3-Card App Spree - Need some solid advice

[Taurus22]

So it's late and my mind won't shut down.

FICO: 770 avg across all 3

AAoA: 3

Currently Own:  Discover It (8,000CL) + Citi DC (4,000CL)

I've been planning to app for 2 cards Mid-April to 1st of May.

I haven't app'd since Sept. 2015 and I only have 2 INQ on EQ for my truck loan in July 2018.

One card is going to be a BT card and the other is for overall CL increase and reduced UT%.

But.....there are several cards I have interest in and I'm having trouble with the methodology and picking out my next best option, so I'm thinking now maybe I should just do a 3-card App spree. But that throws another wrench in the works....

These are the 4 cards I have interest in currently for this endeavor....

I've highlighted the 1st one because it will likely be my BT card and is almost positively one target...

Chase Freedom - BT card (0% - 15 mth BT and PRCH) - EQ or TU pull I think?  Very INQ sensitive, 5/24 clear

US Bank Cash+ - EX or TU pull ?  Very INQ sensitive , Sage/ARS will be on ice, may require recon?

Barclay Uber Visa - TU 99.9% pull  - Possibly INQ sensitive, not sure of other rules

Citi Costco Anywhere Visa - EX or EQ pull?  Not sure of Citi practices, sensitivity, or other rules (although I am already a cardholder with them....not going to PC the DoubleCash card though, at least not yet)

So I'm losing sleep over trying to figure out:

-----Which would be the other 2 out of 3 to target and in which order (important) should I try to app them?

-----Could these all be app'd in one day, or do I need to spread them over a few days?

-----And should I even try for 3 at all , or stay safer with only 2? I realize after this, it will be a while before I get to pursue the remaining target cards I have, so I'm thinking maybe shoot for 3 while I can? What are my odds?

(I really like the US Bank Cash+ a lot....but will it conflict with Chase...given they are both highly sensitive?)

Any thoughts out there?

[Anonymous]

All in one day. App for Chase first so you can get a good APR, they don’t change it later usually. Most likely they will hit EX, if not, EQ.

U.S. Bank and Barclay will both hit TU, most likely. Since Barclay is more inquiry sensitive, hit them before US Bank.

If you wanna hit the Citibank too, they’ll most likely hit EQ.

As long as they are spread out among bureaus you could probably hit all four but then you need to garden for a few years.

what’s your current utilization and what is your AooA? If they’re decent I bet you could get all four. That doesn’t mean this is a good idea for everybody, do not do this everybody!

[Anonymous]

You have to be prepared for US Bank to pull EX and Citi to pull TU. US Bank tried to pull EX for me which was frozen so denied, Citi pulled EX and TU. 

Dont app more than 2 cards at once, and don’t app both Chase and Barclays together would be my advice. 

If you want Chase and US Bank, get Chase first. 

US Bank has denied people for freezing ARS according to DoC so YMMV. 

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/whats-going-ars-u-s-bank-will-instantly-deny-frozen-report/

[Anonymous]

Definitely true that you can never be 100% sure what file they will pull. That’s why you Gotta have monitoring so as you app you know which one is hit. I had Citi hit EQ and EX the second time I apped with them.

[Caardvark]

With your scores and your low amount of inquiries I can't see why it would be a problem to simply app all four if all of them will serve a need. There are countless people on these boards who had worse scores, more inquiries and yet went on larger sprees (with great success). 

I do not believe in app'ing for the sake of app'ing but if all the cards will benefit you, I say go for it. 

Back in September-October I went 5/5 on a spree (spread out across the month). Pre-spree I had 3 inquiries (across all 3 bureaus) but my scores were only in the 700-705 range. My scores took a noticeable dip when the accounts hit but within 3 months were back up to 705. US Bank and Barclays were my last two apps (both pulled TU). Of course, every profile is different so YMMV.

That said, the one concern I might have if I were you would be the potential hit to your AAoA. Have you calculated what your new AAoA will be if you add two vs three vs four accounts? You'd need to do the math on whether that point loss will be worth it and how long it will take for your AAoA go get back over 2 years If it matters to you). For example, my AAoA was north of 7 years pre-spree and still north of 4 years post-spree.

Good Luck

[Taurus22]

Hey I appreciate all the feedback so far guys.....

@Birdman7

I listed my AAoA (3yrs1mth - due to the new truck loan in July)  and my UT% will be 21% when I apply. This is due to the BT of $3,000 from Discover to the new BT card. (Chase)  Maybe less if I can squeeze another payment in somehow.

The APR is really a non-factor for me with the Chase card, as I'll be using the BT promo to pay that balance off. Never paid a dime in interest to date. I'm usually a PIF every month but had unexpected expenses regarding the Disco. (The Disco is under a 0%/12 mth PRCH promo that ends in June) And the monitoring is a good point....maybe I can get temp. monitoring for the month I app. (added expenses....grrr)

@Saeren

I looked at the article you linked and although this is a little outdated (2016) I have heard both sides. Success with both on Ice, and success with both open. So I'm still a little torn on this....I would like the US Bank card very much....would be disappointed if the app is denied. Even if I have to call to Recon, I can lobby that ARS should not be a factor considering my pristine credit history. And honestly, since my oldest credit is only 6 years old, there may not be anything with Sage/ARS to worry about.  Who knows?

@Caardvark

My concern over the AAoA is not really too bad either. Every time you app a new card or get a loan, buy a house, etc. your age dips anyway. My thoughts were, if I app all these together I could sit on them and my AAoA would have this cluster of accounts that would age together. If I spread cards out 6 months-1 year apart then it will take forever to get the AAoA up. It will likely drop to less than a year AAoA with these new cards, but then I would only have about 2-3 target cards left later on that I could run another spree. (maybe 2 years down the road.) The problem is.....I'm 46 yrs old and I had a vacant credit history until I started credit at age 40. So I'm way behind in the game....so I'd rather spree these cards simply in the interest of my own lost time. I fully expect to break out the spades and hoes for a while after though.

Also, I'm very intrigued by your 5/5 spree. With Chase, Barclays, and USBank being so spook-sensitive, how did you manage to pull USBank and Barclays last out of the 5 ? Seems like they would have been spooked by your activity. Did you have Sage/ARS on ice when you app'd USBank?

I'm really going to have to consider monitoring, at least long enough to run this spree.

Overall concensus, it seems that (other than Barclay being almost 100% TU pull), there's no way to predict any of these other pulls until after-the-fact with monitoring. If I ice down Sage/ARS then USBank could randomly pull anything......Geez. They don't make this easy. Although I don't have any desire for 20+ cards, my target cards are very specific for my cashback needs, (I think 8 total cards) I do envy those who have been able to app so many so successfully.

[Caardvark]

@Taurus22

1. Looking back I am a bit surprised as well.  Frankly, I only did it because at the time I didn't know any better. I didn't even know my scores until I received them in the mail with the accpetance/terms. I guess naivety worked in my favor
2. I didn't have anything frozen at the time
3. Again, looking back, based on what I've read on these boards, I'm a little surpised Barclay's did not get spooked. I assume the other attributes of my file may contribute to that (good income, mortgage below 70%, etc). But, I'm purely speculating...

Cards were as follows (in order):

1. BBVA Compass Clear Points (3% categories)
2. Discover It (for the rotating 5%)
3. Amex Gold (groceries & restaurants)
4. Barclay Apple Rewards 
5. US Bank Cash + (5% utilities)

Everything had a purpose. My only regret is the Barclay Apple Rewards. As I mentioned in another thread, I should have gotten the Uber. The limit I got on the Apple Rewards prevented me from using it for anything I bought at the Apple Store. So, it's been a sock drawer card the moment I received it. All the other cards have been great.

[Anonymous]

Taurus22 listen, Your utilization isn’t going to matter unless you can get under 9% or under a threshold. You are right you’re better to get all these now and let them age together. Chase will still spook easily and it still be nice to have the APR better just in case. if not, do Barclays first. But most likely Chase will not pull TU. Barclays and Chase will not know about each other until the accounts hit Most likely.

Check it out sign up for credit karma and you will be alerted if you get a inquiry on TU or EQ. FREE! No excuse now! Process of deduction, if neither one of those get hit, we know EX got hit. Or you can pay five dollars to EX and be notified from them as well.

I did five last year in this order: Chase, American Express, 5/3, Citibank, Chase. All approved. I just got five CLI’s a couple days ago, everyone of them was a SP, except for Barclay (figures). Nothing is ever guaranteed and everything is profile specific but I think you can get three out of four if not four out of four if you go for it and do them all the same day like I told you. But YMMV.

[Taurus22]

@Birdman7

I'm already signed up for Credit Karma. But my confusion there is.....it only updates every 7 days, so I would need to rely on email notification? Or can you force a refresh on the website prior to 7 days?

So you think the order should be :  Chase, Barclay Uber, US Bank, .....then if all goes well, maybe push for Citi ?

I just worry about US Bank getting spooked by Barclay if they both end up TU. (Was going to ask if you iced Sage/ARS, but I see you don't have US Bank from your sig.)  And I've heard something about lenders somehow seeing other recent INQ/approvals, then retracting their card and sending a denial instead......odds of that?

[Taurus22]

Oh and one other question.....

Should I do these apps online and search for preq's or call in and run them with a rep on the phone?