted S's first, then L, then P. Thinking of calling if I get a sec. - The BoA Nea Rwds (8k) and an FIA 5k CL account (don't know which, assuming the ML card) are on my EX report already... weird for them to report so fast when I haven't received anything in the mail from either yet. INQ's appear to have stabilized, though it doesn't look like RBS, M&T, or Discover pulled yet. I'm assuming CBSD is Citi.
STATE FARM FINANCIAL S 5/8/2008 Experian STATEFARM 5/8/2008 Equifax FIRST USA NA 5/8/2008 TransUnion BANK OF AMERICA 5/7/2008 Experian INFIBANK 5/7/2008 Experian CBSD/UFC 5/7/2008 Experian CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian U S BANK CONSOLIDATED 5/7/2008 Experian CITI 5/7/2008 Experian SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Experian WASH MUTUAL/PROVIDIAN 5/7/2008 Experian FIA CSNA 5/7/2008 Experian ADVANTA FINANCIAL CORP 5/7/2008 Experian GEMB/GEMON 5/7/2008 Equifax PEOPLES CC 5/7/2008 Equifax SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Equifax ST FARM BANK 5/7/2008 TransUnion BRCLYSBANKDE 5/7/2008 TransUnion KROLL FACTUAL DATA/060 1/9/2008 Experian FACTL DTA 1/9/2008 Equifax FDC 1/9/2008 TransUnion
5/9/08 2pm Update: Scores are updated below, EX is tanking as expected. Apparently St. Farm went and pulled the other two CRA's. I'm learning a bit about how TC shows INQ's... the two TU INQs that showed as "alerts" yesterday now show in the list, while the First USA one is out of the list, but appears as an "alert"... apparently you have to combine them to get the whole picture. Talked w Advanta and Discover: - Advanta rejected - an individual can be primary on only one Advanta account. The way around it she said is to have a partner or spouse or other company officer apply for (guarantee) the second account then add me as an employee card. I think I'll try that, as Advanta is the best deal going and L could use the credit. - Discover Biz - called me b/c we moved within the last 8 mos, so they needed to verify the address. S got approved, but he didn't tell me the CL. I asked about the P app, and he transferred me to the consumer rep. She said the P app had been flagged as duplicate b/c I already have an old Discover card and encouraged me to close the old one, I said keep the old and please process the new, then went through the same thing with the address. She also had a problem with the fact that I was calling from work and my line did not match the main biz line I'd put on the app. She had to call me on that # as "proof" that my app was legit. That got approved too, but didn't tell me the CL either. No idea what happened to L's biz app... I'll follow up on that next wk. Weird that Discover isn't in the list of pulls, maybe they pulled while I was on the line? Neither rep mentioned the high # of INQs. - Citibank 1 for 2 - I got two emails, one saying my biz app was approved and another saying my biz app is a dupe and they only allow one biz app per individual and company every 90 days. No idea which biz got approved and which biz got denied, I guess I have to wait for the card to come. STATE FARM FINANCIAL S 5/8/2008 Experian STATEFARM 5/8/2008 Equifax CITI 5/7/2008 Experian BANK OF AMERICA 5/7/2008 Experian INFIBANK 5/7/2008 Experian CBSD/UFC 5/7/2008 Experian CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian U S BANK CONSOLIDATED 5/7/2008 Experian SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Experian WASH MUTUAL/PROVIDIAN 5/7/2008 Experian FIA CSNA 5/7/2008 Experian ADVANTA FINANCIAL CORP 5/7/2008 Experian GEMB/GEMON 5/7/2008 Equifax PEOPLES CC 5/7/2008 Equifax SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Equifax ST FARM BANK 5/7/2008 TransUnion BRCLYSBANKDE 5/7/2008 TransUnion KROLL FACTUAL DATA/060 1/9/2008 Experian FACTL DTA 1/9/2008 Equifax FDC 1/9/2008 TransUnion
5/8/08 Noon Update: I'll update my score changes below. I got an email from Advanta saying I couldn't have two cards but they want to keep their customers happy so I can call to discuss it. I updated TC and CK around noon and practically everyone pulled EX (see below). The weird thing is that TC shows alerts for 3 more TU pulls that aren't showing on the updated report... anyone else seen this? Also, it looks like the Swift guy went and pulled my EQ too, maybe to see a rpt with fewer INQs. Maybe being nice on the phone helps. 
INQs: FIRST USA NA 5/8/2008 TransUnion CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian CITI 5/7/2008 Experian BANK OF AMERICA 5/7/2008 Experian INFIBANK 5/7/2008 Experian CBSD/UFC 5/7/2008 Experian CHASE BANK USA, NA 5/7/2008 Experian U S BANK CONSOLIDATED 5/7/2008 Experian SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Experian WASH MUTUAL/PROVIDIAN 5/7/2008 Experian FIA CSNA 5/7/2008 Experian ADVANTA FINANCIAL CORP 5/7/2008 Experian GEMB/GEMON 5/7/2008 Equifax PEOPLES CC 5/7/2008 Equifax SWIFT/M&I 5/7/2008 Equifax KROLL FACTUAL DATA/060 1/9/2008 Experian FACTL DTA 1/9/2008 Equifax FDC 1/9/2008 TransUnion
5/7/08 5PM Initial Results: Even though I spent all afternoon, it really only took about 1 hour of submitting. Thanks Venturion for the tip on RoboForm (and everything else).
My TC FAKO's had ticked up just slightly a few days pre-AOR: 5/6/08 TC: TU 772 EX 765 EQ 763 CK: 882 5/8/08 TC: TU 771 EX 741 EQ 756 CK: 879 5/9/08 TC: TU 768 EX 738 EQ 754 CK: 875 5/12/08 TC: TU 766 EX 738 EQ 754 CK: 862 7/14/08 TC: TU 694 EX 674 EQ 700 CK: 751 I'm chopping the links and condensing things so I have room for comments. Apps in italics were skipped. W stands for "with application"
Ent Bank Card Name Type BTR BTM BTF Status CL P Brclys iFly Visa 0% 12 $50 def,APV 15k - came with convenience check S Brclys BankAtl Biz MC 0% 15 $75 def,APV 15k L Brclys BankAtl Biz MC 0% 15 $75 def,REJ 0 - duplicate app, will try again next AOR P Citi Associated Visa 0% 12 $0 INST 25k - best card of the lot P AMEX In:NYC AMEX 0% 6 $0 REJ their excuse: I already have 4 cards with them!? L Citi Biz TY MC 0% 12 $0 def,APV 12k - best card for L P BoA Nea Rewards AMEX 0% 12 $30 INST 8k - reallocated other line here and used convenience check (which came 5 weeks after acct opening) L Advanta Plat Biz MC 0% 15 $90 def,REJ 0 - can't be primary cardholder on more than one Advanta acct S Citi Biz TY MC 0% 12 $0 def,REJ 0 - can't have more than one CitiBiz card for same business S Chase BizCshRwd5% Visa 0% 12 $99 def,REJ 0 - dupe, they processed L first, said to apply after L was done L Chase BizCshRwd5% Visa 0% 12 $99 def,REJ 0 - L doesn't have a D&B file or it's own util. bills so they wouldn't grant it credit P Chase Plat Visa 0% 12 $75 def,??? 0 - Never heard, I ran into trouble with some submissions so I'm guessing this one error'd out S Discvr Biz Card Disc 0% 12 $75 def,APV 6.5k - discover gives PUNY lines, rep said 6.5k was big for them. ick. P Discvr More Card Disc 0% 6 $75 def,APV 8k - wanted to close out my old card, I said no, but they might've since I don't see an inq from them L Discvr Biz Card Disc 0% 12 $75 def,REJ 0 - dupe, an individual can't have 2 biz apps at the same time, even for different businesses P St Farm Good Nghbr Visa 0% 9 $0 def,REJ 0 - too many inq's excuse, they checked all 3 bureaus, might be good standalone or done first P WAMU Espn Card Visa 0% 6 $0 INST 10k S HSBC Biz Card MC 0% 6 $0 Their app is phone or mail, I don't have time for that L HSBC Biz Card MC 0% 6 $0 Their app is phone or mail, I don't have time for that P FIA Mrl Lynch Visa 2% 12 $75 def,APV 5k - small line, but convenience checks came quickly so I used oneP BoA Elite Rwds MC 0% 12 3% def,APV 0 - no new credit, they took 10k from my existing BofA Plat Plus Visa line and allocated it here P BoA Money Rtrn Visa 0% 12 3% BT changed to 6 mos + I got cold feet about doing another BoA/FIA P GEM Cash Rwds MC 0% 12 3% def,REJ 0 - couldn't verify my address, I had a Syms store card from GEMB statements still went to my old address, oops. P InfiBk Prncpl Plat Visa 0% 9 3% def,REJ 0 - too many INQ's, they are very sensitive to INQ's, apply here early next time S WAMU Biz Card Visa 0%W 12 3% INST 17k - req'd 19k BT, they cut it to 15.3k L WAMU Biz Card Visa 0%W 12 3% Got cold feet since above used SSN not EIN P RBS Pples Plat MC 0% 8 $60W def,APV 10k - req 15k BT to pre-AOR WAMU card w/app, they cut BT to 9500 P Elan USBk Baylor Alum Visa 0% 12 $0W I realized USBank uses Elan so I skipped this one P Elan USBk LinxFund Visa 0% 12 $0W def,APV 15k - BT 12k to AMEX Cash Rebate, which AMEX accepted even though its 2.5x my CL on that card! S* Elan M&T Bank Visa 0% 12 $0W def,APV 21k - req 20k BT to pre-AOR AMEX npsl w/app, bt went through no problem L* Elan M&T Bank Visa 0% 12 $0W def,APV 15k - req 12k BT to BoA CL w/app, bt went through no problem S M&I Swift Fin. CL/Visa P=0-14% na INST 15k Extensive talk w/underwriter, see below
Addtl Comments going in order: - The BankAtlantic's took SSN only, so I don't expect to get them both. - AMEX said that since I already have 4 cards with them I can't have more. I only have 2 personal cards though. S's npsl, cash rebate, and biz cl don't show on my CR and shouldn't count imho. I could have called them, but I probably have too many INQs now. Save that for AOR 2.0. - I did the Discover More Card (P) before the second Discover Biz (L) due to the warnings in the posts here. I'll cancel L if I have to cancel one. - Turns out HSBC only takes apps over the phone or mail for new customers and I was trying to hurry, so I skipped them. Save for AOR 2.0 - The Money Return terms changed to only 6 mos @ 0%, and I didn't realize BofA and FIA are one in the same (at least they use the same signup forms) so I skipped this one. - The targeted WAMU Biz card app I had only took the SSN, so I only did it for S and skipped L. I'm guessing this will report to my personal CR.  - The Baylor Alum app looked like others so I realized the last four were really all Elan. I didn't (still don't) know if Elan does the underwriting or if they just take the app and pass it on, so I picked the linux one - I didn't go to Baylor and Tux is a cute little penguin.  - *Turns out the M&T app is a Biz app but I had it down as personal, so I doubled up and did both S and L. S - Swift Financial: I should have started with them. I wound up talking directly with the underwriter for a while and he said the big problem was that I already had 12 inq's on my EX report today and even though he understood I was shopping for credit he couldn't give me more than 15k @ prime + 9.99% (I was asking for 100k at prime + 0%). Apparently they always pull Experian because its cheapest, though they can pull the others if they want. They don't like seeing more than 3-5 inqs in the past 6 mos. Also signed up for their checking product which is the only one I've seen that gives you a check scanner for free. By comparison when I asked last week Citi wanted $300 for the scanner, plus you had to get an analyzed acct which is $60/mo. All in all I'm happy with the results. I was hoping for $100k in instant CLs but 75k isn't bad. I can see how freezing EX next time would help (I won't get to see my CR till tomorrow AM - going off the info from the Swift guy). I'm done updating this post but will happily reply to questions below. |