I have the Sapphire. I got a nice signup bonus with it. I think 40kpts +5k for adding an authorized user. That equals $450 in cash, but I transferred my points to Southwest, getting flights that were probably worth $800 or so.
You also get 2x pts on travel and dining+ the 7% bonus, so it's a decent card. It's one that I won't really ever use again (except maybe for the no foreign exchange fee), but it is a pretty solid bonus.

sick brag. ive read about the apporama over on fatwallet but what is it exactly? baically just apply for a ton of applications in the same day, eh?

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/632935/

Yes, exactly

Yep. The idea behind it is that you're hoping that hard inquiries don't show up on your credit profile right away. If you apply for 5 different credit cards at exactly the same moment, you're trying to get instant approval for all of them, as they will be unaware of the other applications.

I found that most banks are now doing a review process instead of instantly approving like the past fwiw

Hard to say due to sample size. I have had instant approvals recently.

FYI, I was instantly approved for 2 out of my last 5 apps. Out of the three that went to pending, I was rejected for one (Barclays). I had actually applied for that one first because they are notoriously more difficult to get approved for multiple cards than other banks.

For that chase 200$ cashback card, i'm coming up on my third billing cucle and i see no option for it anywhere on the site and i've charged well over 500$. Is it something where i have to call?

No, the 20000 points will post at your 3rd billing statement provided you met the spending. If you're concerned, send a message through secure message confirming you met the spend.

I got the card in end of December and I checked my rewards statement today and I had 20k points($200) there. I had called earlier in the month to verify I qualified for the award and the operator assured me that I did.

Okay cook. Thanks, and thanks JL. Mine must be coming soon then. They sure aren't very forthright about that thing.

edit: just checked, it is there now.

yesterday i signed up for one that was "matched" to me, it was my first non instant approval. I think i signed up for like 3 or 4 in the last two days and they are not even that great of offers, but easy ones. maybe $100 for each or so but none have an annual fee and some perks that i can miss and match.

Bank of America had two decent options: one, u by one thing each month on ur card and pay your bill on time and get $25 each quarter. U can get $30 a quarter if u have another BoA account, so i opened a savings account. Going to use this card once or twice a month on very small purchases and get $120 free annually, lol. we grinding

next one had a little more perks and a better sign up bonus of i believe $100, spend $500 in 3 months so should complete this one asap. this one offers like 3x on gas i believe or dining which will be of good use for me, until i hopefully get even better perks in these categories in the future. and also with this one, when u redeem ur cash back, if u have BoA savings(just opened one) u get 10% extra cash back, not bad.

I've been kind of doing cards with no annual fees for now, until i get some of the more powerful cards that i really want to commit to, any flaw in this approach?

then i opened up a checking account today for a $250 bonus after completing a few easy requirements.

Got offer in the mail for visa black card... $495 annual fee... Uhhh LOL

any good deals ppl have snapped up lately?

the Citi AA executive for 100k miles, $200 statement credit, and admirals club access has been awesome for me.

Thanks to this thread I have been using my first credit card. Nothing great only a Bank of America cash rewards for students. 3% gas, 2% grocery, 1% everything else. Bout to get my first 100$ bonus. Just switched all of my shopping to that. Will probably bet getting more cards once I graduate and start working.

Definitely some sort of travel card as I will likely be doing consulting.

Not quite at the point to pull the trigger on a card with such a high fee

The $450 fee is intimidating for sure. But it comes with a $200 statement credit, so the first year is really $250. 100k AA miles are easily worth $250, and the first time I took my girlfriend to the admirals club we probably ate and drank $200 worth :P

sick brag. i was just looking at some stuff. gotta utilize reloads and pre paid debits eh?

I had and issue after I took advantage of a few introductory bonuses last month, my score credit score got dinged because the average age of my history decreased.

What's the issue? That's too be expected

I meant my post as cautionary for others, as I did not think about the negatives associated with bonus whoring.

It'll take a slight dip due to the hard inquiry but it'll come back up because your credit:debt ratio is increased with the new card

Jax, take a look at the first page of this thread that explains some of what you should expect

Well I've had over 25 hard inquiries trying to build credit, but it's a necessary evil. You have to apply to get approved... (I now have 8 cards I think, 4 of which are decent rewards cards that I actually use.)

Your score gets docked down slightly after a round of applying but hopefully you get approved for something. Shortly thereafter, your score goes up more than it was before because you have more credit.