Questions and Answers

I’ve been a big fan of this blog since I discovered it in August. I have applied for, and received, four new cards without any issues (UA, Chase Sapphire, Hyatt, Hilton), but, I just got rejected on my most recent application for the Fairmont card and I have a bad feeling about the IHG card that I just tried for. So, should I start cancelling some of the new cards (since I already received the bonus points/miles) to help my credit utilization? What would you suggest?

@Papathekid13 — Well, canceling cards would potentially [I]hurt[/I] your credit utilization, so don’t do that.

Without looking too deeply at it, that sounds like a lot of cards from the same issuer in a short period of time. Five Chase cards in as many months isn’t really a cautious strategy — I’d recommend branching out to cards from other issuers, and being more strategic in your applications.

Most importantly, remember that it’s okay to take it slow. This is a long game!

[QUOTE=”Tiffany, post: 10526, member: 7″]@Papathekid13 — Well, canceling cards would potentially [I]hurt[/I] your credit utilization, so don’t do that.

Without looking too deeply at it, that sounds like a lot of cards from the same issuer in a short period of time. Five Chase cards in as many months isn’t really a cautious strategy — I’d recommend branching out to cards from other issuers, and being more strategic in your applications.

Most importantly, remember that it’s okay to take it slow. This is a long game![/QUOTE]
Thank you Tiffany. You bring up an interesting point about other issuers…when applying, I’ve never noticed which bank was behind the card to which I was applying. Is the bank’s name in the fine print with all the other disclosures? I will spread things around to other banks next time. I’m planning to take my wife to Europe in September and was just trying to rack up as much free airfare and hotel points as I could get.

[USER=832]@Papa13[/USER] The name of the bank is usually displayed prominently on the application page. You should definitely identify it before you complete an application for the reasons [USER=7]@Tiffany[/USER] mentioned.

Keep in mind as well that “as much free airfare and hotel points” as possible isn’t necessarily the best strategy either. If you have small balances of points everywhere you may find it hard to redeem your miles.

I talk to people all day who have a million miles spread across so many accounts that they don’t have enough in any single account for an award ticket. So having a strategy really makes a difference.

[QUOTE=”Tiffany, post: 10559, member: 7″]Keep in mind as well that “as much free airfare and hotel points” as possible isn’t necessarily the best strategy either. If you have small balances of points everywhere you may find it hard to redeem your miles.

I talk to people all day who have a million miles spread across so many accounts that they don’t have enough in any single account for an award ticket. So having a strategy really makes a difference.[/QUOTE]
You’re describing me. I have small balances of points but was going for the special offers: 50,000 points from UA, 80,000 points from Marriott, two nights at Hyatt, two nights at Hilton, two nights at Fairmont, etc. It seemed like a good strategy since I don’t have a lot of points built up with those folks and I’m trying to make it all happen before September.