How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Cards
How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Cards
I just got an mail offer from my local bank, a River Valley Bank Visa Platinum Bonus Rewards Card, that will earn me 1.25 points (1.25% cashback) for every $1 in purchases I make. I've already have several credit cards that offer better cashback bonuses, however they offer me a bonus of $150 deposited to my checking account after making my first purchase. If not for that, I would not apply.
Anyways, I just wanted to know, how "frequent" is it okay to keep applying for credit cards without damaging my credit? I have a very high credit score of about 785-800. I've already applied for the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred Card late last fall, and Citi Thank You Preferred card last spring. Got accepted for both. This would be my 3rd CC I've seeked in less than a year. Is it okay to go ahead and apply?
Anyways, I just wanted to know, how "frequent" is it okay to keep applying for credit cards without damaging my credit? I have a very high credit score of about 785-800. I've already applied for the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred Card late last fall, and Citi Thank You Preferred card last spring. Got accepted for both. This would be my 3rd CC I've seeked in less than a year. Is it okay to go ahead and apply?
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
One question: why does your credit score matter to you?
Apply for whatever you want. It's only a temporary hit.
I'd suggest you apply for better cards though, those sound pretty bad. If you spend a reasonable amount of money on your cards you can go after some of the higher bonus cards.
Apply for whatever you want. It's only a temporary hit.
I'd suggest you apply for better cards though, those sound pretty bad. If you spend a reasonable amount of money on your cards you can go after some of the higher bonus cards.
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
If you don't plan on applying for a mortgage any time soon, I wouldn't worry about your score, but I wouldn't apply for 12 cards either.
How many kind of depends what bureau they pull.
How many kind of depends what bureau they pull.
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
A new line of credit drops your score in two ways. First, a hard inquiry stays on your record either 6 months or 1 year - I forget. In this case, being an unsolicited offer, you shouldn't get one. Second, it drops the average age of your accounts. The hit obviously depends on your history and the number of accounts you have. A new line also raises your score some if you don't max it out, since it drops your utilization (credit used/credit available).
In short, as already mentioned, if you aren't applying for a mortgage soon, go for it. 10+ cards is no big deal if you are a good boglehead and never carry a balance.
In short, as already mentioned, if you aren't applying for a mortgage soon, go for it. 10+ cards is no big deal if you are a good boglehead and never carry a balance.
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... rewards.go
New card, BofA, pays you $100 per year bonus or $120 per year if you also have a BofA deposit account.
Qualification: simply pay each month's bill on time, and pay more than minimum due. You are allowed to pay bills in full, but you must owe something at each statement cycle.
Could set it on autopilot by charging a small recurring bill automatically to the card, say a water bill, and setting it up for autopay of full balance. Then never use for anything else.
I suspect the min payment may be the smaller of amount owed or $20 for a balance >$20, say $25. If so, one would want to make sure each month it got charged more than $20, so the payment would always be more than the min. No reason to overdo it, there are no rewards for larger charges.
New card, BofA, pays you $100 per year bonus or $120 per year if you also have a BofA deposit account.
Qualification: simply pay each month's bill on time, and pay more than minimum due. You are allowed to pay bills in full, but you must owe something at each statement cycle.
Could set it on autopilot by charging a small recurring bill automatically to the card, say a water bill, and setting it up for autopay of full balance. Then never use for anything else.
I suspect the min payment may be the smaller of amount owed or $20 for a balance >$20, say $25. If so, one would want to make sure each month it got charged more than $20, so the payment would always be more than the min. No reason to overdo it, there are no rewards for larger charges.
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
You should be able to do much better than $150 if you look around. I would target $400 or more for the cash back or rewards value for a new card.
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
Two years.First, a hard inquiry stays on your record either 6 months or 1 year
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
That's an interesting point: it does say "More than the minimum payment," implying that if the balance were small enough that the minimum payment equals the balance, paying the balance wouldn't get you there.mak wrote:I suspect the min payment may be the smaller of amount owed or $20 for a balance >$20, say $25. If so, one would want to make sure each month it got charged more than $20, so the payment would always be more than the min. No reason to overdo it, there are no rewards for larger charges.
I had seen this card and was thinking of using it to pay my monthly Netflix bill of about $6, and was wondering how long BoA would keep paying me $25 per quarter when I was only charging $18. I guess this is how they'd get you; thanks a lot for pointing that out.
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
Maybe it's just me, but somehow I don't see this deal sticking around too long. I get the feeling a lot of people are "gaming the system" and I can see BOA discontinuing this benefit after they realize how unprofitable this is.FedGuy wrote:That's an interesting point: it does say "More than the minimum payment," implying that if the balance were small enough that the minimum payment equals the balance, paying the balance wouldn't get you there.mak wrote:I suspect the min payment may be the smaller of amount owed or $20 for a balance >$20, say $25. If so, one would want to make sure each month it got charged more than $20, so the payment would always be more than the min. No reason to overdo it, there are no rewards for larger charges.
I had seen this card and was thinking of using it to pay my monthly Netflix bill of about $6, and was wondering how long BoA would keep paying me $25 per quarter when I was only charging $18. I guess this is how they'd get you; thanks a lot for pointing that out.
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
People definitely game all these programs, but the % who do that is small enough that they let them stand. There are far more people who run up balances, incur fees and 20% interest, and make the programs profitable. There is an AARP Visa which pays 5% with no cap on all purchases made during the first 6 months. One person claimed to have run $780,000 of charges through the card in the final month alone, earning $39,000 of rewards. How? First, to do this one would have a $50,000 credit line, not unheard of, and be cycling it many times during the month. In fact, the person probably makes electronic payments to the card daily to keep the balance below the limit. As to what to charge, some have retail businesses and use this to buy merchandise. But very popular also is making charges that are cash-equivalent, but still show up as a purchase. Buying US dollar coins from the mint, no shipping, no charge for using the card (program has since ended due to abuse). Some were buying $10,000 of coins a week, until the mint put limits on this. There are MANY other versions, such as purchasing retail gift cards which are then liquidated, and the funds used to pay off the cards. Some cards pay bonus points for purchases in grocery or drug stores. So people buy their gift cards in the grocery or drug store. You get the picture.
Also, once one gets playing the game, they get cards in their name, their childrens', wife's, in-law's, parents', etc, and manages all of this as a full time endeavor. A heavy hitter can make over $100,000 per year in bonuses, frequent flyer miles, etc. Then of course when the banks review an account for excess activity or abuse, some get shut down and blacklisted. But they have committed no crime. They have perfect credit, pay all bills on time, but the bank will not issue them a card again. Apparently it happens. These folks blog about their activities.
In fact, more than that, they have seminars where people go to learn the tricks of the trade from each other. Of course they fly & stay free when attending the seminars, using their accumulated points.
http://ftuniversity.com/
http://www.frequentflyeruniversity.com/ ... ers-guide/
or simply google "credit card churning"
Perhaps I should cross-post under the thread where people are discussing boredom and how to fill empty days in retirement?
Also, once one gets playing the game, they get cards in their name, their childrens', wife's, in-law's, parents', etc, and manages all of this as a full time endeavor. A heavy hitter can make over $100,000 per year in bonuses, frequent flyer miles, etc. Then of course when the banks review an account for excess activity or abuse, some get shut down and blacklisted. But they have committed no crime. They have perfect credit, pay all bills on time, but the bank will not issue them a card again. Apparently it happens. These folks blog about their activities.
In fact, more than that, they have seminars where people go to learn the tricks of the trade from each other. Of course they fly & stay free when attending the seminars, using their accumulated points.
http://ftuniversity.com/
http://www.frequentflyeruniversity.com/ ... ers-guide/
or simply google "credit card churning"
Perhaps I should cross-post under the thread where people are discussing boredom and how to fill empty days in retirement?
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
Oops, you're right. But I do believe that after 6 months, the number of inquiries starts to have a minimal effect on score.tj wrote:Two years.First, a hard inquiry stays on your record either 6 months or 1 year
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
Really? So a 'medium hitter' would have no problem making, say, $30,000 profits in liquid cash? I've never come anywhere close to that.A heavy hitter can make over $100,000 per year i
Re: How frequent is it okay? Applying for rewards Credit Car
Nor have I. My best year ever is probably about $10,000 from all gimmicks combined, and that was rare. I am far from a major player. But there are those who do it full time who claim to make 6 figures. Whether you believe them is another matter. The stories of "driving all over Atlanta to find every CVS store that will sell them Vanilla Reload cards charged to a 5% drug store card", "their car floor being full of wrappers and paperwork from all the gift card purchases", "carrying a wireless laptop to do online loads of cards and electronic payments from the car", line up with a full time business so I tend to think there's some truth there.