A couple of weeks ago, we talked about what your minimum earnings per hour must be to get you out for manufactured spending. Or to put your PJs on and manufacture spend from the couch. I’ve now confirmed that if I’m not earning at least $40 per hour, I’m not motivated to move very fast and fight the crowds and congestion.
I thought it would be interesting to hear what it takes in a credit card sign-up bonus to get you to give up that oh-so-valuable credit inquiry.
I look for cash-back cards now, primarily with no annual fee, as our miles pile is pretty good-sized. I just picked up a $250 sign-up bonus from Suntrust with no fee the first year, but I’m always looking for more.
Maybe some of you will share the oddball cash-back cards you’ve found with at least a $250 statement credit or cash back? I’m sure others in the group with loads of cards and/or miles in their pockets would like to hear about that unknown card you found. I know I would.
And don’t forget to share your minimums for using that elusive credit inquiry. I’m so far past 5/24 that I think of myself as “never again under 5/24.” Personally, I think it is a big mistake to wait around to get under the magic number set by Chase. You either got the right Chase cards early on, or you didn’t.
Life goes on when over 5/24. Amex offers great combos, and now so does Citi with the Double Cash now paying in Thank You points.
I like to look at this hobby as a team effort. And here at Pointchaser, we’ve got some real team players.
Do you open checking accounts with cash bonuses? No credit inquiry!!
Hey Bonnie, absolutely I do. I struggle with having to do direct deposits or “x” number of debit card transactions per month, but am on the lookout for bank bonuses as well
I do that some Bonnie, but there is usually an extra hassle factor involved like DD or something. Then there’s the closing of the account, not a big deal but added attention. For me the bonuses are bigger and less hassle for a cc.
For a checking account I would need a minimum of $300. Not many of them around.
For a credit card I shoot for a net of $400 minimum. But that’s not a hard number. If the card has a good return like the Arrival card I would go lower.
I’m like you with so many inquiries ( many from failed attempts) I’m not that sensitive to them. It barely affects my credit report and I am never going to satisfy the inquiry sensitive cc companies anyway.
My resistance is more related to overcoming the hassle of minimum spend and tracking another new account ( not that big a deal but added hassle).
I travel a lot and can always use miles/ points so I don’t target cash so much. But I don’t have a 8 figure total account like you. I’m sitting with just north of 3 MM total. I’m not up with the big hitters but I do ok for me.
I agree completely (my flexible cutoffs are $500 for reportable accts and $250 for hidden). It’s not the HPs the hurt you, it’s the new accounts. Even at lol/24, each new account will have a deleterious effect. With that being said, having 10+ HPs alone can also cause problems…
And while this dollar value accounting method works well for new accounts (open acct and get bonus or don’t), HPs are more complicated. You’re still HPed, even if they decline you. And some banks DP separable CRAs or even the same one on diff days! So even if every new account earns you $500, you’d have to divide out all the “failed” HPs, which lowers your average cph.
So I think calculating the value of a HP is mostly an academic exercise, aside from the standard 3-5 FICO points. I remember the old days when we used to say every HP is worth $500. How naive we were…
My target for cc used to be the same as you at $500 net but I’ve lowered my standards since any card is hard to get now. I haven’t counted this calendar year but I’ll likely be around only 6 or so new accounts. It won’t be long before I’m below 5/24 but not by choice!
OMG same! It’s like being involuntarily celibate! I was even under 5/24 last year and applied for an Ink. Instant decline: I forgot to count my C1 biz…
I am all about quality over quantity – keeping our family at 5/24 ensures immediate access to the very best offers. I look at what the card can do for me spend-wise, as well. I milked the 3x unltd for a yr CFU for tons more than multiple $200-$300 on other offers would ever yield!
We have had over 300 credit cards so its LOL/24 for us. We have all the Chase cards we need Ink (the old one at 5X and $50K)and Sapphire and are very happy we have them. We got 4x on Amex Gold for 15K grocery and added an extra 1% by having a Schwab card to convert to 5X CASH. You play with the choices you have
Rick, I think you mean Amex Gold for 5x for 25k grocery.
I also have 2 of the old Ink cards at 5x for a total of 500k UR per year. I stupidly never maxed them out though until this year.
I have worried too much about sds in the past. My philosophy has changed. Max out each year and if they shut me down, it will free up a chunk of my time.
There seems to be a lot of caution recently with Amex with recent sds. My strategy of MS and apps won’t change though (never self referred). If I can’t MS or get new bonus offers from Amex then I prefer to end our relationship.
That’s a sensible approach!
People worry about hard pulls? My Experian has 33 pulls & I still get approved for thing way more often than not.
Holy moly I’ve never seen a number that high!!!!
Yes, at least anecdotally certain banks have HP cutoffs. e.g. USB, BC.
$500 or 50K points is my basic threshold, but I’ll do $300 if there are no $500’s on the horizon. Thanks, 5/24! 🙁