already have the barclays arrival card with an annual fee (waived the first year)
that gave 440 dollars towards travel purchases when you spend 1k in 3 months, just applied and got approved for their non fee card which gives 220 towards travel purchases when spending 1k in 3 months

+1 to all of this

additionally sometimes i initially get rejected and call up to have them reconsider and they usually do (or they'll call up on their own)
If it's a bank I already have a card with they'll usually ask why you want another card with them. Find something the new card has that the old card doesn't, ie w one card i said it's because i noticed they had no foreign transaction fees and i was going to europe in a few weeks or some such crock of **** and thought the card would come in handy.don't tell them your bonus whoring the ccs unless it's with a new bank.

I wish I would have done this a few days ago, signed up for Chase Freedom but only for $100 free, also Amex Blue Cash Preferred for $100. The Chase Freedom is my 3rd Chase card, can I sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preffered today as well or is that going to start raising red flags somewhere?

Thanks! Appreciate the info!

General guidance is to sign up for 1 business and 1 personal card per issuing bank per 60-90 days. If you just signed up for the Chase Freedom, you shouldn't sign up for the CSP for 3 months, as you'll likely be rejected. Some people do get approved for more than one card within the time period, but usually it's not worth pushing it, especially with chase who usually asks you when you apply "have you been rejected by chase in the last 6 months".

Some of the banks with some of the cards allow you to refer people. Most of the Amexs, and now some of the Chase cards do. I haven't done this at all because I don't have anyone in my personal life to refer, and when my friends ask me for advice, I steer them towards cards that are right for them, not those that earn me $. But yes, there are some good opportunities for you to refer your wife, etc.

Then there is the affiliate level, where you get personal links and get paid for every signup. You need to have a blog or a website for this, although it can be very lucrative. Some of the top bloggers are making a pretty penny from credit card referrals.

i have 9 chase cards

I applied for the Chase freedom the day JL posted abiut it ~2 weeks ago wrt to the $200 bonus. Got my card in Friday and none of the brochures/paperwork mentions the $200 bonus. It just has details of the 5% cash back program. Are they gonna try and screw me over and say "well technically you didn't get the card until after that offer expired" because that offer was most certainly on the site the day I applied. I mean it's the only reason I applied. Or do they purposely leave it out in the hopes you don't cash in on it?

Just call and confirm that you are tied to that bonus or when you activate the account send a secure message through the website. Often the packet that comes with the card doesn't mention the specific bonus you applied for or they would have so many different packets to mail and there would be mistakes all the time.

I applied weeks before it ended and didn't get a packet. I wouldn't worry.

Got my Chase Freedom card today. Did someone say something about there being tricks to clearing bonuses? I can easily do 300/500 on books, maybe 100 more on my cell/insurance bills, but the last hundo, meh.

Also I don't see a single thing in my cardmember agreement that mentions the 200$ cash back. Is that worrying?

Working on my chase freedom bonus. It is 3 months of $500 spending correct?

yes

There was also no mention of the $200 bonus in my booklet either. I called today to confirm that offer is tied in with my account and the lady said yes. You are likely all good but you can call customer support to make sure

Nothing to worry about,just confirm it with them if you're uncomfortable.

I also have no idea how cell phone /insurance/food/groceries won't add up to 200 in 3 months.
If somehow that's the case just prepay a bill by 100 or buy a 100 dollar visa gift card and eat the 4 bucks in fees.

got club carlson rewards visa offer in mail today. 50k points after first purchase, 10k additional if i spend $1500 in 90 days, cake. 25k renewal bonus points each year i renew. $50 annual fee, not sure what 25k points equates to but those alone may outweigh the $50 fee, assuming i will stay in a hotel at least once a year or what not, the bonus points could equate to more than the $50



whats the play JL? i pay my balances in full, sick brag. 0% apr for 12 billing cycles in case though lol. sounds like this card is good for select hotels (carlson, radisson), dont stay in those but if theres some nice ones i certainly would. i am feeling a vacation soon

cake, cake cake cake cake



also, what is your guys take on opening bank accounts for promotions? got a $100 offer for a checking account that is no min balance, no fee. so, i just have to make 10 debit purchase with it for $100 bonus. will have to report on come tax time so that number shrinks.

i don't understand how these companies make these promos, ones that seem like there are no real stipulations to the consumer, free money???


gonna keep doing my homework. I see one thing here in the fine print that i never would take notice to. international fees. i freely use my card internationally, without second thought, ive pry been tacked with some fees. these guys aint dumb, i need to smarten up

For the same reason that there used to be a nearly unlimited supply of online casinos offering +EV deposit bonuses. The average credit card user will probably spend tens of thousands of dollars in interest fees in their lifetime. People who pay off credit card balances in full each month are in the minority.

two new offers today in the mail I may touch on.

what about taxes on this free stuff? are we expected to report say a $50 statement credit on a cc if I were to redeem one?

Yes

No. Unless they send you a 1099INT I think is the name of it. Normally you get them for checking account bonuses

Club Carlson is great card. Get the 85 dollar one tho for I think 40k points a year. Also sick benefit is if you book an award stay you last night is free if you are a card holder. I used 50k points to stay at the Radisson blu Paris Eiffel and got two nights. Awesome value. Carlson hotels are largely mediocre in the US but great abroad.

I would not declare points for taxes, I think they're exempt. Bank account bonuses are OK but usually require 6 months and direct deposit. Bank account bonuses you get 1099s sometimes, typically citi bonuses.

the two i received today are:

AE blue sky. 30k points for $500 spent in 3 months. i could do this instantly. maybe i should do this one first since its such an easy clearance. those points supposedly equate to $400 - toward airline, hotels, others. No Fee.

next is AE business, does the business even mean anything, do you have to be a business owner? furthermore, would purchases then have to be business related? 75k points if i spend 2k in 3 months. 3x points on airfare directly from airlines, 2x points at gas stations(all?), some other 2x point stuff. baggage insurance when traveling, nice. return protection, da ****? if merchant wont take back apparel within 90 days, AE may refund me up to $300 per item, $1k annually, never heard of such a thing, sounds to me like people would be trying to scam with this policy. $175 though yearly fee after first year. I wouldnt want to close it really, I saw you touched on annual fees. Try downgrading the card, etc. Could i make the $175 worthwhile, I think it would be difficult but maybe not.

of the 3 cards i described, which do you think I should tackle as my first bonus whoring expedition? the $500 in 3 months would be super easy and maybe worthwhile, and then attack another after that, what do you guys think?

Also, because you have many cards open, many with different features, correct? Do you stay on top of this, and utilize cards based on their outputs or bonuses, even if you are not working off a "bonus" on said card? ie, find a card that is very reliable for cashback on gas, and then use it at gas stations? also, use shopping portals frequently?

You need to have a "business" for a business card but there are plenty of things that qualify.

I have a lot of cards but most of them are for the bonus. The cards I usually have in my wallet are

Chase freedom (during good 5% cat)
Chase sapphire for restaurants
Amex blue cash (5% cash drugstores)
Chase Ink (5% drug stores)

Right now I don't have the sapphire in my wallet bc the freedom is 5% restaurants this quarter. I also have a card to use for purchases that aren't bonused somewhere, say if you but something at gnc or amazon payments or something. That should be the card thy earns the most valuable points, like the Starwood card, or a card that you are working on a spend bonus on. So right now I have my British Airways card earning 3.25 miles per $ due to a bonus.

Sorry Ink is 5% office supply stores. Having a hard time editing on my phone

I always use shopping portals, they're great.

The premier rewards gold is a good card if you book a lot of airfare, it's not bad for gas or groceries I guess, but make sure you have an idea of how you will use the membership rewards points. I have it but I won't be paying the annual fee to keep it

Is there any situation where paying off credit card balances will hurt your credit? I've been aggressively paying down my balances following my divorce, and Credit Karma's simulator (which has seemed pretty accurate) has my diving quite a bit if I pay off another $1000 on a card. Thousand wouldn't pay it off; paying it off raises the score. I figure there's no way that's right, but wanted to check.

That doesn't seem right. I know CK says there is a sweet spot for credit utilization between 1-20% of total credit, but paying off as much of your debt as you can is going to be better than paying interest on that debt.

You probably couldn't pay too much so that it would hurt your score if you tried. If you did manage that it would be such a minor blip it wouldn't be worth worrying about or making any adjustments to what's best for you financially.

While showing some small balances looks like activity, thus helping you with the models, you don't even need to carry any balances to show balances as a lot of cards report mid billing cycle.