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Chase Sapphire Reserve – Post Denial Options
After applying for Chase Sapphire Reserve in a bank branch earlier this week, I finally decided to call the reconsideration line to check the status. As I feared, my application was denied due to too many accounts opened in the past 24 months. I asked the representative “How many is too many accounts?” She was polite but would not put a number on it. I had considered waiting to let the decision process play out on its own–some have had more luck being approved that way. I finally considered calling for two reasons: There might be a need to move some credit around which could be causing the delay. I have 3 additional recently…
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The New Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Looks Fantastic!
UPDATE: The 100,000 point signup bonus offer for online applications will be reduced to 50,000 on January 12, 2017. Chase has introduced its new premium travel credit card, Sapphire Reserve, and it looks fantastic! Loaded with benefits, it carries a hefty $450 annual fee. This new addition to its lineup finally gives Chase a direct competitor to The Platinum Card from American Express and Citi Prestige. Sapphire Reserve offers a myriad of travel benefits that more than make up for the annual fee, including an annual $300 travel credit, complimentary Priority Pass airport lounge access, and Global Entry/TSA Pre✓ credit. Unfortunately, this card is subject to Chase’s restrictive 5/24 rule. Last week, I wrote…
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New Chase Sapphire Reserve: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Update: Chase has clarified that the Visa Infinite $100 credit towards 2-5 domestic flights will not be included as a benefit of the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I’ve updated this post accordingly. Yesterday afternoon, Chase prematurely accepted online applications for it’s new, but yet-to-be-announced flagship credit card, Chase Sapphire Reserve. The link to the application page was discovered and posted by a user on reddit. A short time later, another link listing the card’s benefits was posted by a different user. Within a couple hours, the party was over as Chase took down the links. During the time that the links were active, applications to Sapphire Reserve did not appear to be subject to the…
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The Chase 5/24 Rule: When a Great Credit Score Isn’t Enough
You earn a good salary and your credit score is over 750, but Chase just denied your credit card application. How can this be? If you’ve opened 5 or more credit cards from any bank in the last 2 years, you just became the latest victim of the Chase 5/24 rule. Your good credit history is usually the most important prerequisite banks look for in order to approve you for a credit card. But with Chase’s unique credit card approval rule, your stellar credit takes a back seat to your potential profitability. Before applying for any Chase credit card, you’ll need to know what the Chase 5/24 rule is and if it applies to you. Here…
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Citi Prestige Card to Discontinue AA Lounge Benefit
The Citi Prestige Card, one of Citi’s most expensive credit cards, is dropping a major benefit–complimentary access to American Airlines Admirals Club airport lounges. According to their website, Admiral’s Club access is due to expire on July 23, 2017. Citi Prestige has a $450 annual fee which is not waived the first year, so losing a benefit like this is certainly a blow. There’s no doubt that this is still a valuable card for travelers–particularly those that didn’t frequently use the lounge benefit. It remains to be seen how Citi will adjust other benefits or the annual fee to compensate cardmembers for the change. Card Benefits $250 Annual Air Travel Credit Each calendar year,…
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Should I Cancel a Credit Card I No Longer Use?
There are times when it makes sense to cancel a credit card, but it’s oftentimes better not to. In “Before You Cancel That Credit Card, Read This!“, I wrote about the effects that canceling a card have on your credit score–it can never help, only hurt your score. In this article, I’ll go through some of the more common reasons I see given for wanting to cancel a card and discuss the validity of each reason. I have too much available credit This is a common misconception in consumer finance. Banks actually prefer if you have a large and varied amount of available credit. Risk is reduced by spreading it out…
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Amex Blue Cash Preferred Raising Annual Fee
Beginning August 3, 2016, the Annual Fee for the American Express Blue Cash Preferred credit card is increasing from $75 to $95. There’s been no announcement other than the notation on the web-based application. There is also no indication of any enhancement to the card’s benefits. The rest of this post is an update of Amex Blue Cash Everyday of Preferred. Which is Right For You? There are those who would never apply for a cash back credit card that charges an annual fee. Does it make sense to pay a fee to get your own cash back? The answer lies in your own spending habits and as you’ll see, those fees could…
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United Credit Card Offering 50k-70k Bonus Miles
For a limited time, the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card is offering an increased signup bonus. You can get 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. If your United MileagePlus account is targeted, that bonus might be 70,000 instead. This offer expires on June 30, 2016. The signup bonus is normally 30,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months with the $95 annual fee waived for the first year. It’s important to note that with these limited time offers, the annual fee is not waived and will appear on your first statement. This product is not available to either (i)…
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Hot: Amex Personal Platinum Card 100k Bonus
UPDATE: This offer is no longer available. Thanks to ChetHazelEyes over at Reddit Churning for the alert about this fantastic offer. Apply now for the Personal Platinum Card from American Express and get 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3000 with the card in the first 3 months. This offer is not available to applicants who have or have had this product in the past. The link to this offer can be found here. It takes you to the landing page with all the offer terms spelled out. Note that, as usual, the $450 annual fee is not waived the first year. Main Platinum Card Benefits I consider the Platinum Card to be…
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Review: Capital One Venture Credit Card
Last week, I wrote a review of the BarclayCard Arrival Plus Credit Card. The Arrival Plus card and Capital One’s Venture share many similarities and lead me to the same conclusion. Capital One Venture’s signup bonus is worth $400 towards travel expenses and that is certainly worth the effort, but like Arrival Plus, the value ends there. Card Details Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Earn unlimited 2X miles on all purchases Visa Signature Benefits No foreign transaction fees $59 annual fee (waived the first year) Analysis Capital One Venture uses the word “miles” to describe the rewards that you earn when you…
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