My 12 month Experience - Chase Apps, SL, & HP's

[Aim_High]

For anyone interested in Chase cards, I have applied for (4) Chase cards in the past 12  months as I take advantage of SUBs and shift my cash back strategy to the Ultimate Rewards points program.  Probably my biggest major card app spree ever. Here's how it went.

As you might expect, Chase did a HARD PULL each time (even though I was already a cardholder and a 19-year customer).   Each time, the only bureau pulled was EXPERIAN. 

Consequently, even though my scores are all considered exceptional after the hard pulls, I believe that is the primary reason my EXPERIAN Bankcard 8 FICO is lagging quite a bit behind my EQ and TU scores, as reported by some of my bank credit monitoring services. 

I have also have two other hard pulls from almost two years ago that should be aging off all three of my files in the next few months so that will help me to recover on all three bureaus.  (Those are the ONLY two hard pulls showing on my TU and EQ files.)

Hope this is helpful to people who are considering CHASE applications or comparing their Bankcard Score 8's among the three bureaus. 

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TU Bankcard Score 8:  843

(04/19/19, per Discover and Bank of America)

EQ Bankcard Score 8:  840

(04/23/19, per Citibank)

EX Bankcard Score 8: 803

(05/09/19, per USAA)

     *From my experience, it also appears that my EX score tends to lag behind

       the other two bureaus in general for some reason.  Apparently, they have a

        more conservative approach to their scoring.

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The cards were the Sapphire Reserve, Freedom, INK Business Preferred, and Marriott Bonvoy. 

By the way, with my SUBs and some spending, after only 12 months, I now have 212,108 UR points with a cash value of $2,121.08! If I redeem them for travel on the UR website, I consolidated them all to my CSR account so they are worth 50% more, meaning $3,181.62 is available for travel!  (SUBs were 50K on CSR, 80K on INK, and $500 or 50K UR points on Freedom, plus points earned on my spending.)

I was approved for all cards with initial lines of $35K, $21.9K, $9K, and $33K respectively.  (The 'business' line is probably low because I only stated that I had a home-based sole proprietorship with little income based on eBay and other online sales.  It helped me qualify for the 80,000 UR point SUB, though!)  I consolidated credit from my Freedom Unlimited and now my CSR has a $50K limit.  Freedom Unlimited has $24.5K.  Eventually, I plan to close the new Marriott card and consolidate some credit to other cards. 

[Anonymous]

OK

[Anonymous]

That is very helpful. Thank you.

I have a few more questions. How many months apart were each of the applications? Did you have pre-approvals or green check marks in your online profile prior to apping? Did you app online or in a branch? Lastly, what documents did you submit as proof of the small business income?

[Aim_High]

@Bumblebee1941

How many months apart were each of the applications?

I purposefully waited about 3-6 months on average because (1) I needed time to make the spending limits on the SUBs on my new cards and (2) I didn’t want to look desperate like I was applying for a bunch of new cards all at once.   It appears that strategy was successful. 

I applied for the CSR first, since it was the card I most wanted.  I also decided on the others more after the fact, as I looked at Chase cards and the synergy I could create by using different cards in their system and combining points with the CSR, which I now had. 

I waited about six months between the CSR and INK Business, but that was also a business card, which is processed by a different branch in Chase and which doesn’t show up on my personal credit report. (See more below.)  I then waited about two more months to apply for the Freedom and then a little over three months to apply for the Marriott. 

Sapphire Reserve 05/06/18

INK Business Preferred 11/30/18

Freedom 01/29/19

Marriott Bonvoy 05/01/19

Also, if you’re interested, here's my total history with CHASE before the app spree that started 12 months ago.

Freedom Unlimited (converted from SLATE a few years ago): Opened 07/20/2000

One account (Amazon Visa) opened and then closed (credit line moved to Freedom Unlimited)

was opened in Feb 2009 and closed in Aug 2017.

Did you have pre-approvals or green check marks in your online profile prior to apping?

I can’t answer that question.  I turned off that option to receive prescreened offers of credit.  (Five-year opt-out at 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com.)  I got tired of unsolicited offers of credit in my mail, especially offers to refinance my house.  Also, some repeated credit card offers in which I had no interest but the banks kept soliciting me.  Unfortunately, when you turn that off at the credit bureaus, your banks that you do business with also can’t show you preapprovals even if you request them unless you actually apply.  Still, it’s more convenient for me to do it that way instead of having that extra junk mail.

Did you app online or in a branch?

All were online approvals.  I believe some I was logged in to my existing Chase accounts and others I just did from the main website.

Lastly, what documents did you submit as proof of the small business income?

Actually, they asked for no proof of income!   I just claimed a few hundred dollars a year, though. (I don’t remember the exact figure.)  If you want a higher credit line and have a higher income, they might ask for more.  I used my SSN but as suggested on some websites I read about business credit, I also applied for and got an IRS EIN tax number.  It was an easy process and helped to verify my ‘business’ credibility. 

Keep in mind a few things about the business accounts.  A completely different branch of Chase lending processes these accounts.  The process took longer than my personal accounts.  They seem to be more picky. 

I can’t see my business account on my personal Chase card login page.  However, they can help you create a separate business account login where you CAN see the personal accounts.  Kinda weird. 

Also, know that business accounts WON’T show up on your personal credit file, which is a double-edged sword.  (You won’t get any positive bumps from using them, but those accounts also won’t drag your personal score down if you carry balances.) 

Also, the 2009 Credit CARD act provided additional consumer protections which do NOT apply to business accounts. This can be pretty important to note. 

I didn’t really request the business card for my home-based business use.  I really wanted the 80,000 UR point sign-up bonus and the cash-back offered on other category spending, which is different (higher) than some other cards.  However, there is an annual fee on this card and it mirrors my CSR card in some ways.  So I am planning to convert it to a different business card.  I hope they will allow that.

The INK Business Preferred offered a higher sign-up bonus. (80K UR points on $5K spending in 3 months.)  It has a $95 annual fee.  It pays 3% (3 points) per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year.  It appears to me that this card is best for someone with an active and thriving home-based business who wants to keep their business expenses separate from their personal accounts. 

The INK Business CASH card had only a $500 sign-up bonus (equivalent to 50K UR points) based on spending $3K in 3 months.  But there is no annual fee and it pays a higher percentage cash back in purchases I’m more likely to use more.  ( Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year.) 

By the way, transferring my UR points from my business card was as simple as transferring them between my personal cards.  I put all my UR points on the CSR account because they are worth 50% more there when redeemed for travel.