@Aim_High wrote:
@credit_is_crack wrote:Solid News @Aim_High !! This is absolutely a preapproval. That's what my BofA Biz Cash reward offer looked like before I got it. It just popped up on my main login page. I pondered like you did due to high activity, but just went for it and got an instant approval.
Of course it was a $3,500 limit, but considering the last time I cold app's they offered me the secured biz version, I was stoked.
I didn't know about the "once you qualify you're good for a year" .. that's VERY nice to know. I think you just go for it. I've applied for this one twice (back when it first came out - got approved, collected SUB and PCd to a cash rewards, then applied again last year for a 2nd SUB).
Not saying you have to do that, but if you did you'd have two 5.25% cash cards long term. The online shopping category is extremely broad so you could really bank it up. Like you mentioned keeping it as a PR would still net you 2.65% card as a catch all, should the AOD get nerfed.
touve been chasing the top tiers for BofA, strike while the iron is hot!
Thanks @credit_is_crack ! That's encouraging news! Thanks for the advice. Yes, I had thought about getting a 2nd Cash Rewards card. I had seen where @FieryDance and a couple of others already mentioned that strategy in other threads so I thought I might try it too. Getting 5.25% cash back on category is a great deal and the CR spending limits are high at $2.5K per quarter.
Totally agree with @credit_is_crack that if you make the effort to reach Plat Honors, you might as well take full advantage and add at least one Cash Rewards card to have access to that lucrative, straight forward, no minimum redemption 5.25% cash back.
Last year I was debating between BoA and WF and US Bank bifecta and decided on BoA and I have been very happy with that decision. Now with the pandemic I have switched to almost 100% online shopping, having 2 CRs is truly a winning combo.
@CreditCuriosity wrote:So skimmed this thread.. You going to apply or not @Aim_High or waiting another month or two?
I think you guys have convinced me that the targeted offer may override my concerns about getting denied for new accounts but I would probably take @Anonymous 's advice to do the application by phone so that customer service could help me with any reconsideration.
For new accounts, I'm at 1/6 months, 7/12 months, 10/24 months. However, excluding one Chase business account not on my personal report, that changes to 9/24. One of those 7/12 is an AU that I could drop if needed (or if it would help*) and another of the 7/12 was closed immediately. I'll drop two of the 7/12 by late August.
What I had read was that for bank accountholders, that 7/12 was the cutoff on new accounts, but I'm not sure if 7/12 is the most you could have or if you had to actually be under that (at 6/12.) I just wasted a HP and a denial for a card with AMEX over new accounts and I don't want to go through that again if it's still an issue. The other thing that made me concerned is that last time I hit my CLI button with BofA, it said the reason for denial was for too many new accounts. And recently, CITI gave me a couple of denials on CLI for the same reason before they finally approved my last $3K increase.
My total inquiries are at (EX:6 EQ:4 TU:2) but the scorable ones within the past 12 months are (EX:3 EQ:4 TU:2). In August, I'll drop one more scorable on both EX and TU.
I'm waiting on my big deposit to show up in Merrill which might help tilt the equation. Plus I'm going out of town and will probably wait to make the call until later in the month. (The current offer shows good until 07/04.)
Any other feedback based on the above data points guys?
*And would it help to close my AU account, or would that still show up as a "new account."?? I thought I read before that AU accounts actually disappear once they are closed versus regular accounts that stay on your report??
* * * U P D A T E * * *
As I posted on 06/11, I had decided to apply for the Bank of America Premium Rewards card with my targeted offer. I had some vacation time and planned to use it for domestic travel to see family and take care of some personal business. I was also waiting on large deposits to get stablized in my Merrill account so that they might help hedge my bets on approval. Plus, those deposits will put me in the Platinum Honors category in a couple of months and I wanted to concentrate my SUB spending on the latter part of the first 90 days to get a higher return on my spending as a Platinum or eventually Platinum Honors client. (I am currently Gold.)
I pulled the trigger last night, a couple of days before my offer was to expire. I thought they might extend it but I couldn't be sure. As @Anonymous suggested, I called customer service and asked if I should let them take my app, if I do it online with them on the phone as backup, or if I should just do it online. It was a great suggestion to call so that they could possibly intercede on my behalf if I were turned down due to recent new accounts! However, it turns out it makes no difference. The CSR said he had no ability to interact with the application. It would either be approved, denied, or "referred," which means it would go to a credit analyst. And there was no (official) way for me to contact underwriting if there was a denial or referral; they would initiate contact as needed for further information. I decided to hang up and apply online. *A web search shows several phone numbers for recon with BofA but officially the CSR denied that there was a way to initiate contact.
So now, of course, I'm a little more nervous. 
Fill out the remainder of the mostly-prefilled application.
Spinning wheel of death ... darn thing goes forever sometimes!
... Approved!
... $18K SL
... Lowest APR of 15.99%
Yaahhh! Thanks again for the inputs everyone!
I'll make a posting in Approvals shortly! 
1/6 ... 7/12 ... 10/24
So for Data Points, I got approved for a new Bank of America credit card as an existing banking, credit card, and Merrill Lynch client with 7 new accounts in the previous 12 months, plus 10/24 months and 1/6 months.