I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but again, this post is not the most interesting as there was a lot less action since my last update. 2020 is a tough year for churning! We’ve slowed down on opening cards since we really just aren’t spending as much money during quarantine. Here are our credit card applications and results for Fall 2020.
My Applications
Chase Sapphire Preferred
I downgraded my Chase Sapphire Reserve in August after four years of card membership (more on that here). Since it was four years since I earned the sign-up bonus on a Chase Sapphire card, I was once again eligible for Chase Sapphire Preferred. This also coincided with the highest sign-up bonus on this card ever!
Annual fee: $95
Result: Pending then approved two days later
Bonus: 80,000 Chase points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
Barclays JetBlue Business Card
This one is a bit of a saga…I applied on December 5th and the application went pending. I received a denial in the mail a few days later for having sufficient credit with Barclays even though I don’t currently have any Barclays cards! I called the reconsideration line and they were able to recommend me for approval but I had to jump through a few verification hoops. I faxed in the front and back of my driver’s license, social security card, and a utility bill with my address. I was supposed to have a final answer within 7-10 business days but I didn’t hear anything for weeks. After calling back, I was told the front of my social security card was not clear enough. I faxed it again and called a week later. It still wasn’t a clear enough picture so I mailed a huge picture of it to them. Then I received another letter saying they needed to verify information on my application. I called back and was told my documents were accepted and they were able to verify my identity but I had to call the KYC department as a next step. After almost two hours of waiting, I got through to someone and they approved my application. This process took two full months!
Annual fee: $99
Result: Pending, then denied, then approved
Bonus: 50,000 JetBlue points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days and an additional 50,000 bonus points after spending a total of $6,000 on purchases within the first 12 months
My Husband’s Applications
None this quarter.
Final Thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised I was approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred after several denials from Chase this year. I’ll definitely give Chase a little breathing room now. Regarding the Barclays JetBlue business card, I’ve never had to work so hard to open a card before. While I’m still unsure if that will be approved, if it is, we will earn 180,000 points from Chase and JetBlue for the cost of $194 in annual fees.
