Credit Cards

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Choosing Which Credit Cards to Hold or Cancel and Calling the Citi Retention Line

My first major set of credit card applications was October 2012, where I got a Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa, a Citi American Airlines Visa, a Citi American Airlines Amex, and a Barclays US Airways card. I decided to outright cancel the Bank of America Alaska card in preparation for applying for a new…

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Thoughts from My Last Round of Credit Card Applications

Here are a hodgepodge of thoughts about my last round of credit card applications. 1) It seems that most of the telephone numbers listed on blogs for Bank of America’s credit card reconsideration line have all been disconnected. Both 866-458-8805 and 888-503-6090 connected me to messages saying that the lines had been disconnected. The line…

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More Reasons to Love the Barclays US Airways Credit Card

One of my favorite credit cards is the Barclays US Airways credit card (Flyertalk link), which is one reason why I’m considering adding (another) one to my next round of credit card applications. The sign-up bonus is decent (most recently at 35k miles), but it’s great because it’s a bonus after first use, so there’s no…

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Why You Shouldn’t Change Your Spending Habits When You Get New Credit Cards

I’ve successfully converted a number of friends to points and miles earning credit cards, but I sometimes worry about what I’ve done. In general, the credit cards I recommend to my friends have minimum spending requirements (like $3,000 in the first three months for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which is the card I normally recommend…

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Fun Facts from the Chase Sapphire Preferred Guide to Benefits

I wrote previously about the newly enhanced benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, but I thought I’d today share some of the more interesting tidbits from the Guide to Benefits. 1. Trip cancellation insurance applies if a terrorist action or hijacking cancels your trip, but not if your trip is cancelled due to declared…

Should You Keep the Chase Sapphire Preferred Past the First Year?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred was the first miles/points credit card that I ever applied for. And I still recommend it as a great intro card for people looking to get into the miles and points game. The sign-up bonus of 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points and waived first-year annual fee is one of the best sign-up…