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Is it time to get more strategic about credit card applications? 

October 20, 2016 By Trevor 7 Comments





In the past few months, we have seen a bunch of developments. We’ve seen greater restrictions, great new sign on bonuses, but, yet still, a new churnable credit cards. Is it time for a different strategy for credit card applications?

Greater Restrictions

Three of the big credit card issuers have made rather meaningful changes to how one receives bonuses, or whether one is approved at all.

  • February, 2016: American Express adds once-per-lifetime to Personal and Business cards
  • August, 2016: Citi limits you applicants to one bonus per 24 months per brand
  • September, 2016: Chase briefly puts in writing, the 5/24 rule; despite considerable additional discussion.

The fact is, it is getting harder to churn sign-on bonuses.

Great New Cards and Sign On Bonuses

There have been some nice bonuses of late, although more importantly, is the growing competition in the premium card arena. Of note:

  • Chase Sapphire Reserve, an amazing card (though maybe not a daily use card for resellers–But I cover all the key benefits of the card, so check out the link!), with a 100k Ultimate Rewards point sign-on bonus.
  • In response, American Express Platinum added 5 points per dollar on airfare. Note, this personal.
  • AMEX didn’t stop there, the American Express Platinum two new benefits (1.5 points per dollar on purchases $5k or more, and 50% back on “pay with points” airfare), and a 100k Membership Rewards sign-on bonus. Sound similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve?
  • American Express, this time with its Delta offerings increased sign-ups for the Platinum Sky Miles Card to 70k, and the Gold Skymiles Card to 50k.
  • Chase recently confirmed a new business offering, the Chase Ink Preferred (sound familiar?), with an 80k Ultimate Rewards point sign-on bonus. Based on what is currently available, my read, is that it is an inferior card, with 3x on up to $150k spend in categories which I see no feasible way to spend $150k in.

All indications point me toward the thought that this is not the end. We are still waiting to see what Citi will do with their devalued Prestige offering. I think we might also see a new Chase Business Card, as Doctor of Credit implies when he reports on the Chase Ink Preferred (link above). We might also see a new offering from American Express, although I anticipate it would be difficult to create a new offering without devaluing the Platinum cards.

New Churnable Credit Cards

Okie, we’re pretty weak here, I’ll admit, but there are a few churnable credit cards that may make sense.

  • Bank of America’s Asiana Visa – 30k bonus after $3,000 spend. Have another each month (or so I’m told).
  • Bank of America’s Virgin Atlantic card, get 90k after a year and a bunch of spend. Believe me, this is one I’m considering, given Greg the Frequent Miler’s enjoying his Necker Island Challenge, and by the way, his comment of not expecting Richard Branson being there — he was welcomed to the island by Richard. I have to wonder if Greg brought up that complaint letter.

So, yeah, the pickings may be slim here, but, for some, that may never have had a Delta AMEX (me!!!), there are other cards that are quite tempting.

Wrapping Up

My point in this post was my attempt at working out my own credit card strategy over the next 18 months. Normally, I work in 18 month timeframes, it seems like a reasonable balance between one and two years. Of course, 18 months used to be the magic number with Chase and Citi, that is changing to 24. So what is my conclusion? Given that my wife and I play the two player game, I might apply for cards, and let my wife sit on the sidelines–or vice versa, depending on her preference. The challenge here though, is the fact that there are some cards that just make too much sense to pass up, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, when it was briefly leaked, which both my wife and I were successful with. So, yeah, I’m not sure what I’ll do if another Chase Sapphire Reserve-like offer comes about, but, barring that, I’m thinking its going to be the two-player game.

What will you do? 

 

Filed Under: Credit Card Match-ups, Credit Cards, Miles and Points Tagged With: Chase Sapphire Reserve, Churning, Credit Card Bonuses, Credit Cards

Hyatt’s new website, TSA Screener Training, JetBlue Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

July 1, 2016 By Trevor Leave a Comment

The Weekly News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

Travel

  • Ed reviews United’s new domestic first class seat. I love seeing the power (even if awkward), but my favorite part is the cradle recline style, vs. seat back recline. He also highlights an issue that I’m seeing more and more commonly – a lack of lumbar support. Overall, it sounds like the seat is meh at best.
  • PSA: Always double and triple check your hotel room door. Jeanne has more.
  • TSA Screeners are now being sent to an academy for a two week training curriculum. It looks a whole lot like the academy is the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. It’s a great step, however, with the level of retention that TSA is seeing, that’s a lot of training costs.

Miles and Points

  • Last Friday a great deal was released – JetBlue said it would match or give you more points as you have in your Virgin America account, up to 75,000 I think. My Saverocity Observation Deck comrade is going to pass it up. I might too. He’s pretty logical in his argument.
  • FrequentMiler further asks the question of whether you should play the JetBlue points match deal. This is perhaps the biggest thing in the miles and points world this week. It’s worth a read.
  • Lucky shares an interesting perspective on writing trip reports. I can certainly sympathize!
  • Hyatt Gold Passport unveils a new website! It is definitely an improvement too!

 Tagging Miles Posts:

  • British Airways Gate 365 Shopping Portal
  • Review: Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro
  • 10 To-Do’s – International Travel Checklist
  • Saverocity Observation Deck – Talking TSA
  • Get Ebates Cashback In-Store

Filed Under: Miles and Points Tagged With: Hyatt, JetBlue, Travel

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