Author Topic: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)  (Read 39052 times)

DadJokes

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #100 on: July 17, 2019, 03:34:59 PM »
I'm coming up on the annual fee for Southwest. Since I'm planning to re-open it and the business card in 2020 to get the companion pass, I figure that I might as well cancel it before the fee hits in September. Unfortunately, it's also my oldest line of credit (by a couple years). Hopefully, cancelling it won't drop my score enough to impact future applications.

I was able to get retention offers on both my SW cards.  Statement credit equal to $1 over the annual fee, no spend requirement in both cases.

Spend on both cards wasn't much more than the minimum spend to get the bonus.  Might be worth calling for retention so that you get the annual bonus miles and freedom to cancel when you want.  I called for retention after the annual fees posted to my cards.

That'll be a nice way to get an extra 3k points and allow me to cancel a few months later. Thanks!

Jim Fiction

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #101 on: July 22, 2019, 02:58:08 PM »
Initiated my first churn today: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ct-de-ma-mi-nh-nj-ny-oh-pa-ri-vt-citizens-bank-200-400-600-checking-bonus/

Cutting it close - last day of promotion to open the account. Next step is to switch my direct deposit information on my company's payroll site. I'll have enough in a single deposit to qualify for the $600 bonus level.

Unfortunately the comments in the DoC thread are pretty negative, so we'll see if I'll actually receive the bonus. I have no issue having the money tied up for a few months, so its worth the risk.

I did this bonus and got it without issue -- just posted a few days ago ($600).  No need to tie up money in the account, from what I recall, any deposit into it waives the fees.  It did for me at least


Just seeing this now.

Good to hear you received your bonus. Hopefully there aren't any issues with mine (due to be paid out on 8/31). Did you move any move out of the account after doing the original DD, but before the bonus was paid? I've deposited some small sums to avoid the monthly account fee, but I haven't withdrawn so much as a penny.

Did you eventually close the account? If so, how soon after receiving the bonus?

Toad

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #102 on: July 22, 2019, 11:22:02 PM »
Did you move any move out of the account after doing the original DD, but before the bonus was paid?

Did you eventually close the account? If so, how soon after receiving the bonus?

I'm super slow on closing these accounts for some reason.  Haven't closed it yet, but probably will in the next month or 2.  I think I just kept like $50 or so in the account the entire time.  "DD"ed in and payed some bills from it to take the funds back out.

Tass

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #103 on: July 26, 2019, 07:08:53 PM »
I just got denied for this PenFed credit card: https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/pathfinder-rewards-american-express

This might be due to my income of $36,000, but I'm also a little worried about my credit score. Creditkarma reports my credit score as 743 or 744 at TransUnion and Equifax. However, it also reports me having 0-1 hard inquiries, despite the fact that I've opened 7 cards in the reporting period. Thus I have just discovered my Experian credit report has 7 hard inquiries on it, which I am concerned may be depressing my credit score there. (They only offer the report for free, not the score, so I don't know it.) Can I do anything about that imbalance?

I have $1000 of unusual spending coming up, and I'd like to get a bonus out of it, but now I need a plan B. Back to doctorofcredit...

secondcor521

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #104 on: July 26, 2019, 07:57:18 PM »
I just got denied for this PenFed credit card: https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/pathfinder-rewards-american-express

This might be due to my income of $36,000, but I'm also a little worried about my credit score. Creditkarma reports my credit score as 743 or 744 at TransUnion and Equifax. However, it also reports me having 0-1 hard inquiries, despite the fact that I've opened 7 cards in the reporting period. Thus I have just discovered my Experian credit report has 7 hard inquiries on it, which I am concerned may be depressing my credit score there. (They only offer the report for free, not the score, so I don't know it.) Can I do anything about that imbalance?

I have $1000 of unusual spending coming up, and I'd like to get a bonus out of it, but now I need a plan B. Back to doctorofcredit...

Some people go through the trouble of figuring out which credit card companies pull which credit report agency in which state.  The data is messy IMHO and can be inconsistent, but you could try to find cards that pull TU or EQ in your state.

Toad

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #105 on: July 26, 2019, 08:18:52 PM »
Creditkarma reports my credit score as 743 or 744 at TransUnion and Equifax. However, it also reports me having 0-1 hard inquiries, despite the fact that I've opened 7 cards in the reporting period. Thus I have just discovered my Experian credit report has 7 hard inquiries on it, which I am concerned may be depressing my credit score there. (They only offer the report for free, not the score, so I don't know it.) Can I do anything about that imbalance?

I have $1000 of unusual spending coming up, and I'd like to get a bonus out of it, but now I need a plan B. Back to doctorofcredit...

The three scores are independent.  Having 7 inquiries on one will not impact the score from the other 2.  Also, the 7 inquiries is no big deal and a ~750 score is fine for any card out there.  The issue is most certainly income.  Some credit cards have a minimum approval credit limit and I believe that one has a $5k minimum.. I am wrong -- checked with someone and they have a $1k limit.  Not sure why yours wasn't approved to be honest since that is one of the easier ones.  What did the letter say?

My (real) scores fluctuate around 750 - note the credit karma scores tend to report lower than actual though.  The ones the banks pull are true FICO scores and credit karma is not.  To give some perspective, I believe my credit karma scores are something like 670 and 690.  I have over 20 inquiries on all 3 bureaus.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2019, 08:25:10 PM by Toad »

Tass

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #106 on: July 27, 2019, 11:26:15 AM »
Yeah, I understand the three scores are all independent - my concern is that if one score is much lower than the other two, and that's the one that's being checked, it could hurt my application. My average age of credit is still very young, so many hard pulls is already kind of a second strike. But I'm still waiting on the letter to hear their actual reasoning, so this is all speculation.

I'm getting solicited for the AmEx Cash Magnet card, with $200 bonus on $1000 spend, so I'm thinking of shooting for that instead.

Tass

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #107 on: July 28, 2019, 07:51:55 PM »
Yeah, I understand the three scores are all independent - my concern is that if one score is much lower than the other two, and that's the one that's being checked, it could hurt my application. My average age of credit is still very young, so many hard pulls is already kind of a second strike. But I'm still waiting on the letter to hear their actual reasoning, so this is all speculation.

The letter says it's due to my number of open accounts. More specifically: "Utilization of accounts, number of accounts, and/or occurrence of a derogatory event." I have no derogatory events and my utilization is always between 2-10%, so it must be the # of accounts. My partner has the same number of open accounts and is being considered (whereas I was rejected immediately) - but his income is 3x mine.

ETA: My partner was eventually also rejected for too many open accounts. I guess this card is just strict.

All this despite accessing my credit score as 758, and then daring to tell me about the factors that "lowered" it. That's an excellent score! Ugh. "Too many inquiries in the last 12 months."

Whatever. AmEx approved me for the Cash Magnet with a bewildering $20,000 credit limit. Signup bonus, here I come.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2019, 10:33:37 AM by Tass »

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #108 on: August 10, 2019, 02:02:39 AM »
I got the $200 bonus for the Disney card, minus $50 for the annual fee and another fee for a dumb autopay mistake. Still came out ahead, but I'm going to call and try to get the second fee waived.

Might hold off on getting another card while I spend down a Visa gc.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #109 on: August 10, 2019, 08:18:04 PM »
A friend just told me about Plastiq. If I use that for rent, I'll be able to hit higher spend requirements. Not that much higher, since rent is only $750, but I could go for $2,500 spend in 3 months, instead of $500-$1,000. Has anyone used it? Looks like the fees would be $56.25, which should be easily outweighed by any decent bonus.

Tass

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #110 on: August 22, 2019, 02:49:32 PM »
I've just received my AmEx bonus, so churning income update:

$300 Chase checking bonus
$250 USAA card signup bonus
$200 American Express CashMagnet signup bonus
$156.90 collected cashback across cards
44,700 American Airlines bonus miles

...for a total of $906.90 + 3 one-way flights (value = $400-$800)

Excluding the flights, that accounts for over 6% of my total after-tax income so far this year; including the flights, it's more like 10-11%. Wow.

I have a few bank offers planned that I need to follow through on, but I'm not sure what card to pursue next. I will probably wait until this one shows up on my creditkarma report and assess its impact before making another move.

therethere

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #111 on: August 22, 2019, 02:53:49 PM »
A friend just told me about Plastiq. If I use that for rent, I'll be able to hit higher spend requirements. Not that much higher, since rent is only $750, but I could go for $2,500 spend in 3 months, instead of $500-$1,000. Has anyone used it? Looks like the fees would be $56.25, which should be easily outweighed by any decent bonus.

I've used Plastiq as my fall back to finish spending if I'm running short on some of my cards. Like if I'm $500 short of hitting the 3k in 90 days I'll send a payment for it. If you can get a good referral it cuts the rate in half. I don't trust it for my rent only because I have a horrible management company and I don't trust them to cash it! I've used it to pay student loans. The main issue with Plastiq is that it takes a long time between scheduling the payment and having it confirmed as received. But if you plan ahead it works great.

PM me if you'd like a referral.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2019, 02:55:33 PM by therethere »

Jim Fiction

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #112 on: August 28, 2019, 11:01:43 AM »
Initiated my first churn today: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ct-de-ma-mi-nh-nj-ny-oh-pa-ri-vt-citizens-bank-200-400-600-checking-bonus/

Cutting it close - last day of promotion to open the account. Next step is to switch my direct deposit information on my company's payroll site. I'll have enough in a single deposit to qualify for the $600 bonus level.

Unfortunately the comments in the DoC thread are pretty negative, so we'll see if I'll actually receive the bonus. I have no issue having the money tied up for a few months, so its worth the risk.

Update: The bonus posted last week! Woo!!! Probably the easiest $600 I have ever made. Time to find a new churning opportunity.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #113 on: August 29, 2019, 12:00:28 AM »
A friend just told me about Plastiq. If I use that for rent, I'll be able to hit higher spend requirements. Not that much higher, since rent is only $750, but I could go for $2,500 spend in 3 months, instead of $500-$1,000. Has anyone used it? Looks like the fees would be $56.25, which should be easily outweighed by any decent bonus.

I've used Plastiq as my fall back to finish spending if I'm running short on some of my cards. Like if I'm $500 short of hitting the 3k in 90 days I'll send a payment for it. If you can get a good referral it cuts the rate in half. I don't trust it for my rent only because I have a horrible management company and I don't trust them to cash it! I've used it to pay student loans. The main issue with Plastiq is that it takes a long time between scheduling the payment and having it confirmed as received. But if you plan ahead it works great.

PM me if you'd like a referral.

Thanks! My friend called dibs on the referral, so if I ever get around to this, I'll use his. Do different people have different incentives with their referral codes?

I would be sending the check to myself, then handing it to the landlady. As long as they mail it on time, I'll know I got it.

DadJokes

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #114 on: September 11, 2019, 07:07:22 PM »
We just earned what will be our last bonus for 2019. With that, 2019's rewards sit at:

Southwest: 13,119 RR points + $100 retention bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred: 60,438 UR points
Capital One Savor: $500
Chase Ink Business Preferred: 85,300 UR points

Spent:
Southwest: $99 annual fee (was going to cancel before fee, but was offered $100 to hang onto it)
Chase Ink Business Preferred: $95

Assuming that I'll be getting ~1.5 cents toward travel for the points, that's puts the total benefit at $2,788.86 earned so far in 2019.

Travel:
42,956 RR points
I plan to do a lot more travel in 2020 & 2021, since I'll be going for the Southwest Companion Pass at the turn of the calendar.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #115 on: September 26, 2019, 03:35:45 PM »
Has anyone done the Hilton Honors American Express card , Spend 1k in 3 months get 100,000 Points? My DW was solicited by snailmail and since we do more Hotels than anything thought this might be a good one to do next as we have really slowed down after churning alot in early year.

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #116 on: September 26, 2019, 03:50:23 PM »
Initiated my first churn today: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ct-de-ma-mi-nh-nj-ny-oh-pa-ri-vt-citizens-bank-200-400-600-checking-bonus/

Cutting it close - last day of promotion to open the account. Next step is to switch my direct deposit information on my company's payroll site. I'll have enough in a single deposit to qualify for the $600 bonus level.

Unfortunately the comments in the DoC thread are pretty negative, so we'll see if I'll actually receive the bonus. I have no issue having the money tied up for a few months, so its worth the risk.

Update: The bonus posted last week! Woo!!! Probably the easiest $600 I have ever made. Time to find a new churning opportunity.

Citizens has been a gold mine for me. In 3+ years I've netted over $1500 in bonuses from them.

Toad

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #117 on: October 05, 2019, 09:50:27 AM »
Has anyone done the Hilton Honors American Express card , Spend 1k in 3 months get 100,000 Points? My DW was solicited by snailmail and since we do more Hotels than anything thought this might be a good one to do next as we have really slowed down after churning alot in early year.

Unfortunately you just missed out on all time high offers.  The current Hilton card offerings are mediocre although 100k for the no AF card is decent and worth grabbing if you are over 5/24.
 However you have to factor the missed opportunity cost of no cross-referral bonus into the decision.  I think the referral offer for HH no AF is 75-85k, so if you can get 15k MR + 75k HH, is that worth more to you than 100k HH?  To me it would be (worth it to go the referral route over the 100k targeted offer that is).  Definitely not a card worth getting if you are under 5/24 though.  I have done them all except for the HH no AF card.

Did HH Biz, HH Aspire, HH Surpass (x2).  Bonuses ranged from 125k to 150k for all of them.  Hilton points are reasonably worth about 0.5 cpp so a 100k SUB is around $500 in Hilton money.  Good thing about the Surpass is that is a good MS card.  15k gets you a FNC and if done at grocery, an additional 90k HH points.

If you lean towards redeeming at lower/middle tier properties, expect to get closer to 0.4-0.5 cpp on the HH points.  If you redeem at higher end properties, expect closer to 0.5-0.6 cpp.  If you redeem at high end properties in high demand times, you can end up exceeding 1 cpp but it is very rare.

I have a redemption at the Grand Wailea over Thanksgiving this year.  Cash rate was 1k/nt so I ended up with a redemption exceeding 1 cpp.  Also used 3 FNCs for it.  Definitely the exception and not the norm though.
« Last Edit: October 05, 2019, 09:59:07 AM by Toad »

soccerluvof4

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #118 on: October 08, 2019, 03:49:29 AM »
Has anyone done the Hilton Honors American Express card , Spend 1k in 3 months get 100,000 Points? My DW was solicited by snailmail and since we do more Hotels than anything thought this might be a good one to do next as we have really slowed down after churning alot in early year.

Unfortunately you just missed out on all time high offers.  The current Hilton card offerings are mediocre although 100k for the no AF card is decent and worth grabbing if you are over 5/24.
 However you have to factor the missed opportunity cost of no cross-referral bonus into the decision.  I think the referral offer for HH no AF is 75-85k, so if you can get 15k MR + 75k HH, is that worth more to you than 100k HH?  To me it would be (worth it to go the referral route over the 100k targeted offer that is).  Definitely not a card worth getting if you are under 5/24 though.  I have done them all except for the HH no AF card.

Did HH Biz, HH Aspire, HH Surpass (x2).  Bonuses ranged from 125k to 150k for all of them.  Hilton points are reasonably worth about 0.5 cpp so a 100k SUB is around $500 in Hilton money.  Good thing about the Surpass is that is a good MS card.  15k gets you a FNC and if done at grocery, an additional 90k HH points.

If you lean towards redeeming at lower/middle tier properties, expect to get closer to 0.4-0.5 cpp on the HH points.  If you redeem at higher end properties, expect closer to 0.5-0.6 cpp.  If you redeem at high end properties in high demand times, you can end up exceeding 1 cpp but it is very rare.

I have a redemption at the Grand Wailea over Thanksgiving this year.  Cash rate was 1k/nt so I ended up with a redemption exceeding 1 cpp.  Also used 3 FNCs for it.  Definitely the exception and not the norm though.



We ended up getting it just because..... Probably not the best next choice for us but my DW went on line and was instantly approved. 1k to qualify for the bonus is so minimal maybe I will pull down another card in my name.  Thanks for the info.

dlawson

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #119 on: October 08, 2019, 10:01:55 AM »
Quarterly update:

2019 - through 10/1

- Paid $3,757 in credit card annual fees
- Earned $2,700 in cash from bank account bonuses
- Earned $14,083 in cash from credit cards (signup bonuses and miscellaneous credits)
- Redeemed $4,319 worth of travel from credit card signup bonuses

Net profit so far this year is $13,026 in cash plus $4,319 worth of travel expenses.

Current Balances

Amex MR: 486,013, to be redeemed for $6,075.16 in cash
AA: 523,402, worth approximately $7,327 in travel expenses
Southwest: 190,299, worth approximately $2,854 in travel expenses
Alaska: 48,668, worth approximately $681 in travel expenses
Avios: 139,740, worth approximately $2,096 in travel expenses
Hilton: 565,166, worth approximately $2,260 in travel expenses, plus 2 Free Weekend Night certificates
Marriott: 206,425, worth approximately $1,651 in travel expenses, plus 3 Free Night certificates
Hyatt: 56,244, worth approximately $956 in travel expenses

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #120 on: October 08, 2019, 11:51:08 AM »
I signed up for the REI card, which has a small bonus ($100 store credit), and a referral bonus for my friend. I want a bunch of small hiking things, so it's worth it to me.

I was considering the Amtrak offer but I think the all time high is over.

Toad

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #121 on: October 19, 2019, 11:48:38 PM »
Been a while since my last major update.  It is getting a bit difficult even to track on the high level now since my monthly MS is approaching 6 figures but a fairly accurate snapshot is:

Totals through 10/11/2019:

Item"Value"       Quantity       Total "Value"       
Membership Rewards1.25 cpp292,834$3,660.43
Ultimate Rewards1.00 cpp278,680$2,786.80
Thank You Points1.00 cpp1,024$10.24
Altitude Reserve Points & Flexperk Points1.50 cpp1,492$22.38
Pathfinder Rewards0.85 cpp279$2.37
Flagship Rewards & More Rewards1.00 cpp9,412$94.12
City National Points1.10 cpp44,897$493.87
Go Far Points1.00 cpp36,166$361.66
BMO Points1.00 cpp17,117$171.17
AAdvantage Miles1.40 cpp482,496$6,754.94
Rapid Rewards Miles1.50 cpp22,793$341.90
Hilton Honor Points0.50 cpp500,320$2,501.60
World of Hyatt Points1.60 cpp46,499$743.98
Alaska Miles1.50 cpp85,855$1,287.83
Alaska Companion Pass2$150.00$300.00
AA Vouchers85%$910.00$773.50
SW Gift Cards85%$0$0
Hilton Free Night Cert.$200.002$400.00
Hyatt Free Night Cert.$200.001$200.00
Uber Credit100%$1,014.75$1,014.75
Saks 5th Ave. Gift Card85%$450.00$382.50
Cheesecake Factory Gift Card100%$100.00$100.00
Dell Credits75%$600.00$450.00
Cash (Credit Cards)100%$3,295.00$3,295.00
Cashout (Credit Cards)100%$18,548.55$18,548.55
Cash (Manufactured Spending)100%$4,401.26$4,401.26
Other Misc. Cash Equivalents100%$429.00$429.00
Cost (Credit Cards) $7,463.00
Cost (Bank Accounts) $18.25
Cost (Other) $3,732.23

Total Net Value: $43,389.86

Through 10/14/2019:

Total CCs to date:
56 approved (20 business, 36 personal)
42 denied (10 business, 32 personal)

Total BAs to date:
32 approved
14 denied


Redemptions:
129,936 SW points redeemed for $2,893 of travel
472,000 HH points redeemed for $3,747.36 of travel
3 HH FNCs redeemed for $3,248.06 of travel
61,756 UR points redeemed for $862.74 of travel
60,000 Hyatt points redeemed for $1,951.64 of travel
50,377 CNB points redeemed for $654.90 of travel
3,227 USB points redeemed for $48.41 of travel
$440 AA Vouchers redeemed for $440 of travel
$450 SW GCs redeemed for $450 of travel

$14,296.11 total travel redemption "value"

Cashouts (included in summary value):
82,972 USB points redeemed for $1,244.56 of cash
58,099 NFCU points redeemed for $589.99 of cash
24,220 PenFed points redeemed for $200.00 of cash
50,000 BMO points redeemed for $500.00 of cash
1,012,000 MR redeemed for $12,650 of cash

Toad

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #122 on: November 02, 2019, 07:05:48 PM »
I found another great way to maximize your bank account churning. Sign up for SoFi Money and Sofi Invest. The SoFi Money promotion gives you a $50 bonus for signing up using a referral link and gives the person giving the referral $100. The invest side is $50 and $50. There are no minimums or maintenance fees and only takes $100 so it is very easy to get other people to sign up! I've signed up 6 family members and friends in 2 days! I make $100 per person and they all make $50! If you want my referral code (I would appreciate it!) and you can start with your significant other and make some cash!

There are many many many accounts like this.  Varo, Chime, etc.  Please don't spam your referral links.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2020, 11:15:54 PM by Toad »

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #123 on: November 03, 2019, 02:56:54 AM »
Your killing it @Toad ! awesome and thanks for sharing. Everytime i see your posts I get motivated and get another card.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #124 on: November 04, 2019, 12:45:11 PM »
My next card might be TD Cash. There's a higher bonus than usual, for a small spend: $200 bonus for $500 spend. Their online application system is down, though.

I might do the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard after all, even though the higher bonus is over. The annual fee card would get ~$500 in trip value after the fee, then I can downgrade to the no-fee card. This would require paying rent through Plastiq once to hit the $1,000 spend.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #125 on: November 25, 2019, 04:04:25 AM »
My next card might be TD Cash. There's a higher bonus than usual, for a small spend: $200 bonus for $500 spend. Their online application system is down, though.

I might do the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard after all, even though the higher bonus is over. The annual fee card would get ~$500 in trip value after the fee, then I can downgrade to the no-fee card. This would require paying rent through Plastiq once to hit the $1,000 spend.

On a completely different not that has nothing to do with churning I heard Schwaab is buying TD Ameritrade.

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #126 on: November 25, 2019, 05:33:34 AM »
@Toad that is quite a haul, I had no idea you were doing that much manufactured spend.

For all of the bank accounts you were denied for, were they all due to Chex?  I saw a comment on r/churning about pulling your Chex report and then just going through each pull and disputing each one.  They said 99% of the time the banks will just drop it from your report.  I'm not sure how long it takes to do, I imagine it would be a long process to do for all of your accounts.

aloevera

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #127 on: November 25, 2019, 01:12:09 PM »
A friend just told me about Plastiq. If I use that for rent, I'll be able to hit higher spend requirements. Not that much higher, since rent is only $750, but I could go for $2,500 spend in 3 months, instead of $500-$1,000. Has anyone used it? Looks like the fees would be $56.25, which should be easily outweighed by any decent bonus.

I've been using it for rent and such for a few months, originally to meet a spend req but now just for points on existing card.

I started with 500 fee free dollars (referral) but didn't do anything for a month or so, they offered me 3,000 fee-free dollars and I took that.

So haven't paid any fees at all so far.

I get a notification when my recipient's check is sent, received and deposited.

TomTX

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #128 on: November 25, 2019, 06:58:24 PM »
So, as mentioned in the Don't Pay off Your Mortgage thread, cashout refi into a 30 year fixed mortgage has happened.

First stop: Chase. Upgrade to Sapphire Checking. $1k bonus for depositing $75k, which includes savings + discount brokerage balances (YouInvest). Hit the $300 savings account bonus as well. Drop $25k in savings, remainder into YouInvest in cheap ETFs

Toad

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #129 on: November 27, 2019, 04:33:34 PM »
For all of the bank accounts you were denied for, were they all due to Chex?  I saw a comment on r/churning about pulling your Chex report and then just going through each pull and disputing each one.  They said 99% of the time the banks will just drop it from your report.  I'm not sure how long it takes to do, I imagine it would be a long process to do for all of your accounts.

The vast majority of denials are for Chex.  The one time I tried to dispute a Chex inquiry (the bank pulled my report 4 times to open the account so it was a legitimate dispute), it was not overturned.

I haven't bothered with it since but I feel that if I applied to a bank and the inquiry is legitimate I shouldn't dispute it just to make it go away.  Everyone plays the game differently though.  I'm sure there are things I do that others would say no way to.

DadJokes

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #130 on: December 15, 2019, 07:09:13 PM »
All statements closed for 2019, so no additional rewards will be posted. We will have the Southwest Companion Pass in 2020 & 2021, though I don't know how much travel we'll actually get to do with the baby. Overall, I'd say it went pretty well for our first year of churning.

2019
EarnedCash Value    Travel Value
Chase Ultimate Rewards
147,706
$1,477
$2,216
Southwest Rapid Rewards
18,237
-
274
Cash Back
$654
654
654
Total Earned
2,131
3,143
Fees Paid
Southwest Premier1
-1
-1
Sapphire Preferred2
-
-
Capital One Savor2
-
-
Ink Business Preferred
95
95
Southwest Performance Business
199
199
Total Fees
293
293
Profit
$1,838
$2,850

1 - $100 statement credit offset $99 fee
2 - Fee waived in first year
« Last Edit: December 16, 2019, 06:30:53 AM by DadJokes »

Tass

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #131 on: January 05, 2020, 04:27:57 PM »
I've just been approved for the Discover It Cash Back. My partner referred me for a $50 bonus each, but I'm mostly interested in the doubled cashback for the first year (especially the first quarter for groceries). He just got the AAdvantage Aviator Red card for 60k miles after $99 fee plus a companion flight for only $99. I'm going to get the same one, but maybe wait a bit first - I've heard they're sensitive to other recent applications - and downgrade my Citi AAdvantage card first so I'll only have one annual fee at a time.

ETA: They said I had no downgrade options, so I closed that account. First closed account on my report at 11 months old; hopefully that doesn't hurt me much.

I am working on the Wells Fargo checking bonus, should arrive in Feb.

2019 wrap-up:

$300 Chase checking bonus
$250 USAA card signup bonus
$200 American Express CashMagnet signup bonus
$281.18 collected cashback across cards
44,700 American Airlines bonus miles

...for a total of $1031.18 + 3 one-way flights (value = $400-$800)
« Last Edit: January 05, 2020, 04:55:21 PM by Tass »

dlawson

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #132 on: January 06, 2020, 03:04:59 PM »
Now that the year is closed out, here's the final tally:

2019

- Paid $5,997 in credit card annual fees
- Earned $3,000 in cash from bank account bonuses
- Earned $23,598 in cash from credit cards (signup bonuses and miscellaneous credits)
- Redeemed $4,319 worth of travel from credit card signup bonuses

Net profit for 2019 is $20,601 in cash plus $4,319 worth of travel expenses.

Current Balances

AA: 523,402, worth approximately $7,327 in travel expenses
Southwest: 190,299, worth approximately $2,854 in travel expenses
Alaska: 48,668, worth approximately $681 in travel expenses
Avios: 139,740, worth approximately $2,096 in travel expenses
Hilton: 567,592, worth approximately $2,270 in travel expenses, plus 3 Free Weekend Night certificates
Marriott: 209,836, worth approximately $1,678 in travel expenses, plus 3 Free Night certificates
Hyatt: 112,529, worth approximately $1,912 in travel expenses

Total points "value": $17,864. It's a bit of a B.S. number and if I could sell all my points, I totally would! Still, my travel expenses are essentially fully covered for the next several years, at a minimum.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2020, 03:08:20 PM by dlawson »

secondcor521

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #133 on: January 06, 2020, 04:38:12 PM »
if I could sell all my points, I totally would!

You can.  It's against TOS usually.  I know a guy who is well respected in this field.  PM me if you want his contact info; I don't make anything off the referral.  He won't pay you what you can get for a good travel redemption, but if you have points you can't use or don't like, it's a decent way to get cash for them.  (He makes money by brokering between people who have points and people who want to use points for travel but don't have them.)

dlawson

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #134 on: January 09, 2020, 11:36:12 PM »
if I could sell all my points, I totally would!

You can.  It's against TOS usually.  I know a guy who is well respected in this field.  PM me if you want his contact info; I don't make anything off the referral.  He won't pay you what you can get for a good travel redemption, but if you have points you can't use or don't like, it's a decent way to get cash for them.  (He makes money by brokering between people who have points and people who want to use points for travel but don't have them.)

I'm aware of points brokers; I just haven't really taken the plunge and looked into it yet. Realistically my most lucrative opportunity would be the American miles, and that's probably a terrible idea given the epic AA shutdown wave that just happened.

Queen Frugal

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #135 on: January 12, 2020, 09:45:02 AM »
I am new to this forum but I have been reading for a while. This thread has been totally eye opening for me! I opened some cards a few years ago and loved the bonuses as they paid for my annual vacation but then I have been stuck on what to do next. Until this!

I was snowed in this weekend and did A LOT of reading online. I'm planning on hitting up all the applications I can for Chase first because of the 5/24 rule. But I am struggling a bit to come up with my long term plan as I am confused about how Chase will handle business cards and whether they will apply to the personal card limit. I would love some input on figuring out my strategy.

I just applied for the Chase Southwest Priority card and was approved. This puts me at 4/24. In April, a card falls off, so it will be 3/24 then, which is when I probably will apply for the next card or two.

I have 2 legit businesses - one with a separate EIN and one is a DBA, both reported on my tax return on schedule C.

Should I keep applying for Chase personal cards until I hit 5/24, then apply for all the other personal cards I want, then start rotating through my business card options, or should I apply for all the Chase cards I can - personal, business, etc. - first?

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #136 on: January 12, 2020, 10:04:55 AM »
I was denied for my first card. My credit score is around 770, but BoA said 1) I've opened too many cards recently (a Chase card in May, REI in October, and another BoA card in November) and 2) I'm not keeping money with them in any other accounts, so who cares about me.

Since my first BoA card was the most recent, will I be okay trying a card with a different bank soon? Or should I wait a couple months before doing anything.

Tass

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #137 on: January 12, 2020, 05:58:04 PM »
I got denied for a BoA card for the same reason - PenFed as well. I'm keeping an eye out for a targeted BoA checking offer now. I don't know much about other bank cards though.

Toad

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #138 on: January 13, 2020, 10:58:23 AM »
Should I keep applying for Chase personal cards until I hit 5/24, then apply for all the other personal cards I want, then start rotating through my business card options, or should I apply for all the Chase cards I can - personal, business, etc. - first?

Chase biz cards do not impact you 5/24 status with Chase.  Basically if it doesn't show up on your credit report, they don't count it.  Most bank's business cards don't show up - Chase being a bank where this is the case.

The Chase ink preferred card is generally recommended as the best available option.  $95 annual fee, but 80,000 UR bonus ($800 cash, more if used for travel).

It is counterintuitive, but applying with a new business is easier than applying with an established one.  If you apply as anything other than a sole proprietorship, they are going to want documentation of everything, that why even if you have legitimate businesses, it is generally recommended to apply as a sole proprietorship and not really use your business documents for the application.  Maybe you started selling on eBay.  Great, get a card for that as a sole proprietorship.

If you go the Chase ink preferred route, anyone who has the card can give you a referral for the 80,000 UR bonus.  The referrer will get 20,000 UR.  If you know someone that has the card, use their referral.  I do have it, but don't want you thinking I am recommending this one for the referral so if you don't know anyone that has the card and want to use my referral for it, send me a message.

I'm glad this was able to help open your eyes up.  That was the intent :)

I would recommend focusing on business cards for the next 6-9 months.  You can pick up a new Chase business card every 2-3 months and pick up other bank's business cards in the meantime.  Just make sure to research if the bank reports the business card to your credit history first.  Capital one does, but most of the other major banks (BoA, AMEX, Citi, Chase, Barclays) do not.

Then when you have loaded up on Chase business cards (3-5 I would say), finish up with Chase personal cards to round out your 5/24 and move on to other things.

DadJokes

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #139 on: January 13, 2020, 02:39:18 PM »
I believe I read in one of the r/churning articles that Chase would not approve business cards if your current credit limit is greater than 50% of your reported income. However, I was just approved for Ink Business Cash with my current credit limit at 55% of total income, and the approval takes me up to 60%.

Since it has a lower limit than the previous two business cards I've received, I'm guessing that I shouldn't bother trying for a fourth business card after this one. I'm still only 3/24 and want to get the Hyatt card before moving on from Chase.

At what point do I need to start reducing my credit limit? Will other banks deny me outright if I'm sitting at 60-70% of income already?

secondcor521

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #140 on: January 13, 2020, 04:27:27 PM »
I believe I read in one of the r/churning articles that Chase would not approve business cards if your current credit limit is greater than 50% of your reported income. However, I was just approved for Ink Business Cash with my current credit limit at 55% of total income, and the approval takes me up to 60%.

Since it has a lower limit than the previous two business cards I've received, I'm guessing that I shouldn't bother trying for a fourth business card after this one. I'm still only 3/24 and want to get the Hyatt card before moving on from Chase.

At what point do I need to start reducing my credit limit? Will other banks deny me outright if I'm sitting at 60-70% of income already?

I'm somewhere around 900% of income total across 23 cards, so you're not there yet.

It seems that each issuer will want to keep their overall exposure to you to some level.  I'm not sure what that is, and it probably varies from issuer to issuer and depends on your credit history and other things.  But I have well over 100% of reported income with at least two different major issuers.

What you can do, and the CC issuers sometimes do this for you, is if you're approved for $60K with them and apply for a new card, they'll take $2K from your existing card(s) and reallocate to the new card to approve you.  When that happens they'll send you a letter about it.  If that starts happening, then you'll know your at your max for that issuer.

However, being at a max for any issuer usually doesn't prevent another issuer from issuing you a bunch of new credit.  In other words, they don't usually look at your total CC exposure across all issuers.  I don't know why; it seems to me like they should.  But they don't.  I think it's partly to try to compete - if Chase gives you a $30K card, then BofA thinks they should give you a $35K card so you'll like them better and switch which card you use.

That's all with total credit limits.  Credit utilization is a different matter.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2020, 04:29:59 PM by secondcor521 »

Queen Frugal

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #141 on: February 01, 2020, 08:30:17 AM »
Should I keep applying for Chase personal cards until I hit 5/24, then apply for all the other personal cards I want, then start rotating through my business card options, or should I apply for all the Chase cards I can - personal, business, etc. - first?

Chase biz cards do not impact you 5/24 status with Chase.  Basically if it doesn't show up on your credit report, they don't count it.  Most bank's business cards don't show up - Chase being a bank where this is the case.

The Chase ink preferred card is generally recommended as the best available option.  $95 annual fee, but 80,000 UR bonus ($800 cash, more if used for travel).

It is counterintuitive, but applying with a new business is easier than applying with an established one.  If you apply as anything other than a sole proprietorship, they are going to want documentation of everything, that why even if you have legitimate businesses, it is generally recommended to apply as a sole proprietorship and not really use your business documents for the application.  Maybe you started selling on eBay.  Great, get a card for that as a sole proprietorship.

If you go the Chase ink preferred route, anyone who has the card can give you a referral for the 80,000 UR bonus.  The referrer will get 20,000 UR.  If you know someone that has the card, use their referral.  I do have it, but don't want you thinking I am recommending this one for the referral so if you don't know anyone that has the card and want to use my referral for it, send me a message.

I'm glad this was able to help open your eyes up.  That was the intent :)

I would recommend focusing on business cards for the next 6-9 months.  You can pick up a new Chase business card every 2-3 months and pick up other bank's business cards in the meantime.  Just make sure to research if the bank reports the business card to your credit history first.  Capital one does, but most of the other major banks (BoA, AMEX, Citi, Chase, Barclays) do not.

Then when you have loaded up on Chase business cards (3-5 I would say), finish up with Chase personal cards to round out your 5/24 and move on to other things.

Toad, thank you so much for this! I have never been so excited to get new credit cards! I have to get a little closer to meeting my spend requirement for the current bonus, but when I am ready, I will totally reach out to you for a referral!

ohsnap

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #142 on: February 21, 2020, 10:34:34 AM »
You all have really inspired me to step up my game! In 2019, dh and I earned a total of $1k with 3 bank account bonuses.  We also received big points bonuses, and a SW companion pass, for opening two SW Airlines CCs, an IHG CC, a US Bank Altitude Reserve, and a Chase Ink (80k UR!).

So far in 2020 I'm working on:
Chase Sapphire Reserve 50k (dh) (got in just before the annual fee increase)
Wells Fargo checking (dh) $400
Citi checking/savings $400

I hope we can each open 2-3 more bank accounts.

I don't have a further CC strategy for this year other than a Chase Sapphire Preferred for me.  We might need to keep dh under 5/24 in case we want to start over again in 2021 with a companion pass.  I really don't need more airline miles or hotel points; points that are cash-equivalent are most appealing to me right now.  We are already sitting on way too many air miles with AA, SW, and Alaska.

katsiki

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #143 on: February 21, 2020, 08:21:37 PM »
Anyone doing the latest BBVA offer?  I think I will...  Spouse did a similar one in 2018 or 2019.  It was pretty easy.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bbva-compass-200-checking-50-savings-bonus-nationwide-available-online-2/


DadJokes

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #144 on: February 22, 2020, 06:55:49 AM »
Anyone doing the latest BBVA offer?  I think I will...  Spouse did a similar one in 2018 or 2019.  It was pretty easy.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bbva-compass-200-checking-50-savings-bonus-nationwide-available-online-2/

Yes, however the credit card funding portion is BS. I funded $500 in checking & savings, and nothing ever posted.

BBVA also seems to be really slow about posting anything. I did an ACH push from my Wells Fargo account a few days ago, and it still hasn't posted.

Part of the benefit of churning these accounts is that I would like to find a better "home" account to use, and BBVA definitely isn't going to be it.

Helvegen

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #145 on: February 24, 2020, 07:27:37 PM »
So far for 2020, I have BECU referral bonuses of $200 and will turn around and do it again this weekend.

I haven't churned in a while. Started off with BoA Cash Rewards and Amex Wells Fargo for an easy $400. I got denied a Amex Blue Cash signup bonus prior to applying to the Amex Wells Fargo. The denial was something like they sensed I had some history of doing this. But then they approved the other card with signup. I will likely sign up my husband for the same cards as soon as I finish the spend requirements for these two which are really low.

Thinking about getting into some business cards this year for the first time...

katsiki

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #146 on: February 24, 2020, 07:30:31 PM »
Thinking about getting into some business cards this year for the first time...

Go for it!

Chase business cards have been very friendly to me.  I just received an Amex business offer that I am probably going to do soon too.

Morning Glory

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #147 on: February 24, 2020, 08:01:03 PM »
Anyone doing the latest BBVA offer?  I think I will...  Spouse did a similar one in 2018 or 2019.  It was pretty easy.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bbva-compass-200-checking-50-savings-bonus-nationwide-available-online-2/

I signed up in November 2019 and the bonus just posted last week.

dlawson

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #148 on: February 24, 2020, 09:38:22 PM »
Toad, I assume you got hit by the AA shutdown wave, right? Is there much of a consensus on applying for new AA cards at this point? There are a couple public offers that I could pick up but I’m hesitating.

Monerexia

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Re: Maximize Your Churning (Bank Account & Credit Card)
« Reply #149 on: February 24, 2020, 10:31:59 PM »
PTF

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!