The Apporama Returns! New Credit Card Highlights from a Busy Night

New Credit Card Highlights

Stacking up new cards ain’t what it used to be.  Bank rules are mostly to blame, but those who question the norms and choose to adopt alternative strategies can still do plenty.  In my view, much of this has to do with not becoming overly reliant on any single card issuer.  Sure, I love Amex, but I must have a hobby life beyond them.  Not coincidentally, none of my recent new credit card highlights involve said bank.  Instead, we spread our pursuits around with a variety of other issuers this time.  We had a busy night, and here’s how it turned out sequentially.

Citi AAdvantage MileUp Card

My wife recently received a targeted snail mail offer for the MileUp card.  I’d held this no-fee card previously and enjoyed its 2x grocery store category most, but my wife had never gotten around to this one.  Plus. for a bit over two years, new personal Citi cards haven’t been an option for us, either.  So she was intrigued to receive this offer, even while fully knowing it may not pan out the way we want.  This targeted version provides 20k AAdvantage miles with $1k spend, slightly up from the publicly-available 15k offer.

While we would’ve preferred other Citi cards, we figured going after this targeted MileUp offer may be more of a sure thing.  Long story short, we let the game come to us, and we won.

Outcome:  Immediately Approved

Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard

We’ve been interested in this new Virgin card from Synchrony ever since it was first announced, and we immediately signed up for the wait list.  This $99 annual fee card comes with 40k Virgin Red points by spending $3k within the first 90 days.  We’ll probably spend in the 2x grocery store and dining categories to meet the signup bonus.  We’re also confident we’ll pursue the big spend bonuses at the $15k and $30k levels.  This card is potentially a long-term keeper for both of us even without a retention offer thanks to the 5k point anniversary bonus.  We both applied without flinching.

Outcome:  Immediately Approved 2x

Best Western Rewards Premium Visa

Next, I attempted applying for the new Best Western Premium card from Mercury Financial.  I’d been turned down multiple times for an FNBO Best Western card, including probably my weirdest denial ever.   (My fascination with obscure hotel cards also be odd.)  Anyway, pursuing this new Best Western card involves a preapproval requirement.  Long story short, I plugged my biographic information in, and the site abruptly stated that Mercury didn’t have any offer for me “right now.”  Um, okay…

Outcome:  Incomplete

Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red

On the heels of the MileUp approval and the uncertain future of the Barclay AA cards, my wife was looking for another timely option to stack on more AAdvantage miles.  Earning 70k miles after one purchase with the Aviator Red looked mighty attractive.  I suspected an approval here would be a longshot, given my wife’s fairly recent Earner Plus card approval and the general trickiness of Barclays.  I wasn’t wrong.

Outcome:  Immediately Denied

TD Cash Visa

The time’s right for me to create a new relationship with TD.  I’d been considering the TD Business Solutions Visa for several months but ultimately decided the TD Cash as the better long-term fit for our situation.  We’ll pick up a simple $150 for spending $1k in the first 90 days, plus 5% cash back on gas station spend for six months (up to $6k spend).  The card also offers intriguing categories for 3% and 2% cash back which cardmembers can periodically change.

Outcome:  Immediately Approved

Credit Line Increases

But we had more to do beyond the new cards.  I requested a credit line increase on my Sam’s Club Mastercard and was immediately approved.  My wife asked for an increase on her Synchrony Premier Mastercard and picked up another approval.  As I’ve described before, we can never have too much access with 2% cash back cards.

New Credit Card Highlights – Conclusion

We didn’t bat 1.000 this go-round, but we’re happy with our haul: four new credit cards from three different banks and two credit line increases on existing ones.  We’ll happily add these tools to our kit, along with our bucket of other credit card supplies.  Speaking of the latter, we’ll be back for more Amex soon enough – more on that later.   But today is a day to appreciate our successes elsewhere.  Here’s to more in the future – for us and you!

What new cards have you applied for and why?

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