After applying for 8 credit cards last winter, I wanted to slow it down this spring. However, with Amex incognito offers available again, I definitely applied for more cards than I was planning on. Here are my credit card application results for Spring 2017.
Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card
I’m trying to earn Alaska miles for a future redemption so I decided to open the Alaska business card to complement my personal card from my last round of applications. The application went pending. A few days later, I missed a call from Bank of America. They ended up calling my mom’s cell phone looking for me! We have a joint Bank of America account but I think she was pretty confused as to why Bank of America was calling about my “business”.
When I called back, the guy was really nice and started off by saying we’re working on getting this approved for you, we just have a few questions first. I told them I resell things online which is true if you count my Amazon FBA experiment.
Result: Pending, approval after answering questions over the phone.
Bonus: 30,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. After subtracting the $75 annual fee, the value is at least $425 (probably more) depending on how I spend them. I also got a companion fare which saved me about $400 on an upcoming flight from Anchorage to Boston.
Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
I was able to pull up a 50,000 point offer for this card from an incognito offer. The application went pending, but I received an approval email two minutes later. The 50,000 points hit my account before I finished the spending requirement. I made sure to surpass the $2,000 requirement to prevent clawbacks. Also, there was no hard pull when I applied for this card.
Result: Pending then approved
Bonus: 50,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. If you conservatively value these points at 1 cent apiece, this bonus is worth $500.
Green Card from American Express
I applied for the Green Card the same day as the PRG since I was able to pull up an offer using the incognito method. This card usually has no sign-up bonus so I was excited to get 25,000 points from it. This application went pending and was approved within a few minutes. There was also no hard pull for this card.
Result: Pending then approved
Bonus: 25,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. This is worth at least $250 (but probably more).
Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express
I decided to grab this card since the promotion was offering 100,000 Hilton points and a free night certificate. To get the free night certificate, you have to keep the card for a second year. This requires paying the $75 annual fee twice, but the free night certificate can be worth close to $1,000 depending on the redemption. I also didn’t receive a hard pull for this card.
Result: Pending, approved the next day
Bonus: 100,000 points and a free night certificate (after first anniversary) after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. The points are probably worth about $500, and let’s also call the free night certificate $500. Subtracting $150 in annual fees, this offer is worth about $850.
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select
Citi officially hates me. I have yet to be approved for a card from them. I was automatically denied despite having only 3 hard inquiries in the past 6 months. I was really hoping to hop on the 60,000 American Airlines mile offer, but I guess it’s a no-go. With that, I’m going to take a break from applying for cards to let my credit report cool down a bit.
Result: Automatic denial
Bonus: 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
Final Thoughts
Right now I don’t have any plans to open new cards for a while since I’ve gone pretty hard so far in 2017. Luckily, I only had two hard pulls, one from Bank of America and one from Citi. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but some of these offers are just too good! Let’s see what the summer has in store for sign-up bonuses. If something good comes along, it could be too hard to resist!
