For below:
- tl;dr info within bulleted lists, rambling below
- Inquiries/scores listed are only for bureau that was pulled (live in NY)
- Have also had a new mortgage and home improvement loan (0% for 60 months) within the past year
Citi Strata Elite - Decline - July
- 1/3, 2/6, 3/12, 6/24 revolving accounts
- 1/3, 3/6, 8/12, 10/24 inquiries (EX)
- EX FICO® 8 - 763
- Citi relationship: 5 other Citi cards (most recent opened May 2025), have PC'd most Citi cards but never closed one
Thoughts: Including this for context for approval below, since stats were very similar.
Synchrony OnePay CashRewards - $7k instant approval - September
- 1/3, 1/6, 2/12, 5/24 revolving accounts
- 0/3, 4/6, 7/12, 8/24 inquiries (TU)
- TU FICO® 8 - 781
- 1 other Synchrony card (most recent opened February 2025), have closed 2 Synchrony cards (most recent closed March 2024)
Thoughts: P2 and I have about $8-10k spend at Walmart per year and are definitely keeping Walmart+, typically having 1-2 delivery orders per week, so while the SUB isn’t great, I see this as a keeper - have had my Amazon Prime card for around seven years and Target Circle card for around six years, nice to get unlimited 5% at all three.
I had considered the AAA card, and funny enough got a pre-approval in the mail shortly after getting this card, but my personal take is that Walmart took their time with the OnePay card, so I have more confidence in the 5% sticking around than in the AAA card continuing to code Walmart as grocery. With that said, if I had already had the AAA card, and it coded Walmart as grocery reliably for me, I certainly would not have bothered getting this card.
[P2] Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless - $20k instant approval - October
- 0/6, 1/12, 4/24 revolving accounts
- Don’t know inquiries/scores for P2, though scores tend to be mid to high 700s
- Chase relationship: 1 other Chase card (opened August 2023), never closed a Chase card
Thoughts: Combination of a keeper card and a great SUB, 125k points plus an extra free night certificate (FNC). P2 and I focus on Hilton but enjoy Marriott FNCs, have had no issues using them and tend to redeem them for bookings worth at least $200, for us. Going from 2 Marriott FNCs per year to 3 (between us) will allow us to test the waters, if 3 is too much then it would make more sense for me to cancel my Amex Marriott Business so the 2 are in the same account (plus would open an Amex revolver slot for me), but guessing 3 Marriott FNCs + 1 IHG FNC per year will be a good amount, for us. Speaking of, there was the 5 FNC SUB previously, and while that could theoretically be better, we prefer the flexibility of 125k points + 1 FNC.
Citi Strata Elite - $15.5k instant approval - October
- 1/3, 2/6, 3/12, 6/24 revolving accounts
- 1/3, 2/6, 5/12, 10/24 inquiries (EX)
- EX FICO® 8 - 772
- Citi relationship: 5 other Citi cards (most recent opened May 2025), have PC'd most Citi cards but never closed one
Thoughts: This is what happens when you just go for it - well, sometimes at least 
I was originally planning on applying for this February 2026 or after (to be 0/6 accounts/inquiries) and only bumped this back to March 2026 when I got the OnePay CashRewards. But then I read speculation (on a site that has affiliate links so not naming/linking here) of approvals being looser and figured, why not? I still assumed it would be a no at 1/3 and 2/6 accounts but am not afraid of an inquiry for science, was definitely pleasantly surprised by the $15.5k approval. And with the stats being pretty close to the above decline - my /12 inquiries were lower and score a touch higher but otherwise the same - maybe there is some truth to the looser approvals. Anecdotal evidence for sure, but interesting given comparable decline.
100k SUB is indeed great, especially as I am grandfathered into Rewards+ benefits into mid-2026 (based on having PC’d into it not long before it was discontinued), so I’ll be able to fully maximize the 10% points reimbursement for 2025 and 2026 while I still have it. Getting the card and thus SUB earlier will also allow me to PC my Strata (formerly Rewards+) earlier than planned. Plus I’ll be able to double-dip on the hotel and spurge credits since they are based on the calendar year - this is always possible (and triple-dip likely with a December approval), but we already had a ~$300 hotel stay planned for Thanksgiving, nice to use that immediately. Also already have a use case for the splurge credit, but waiting until holiday sales.
Unless they make changes to the card, I plan to PC it into a Strata Premier when it hits a year old, as I PC’d my Strata Premier to my third Custom Cash after being approved for the Strata Elite, and I want to keep either Premier or Elite to maintain the 1:2 TYP:Choice transfer ratio. I’ll eventually (provided PC options stay the same) have 4x Custom Cash + Double Cash + Strata Premier, though if they make positive changes within the first year of holding the card - and with the CSR and Plat refreshes it is at least possible - then I would consider keeping the Elite instead of the Premier.
APR 
P2 Chopping Block 
That was a lot to digest, but congrats on the approvals!
@Zoostation1 wrote:That was a lot to digest, but congrats on the approvals!
That's why I included the tl;dr info in bulleted lists - the rambling is optional
Good for you. Congrats on your approvals. Enjoy.
RIP: 
