Ah, well, that card is a backup for small stuff, as mentioned. I figured there was some reason why Cap One cards were rare birds in all the AOR's I reviewed. In any case, while I goofed a few times here and there, I did achieve the overall goal. Now I just have to wait and see how it shakes out in regard to the deferred apps, and get set for the year. I don't plan to try this again until the end of 2009... everything's going to be different by then anyhow.

OK, a check on CreditSecure shows that Barclays hit TU the same day as EX, and then hit TU *again* a day later. WAMU and Discover both hit TU, and Das Kapital One hit all three, as noted by jakeru.

Moonbutt said:
Does anybody know why the BankAtlantic (Juniper) and the Associated Bank (Citi) would have the exact same return address on the envelope?

A guess: They contract with the same vendor to manufacture and issue the actual credit cards, and it makes the most sense for misrouted cards to be returned to that vendor in the event of a problem.

BOA status: still under review. Slow. And they're my own bank! Everything else is here and activated. I apply for the HYS this week.

FINALLY, I log on to my online billpay, and there it is -- a BoA PlatPlus MC account, $5k balance. Interestingly, that 0% uncapped offer on my oldest BOA card has now had its term extended to Oct 2009, even with the new account.

Now to see if I can reallocate, as the Ducks card has lost its utility and goes into the sock drawer. I'm currently still setting up the HYS accounts, and need to plot strategy to be executed soon ahead of any possible issuer spookage/AA, hopefully this week. It won't be long before those issuers not yet aware of all my new accounts find out.

AA usually takes a few months to settle in. Don't worry. It will come.

Moonbutt said:markkundinger said:AA usually takes a few months to settle in. Don't worry. It will come.

In that case I need to decide strategy soon. From what I've seen, most AOR folks like to keep utilizations below certain parameters (50% total, 90% per card), but there have been a few who went balls-to-the-wall and drew out nearly the max right from the get-go, AA be damned.

This being 1.0, I'm a bit skittish of that idea... but AA seems much more likely these days; they'd just chase my balances and push my utilization up that way. I've already used the BankAtlantic biz card up, and am plotting what to do with the personal lines.

Time for another reading binge on current AOR's for AA data points.
You could move your personal line to the biz and take out another BT off of Biz side if you don't mind another $75 fee on $7500 BT.

The WAMU takes up to 4 months (but usually 2) to start giving you regular scores, and yes they are on a delay. Until they start updating, they just show the score they pulled during the application. The scores are believed to be pulled on the 1st of the month, but not displayed until the 15th (or so... varies each month), so the delay is 2-6 weeks.

I believe that with sufficiently conservative management of your credit profile, A/A can be completely (or at least substantially) avoided. I've manage to profit several thousand dollars worth in 2008 from credit card activity, without incurring any A/A, for example. I've also gathered BT offers on existing accounts, "juicy" targeted pre-approved offers, and expanded by credit lines for future profits.

Key things I've managed:
* no "baddies" (30 day lates, etc) at any time. No exceeding of the credit limit, no making a payment that bounces or fails to go through, etc.
* keep the number of unsecured accounts utilized > 50% to a minimum (the exact threshold is arguable), and when the individual utilization threshold is exceeded, keep it to a minimum.
* keep number of "recent" inquiries limited, IE: no more than 6 in 3 months (other guidelines may apply to 12 months, 24 months, etc)
* keep combined unsecured revolving debt to reported income (reported on the application or during CLIs, etc) below threshold amount (IE: maintain <= 34% combined unsecured revolving debt to HHI)
* keep overall unsecured revolving utilization below threshold
* keep new reporting accounts (IE: accounts aged < 10 monts) below threshold (such as six)
* At least a little periodic purchase activity with each issuer helps

The thresholds may vary from one issuer to the next, but that gives you a feel for them. By staying above all the desired thresholds, A/A can be avoided "across the board". Furthermore, maintaining a good credit and usage profile can enable receipt of "juicy pre-approved" offers.

But basically yeah, determine where the thresholds are by searching fatwallet for other people's A/A stories (especially those data points where lots of details are given to deduce the cause of the A/A being triggered.)