I love credit cards so much!

[mhartman09]

Checked Chase Credit Journey and it's saying DH has opened 6 accounts in the last 24 months. I went to Credit Karma and checked his Equifax since that's what was mentioned on the letter and I did find what I think was the 5th card I missed. We purchased a mattress in June 2016. The company was offering interest free for however long (I honestly don't recall...LOL) so we went with that. It was financed through Synchrony and I'm guessing this is the 5th card I don't have on my list because it's categorized as a "charge account" on Credit Karma.

Then I realized I wasn't counting his AU on my AMEX card. So even without the mattress financing, he'd be at 5/24 anyway with the earliest card dropping off in June 2018. Ugh, I really mucked this one up.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Do you know how I can try to get targeted for the higher mileage bonus?

I think I was targeted for the 70k offer because I started shopping the United portal, and had also uploaded their MileagePlusX app and was using it for restaurants in the area.

 

[Dugette]

My understanding is that it does not count. In fact, I applied through his current Amex account and it didn't even ask for his social security number. Someone will correct me if I am wrong.

There was a part on the online application that said EIN number but then also said not necessary. So basic online application that just wanted income, extra income, and then business income. I said $1000 which is probably pushing it a bit but pretty close. I think it would have been instant approval but he has a fraud alert on his account so it came up call this number. Once we went through those hoops (Amex had to call him back on his number which is on the fraud alert) they told him he had been approved and that they would expedite the card and it should come in 2 or 3 days. Throughout process no questions at all about business. He hates to talk to them but trusts me to do it but I was still glad I did it when he was around and not at work. First purchase is to book the tickets to MCO for late January and Disney After Dark. So yippee!

Thanks, you inspired me! I applied tonight for the Platinum business for myself. We're in a Delta hub, so those miles will be useful. Plus, we have a Delta flight to WDW in 10 days, so hoping I can get the card by then to use for the $100 credit in flight by buying a snack box or something. I have a personal Delta Gold, but would prefer the Platinum for the companion pass, so hoping to cancel the old one when/if I get approved on this, as I got the "pending review" message. Fingers crossed! And thanks again for the heads-up.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Checked Chase Credit Journey and it's saying DH has opened 6 accounts in the last 24 months. I went to Credit Karma and checked his Equifax since that's what was mentioned on the letter and I did find what I think was the 5th card I missed. We purchased a mattress in June 2016. The company was offering interest free for however long (I honestly don't recall...LOL) so we went with that. It was financed through Synchrony and I'm guessing this is the 5th card I don't have on my list because it's categorized as a "charge account" on Credit Karma.

Then I realized I wasn't counting his AU on my AMEX card. So even without the mattress financing, he'd be at 5/24 anyway with the earliest card dropping off in June 2018. Ugh, I really mucked this one up.

The free financing is exactly what happened to me! I so feel your frustration. I wonder if anyone has successfully challenged the Synchrony/Wells Fargo free finance type of accounts in a 5/24 situation. They are not a CC, they are an installment loan. I don't know about you but I did not get a MC that I could go out and charge elsewhere. The stupid, ugly card has the name of the hot tub store I bought my HT at. They are just a little mom/pop style store. They only sell HT's not like a Great Escape where you can by spa, patio furniture, pool tables. I would not have taken advantage of the offer if I new it was going to count as my 5/24.

 

[wendow]

I’m getting impatient waiting to see if I’m approved for the CIP, and it’s only been two days since I applied. I called to check the status this morning and it still just said they’d let me know by mail within 30 days. Didn’t really expect more info this quickly, but I’d really like to know so I can move on to the next if I’m not approved. This is my first time applying for a business card, and I’ve never not been instantly approved for a personal card, so this waiting is killing me!

I think most get a 'pending' decision for the CIP. I got the 30-day message as well when I applied. I want to say it was about 10-12 days before I got the "welcome" email. I started calling the automated line, like you, at about 2 days after applying and every day there after. Then, miraculously, I forgot to call for a couple of days. It was during that time that I got approved The waiting is so hard!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I booked my Disney resort through the Chase portal. Do I call the wholesale line or regular line to add DH to the reservation?

Yes, you can add your DH and get the confirmation number for MDE. 407-939-7671

 

[mhartman09]

The free financing is exactly what happened to me! I so feel your frustration. I wonder if anyone has successfully challenged the Synchrony/Wells Fargo free finance type of accounts in a 5/24 situation. They are not a CC, they are an installment loan. I don't know about you but I did not get a MC that I could go out and charge elsewhere. The stupid, ugly card has the name of the hot tub store I bought my HT at. They are just a little mom/pop style store. They only sell HT's not like a Great Escape where you can by spa, patio furniture, pool tables. I would not have taken advantage of the offer if I new it was going to count as my 5/24.

Yep, same thing! I remember reading your posts about it and that's what made me think to look twice at it on Credit Karma. He'd still be at 5/24 because of the AMEX AU, which I totally didn't log in my spreadsheet, but the mattress financing counting against 5/24 does bug me. We got the same thing - just a plain looking card with the mattress store's name on it and we cannot use it anywhere else (at least not that I'm aware of anyway). I would normally think of this type of thing as a loan and not a credit card, but I guess there's not much to be done about it. I just can't believe I screwed up my spreadsheet the way I did. I rely heavily on it for all things credit cards and I know I went over everything carefully when I created it. However, the mattress account and the AMEX AU account were both added after it's creation, so I guess I just completely forgot to add in that info. Ugh. No 100K UR bonus for us.

 

[Lain]

Thanks. I learned my lesson and I'm trying to formulate a strategy. My goal is to accumulate as many United miles as possible as soon as possible.

I think I'll apply for the CIP again in November, then the United card in early January. Do you know how I can try to get targeted for the higher mileage bonus? I'll then talk my husband into applying for his own Chase United card. In total that's about 160k bonus points that I believe transfer 1 to 1 to United. That, combined with the points we already have I think will give us over 200k which will buy two first class tickets.

With both of us having United cards we would get 4 club passes a year so the entire family could get into the lounge.

Did you see my reply two days ago to your post asking for input regarding your travel plans? Although you may be flying out of a United hub, it seems you're planning stopovers in the LA-area. Don't focus on just United, especially if you break up your trip into two itineraries. Once you're on the west coast, you have a lot more options to fly from LAX<>HNL.

For example, as the MMS link explains, it'll cost you 80k MileagePlus miles roundtrip to book a saver award in business class from the US mainland to Hawaii (https://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/mileageplus/awards/travel/awardTravel.aspx). If you booked through Singapore Air, which is in the Star Alliance with United, you'd be using just 60k KrisFlyer miles for business class or 80k miles for first class (https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/StarAlliance_RoundTrip_Jul16.pdf). If you use KrisFlyer to book on Alaska Airlines, it's only 44.5k miles roundtrip for first class from the west coast to Hawaii (http://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/AlaskaAirlines_AwdChart.pdf). You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and SPG Starpoints to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer.

Accumulating points and miles is just part of the game; award hacking requires you to know what to collect in the first place.

 

[Alice Sr.]

I have a question about using part pnts and part cash for a group trip. I am familiar with using pnts on SW but have not booked with pnts on any other airline, it's a little intimidating to me. I currently only have enough pnts to book 7 out of 9 r/t tickets ORD to HNL. When I am ready to book do I still resv the 9 seats, use the pnts I have and they will deduct the pnts and let me know what I owe in cash, or do I have to do two separate transactions, one pnts and one cash. Is it possible to (go old school) book over the phone with an agent using pnts and cash? Thanks

 

[calypso726]

I have a question about using part pnts and part cash for a group trip. I am familiar with using pnts on SW but have not booked with pnts on any other airline, it's a little intimidating to me. I currently only have enough pnts to book 7 out of 9 r/t tickets ORD to HNL. When I am ready to book do I still resv the 9 seats, use the pnts I have and they will deduct the pnts and let me know what I owe in cash, or do I have to do two separate transactions, one pnts and one cash. Is it possible to (go old school) book over the phone with an agent using pnts and cash? Thanks

That depends on how you are doing the booking. If you are booking award seats directly with United you would do separate transactions. Most airlines have separate phone numbers, departments and agents to handle a cash reservation and an award reservation. Many airlines also charge a fee for booking over the phone. Keep in mind there may not be 7 award seats for the same flight available when you go to book them. If your points are UR points that you plan to transfer to UA, make sure the award seats are available before you make the transfer because it would be a final transaction that you can't transfer back to UR.

If you are booking using the Chase UR portal then yes, it uses your points and tells you the balance you owe which you'd pay with the credit card.

 

[trstno1]

This post is for those of us above the 5/24 Chase rule looking for good signup bonuses. I was just able to apply for the Chase IHG card with a 100,000 point signup bonus. The current online bonus is 80,000. However, if you call IHG (1-888-897-0083) and tell them you are interested in applying for the card, they will transfer you to Chase who will offer 100,000 points. You need to apply over the phone, which took around 10 minutes. The IHG card is not subject to 5/24.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Can anyone tell me why my credit score is so drastically different between 2 places? On Credit Karma it has my score from TransUnion at 698. Equifax has it at 705 and the Fico score on my Chase statement is 771 (which is more on par with where its been). I just applied for a card that pulled from TU and so I'm "pending approval". I'm NEVER pending approval. I have the CSR for gosh sakes! My utilization is low, we haven't closed anything. So why the differences?

 

[Albort]

Yep, same thing! I remember reading your posts about it and that's what made me think to look twice at it on Credit Karma. He'd still be at 5/24 because of the AMEX AU, which I totally didn't log in my spreadsheet, but the mattress financing counting against 5/24 does bug me. We got the same thing - just a plain looking card with the mattress store's name on it and we cannot use it anywhere else (at least not that I'm aware of anyway). I would normally think of this type of thing as a loan and not a credit card, but I guess there's not much to be done about it. I just can't believe I screwed up my spreadsheet the way I did. I rely heavily on it for all things credit cards and I know I went over everything carefully when I created it. However, the mattress account and the AMEX AU account were both added after it's creation, so I guess I just completely forgot to add in that info. Ugh. No 100K UR bonus for us.

Have you tried recon anyways? you could probably ask them to not see the AU account. Id still try to see if they would approve and what not.

That depends on how you are doing the booking. If you are booking award seats directly with United you would do separate transactions. Most airlines have separate phone numbers, departments and agents to handle a cash reservation and an award reservation. Many airlines also charge a fee for booking over the phone. Keep in mind there may not be 7 award seats for the same flight available when you go to book them. If your points are UR points that you plan to transfer to UA, make sure the award seats are available before you make the transfer because it would be a final transaction that you can't transfer back to UR.

If you are booking using the Chase UR portal then yes, it uses your points and tells you the balance you owe which you'd pay with the credit card.

Was gonna say the same thing, i never seen 9 award seats available before. Would def be a tough one to be all on the same flight on award. sometimes, even 4 seats are tough. never booked though, so i wouldnt know, but thats just from reading other people's searches. probably save it for hotels!

Can anyone tell me why my credit score is so drastically different between 2 places? On Credit Karma it has my score from TransUnion at 698. Equifax has it at 705 and the Fico score on my Chase statement is 771 (which is more on par with where its been). I just applied for a card that pulled from TU and so I'm "pending approval". I'm NEVER pending approval. I have the CSR for gosh sakes! My utilization is low, we haven't closed anything. So why the differences?

have u matched your credit reports? doesnt seem right. i would probably pull and see whats up.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

have u matched your credit reports? doesnt seem right. i would probably pull and see whats up.


I just did my credit report, but didn't pull my scores with it since I get them for free with Chase.

 

[mhartman09]

Have you tried recon anyways? you could probably ask them to not see the AU account. Id still try to see if they would approve and what not.

If this wasn't a denial for the CIP for DH's "business" it might actually be worth a try just to see. However, I don't think we'd have a good shot at recon on this one plus I'd have to convince DH to call and do lots of talking. I just don't see that happening.

 

[gottalovepluto]

If this wasn't a denial for the CIP for DH's "business" it might actually be worth a try just to see. However, I don't think we'd have a good shot at recon on this one plus I'd have to convince DH to call and do lots of talking. I just don't see that happening.

I'd ask point blank if he thought it was worth $1,000. (or $1,500 if you have CSR or $1,250 if you have CSP) If he says it isn't don't recon if he says it is roll the dice (but do discuss a bit about your "business" first so he knows the basics and his goals) and recon it. That's a lot of money to leave sitting on the table if you don't have to

FWIW I'd start with I'm an AU and and think that's why I was denied, but I never use the account and have no responsibility for it... If they stop you right there and say those accounts count hang up and call again, don't waste time with that rep.

 

[Ava]

I got approved for the CIP! I just called to check the status again and it said I was approved!

I'm so excited, I was fully preparing myself to get denied for this one. Now to meet that $5K minimum spend. I'm annoyed I paid my Oct rent already, lol.

 

[calypso726]

plus I'd have to convince DH to call and do lots of talking. I just don't see that happening.

I had this issue with DH in the beginning. I coached him in what to say and he did it and got approved. Down the line, we were helping friends travel hack and my friend told us she wouldn't be able to get her DH to call recon. My DH told her to tell him he can fly in coach while she relaxed at the front of the plane LOL.

 

[Lain]

I got approved for the CIP! I just called to check the status again and it said I was approved!

I'm so excited, I was fully preparing myself to get denied for this one. Now to meet that $5K minimum spend. I'm annoyed I paid my Oct rent already, lol.

Congratulations! You're going to love Plastiq coding rent 3x on the CIP.

 

[Lain]

If this wasn't a denial for the CIP for DH's "business" it might actually be worth a try just to see. However, I don't think we'd have a good shot at recon on this one plus I'd have to convince DH to call and do lots of talking. I just don't see that happening.

Or you could have DH call in, answer just a few verification questions, then "authorize" you to speak directly with Chase on his behalf regarding this matter.