$4,487+ Secret Credit Card Application Spree

Time for a credit card application spree!

Sign up bonuses from credit cards are one of my huge money makers, and one of my favorite ways to make money!

We pick up thousands of dollars in bonuses each year. The cards with travel bonuses also fund our family travel. Over the past year we traveled for 8 weeks using points and miles.

Secret Credit Card Application Spree

This time around I’m focusing only on cards that will not count in the Chase 5/24 calculation. Specifically, I’m picking up business cards that do not post to a personal credit report (that excludes Capital One business cards). Essentially, this entire credit card application spree will be a “secret” from Chase and their 5/24 rule to position us for spring.

Don’t forget this strategy isn’t for everyone and it has to be done very carefully!

Background

Since I’ve only done my own application sprees for the last 20 months, it means I’m 4 months away from my husband dropping below the Chase 5/24 rule.

As I was planning my own application spree (more on that soon!) I realized I could pick up a handful of business cards for him that won’t count.

I didn’t intend it from the beginning, but now that I’m in the home stretch, it makes sense to wait out the next four months without any applications for him that will impact his counts against 5/24!

It will also make our application spree in the spring more exciting! By sticking with just the business applications, we’ll be eligible to target some of these cards: United card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Ink cards the Southwest card and the big Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Using Business Cards

I realize some of you are not interested in business cards. Many of the cards listed below have a personal version. I included notes about the personal versions for anyone interested in the card, but not interested in business cards.

In addition, since I know many of you are into making money on the side, you probably do have a business in the eyes of the credit card companies even if you do not consider it a business yourself! Don’t forget you can open a business card with your social security number as a sole proprietor.

Credit Card Application List

1. American Express Platinum Business. $1,200+ bonus. The 100,000 Point Sign Up Bonus (which is avaialable again by phone) will net us over $1,200. I picked up $3,878 from American Express in 5 Months last year, so I’m hoping to do something similar over the next few months under my husbands’s name. There’s also a personal version of this card.
2. American Express Starwood. 25,000 points. The 25,000 points on the Starwood card isn’t the highest opportunity, but I can refer him from my own account for an additional 7,500 points. We’re a few Starwood points short for our holiday ski trip this year, so Starwood points are a high priority right now! I will then be able to cancel my card before the annual fee is due. This card also has a personal version with the same bonus.
3. American Express Business Green. 5,000 points. The Business Green Rewards Card is an easy sign up bonus without much hassle. I like the flexibility of American Express points and the fact that you can cash them out at 1.25 with the Schwab card. There are some gold cards with higher bonuses, but we are constrained by the once per lifetime rule here.
4. Marriott Premier Business. 80,000 points. The 80,000 points can be transferred to Starwood. In addition, the Business Marriott card is one of the only Chase Business cards not subject to 5/24 rules. This card also has a personal version with the same bonus.
5. BOA Travel Rewards Business. 25,000 points. The offer is worth $250 in travel. We already have the Cash Rewards for Business, so the target card is the Travel Rewards for Business. This card also has a personal version with a sign up bonus.
6. BOA Alaska Business. 30,000 miles. Bank of America combines credit pulls in one day, so I’ll pick up the Business Alaska card. There’s also a personal Alaska card with a bonus.
7. Citi Business AA. 30,000-60,000 miles. I’m planning to pick up the business version of the American Airlines card since I already have the personal version. Citi often matches the sign up bonuses to 60,000 miles with a quick request on messaging.
8. US Bank Skypass Business. 30,000 miles. Korean air is such a cheap form of mileage to fly roundtrip to Hawaii for 25,000 miles that this 30,000 mile bonus is also on the list. There’s a personal and business version of this card. Update: As I was applying for our card, the offer on the Skypass card was reduced to 15,000 miles.

Overall Value

The total for all of the sign up bonuses is: $1,512 + 112,500 hotel points + 120,000 miles. We redeem our hotel points on our ski trips for over .03 per point, which will make the value of the Starwood points worth over $1,775 for us. Redeeming the flights at a minimum 1 cent/point makes those worth at least $1,200 for flights when we travel (although the flight to Hawaii for us is worth much more than $300 in this valuation.

Total value: $4,487+. The actual value of this application spree will be much higher, but I’m trying to calculate the minimum we’d be able to redeem all the points for!

Credit Card Application Links

All of the links I used for the application spree (unless noted above) are now listed in our credit card directory.

Credit Card Application Rules

I plan all of my application sprees within the application rules for each issuer including:

• American Express: one signup bonus per lifetime on each card; maximum of five credit cards at a time (unlimited charge cards); one credit card application plus unlimited charge card applications in one day.
• Citi: won’t allow a bonus if you’ve opened or closed a card in the same brand in the last 24 months; 2 applications per 65 days (1 every 8 days).
• Capital One: One application per day. 1 application every 6 months.
• Chase: See the 5/24 rules above.

Previous Application Sprees

Here are some of my previous application sprees if you are looking to target different cards: $4,927+ $4,292, 5,325, $4,500 $4,420, $3,000, $2,075, $1,525, $750, $1,720, $1,800, $2,000 and $2,325.

More on Credit Cards

• How Much Do Credit Inquiries Really Matter?
• Your Guide to Free Credit Scores, Reports and Monitoring
• How Much Do We Have in Credit Limits? Over $1,000,000!
• Are Credit Card Rewards Taxable?
• New 4th Quarter 2017 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards
• Tips and Tricks for Planning Credit Card Application Sprees
• How to Collect Multiple Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
• Avoid Joint Credit Cards to Double Your Sign Up Bonuses
• Convert Credit Cards Instead of Paying Annual Fees

If you're looking for a new credit card, be sure to check out our credit card directory!

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