@longtimelurker wrote:
@manwoot wrote:
@bigblue7722 wrote:
@coldnmn wrote:In my opinion wait until the end of December at the earliest.
I dont have an amex but wouldnt Jan 1st be the best for maxium backdating?
If you wait until January, your MSD becomes 2015 instead of 2014. You're correct in that once you have a MSD, you should apply in January (any time) for maximum backdating. Then, your cards will say opened 01/2014.
Yes, early as makes sense for the first card (to get the year for backdating and start building history on the first card). Jan for subsequent cards does give max backdating but I think this is overstated on the forum. Firstly, you have even a few open/closed lines, getting backdated to April XX rather than Jan XX has almost no effect, as the three months are averaged over all your lines. Secondly, if you can make use of the benefits of the card (which is why you are getting it) waiting until Jan may also not be worth it, as you lose the advantage of those benefits during the waiting time.
+1 Also, some cards will have a higher signup bonus at different points of the year and I tend to look at that first.
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