My First App-o-Rama of New Credit Cards (FlexPerks, Hilton, and US Airways)

I decided this past weekend to take part in my first app-o-rama. For those new to the term, what this means is I applied for several credit cards at the same time to hopefully minimize impacts to my credit scores. Also notice, performing an app-o-rama is really only recommended for those with excellent credit. It is not to say you could not try to pull one off without less than perfect credit, but your priorities should be to clean up your credit reports rather than gaming the system.

I am relatively conservative when it comes to applying for new credit cards. The main reason for being selective is I do not necessarily want to use up a credit card when a potentially better offer may be coming down the line. I am not overly concerned with new credit cards impacting my credit scores negatively because it is just not true if you maintain a healthy credit file.

I already had an excellent credit file and scores, and the couple of new applications and 2-5 point hit I will temporarily take for each new card will not effect things to much. Plus we have no large purchases coming up in the future. I have been so conservative in the past, that usually after each new card I have gotten in the past, my scores have either gone up or stayed the same. This is the first time I went and applied for four (4) cards at the same time.

I finally decided to roll the dice and start applying for cards because we have our 2.5 week Disneyland and Hawaii trip coming up. My thinking was that rather than place the spend on my existing cards, I am better off meeting the minimum spend requirements and really maximizing the amount of rewards I earn from credit cards. If I am going to spend $3,000 on this vacation, I might as well put it on a new card, netting me a free flight or more in the future.

So lets get right to it. Some may completely disagree with my logic on cards, and even I was slightly amazed at the route I went, but I think it will work out for our family at this time.

US Bank for the FlexPerks Travel Card

I was targeted by US Bank for the FlexPerks Travel Card. Also note, I am not a current US Bank account holder, although I did have a car payment and savings account with them in the past. While I never thought I would even give a second look at a US Bank credit card, they made the offer pretty enticing I felt.

• 20,000 FlexPerks after $500 spend in 90 days
• $25 credit towards in-flight purchases of baggage fees
• No annual fee the first year; $49 thereafter
• 0% interest on purchases for 12 months

While 20,000 FlexPerks might not appear like much, US Bank actually values the points at $2 each. Therefore, 20,000 FlexPerks = $400 in flights. In my opinion, I did not think that was that bad of an offer.

Before applying for the targeted offer, I called US Bank to see what better kind of business card they could offer me than the standard 10,000 FlexPerks available through their website. I was given the option to apply for the business version of the FlexPerks Travel card, awarding 17,500 points after $2,500 500 in spend within 90 days. I took the bait and applied over the phone.

In the end, if I am approved for both cards, I should easily be able to have enough rewards for $800 in flights after spend and bonus points.

Unfortunately, US Bank does not do instant approvals, and I have to wait a couple of days to see the status.

5/31/12 Update- After calling in to check on the status, I was approved for both versions of the card. In addition, I had US Bank waive the rush delivery fee.

6/4/12 Update- 2 Business cards arrived today, so I called to question what the bonus was on each before activating. One business card was issued, and when I called in to have it rush delivered, they cancelled the first card and rushed me a replacement card. The good news though is that the 17,500 bonus points is earned after only $500 spend in 90 days, not the original $2,500 spend in 90 days I was told when I applied. Sweet!

8/7/12 Update- After our business FlexPerks bonus points never posted, I called to inquiry and was told we did indeed need to meet the $2,500 minimum spend and not $500 as previously told. The agent could not do anything for me after repeated attempts to make them honor the $500 minimum spend.

American Express Hilton HHonors

I have something to admit, which you may already know if you regularly follow InACents. I have never owned an American Express card. So I am excited that I will now have one in my wallet. I applied for a limited time (until May 31, 2012), 50,000 Hilton HHonors American Express.

• Earn 50,000 points after $750 spend in 90 days
• 6 points/$ spent at Hilton; 3 points/$ everywhere else
• No Annual Fee
• Silver Status for the lifetime of the card

I found this card attractive for several reasons. First, we do like Hilton properties, so anything that could help our stays in the future is great, including Silver status. Second, 50,000 points was the best available offer at the time. Most importantly is there is no annual fee. So this will be a great card to continue holding in my portfolio in the future. I will not have to worry every year about canceling the card before the annual fee is due. I value my credit report very dearly, as everyone should, so anything I can do to make it better in the future by holding onto a card for the long term is great in my mind.

5/30/12 Update- I already had the card in my hand, ready to use. Now that is a fast turn around!

US Airways Premier World MasterCard

This is a card I have actually been eying and wanting to open for quite a while. The biggest potential, and thing I want to try with this card is the churnability (i.e. being able to open the card in the future and scoring the bonus again). Churning is something I always wanted to do, and never took the dive in, so I am excited for the opportunities with this card.

The card is issued by Barclays, which again is nice applying for a card from someone besides Chase. The offer below bills itself as a 60,000 mile offer, but really it is the standard 40,000 mile offer with a 10,000 bonus upon each subsequent annual renewal. I find it kind of funny that they stop at 60,000 miles because if you renew each year, the offer potentially can grow exponentially. The US Airways Dividend Mile Premier World MasterCard offers:

• 40,000 Dividend miles after 1st purchase
• 10,000 miles upon anniversary renewal each year
• Double miles on US Airways purchases; 1 mile everywhere else
• Earn 10,000 miles towards Dividend Miles
• Preferred status
• Up to two $99 companion tickets annually
• Preferred check-In
• Preferred Zone 2 boarding
• One complimentary US Airways Club day pass annually
• Discount on annual US Airways Club membership
• Exceptional travel benefits
• Preferred dining and entertainment experiences
• World MasterCard Price Protection and Zero Fraud Liability

While 40,000 miles might not seem like a huge deal when others are offering 50,000 and up, US Airways really has not come out with better offers. The real advantage will be testing out churning this card in the future, and all for no minimum spend.

One additional benefit that I am gearing up for is the US Airways Grand Slam promotion in September. I have it on pretty good authority that the promotion is returning in 2012. I am excited to see if the card can be used to garner additional “hits” in the promotion, and thus extra miles.

I also applied for the business version of the US Airways card offering 25,000 Dividend miles after first purchase. The annual fee is $79, and is not waived the first year. Considering I did not have to meet a minimum spend, I considered purchasing 25,000 for a mere $79 a great deal.

Since I was immediately approved for the personal card, I also wanted to minimize my credit impact by making a business application at the same time, hoping for only one credit pull. Unfortunately, I was not immediately approved for the business version of the card, so we will see what happens over the next several days.

5/31/12 Update- I called in and had the rush delivery fee on the personal card waived. Unfortunately, I was denied the Business version of the card because I had so many recent inquiries and had no history with Barclays. They encouraged me to use the card for 6-12 months and apply again in the future. It is too bad I had to waste a credit pull, but sometimes you need to take risks to win big. The good news is I avoid having to pay a $79 annual fee upfront on the business line.

6/2/12 Update- I had to go and sign to pick up the card from FedEx, and after receipt and activation of the card, I immediately made a first purchase to qualify for the bonus miles.

The Wrap Up

The quick and dirty of everything is that by spending $3,750 1,750 (+$79 annual fee) across fivefour (4) credit cards over the next 90 days, I will walk away with approximately 40,000 US Bank FlexPerks = $800 in flights; 50,000 Hilton HHonors points; and 65,00040,000 US Airways Dividend Miles. Had I just put this spend for our vacation on a card I already had in my wallet, I would not obtain the benefits of new card owners.

The business applications always make me nervous only because they never get immediately approved, and I know I will have to plead my case to a live agent eventually. 5/31/12 Update- Fortunately, I only had to do this once, see above.

Could I have done better? Maybe, but I also left myself open to any great Chase offers coming down the line in the future. I could have applied for the Delta 45,000 + $100 (x 2) in credits I recently wrote about, but pairing that with the above would have added a massive amount of minimum spend, which might not have been obtainable for our family.

I also debated about adding on the Virgin Atlantic and/or Hawaiian Airlines cards because of their churnability and ability to transfer the points to Hilton HHonors at a great rate, but I did not want to add on extra minimum spend and annual fees. Maybe my next app-o-rama in 6 months or so will include some of these other options.

I am really excited to have completed my first pile of credit card applications, and knowing that it will massively help our family’s travel dynamic in the future makes me really happy.

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