Lain
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2014
There’s no rush. You wouldn’t have been able to combine hard pulls anyway. Meanwhile you have a $5k MSR on the CIP. The SPG Biz is another $7k MSR, so give yourself a little more time and apply before or at the end of the offer, 3/28/18.
Amex changed their online application to require a least 4-digit revenue a few months ago. You could put $1000. There’s also another field for estimated monthly expenses. The asterisk tells you that estimated monthly expenses is not required, so if you don’t feel comfortable filling in that part, you don’t have to. In all likelihood, you’ll be approved immediately.
Personal data points on our SPG Biz applications: Last year, I put $13k revenue, $2k estimated monthly expenses (2x my revenue!), 5 years in business (consulting), included total household income, credit score in the 830s (thanks to churning, my credit score has gone up at least 20 points!), approved automatically with a $24k credit line. Applied for DW earlier this month, with $1.5k revenue (based on eBay sales 2 years ago; slow year last year), left estimated expenses blank, 2 years in business, higher total household income credit (thanks to a raise), credit score in the lower 800s, approved automatically with a $5k credit line (why so stingy Amex? That’s going to make meeting MSR interesting).
We expect that we’ll have to put a bit of Plastiq on DW’s SPG Biz. I don’t like the idea of diverting Plastiq spend to the SPG Biz while it’s still earning 3x UR on the CIP, and the SPG Biz doesn’t have very meaningful bonus categories outside of SPG/Marriott stays (and buying Starpoints on Points .com), but I rationalize it because when you factor in the signup bonus and the MSR, you’re essentially earning 6x Starpoints while trying to meet spend. We’re going to try throw as much charges that don’t earn bonuses on other cards onto the SPG Biz as possible before dipping into Plastiq spend.
A few weeks ago, @Albort and I posted how Plastiq posts on our SPG Biz statements:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-828#post-58886262
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-828#post-58886458.
We paid a mix of recipients, but it doesn’t seem to display the name of the recipient in the transaction line on our SPG Biz statements. I’m not sure if Amex can see any more info, but this is what we see when looking at our spend.
Thus far, it looks like the RATs are targeting Simon Mall VGCs and Gift Card Mall specifically; there are scattered reports of BMO bank funding not counting; and Amex may have Level 3 data to the big office supply stores. I bought a $500 VGC last year from Whole Foods, which didn’t seem to count towards an Amex spending bonus (I didn’t press the issue since I didn’t want eyes on my account). Generally, try to avoid cash equivalents. And if you do buy VGCs from grocery stores or pharmacies, try to avoid the $xx5.95 transactions that are a dead giveaway to what you’re buying; mix it up. Recently, Amex also added language excluding P2P payments, through services like PayPal and Venmo, from earning points and bonuses.
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Let us know how it goes!
