topic Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus?? in Credit Cards

Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:10:49 GMT

Hello all,
I applied for an Alaska Airlines Signature Visa card online about 2 months ago. Very quickly I was notified that I have been approved (my credit scores were 756/754 at the time). I had not read the fine print very closely and assumed that I would be receiving the Alaska Airlines Signature Visa card, however a platinum plus card arrived 2 weeks later. This confers almost no bonuses compared to the signature visa (5k instead of 25k miles, etc.).

I was very disappointed and called BoA, they said that it was due to my low credit line ($3000). I asked customer service if that line could be reevaluated considering my income, high credit score, and housing arrangement. She told me that I should just wait a bit and pay off my balances on the card and get it upgraded later. She mentioned several times that I was "close" and "should just a wait a bit and build up". I didn't know much about credit cards so I agreed. Later my more credit-knowledgeable friends told me that I'd been misled badly and that A) I should have gotten a $5000+ limit and the Signature Visa on my first pass and B) Will not receive 25k miles or all the bonuses if I get upgraded later because those awards only apply to "upon initial approval".

Do any of you have some insight into how this works and advice on what I should do? I really believe my credit and financial situation warrants a higher credit line (but I'm not too familiar with the system honestly). And does anyone know if being upgraded will allow me to claim the 25k miles?
Thanks for any and all help!

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Skye12329 — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:45:08 GMT

With that card a 5k minimum limit is needed. And yes you would need to apply and have gotten that credit line for signature.

If upgraded down the road generally you would not get the bonus. Its like if I turned my freedom card into a csp I would not get the bonus I would need to apply or reapply for the card.

I'm not fully sure if BOA upgraded platinum to signature or not if not instant approved for it. So I can't help there.

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Skye12329 — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:46:42 GMT

Sorry for another post I'm on mobile but as for a higher credit line. All lenders are different its more than just score and income. Its your whole credit I rofile too. Do you have other cards with higher limits?

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:53:25 GMT

@Skye12329 wrote:
With that card a 5k minimum limit is needed. And yes you would need to apply and have gotten that credit line for signature.

If upgraded down the road generally you would not get the bonus. Its like if I turned my freedom card into a csp I would not get the bonus I would need to apply or reapply for the card.

I'm not fully sure if BOA upgraded platinum to signature or not if not instant approved for it. So I can't help there.

Thanks for the feedback Skye,

In your opinion, would it be worth it to re-apply for a AK Air Signature Visa down the road (say 6 months) to try to obtain the awards, and then cancel the platinum plus? I read that a few forum goers here did that and were sucessful.

As for your second post, yes I think what is hurting me is my lack of other credit cards. I didn't realize that it might play a large role in their credit line decision. I just have a Wells Fargo unsecured with 1500 currently (which I've had for over a year).

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Skye12329 — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 22:09:40 GMT

The 1500 credit line could be a reason why you didnt get a 5k limit. Everyones situation is different but some lenders want to see how you handle higher limits so that might be why you didnt get the 5k limit. If that's your only card then it sounds like you might have a thin profile and that could be another reason. Thicker profiles get better limits and such but only way to fix that is handle credit responsibly.

As for if the card would be worth applying for again. That depends. Do you need or fly with Alaska airlines a lot ot plan on it? If so then sure the card could be worth it. Otherwise if not then there are plenty of other airline cards. Such as Amex Everyday (points get transferred to partners) or Barclays Arrival or Arrival + where the points can be used on travel expenses ot Chase Sapphire Preferred (points get transferred to partners, 5k limit is the minimum approved and might deny if you don't have higher limits) those are just some examples.

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 22:28:40 GMT

Okay, that makes sense. I do have a very limited credit card profile (just a secured WF card and then a unsecured WF card). I plan on flying with Alaska Airlines fairly regularly in the future, so I may reapply at a later time. I have heard good things about Chase Sapphire Preferred from a friend who has one, so I'll need to take a closer look and compare the rewards. Thanks for the help!

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

lhcole77 — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:27:42 GMT

Sorry to hear about this.

I concur with previous posts. Since you have relatively little CC experience BofA is going to want to see more track record from you.

If you are relatively new to credit cards it is not unheard of to not get approved for Signature cards. Good news: word on the street is that you can have more than one Alaska card at a time. Build up some history with BofA--maybe 6 months to a year--and then go for the Signature card again.

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:42:47 GMT

Cole,

Thanks for the advice. Yes, sounds to me like my lack of CC history is the culprit (only two past CC's, both with low limits).

I'll give it 6-9 months or so of paying off my AK Air Platinum Card in full and then reapply for the Visa Signature.

One more question, do you think it could help my chances of getting a Visa Signature card if I requested higher CLs on my Wells Fargo CC or even my BoA platinum card before re-applying?

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

lhcole77 — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:59:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Cole,
Thanks for the advice. Yes, sounds to me like my lack of CC history is the culprit (only two past CC's, both with low limits).

I'll give it 6-9 months or so of paying off my AK Air Platinum Card in full and then reapply for the Visa Signature.

One more question, do you think it could help my chances of getting a Visa Signature card if I requested higher CLs on my Wells Fargo CC or even my BoA platinum card before re-applying?

Sounds like a good plan! And FWIW BofA has told me that I could PC my card to something else (I think Better Balance Rewards, or something like that, I can't remember).

I know that as I have increased my limits on cards I have been approved for higher limits. So I think that can help.

I also know that when I got approved for AMEX I had my WF card at $2000 and a First Premier at $700. AMEX approved me for $9K. So some lenders look at other things too.

Have cards that are at least a year old and having low utlization will help for sure. If you do go for a CLI with BofA they will pull TU and were awesome to me when I asked for my CLI. WF has allowed me LOTS of SP CLIs over the years. Took one HP on EX for a big increase.

Just FYIs in case you ask for CLIs.

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

bigbang91 — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 00:05:48 GMT

If you have only 3 cards up until now, i assume you only have a few inquiries on your credit file. I would try to apply for Citi AA or Chase BA, both are partners of Alaska Airlines so you can redeem points from them on Alaska Airlines. I only got a 3 yrs old WF secured line of 500 when i app for Chase united, and citi aa, bith approved for 7.5k.I dont really know your credit profile, but thats what i would do to diversify my portfolio and enjoy benefits relate to needs.

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 00:15:45 GMT

@bigbang91 wrote:
If you have only 3 cards up until now, i assume you only have a few inquiries on your credit file. I would try to apply for Citi AA or Chase BA, both are partners of Alaska Airlines so you can redeem points from them on Alaska Airlines. I only got a 3 yrs old WF secured line of 500 when i app for Chase united, and citi aa, bith approved for 7.5k.I dont really know your credit profile, but thats what i would do to diversify my portfolio and enjoy benefits relate to needs.

Yes, only 3 cards total and only 2 cards active now (AK Air Plat & WF unsecured). Since I just got the AKAir CC shouldn't I wait awhile before applying for another CC?

But I understand your point about diversifying my portfolio while also collecting redeemable points.

Re: Advice on Alaska Airlines Signature Visa vs Platinum Plus??

bigbang91 — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 02:15:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@bigbang91 wrote:
If you have only 3 cards up until now, i assume you only have a few inquiries on your credit file. I would try to apply for Citi AA or Chase BA, both are partners of Alaska Airlines so you can redeem points from them on Alaska Airlines. I only got a 3 yrs old WF secured line of 500 when i app for Chase united, and citi aa, bith approved for 7.5k.I dont really know your credit profile, but thats what i would do to diversify my portfolio and enjoy benefits relate to needs.
Yes, only 3 cards total and only 2 cards active now (AK Air Plat & WF unsecured). Since I just got the AKAir CC shouldn't I wait awhile before applying for another CC?
But I understand your point about diversifying my portfolio while also collecting redeemable points.

I mean since there's only BoA inq on your account, it's not gonna send an alarm to other creditor if you apply for another card. I applied for 3 cards in a week, i know that Citi and Chase probably will pull all 3 bureaus. However, Barclay gonna pull TU,if you want the US airway bonus of 50k miles, companion ticket,very valuable. And USairway miles gonna be converted to AAmiles anyway in Q2