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

[cruisehopeful]

I applied for a Chase Unlimited business card today and it said "unable to approve your application. You will receive a letter in 7 to 10 days with our decision". Is this most likely a denial and is there anyway to check before the 10 days? I remember in the past, there was a phone number to call. Thank you.

It might take a while to approve (weeks). Do you have a fraud alert on your credit report? I put one on my report on a regular basis. It causes creditors to do a lot more screening. I got a Chase card about 6 months ago and it took work on my part to get it approved.

I recently got a Bank of America card and it also took some extra time/calls to get approved. The BofA agent that I spoke to said that due to fraud, many applications were taking a while to verify. I already had cards with both creditors. They just needed to verify my identity and to get a recording of me saying that I am the one who applied for the card

 

[AndreaDM]

If you have Capital One miles, you might want to consider transferring directly to JAL. This is new, just started today. Link Availability directly through JAL is better than through partners.

The release pattern for the return flight through partners has been weird lately. 4 in economy, 2 in premium, 2 in biz, 1 in first at calendar open is typical. But lately the return doesn't seem to have the premium or the biz.

JAL account needs to be 7 days old to redeem Capital One miles (vs 60 days usually). Website didn't work to check availability for my <60 days account, but app did. Another thing to watch out for is JAL miles expire in 3 years with no ways to extend.

We are strictly Amex/Chase and a bit of Barclays at this point, but sounds like I should venture into Cap One (haha no pun intended).

 

[afan]

It might take a while to approve (weeks). Do you have a fraud alert on your credit report? I put one on my report on a regular basis. It causes creditors to do a lot more screening. I got a Chase card about 6 months ago and it took work on my part to get it approved.

I recently got a Bank of America card and it also took some extra time/calls to get approved. The BofA agent that I spoke to said that due to fraud, many applications were taking a while to verify. I already had cards with both creditors. They just needed to verify my identity and to get a recording of me saying that I am the one who applied for the card

Unless you have an actual fraud reason to mark your report that way, it would be way easier to freeze your credit with each bureau and unlock it when you want to apply.

 

[AmyAnne]

Which dishes did you switch to glass? Like baking pans and storage containers? Or actual dishes?

I'm getting the rag socks, too

Pretty much everything is glass (or whatever weird glass-like material Corelle dishes are). Also some Anchor Hocking plates, mason jars for glasses (also some metal water bottles). Glass bakeware and storage containers (mostly Anchor Hocking).

 

[cruisehopeful]

Unless you have an actual fraud reason to mark your report that way, it would be way easier to freeze your credit with each bureau and unlock it when you want to apply.

I have freezes, too. The fraud alert requires extra screening after I unlock my report. My identity has been stolen twice and all my PII is available on the dark web. Every few years, someone else buys my information. It's never going to end for me.

 

[eticketplease]

Pretty much everything is glass (or whatever weird glass-like material Corelle dishes are). Also some Anchor Hocking plates, mason jars for glasses (also some metal water bottles). Glass bakeware and storage containers (mostly Anchor Hocking).

Silly question but are the lids for the storage containers plastic? We use the glass containers for leftovers all the time but ours have plastic lids

 

[kandb]

Do you have any Chase business cards ? If so you can log into your business account to find the letter there. Since they said they are unable to approve it sounds like a denial.

Yes, I do have other Chase business cards and have many other chase accounts. What is strange is that this morning I got an alert from credit watch that a hard inquiry was made to my credit report. I thought when you apply for a business card they don't do that. I have a very good credit score but I know the inquiry lowers my score.

 

[kandb]

It might take a while to approve (weeks). Do you have a fraud alert on your credit report? I put one on my report on a regular basis. It causes creditors to do a lot more screening. I got a Chase card about 6 months ago and it took work on my part to get it approved.

I recently got a Bank of America card and it also took some extra time/calls to get approved. The BofA agent that I spoke to said that due to fraud, many applications were taking a while to verify. I already had cards with both creditors. They just needed to verify my identity and to get a recording of me saying that I am the one who applied for the card

No, I do not have any fraud alert on my account, even though I probably should. They ran a hard inquiry on my credit report yesterday. Thought they did not do that for a business card. I will see what happens.

 

[reliev]

got the 100k bonus for citi i know some of you were holding back

 

[reliev]

l. Actually I have some small pots that are glass also (visons by corningware).

We do this too reminds me to get some more brilliance containers, we went made in stainless and carbon steel, I wish I switched sooner (did it a few years back).

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

No, I do not have any fraud alert on my account, even though I probably should. They ran a hard inquiry on my credit report yesterday. Thought they did not do that for a business card. I will see what happens.

That is incorrect. They do run hard inquiries. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/...ess-credit-cards-affect-personal-credit-score

 

[kandb]

That is incorrect. They do run hard inquiries. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/...ess-credit-cards-affect-personal-credit-score

OK, thanks I did not know this. Just checked my credit score and it went down to a 798, down 6 points from yesterday's hard credit inquiry. Oh well, I know it's just temporary.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

No, I do not have any fraud alert on my account, even though I probably should. They ran a hard inquiry on my credit report yesterday. Thought they did not do that for a business card. I will see what happens.

Chase does a hard inquiry on all applications, I believe you are thinking about 5/24 count…chases business cards don’t add to it or show up on your personal credit report.
Are you able to see the letter under statements and documents, then notices and letters ?

 

[eticketplease]

No, I do not have any fraud alert on my account, even though I probably should. They ran a hard inquiry on my credit report yesterday. Thought they did not do that for a business card. I will see what happens.

As @Twilghtsprkle stated you will have an inquiry but the balance and cl will not show. This is nice if you are taking advantage of the 0% for 12 months on the CIC or CIU

 

[Princess Michele]

After reading @calypso726's trip report of her safari it's time to begin planning mine. DH and I have never had any Marriott or Starwood credit cards so we are eligible for any of the current products. It looks like the AMEX Marriott cards would start us in the right direction with their elevated offers currently.

After reading up on the Chase/AMEX rules for the Marriott cards here is my thinking on the best course of action.

1. I will apply for the AMEX Bevy first in August.
2. After approval if there is a support option with the elevated offer I would support DH for his own AMEX Bevy card. Otherwise he will apply on his own.
3. Since AMEX will typically approve 2 cards in 90 days we would both apply for the AMEX Brilliant before the offer ends on 9/24/25. If we don't get approved for the Brilliant then wait until an eleveated offer returns in 2026.
4. When there is another eleveated offer in 2026 for the Bonvoy Business card apply for it.

We would have no problem making the MSR if we both get the 2 cards now. The only AMEX credit card I have is the BBP. We both have a variety of AMEX charge cards. Does this plan sound doable to the experts here or am I missing something? Is there a better coures of action I should consider? I think it makes the most sense to try for both personal cards now in case AMEX makes a change to restrict it to one per family like they and Chase have done for other card brands.

I have a few questions.

1. If I am not approved for the Brilliant in September how long would I need to wait before I should try to apply for the Bonvoy Business card? It's elevated offer ends 10/22/25.
2. If we wanted to try to get one of the Chase Marriott cards in the future do we just need to cancel the appropriate AMEX cards and wait until it has been 24 months since getting the AMEX subs? I know we also would need to meet the 5/24 rule for Chase.

Thank you for any comments or suggestions. I have hesitated jumping into the Marriott cards ecosystem because of their convoluted rules and trying to decided if points or FNA's would be the best option for us but I think points win out if I want to try to use them like calypso726 did.

Following up on our quest for Marriott points.

I was approved for the AMEX Bonvoy Bevy on 8/25/25 and P2 was approved for his own Bevy on 8/31/25. I tried applying yesterday for the Brilliant using a referral from P2 but it was not approved. The reason it was not approved was because AMEX had approved me for the same type of card within the last few months. I have noticed that when I am not logged into my AMEX account and I go to AMEX's website looking at the Brilliant I have the option to upgrade, which is not what I want to do. I don't know if this is something new.

I then had P2 try to apply for a Brilliant and he had the same results. I guess trying to apply for both cards in 30 days doesn't work. I will try for the AMEX Marriott Business card before the current offer ends in October and wait for a new elevated Brilliant offer next year.

 

[AmyAnne]

Silly question but are the lids for the storage containers plastic? We use the glass containers for leftovers all the time but ours have plastic lids

Plastic lids. I don't worry about the lids too much because I take them off before reheating. I have seen metal lids for storage containers (maybe at IKEA?) but even before we switched to glass/metal for kitchen wares, we switched to made in US as much as possible for anything food related.

 

[wanderlust7]

Following up on our quest for Marriott points.

I was approved for the AMEX Bonvoy Bevy on 8/25/25 and P2 was approved for his own Bevy on 8/31/25. I tried applying yesterday for the Brilliant using a referral from P2 but it was not approved. The reason it was not approved was because AMEX had approved me for the same type of card within the last few months. I have noticed that when I am not logged into my AMEX account and I go to AMEX's website looking at the Brilliant I have the option to upgrade, which is not what I want to do. I don't know if this is something new.

I then had P2 try to apply for a Brilliant and he had the same results. I guess trying to apply for both cards in 30 days doesn't work. I will try for the AMEX Marriott Business card before the current offer ends in October and wait for a new elevated Brilliant offer next year.

Have you opened any other Amex credit cards in the last 90 days? There's a rule for 2 approved credit cards in a rolling 90 days period. Don't count charge cards like the gold or plat.

How many Amex credit cards do you have including closed within the last couple months? There's a 5 open credit card rule (again don't count charge cards).

ETA: To clarify, did the app actually go through and it was denied. Or did you get the pop-up? The pop-up wouldn't have to do with the rules.

 

[eticketplease]

Have you opened any other Amex credit cards in the last 90 days? There's a rule for 2 approved credit cards in a rolling 90 days period. Don't count charge cards like the gold or plat.

How many Amex credit cards do you have including closed within the last couple months? There's a 5 open credit card rule (again don't count charge cards).

Are Personal & Business cards included in the 5?

 

[Judique]

Following up on our quest for Marriott points.

I was approved for the AMEX Bonvoy Bevy on 8/25/25 and P2 was approved for his own Bevy on 8/31/25. I tried applying yesterday for the Brilliant using a referral from P2 but it was not approved. The reason it was not approved was because AMEX had approved me for the same type of card within the last few months. I have noticed that when I am not logged into my AMEX account and I go to AMEX's website looking at the Brilliant I have the option to upgrade, which is not what I want to do. I don't know if this is something new.

I then had P2 try to apply for a Brilliant and he had the same results. I guess trying to apply for both cards in 30 days doesn't work. I will try for the AMEX Marriott Business card before the current offer ends in October and wait for a new elevated Brilliant offer next year.

I had the Brilliant for a few years and then product changed it to the basic Amex Bonvoy card which you can't apply for. Almost immediately they started offering upgrades on my other basic Bonvoy card. None were very good but eventually they offered me a free night and 85K which I took. The only other way was to cancel something and try reapplying which I was pretty sure wouldn't work.

I've found Amex very sticky about their branded credit card approvals. The good thing is they don't hard pull your credit if you are a customer and they let you know if they are not giving you a sign up bonus. I've found it difficult to build Marriott points in the last few years. Thats obviously their intention.

On another 'free night/points' topic, I recently booked 3 nights at a Marriott in Florida. I had an 85k cert, a 35k cert and lots of ultimate rewards. One night I was able to use the 35k plus 10k points. The next night was 52k so I had to use the 85K, but noticed they had an upgraded room on points for 67k. I was 'yay' but the system would not let me book it with the 85K cert, and I had to stay with the basic room. However I could get it if I was willing to give them 67K points. I think that stinks. I still have a small stash of points and will keep my Brilliant for time being for the 85K cert because the price of the room I get makes the card fee pay for itself combined with other minor benefits, platinum status, etc, but will eventually product change it back and watch for an offer on my other Bonvoy card. The games we and them all play.

 

[wanderlust7]

Are Personal & Business cards included in the 5?

Yes. I find it very limiting.