I’ve slowed down on the credit card applications a bit since last Spring, but my fiance is now back in the game! With a wedding to pay for, we have lots of big payments coming up over the next year which is perfect for earning credit card sign-up bonuses. Here are our credit card application results for Summer 2017.
My Applications
American Express Blue Business Plus Credit Card
For a limited time this summer, the new Amex Blue Business Plus card was offering 20,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000. I decided to jump on this before the offer disappeared. This was a good decision because there is currently no sign-up bonus for this card. It’s also a good card for everyday spend since you get 2x points per dollar spent, which is great for a no annual fee card. I wrote about this previously, but Amex never pulls my credit when I apply for new cards. They haven’t since November 2016!
Result: Pending, but then approved
Bonus: 20,000 Membership Reward points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. If you conservatively value these points at 1 cent apiece, this bonus is worth $200. I will likely convert them to airline miles, so it will be worth more.
Barclaycard JetBlue Plus
This JetBlue card has an increased sign-up bonus so I decided to go for it. I fly JetBlue a decent amount since they have a large presence in Boston, so I’m sure I will use the points eventually.
Result: Instant approval (haven’t seen one of those in a while!)
Bonus: 40,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. After subtracting the $99 annual fee, this is worth about $460 if you value the points at 1.4 cents each.
Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards Visa Signature
I applied for this card the same day so I could combine hard pulls. I didn’t have a use for it and truthfully didn’t really want these points. This was a moment where I decided I should probably take a break and reevaluate…
Result: Pending then denied (not surprised and a bit relieved)
Bonus: 30,000 Wyndham points after first purchase and an additional 15,000 after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature
This was the same day as the JetBlue and Wyndham applications. I was bored and I tend to care less about strategy and/or good decisions when I’m bored. I already had too many Bank of America cards to get approved so this was really just dumb on my part.
Result: Pending then denied
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 they’re redeemed.
My Fiance’s Applications
Chase Ink Business Preferred
My fiance has spent the past year or so waiting to get back under 5/24. We decided to apply for Chase Ink Preferred first since you have to be under 5/24 to get approved, but having this card doesn’t count toward your 5/24 status. His application went pending as expected and it took about two weeks to get it approved. First, we received a letter asking to send in proof of address. After sending in proof, he called recon to follow-up because he has a semi-legit business that he could openly discuss with the credit analyst. FYI, popular wisdom says to avoid calling if you don’t think your “business” counts as a business. Luckily we had some wedding payments that helped us hit this spend very quickly.
Result: Pending then approved after two weeks
Bonus: 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. Since I have Chase Sapphire Reserve, this is worth $1,200 on Chase’s travel portal or $1,105 after subtracting the $95 annual fee.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
I had him apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred next so he could use my referral link. We chose this over Chase Sapphire Reserve since I currently have the card. Unfortunately, the day after he applied, the Chase implemented a new rule which screwed up our plan to have him get CSR next for another 50,000 points.
Result: Pending then approved
Bonus: 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months and an additional 5,000 points for adding an authorized user. Since I have Chase Sapphire Reserve, this is worth $825 on Chase’s travel portal.
Final Thoughts
It’s exciting that my fiance is now under 5/24 since we can get bonuses on Chase cards again. I’m kind of running out of stuff to apply for so I need to be pickier with my applications over the next few months. With this round of applications, we got over $2,500 worth of points and miles. Stay tuned to see what cards we open as we continue to pay for wedding stuff. It’s a lot of money, but paying for the wedding is definitely helping the honeymoon pay for itself!
