[poledaddy]

After reading about using credit card reward programs for a while, I decided to try it out late last year. I signed up for the Barclaycard Arrival - it was around 40K points for signing up, and then accumulated a few grand more over 3 months just using it for normal expenses. I used those points to pay for almost my entire flight to Peru. It turned a 600 dollar flight into around 50 bucks. I almost didn't believe it would work, because it seemed too easy, just paying for stuff I normally buy anyway with the CC and getting to fly to another country for pennies. It was definitely eye-opening when I watched the $600 balance on the card instantly drop to $50 when I cashed-in the points.

Now that I see this shit works I definitely want to keep doing it and get more free travel. I'm trying to avoid annual fees while minimizing negative impact to my credit (credit score went up almost immediately since I got the Barclaycard and has stayed up) So 2 questions/ideas I wanted feedback on:

1.) In terms of minimizing impact to credit score...I figured I would cancel the Barclaycard right before the 1st $95 annual fee comes due - to avoid having the duration of the credit line being too short. I have several other long-term credit cards with no fees that I leave open, so I figure having other cards like this that I just have open for around a year and then cancel won't set me back too bad on credit score. Am I totally off track here in this line of thinking? If not, please set me straight.

2.) Re-applying. After I cancel the card. Is there anything that would stop me from signing up for the same card again? Or do they crack down on that? Just trying to plan things out long term in terms of which CC offers I apply for to pay for specific trips, etc.

[apoclater]

(04-24-2014 09:43 PM)poledaddy Wrote:  

After reading about using credit card reward programs for a while, I decided to try it out late last year. I signed up for the Barclaycard Arrival - it was around 40K points for signing up, and then accumulated a few grand more over 3 months just using it for normal expenses. I used those points to pay for almost my entire flight to Peru. It turned a 600 dollar flight into around 50 bucks. I almost didn't believe it would work, because it seemed too easy, just paying for stuff I normally buy anyway with the CC and getting to fly to another country for pennies. It was definitely eye-opening when I watched the $600 balance on the card instantly drop to $50 when I cashed-in the points.

Now that I see this shit works I definitely want to keep doing it and get more free travel. I'm trying to avoid annual fees while minimizing negative impact to my credit (credit score went up almost immediately since I got the Barclaycard and has stayed up) So 2 questions/ideas I wanted feedback on:

1.) In terms of minimizing impact to credit score...I figured I would cancel the Barclaycard right before the 1st $95 annual fee comes due - to avoid having the duration of the credit line being too short. I have several other long-term credit cards with no fees that I leave open, so I figure having other cards like this that I just have open for around a year and then cancel won't set me back too bad on credit score. Am I totally off track here in this line of thinking? If not, please set me straight.

2.) Re-applying. After I cancel the card. Is there anything that would stop me from signing up for the same card again? Or do they crack down on that? Just trying to plan things out long term in terms of which CC offers I apply for to pay for specific trips, etc.

1. Absolutely do not cancel your card. Firstly, many lenders (especially Barclay's) will look at you as someone who games the system. There are definitely bonus "blacklists" that companies keep and I've been rejected for cards due to having a "poor relationship" with Chase. Second, it actually lowers you credit score to cancel it. I know this seems crazy, but the more money lenders are willing to give you, the better you credit score will be. There are tons of guides out there on how to improve your credit score, but ultimately the more money lenders are willing to give you, the better your credit score will be (in the long run).

My advice is to keep the card for 11 months and cancel it before the annual fee hits in month 12.

Read this guide:

https://millionmilesecrets.com/new-to-mi...tart-here/

2. Cards used to be more "churnable", but lenders are cracking down. Chase only gives you the bonus once in your lifetime now. American Express generally will give you a bonus for the same card two years after you've closed the same previous card. Last time I heard, the Alaska Air Visa was churn able, but who knows today.

The best place to ask these questions is on this forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-ca...grams-599/

Here are a few more sites to poke around:

http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthewing/
http://thepointsguy.com
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com

[YossariansRight]

The Barclaycard Arrival card is my everyday card; i nearly redeemed the entire price of my last ticket to Europe with my miles. Super easy to redeem miles online.

Plus, Barclaycard's customer service is on par with AMEX's - which is excellent.

I normally do not like cards with an annual fee, but this card is worth it IMHO.

And like "aplocater" said, the CC companies are cracking down on churning, which sucks for us.

[poledaddy]

"My advice is to keep the card for 11 months and cancel it before the annual fee hits in month 12."

Yep I set up a reminder to automatically email me a month before I get hit with the fee. Glad to see I was somewhat on the right track with that. Thanks for notifying me about the churn issues, and that each company is responding differently / cracking down at different level. I've been reading milliomilessecrets for a bit but there's so much info I missed that part on them cracking down. I'll make sure to stay on top of the various blogs/forums as play this game.

[michaelm]

(04-24-2014 10:32 PM)poledaddy Wrote:  

"My advice is to keep the card for 11 months and cancel it before the annual fee hits in month 12."

Yep I set up a reminder to automatically email me a month before I get hit with the fee. Glad to see I was somewhat on the right track with that. Thanks for notifying me about the churn issues, and that each company is responding differently / cracking down at different level. I've been reading milliomilessecrets for a bit but there's so much info I missed that part on them cracking down. I'll make sure to stay on top of the various blogs/forums as play this game.

One cancel is much worse than the other, obviously. If you cancel, it's infinitely more positive than if "they" cancel. Both, though, aren't positive.

BTW, it is absolutely ridiculous that ANYONE should ever have to pay an exorbitant annual fee just because the card is "sexy".

Just get into the routine of paying off your credit (not even paying it off) and you will be rewarded with CONSTANT credit line increases, WHICH you should accept, as it increases your credit score adding much flexibility to your financial life.