Step #6
Card applications – How do I apply for so many card?
Some people worry about applying for 10+ cards within a relatively short timeframe. It could be a bank denial issue, credit report check, or even a card management issue. In this section, I will focus on how to maximize your chances of having successful Wedding Photography credit card applications:
1. Know which credit card(s) belong to which bank. This is important to all of you as spreading applications to different banks can give you a greater likelihood of successful credit card inquiries. That is because certain banks have restrictions on the maximum number of cards you can apply for and can have in a certain period of time. Therefore, applying cards from different banks will keep you within the limit for each bank. If you apply for 10 cards from the same bank, it is more likely that you will be denied for some of them, compared to applying 3 or 4 cards from each bank. For instance, in our example, Cedric and Cecilia opened 6 cards to cover the 4 different expenses, utilizing 3 different banks:
A. Barclays – 2 cards (Wyndham Rewards x2 for 6 hotel nights)
B. Chase – 3 cards (Hyatt x1 for 2 hotel nights, United x2 for 2 one-way business class flight)
C. Citi – 1 cards (AAdvantage Platinum Select for 1 one-way business class flight)
As you can see, they spread out their credit card applications to different institutions. By not putting all the eggs in one basket, they increased their chances of succeeding and were able get approval for all the cards. Since this is just a mini example, I only showed a subset of the credit cards Cedric and Cecilia applied for. However, the main takeaway is still the same, which is to spread out the applications to increase your chances of being approved.
2. Apply for a few cards from different banks on the same day to possibly avoid banks from seeing other applications on your credit report. Applying for cards from different banks simultaneously can increase your chances of a successful application. If you submit the applications at the same time, other banks might not see in your credit report that you have applied for credit from another bank. This could work in your favor when you are trying to obtain multiple cards.
3. The credit agency used from each bank can vary. There are 3 credit report agencies, including Equifax, Experian, and Transunion - each with its own maximum score of 850, 830, and 850. The general rule of thumb is that scores above 700 is great and you will have no problem getting credit cards with big sign on bonuses. When you apply for a credit card, the bank usually only pulls a credit report from one agency. Through this database3, you can check out which bank uses which agency at a particular state. With this information, you can increase your chances of a successful application by applying to banks that utilize different reporting agencies.
4. The “secret” number of days between each card application of the same bank is 91 days (for people with credit score of 700+). For people with great credit (700+ out of 850), applications can be more frequent than others. Usually, 6 months is the baseline for people with decent (600-700), but not great, credit to succeed in their credit applications. This is why spreading out credit inquires to different banks can help since you are diversifying your portfolio, making sure that if one application fails, you still have a chance with the others. In our example, since Cedric and Cecilia had excellent credit (both over 750), they had no problem in applying for new credit cards in their points accrual saga.
Bonus: Relationships with the bank such as having a checking or savings account can play a key role in some 50-50 decisions. For example, a few years ago, when I first started working after college, banks had very little information about me in terms of my income and credit history. When I applied for my first credit card with a big sign on bonus, the bank agent said that there was not enough history to make a decision even though I had a stable income. However, the agent brought up that I had a checking account of 4 years with the bank, and approved me on the application since I had been responsible with a consistent and reasonable balance on the account. That is why you should remember to utilize your relationships with the banks and apply for those cards accordingly!
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