Mystery of Application Spree

[Anonymous]

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@Gmood1 wrote:

DeeBee that's hilarious!!! 😂😂😂

Sad, but that's how I picture some of these folks crying over an inq and a few points. LMBO

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The majority of people in here seem to be striving for a particular credit score. I have less than 10 credit cards on my report (including closed cards) and run average ~800 FICO score. Although I can take inquiry hits I personally do not see a bit of benefit unless you're getting 5%+ value back on your purchases as I carry no balances so interest rates are of no concern to me. I don't look at much of the other stuff though so maybe I'm missing something there. I could not imagine managing 34 credit cards if that is what your signature implies.

[Gmood1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Gmood1 wrote:

DeeBee that's hilarious!!! 😂😂😂

Sad, but that's how I picture some of these folks crying over an inq and a few points. LMBO

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The majority of people in here seem to be striving for a particular credit score. I have less than 10 credit cards on my report (including closed cards) and run average ~800 FICO score. Although I can take inquiry hits I personally do not see a bit of benefit unless you're getting 5%+ value back on your purchases as I carry no balances so interest rates are of no concern to me. I don't look at much of the other stuff though so maybe I'm missing something there. I could not imagine managing 34 credit cards if that is what your signature implies.

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Different horses for different courses my friend. As each person is free to their opinions or what works for them. I do not come here to judge people. I come to help those that want it. Actually those aren't all CCs. Some are LOC. I haven't listed them all. Haven't gotten around to it. I collect TLs like I do banking relationships. I'm sure there are folks that have a problem with me having 18 different banks/CUs as well. It's cool, I enjoy giving Mint.com fits trying to keep up with over 90 different accounts. lol

It's a cake walk for me, because I enjoy doing it.😀

[BronzeTrader]

I tried app spree for a 20-year old with 2-year credit history.  It is half success.  Now we netted 10 good cards over two years, all with AmEx, BA, Barclay, Citi and Discover.  No single store card and no other junk card.  Now we can lay low and get the cards grow for next two years.  The good thing is that the credit score is still 775 and we got all the SUBs.  But I would not do it with my own credit since I try to trim my own cards.

[Anonymous]

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@BronzeTrader wrote:

Credit card application spree is very common here with this board and a lot folks do it.  We only have a huge "Garden" thread for the followers.  Great.  Here are some the pros and cons of credit card app spree:

Pros:

1. Grow total credit line quickly.  Reduce utilization ratio to some low level, like 10% or 5%

2. Grow total card AAoA and let all the cards age when folks stay in the "garden".

3. Diversify the card portfolio to multiple banks and different kinds of rewards.

Cons:

1. Credit stress.  Lower FICO scores, many credit inquiries and credit denials.

2. Multi-line with low card credit limit.  It is not very useful to have 5 cards each with $1k CLs, than one card with a $5k CL

3. Quality of card offering.  Most of the good cards have high underwriting standards and app sprees typically do not yield high quality cards.

4. Blocked from future credit card offerings.  The Chase 5/24 is an example.  We all kick ourselves for not able to receive the 100k CSR bonus.

5. Sacrifice of welcome bonus.  with a spree, the total required spending can be substantial.  This can be a huge financial burden to spend and get all the welcome bonuses.

IMO, app spree can be successful for folks who have 2-3 year of stable credit history, but still young and want to grow very quickly.  It can be very stressful for folks with very weak credit profile.  For folks with stronger credit history, there is not much need for the spree and sacrify SUB. 

I'll be just happy to apply 2 new cards a year and get about $1,000 SUB.  If I add the SO's 2 new cards, it can be a $2,000 SUB a year.  I'll focus more on the earnings from existing cards and spend the reward points....

I’m with you. Cons outweigh the good. I prefer to go slow and steady and just get the cards that are useful to my spending patterns. To many people have no patience and think this is a sprint. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I just don’t see how having 20 to 30 cards is good at all lol.

[dsotm76]

kdm31091 wrote:

A lot of the benefit of sprees has pretty much disappeared in recent times. It used to be that when you applied for products the inquiry did not immediately hit your report, so other banks wouldn't see the recent ones. Now, it shows up pretty much instantly, and you are likely to be denied at some point for recent inquiries if they are excessive.

Out of curiosity, wouldn't it be alright to spread out the inquiries based on the credit agency.  If you have someone HP EX, the next one could pull TU or EQ and it wouldn't have the same harming impact, right?  Or am I way off base?  I ask because I've thought about hitting up one to pull from my TU or EQ since it's 20+ points higher than my EX which just got hit by AMEX successfully.  

[Gmood1]

Dsotm76, that's how I apped. I try to do it strategically when possible. It's possible to do it exactly as you've described.
When my EQ and TU were dirty. I focused on my EX. And those lenders that have a history of pulling that CB.

[dsotm76]

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@Gmood1 wrote:
Dsotm76, that's how I apped. I try to do it strategically when possible. It's possible to do it exactly as you've described.
When my EQ and TU we're dirty. I focused on my EX. And those lenders that have a history of pulling that CB.

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If I may ask, since my TU and EQ are in the 760+ range, any that you suggest looking at that will pull from one of those?  I will admit to considering a store card for Belk because I know Sync shows the love to TU.  (hangs head in shame)  At least I do shop at Belk though, especially at sale time.  :-)

[Gmood1]

A single EQ puller that's a winner is Pentagon Federal. That pull should be good for at least 30 days. A major TU puller is Synchrony. If you have use for the card. Then get what YOU want.
There are a bunch that pull EX. lol
FNBO pulls EX on the Amex and EQ on one of their 2% CB cards.
BofA is a major puller of TU on CLI and a EX puller on the SL.
John Deere pulls TU exclusively. It's a hidden tradeline. Commerce bank pulls TU as well.

[dsotm76]

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@Gmood1 wrote:
A single EQ puller that's a winner is Pentagon Federal. That pull should be good for at least 30 days. A major TU puller is Synchrony. If you have use for the card. Then get what YOU want.
There are a bunch that pull EX. lol
FNBO pulls EX on the Amex and EQ on one of their 2% CB cards.
BofA is a major puller of TU on CLI and a EX puller on the SL.
John Deere pulls TU exclusively. It's a hidden tradeline. Commerce bank pulls TU as well.

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That's awesome info.  I have 4 INQ right now with EX, so I'm trying to save my 5th HP with them for Citi, if they use EX.  Glad to know that FNBO is EQ on their cards that aren't AMEX.  (Orvis, where I work, uses First Bankcard which is a division for their cards.)  With PenFed, I'm guessing I need an account established first with them before trying for a card since they are a CU?  Also, when you talked about the pull and 30 days, is that before they report?

[Gmood1]

US bank also pulls TU. They may pull some of those lesser known CRs as well.

They normally report at the beginning of the month. Yes you have to join. It's a HP to join. You can use that same pull across any products you want. You can refinance an auto and get a CC the same day as well as a line of credit. There's no limit to the products you can get off that one HP.