I love credit cards so much! v7.0 - 2025 (see first page for add'l details)

[WDWfantasy]

I’m pretty sure tickets purchased through Undercover Tourist code as travel with Chase. Does anyone know how tickets purchased through Unlocked Magic code?

 

[leeniewdw]

Has anyone ever successfully redeemed Alaska Mileageplan for American flights? I've been trying for a week and every day it kicks back as "unable to confirm availability."

I booked a one-way on AA via Alaska about a month ago.

I had trouble booking AA flights thru Alaska last year getting errors after the last step everytime. About a week later I tried again, booked the outbound flight as a one way and it worked, then the return in a separate transaction and it worked as well. I can't swear it was due to one way vs RT or that something changed in the days between my last RT attempt.

Getting ready to do the same booking (before the Amex -> Hawaiian -> Alaska still works and hoping things work!

 

[eticketplease]

The Brilliant has the Earned Choice Award tracker. You can use that as a double check assuming your MSR doesn't span calendar years.

Thanks I found the benefit in my account but not able to locate the tracker.

 

[wanderlust7]

Thanks I found the benefit in my account but not able to locate the tracker.

I don't see it in app, only on browser. Under Rewards & Benefits, about half way down, next to the dining credit tracker.

 

[hsmamato2]

Ok points transfer experts...it's been quite a few years since I've needed to do this- good reading to help me understand best way to use points on ,say British airways but on AA metal? I'm trying to figure out how to even use the BA website and it's not great for me so far....

 

[eticketplease]

I don't see it in app, only on browser. Under Rewards & Benefits, about half way down, next to the dining credit tracker.

Thanks I found it!

I guess I'll have to throw it in the sock drawer for the next several months and only pull it out for dining once a month to get the $25 credit.

I definitely don't want to meet the spend on this before the Chase one and I can't even apply for that one until July...

 

[tink1970]

Ok points transfer experts...it's been quite a few years since I've needed to do this- good reading to help me understand best way to use points on ,say British airways but on AA metal? I'm trying to figure out how to even use the BA website and it's not great for me so far....

BA is much like AS with partner availability IIRC...if there is sAAver award space American might make it available to BA.

On the home page, under "book," going to "book flights with Avios" is where I begin but again, if there aren't seats given to BA by AA then BA will error out. I've also found their system prefers nonstop flights MUCH more than connecting ones, but that could just be due to a dearth of lack of sAAver flights from my small airport, not sure.

Much like AS miles...when they're helpful, they're great, when they're not, it's very frustrating to attempt to use.

 

[have2getaway]

Hi there,

I am a returnee, but I have not been on here in a while. I’m back on as DH and I were both just denied Chase Business Cards and I realized I’m rusty and clearly could use some input on our strategy. We have had great success with this group in the past and have been able to use what we have learned to earn UR rewards and go on trips. We fall under moderate in terms of card applications. I have an idea why we were both recently denied, but need advice on how to rectify it. We currently have 190k chase points on my Sapphire Reserve, but would like to open another no fee Chase Ink to add to it. Anyway, here’s our stats:

Me/P1:

Cards In Last 24 Months:

04/23 Chase Ink Visa
10/23 Chase Ink Visa
12/24 Synchrony Verizon Visa

Total cards 12–8 regular & 4 business. Total CL is 74,700. Income 140k no debt except for a mortgage that will be paid off this year. Reserve opened in 4/2020.

DH/P2:

04/23 Chase Ink
08/23 Chase Ink
10/23 Capital One Bass Pro
05/24 Synchrony American Eagle
07/24 Synchrony Lowes

P2 Cl is $63,200, Some of which is authorize user on P1 cards. Total cards for P2 is 11. 6 Personal & 5 business.

I believe P2 was denied because we hadn’t realized he had taken out 4 cards in 24 months.

I applied after his denial because I had gotten a “you are preapproved email”.

I suspect now that we were both tonight, because we are either too many cards or too much debt in relation to our income. I also suspect P2 was denied because he applied within the 24 month window.

My question is, How do we rectify this? We’d ideally like to add some more points, maybe one card each in a year— not looking to do anything excessive. It should be noted that the reserve credit line was increased to 20,000 by Chase as well as my freedom was increased to over 15,000. Do I reduce those now because they’re preventing me from being approved. Close cards or reduce? Is it personal cards hurting us or both? We do not ever pay interest and are able to pay our payments in full every month. Our credit utilization is below 3%.

Thanks for everyone’s feedback.

 

[wanderlust7]

Hi there,

I am a returnee, but I have not been on here in a while. I’m back on as DH and I were both just denied Chase Business Cards and I realized I’m rusty and clearly could use some input on our strategy. We have had great success with this group in the past and have been able to use what we have learned to earn UR rewards and go on trips. We fall under moderate in terms of card applications. I have an idea why we were both recently denied, but need advice on how to rectify it. We currently have 190k chase points on my Sapphire Reserve, but would like to open another no fee Chase Ink to add to it. Anyway, here’s our stats:

Me/P1:

Cards In Last 24 Months:

04/23 Chase Ink Visa
10/23 Chase Ink Visa
12/24 Synchrony Verizon Visa

Total cards 12–8 regular & 4 business. Total CL is 74,700. Income 140k no debt except for a mortgage that will be paid off this year. Reserve opened in 4/2020.

DH/P2:

04/23 Chase Ink
08/23 Chase Ink
10/23 Capital One Bass Pro
05/24 Synchrony American Eagle
07/24 Synchrony Lowes

P2 Cl is $63,200, Some of which is authorize user on P1 cards. Total cards for P2 is 11. 6 Personal & 5 business.

I believe P2 was denied because we hadn’t realized he had taken out 4 cards in 24 months.

I applied after his denial because I had gotten a “you are preapproved email”.

I suspect now that we were both tonight, because we are either too many cards or too much debt in relation to our income. I also suspect P2 was denied because he applied within the 24 month window.

My question is, How do we rectify this? We’d ideally like to add some more points, maybe one card each in a year— not looking to do anything excessive. It should be noted that the reserve credit line was increased to 20,000 by Chase as well as my freedom was increased to over 15,000. Do I reduce those now because they’re preventing me from being approved. Close cards or reduce? Is it personal cards hurting us or both? We do not ever pay interest and are able to pay our payments in full every month. Our credit utilization is below 3%.

Thanks for everyone’s feedback.

How many Chase business cards do you have open? Many people won't be approved with more than 2 open now. Only the total Chase CL matters. It should be less than 50% of income or around 70k, whichever is less.

You can close any Chase business cards older than a year and try again in 30 days.

 

[have2getaway]

How many Chase business cards do you have open? Many people won't be approved with more than 2 open now. Only the total Chase CL matters. It should be less than 50% of income or around 70k, whichever is less.

You can close any Chase business cards older than a year and try again in 30 days.

Thanks so much! I have four and Dh has 5. Will closing 3 and reapplying in 30 days hurt us?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Hi there,

I am a returnee, but I have not been on here in a while. I’m back on as DH and I were both just denied Chase Business Cards and I realized I’m rusty and clearly could use some input on our strategy. We have had great success with this group in the past and have been able to use what we have learned to earn UR rewards and go on trips. We fall under moderate in terms of card applications. I have an idea why we were both recently denied, but need advice on how to rectify it. We currently have 190k chase points on my Sapphire Reserve, but would like to open another no fee Chase Ink to add to it. Anyway, here’s our stats:

Me/P1:

Cards In Last 24 Months:

04/23 Chase Ink Visa
10/23 Chase Ink Visa
12/24 Synchrony Verizon Visa

Total cards 12–8 regular & 4 business. Total CL is 74,700. Income 140k no debt except for a mortgage that will be paid off this year. Reserve opened in 4/2020.

DH/P2:

04/23 Chase Ink
08/23 Chase Ink
10/23 Capital One Bass Pro
05/24 Synchrony American Eagle
07/24 Synchrony Lowes

P2 Cl is $63,200, Some of which is authorize user on P1 cards. Total cards for P2 is 11. 6 Personal & 5 business.

I believe P2 was denied because we hadn’t realized he had taken out 4 cards in 24 months.

I applied after his denial because I had gotten a “you are preapproved email”.

I suspect now that we were both tonight, because we are either too many cards or too much debt in relation to our income. I also suspect P2 was denied because he applied within the 24 month window.

My question is, How do we rectify this? We’d ideally like to add some more points, maybe one card each in a year— not looking to do anything excessive. It should be noted that the reserve credit line was increased to 20,000 by Chase as well as my freedom was increased to over 15,000. Do I reduce those now because they’re preventing me from being approved. Close cards or reduce? Is it personal cards hurting us or both? We do not ever pay interest and are able to pay our payments in full every month. Our credit utilization is below 3%.

Thanks for everyone’s feedback.

Back

What were the reasons Chase said when they denied you ?

2 things I would do before reapplying are reduce your total CLs with Chase and close any cards that are over a year old you aren’t using, especially the business cards..if you aren’t maxing out the CICs 5x catagories.
Since last fall Chase has tightened up business card approvals and it seems best chance is having less than 2. That said if you consistently use the business cards you can get approved with more than that open.
My example is on Monday I noticed green star pre approval offers in DHs account even though he has 5 business cards open, which we use and pay off monthly. I applied for one right through that link rather than go through my support link and he was instantly approved. In my experience using your Chase business cards and having a balance on them at the time of application helps.

 

[GZanta77]

Hi there,

I am a returnee, but I have not been on here in a while. I’m back on as DH and I were both just denied Chase Business Cards and I realized I’m rusty and clearly could use some input on our strategy. We have had great success with this group in the past and have been able to use what we have learned to earn UR rewards and go on trips. We fall under moderate in terms of card applications. I have an idea why we were both recently denied, but need advice on how to rectify it. We currently have 190k chase points on my Sapphire Reserve, but would like to open another no fee Chase Ink to add to it. Anyway, here’s our stats:

Me/P1:

Cards In Last 24 Months:

04/23 Chase Ink Visa
10/23 Chase Ink Visa
12/24 Synchrony Verizon Visa

Total cards 12–8 regular & 4 business. Total CL is 74,700. Income 140k no debt except for a mortgage that will be paid off this year. Reserve opened in 4/2020.

DH/P2:

04/23 Chase Ink
08/23 Chase Ink
10/23 Capital One Bass Pro
05/24 Synchrony American Eagle
07/24 Synchrony Lowes

P2 Cl is $63,200, Some of which is authorize user on P1 cards. Total cards for P2 is 11. 6 Personal & 5 business.

I believe P2 was denied because we hadn’t realized he had taken out 4 cards in 24 months.

I applied after his denial because I had gotten a “you are preapproved email”.

I suspect now that we were both tonight, because we are either too many cards or too much debt in relation to our income. I also suspect P2 was denied because he applied within the 24 month window.

My question is, How do we rectify this? We’d ideally like to add some more points, maybe one card each in a year— not looking to do anything excessive. It should be noted that the reserve credit line was increased to 20,000 by Chase as well as my freedom was increased to over 15,000. Do I reduce those now because they’re preventing me from being approved. Close cards or reduce? Is it personal cards hurting us or both? We do not ever pay interest and are able to pay our payments in full every month. Our credit utilization is below 3%.

Thanks for everyone’s feedback.

Thanks so much! I have four and Dh has 5. Will closing 3 and reapplying in 30 days hurt us?

I see @palhockeymomof2 has replied saying much of what I was going to post.... but I would certainly emphasize lowering credit limits if you do not need high limits. I typically reduce my Freedom and Ink CLs to $5,000 or less. My Sapphire around $12k. Definitely close some cards. It is better to have fewer business cards with some regular use.

Is DH an authorized user on any of the cards you have opened in the last 2 years? That would push him to 5/24 and almost certainly result in denial. It is for this reason you need to think carefully about adding each other as authorized users.

Also, I note you opened several store cards - these generally offer a poor return compared to other cards and use up valuable 5/24 slots. I generally won't consider opening a new card unless I am getting at least $500 of value from it.

 

[have2getaway]

I see @palhockeymomof2 has replied saying much of what I was going to post.... but I would certainly emphasize lowering credit limits if you do not need high limits. I typically reduce my Freedom and Ink CLs to $5,000 or less. My Sapphire around $12k. Definitely close some cards. It is better to have fewer business cards with some regular use.

Is DH an authorized user on any of the cards you have opened in the last 2 years? That would push him to 5/24 and almost certainly result in denial. It is for this reason you need to think carefully about adding each other as authorized users.

Also, I note you opened several store cards - these generally offer a poor return compared to other cards and use up valuable 5/24 slots. I generally won't consider opening a new card unless I am getting at least $500 of value from it.

Thank you! This is all very helpful! We definitely have some business cards we do not use frequently enough and can be closed.

DH was added as an authorized user to a couple of cards we opened—10-18 years ago. One is a capital one card that I have not closed because it’s an old card and it’s building up my credit. I was concerned that removing him as an authorized user, might do the same. I believe he’s also an authorized user in a couple Disney cards we have, which we also don’t use. I suppose those could be closed, and that would also improve his credit.

In terms of the store cards, My Verizon card I open because we got a substantial discount each month on our cell phone bill. It is used primarily for that purpose. I started to get into the whole chase and ultimate rewards thing and DH decided on his own to apply for a Bass Pro card for--wait for it—-a free baseball hat. You can imagine my response when he told me that. His two others followed a year later, which were better deals, but not anywhere near as beneficial as a Chase Ink or similar would have been. He is now nearly a year out from his last application and has finally seen they do more damage than good. He will be out from the 5/24 rule by October.

Is there any danger in closing too many cards too soon? Thanks for all your help and feedback!

 

[have2getaway]

Back

What were the reasons Chase said when they denied you ?

2 things I would do before reapplying are reduce your total CLs with Chase and close any cards that are over a year old you aren’t using, especially the business cards..if you aren’t maxing out the CICs 5x catagories.
Since last fall Chase has tightened up business card approvals and it seems best chance is having less than 2. That said if you consistently use the business cards you can get approved with more than that open.
My example is on Monday I noticed green star pre approval offers in DHs account even though he has 5 business cards open, which we use and pay off monthly. I applied for one right through that link rather than go through my support link and he was instantly approved. In my experience using your Chase business cards and having a balance on them at the time of application helps.

We are still waiting for the denial letters. Once they come, I will update everyone. At this point, I’m just guessing. Thanks for the tips on having less than two. We had no idea that had changed.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I have a new player 1.5 DD25 was just approved for the Schwab Platinum 125,000 MR deal. I'll help her out with the spend requirement

 

[palhockeymomof2]

We are still waiting for the denial letters. Once they come, I will update everyone. At this point, I’m just guessing. Thanks for the tips on having less than two. We had no idea that had changed.

Look in your business cards log in under statements and documents…then notices and letters you should see something there

 

[GZanta77]

Thank you! This is all very helpful! We definitely have some business cards we do not use frequently enough and can be closed.



Is there any danger in closing too many cards too soon? Thanks for all your help and feedback!

So closing cards should not hurt you especially if they are business cards that don't report to your personal credit report.

There are really two main things to think about when closing cards - 1) impact on credit utilization and 2) how old the accounts are.

Low credit utilization is a key marker for your credit score. Lenders like to see that you are not maxing out your credit which may be a risk factor for them. So if you have $50,000 in total CLs across your cards and your monthly statements total $5,000 then you have 10% utilization. If you close a bunch of cards (or lower CLs) and your total CLs are now $20,000 - then that same $5k end of month balance now represents 25% utilization. Still not terrible, but would drop your credit score by a few points.

Average age of accounts is another key metric so, for example, if your oldest card is 20 years old and all your other cards are less than 5 years then you probably don't want to close the oldest card. It becomes less important once you have an average age of accounts over 8 - 10 years.

As far as DH being authorized user on some of your older cards - those probably aren't hurting him unless any of those accounts have had delinquencies in the past.

 

[eticketplease]

Since last fall Chase has tightened up business card approvals and it seems best chance is having less than 2. That said if you consistently use the business cards you can get approved with more than that open.

Is this just for the ink line or does it apply to cobranded like SW & United as well?

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Is this just for the ink line or does it apply to cobranded like SW & United as well?

My husband and I were and to app a 3rd Chase bus with a SW card at the end of '24. We both had two inks open.

I thought the recommendation right now was that you could have 2 cards, making the app your third, and could generally get it through. Not sure if @palhockeymomof2 meant to say you should have "2 or less cards" or "less than 2" aka only one at time of application. Maybe it's even tighter in the last 6 months?

 

[hsmamato2]

BA is much like AS with partner availability IIRC...if there is sAAver award space American might make it available to BA.

On the home page, under "book," going to "book flights with Avios" is where I begin but again, if there aren't seats given to BA by AA then BA will error out. I've also found their system prefers nonstop flights MUCH more than connecting ones, but that could just be due to a dearth of lack of sAAver flights from my small airport, not sure.

Much like AS miles...when they're helpful, they're great, when they're not, it's very frustrating to attempt to use.

Ok thanks- that makes sense why I'm getting nowhere on the BA website,I assume just nothing available for what I'm checking.