We reported on an increased signup bonus for the Bank of American Travel Rewards card. The offer is nothing amazing, but $200 is decent and I didn’t yet have any BofA cards so I gave it a shot. (I don’t travel much so the Alaska cards aren’t useful for me.)
As we know, BofA combines inquiries and most of us like to apply for a couple of them at a time. They combine business and personal cards and the best bet is probably to go for one personal and one business card. Aside from the Travel Rewards, no other cards interested me and I was hoping to score 2 or 3 or the Travel Rewards cards. Sometime down the line, I’d convert them into Better Balance Rewards cards. From what I’m told, you can even do this conversion soon after opening the card without the need to wait a full year.
BofA has gotten tougher on approving multiple cards. Mileswhip has been coaching me on the BofA approval process and he says that the trick is to get one card approved with a high credit line, then you’ll hopefully be able to get the others approved by transfering over credit from that card in $5000 increments onto the other cards.
In my case, I didn’t have any existing BofA cards and I needed to land a high credit line on the first one. My hopes were to get a $15000 credit line and then apply for two more Travel Rewards and transfer over $5000 on each. (If I’m not mistaken, you don’t get the signup bonus on the card without a $5000 credit line since it comes through as a lower-level card.)
Plans didn’t quite work out – I got a credit line of just $6000.
Plan B: At this point, I was doubtful I could get a second Travel Rewards card. Even if I’d get an approval somehow, it would have to have a $5k credit line to be eligible for the signup bonus.
What to do? Justify an Experian pull for just a measly $200 bonus? Okay, it’s my first BofA card and I’m happy to start a relationship with a new bank, but still…
It occurred to me to apply instead for the Better Balance Rewards card directly. Typically an option for downgrades, this card does not have a signup bonus at all but it does have value since you can get up to $120 per year with the card. It’s also considered a more ‘basic’ card, I believe, and should be easier to get approved for. At worst, I could try to transfer $1k from my new Travel Rewards card to help get approved for the BBR.
In the end, that wasn’t necessary. While the card initially went into pending, a quick talk the next day with reconsideration (phone number here) and the analyst who was able to approve me for a $3600 credit line. Since it’s a ‘basic’ card and doesn’t have a signup bonus, I’d imagine it’s not too difficult to get approved for.
In the end, I’m pretty happy with my two new BofA cards. And the BBR idea may be useful to others; if you’re looking for a card to throw in and you don’t have enough credit limit to support it, consider throwing in a BBR. Hey, rapidtravelchai is working on his BBR #7 and #8, we still have a way to go to catch up…
Related:Â PSA: Put a $5 Charge on that Better Balance Rewards Card
