200,000 easy points, giving up on a hunch, and the experiment that wasn’t

24

In January, I wrote about my plans for my wife’s next round of credit card applications (see “Earning points while my better half waits”).  In that post, I listed a number of cards that I was considering for her, but I also said that I was waiting for the next big offer to appear.  I said that the Citi 100K offer was terrific, but also that “I feel like something else big is coming.”  Well, I got tired of waiting and decided to go forward with a few applications.

I picked the following (all of which can be found on my best credit card offers page:

  • Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard.  $200 statement credit plus 100,000 mile bonus after $10K spend.  $450 annual fee not waived.
  • Chase Ink Plus.  50,000 Ultimate Rewards point bonus after $5K spend.  No annual fee first year ($95 thereafter).
  • Amex Platinum Mercedes-Benz card.  50,000 Membership Rewards point bonus after $3K spend.  $475 annual fee not waived.

The AA card and the Platinum card were approved instantly.  The Ink Plus decision was pending, but my wife received a email about a week later that it was approved.  With those three cards, we’ll score 200,000 bonus points and miles from just three applications.  My wife could have easily signed up for additional cards, but I’m still vaguely holding out hope for the next big offer to come along.  By limiting to just three cards, she should have capacity to get approved for another if my hunch in waiting ever plays out.

The experiment that wasn’t

I thought that my wife had a personal Platinum card.  I thought that signing her up for the Platinum Mercedes card was testing the rule saying that the Mercedes offer is not available to those with a Platinum card.  My guess (and it is just a guess) was that the Platinum Mercedes card is actually treated as a fully separate product from the regular Platinum card.  So, I thought that the terms & conditions were really about the Mercedes Platinum card not just any Platinum card.  

After she signed up for the Mercedes card I discovered that her current card is actually a Platinum Business card.  In other words, she is fully eligible for the Mercedes card offer regardless of whether my guess was right or wrong.  So much for that little experiment!

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