Bust-out fraud is when someone builds up a good credit profile, creates a pattern of normal usage and satisfactory repayment history, and then racks up a massive balance with no intention of paying the bill.
The person committing bust-out fraud usually has the goal of getting as much "free" things they can by maxing out their credit cards and running away.
At the late stage of bust-out fraud, a common behavior is to write bad checks to pay off the card balances. Often times, writing a bad check to a credit card company will result in an account freeze or shut down.
Most people have multiple checking and savings accounts. Before you write a check, double-check the account balance to make sure the check will clear.
The last thing you want to do is accidentally display bust-out fraud behavior.
Some banks are comfortable issuing up to 50% of your income as your total credit limit. If you're approaching your maximum credit limit allowance, consider lowering your credit limits.
If you're someone who has multiple loan products (i.e., student loans, mortgage, auto loan) with a specific banking institution, then the bank is more exposed to you, imposing a higher risk. You can de-risk your profile by lowering your credit card limits.
On the other hand, some people want higher credit limits because it lowers their credit utilization. If you're under 10% utilization, then you should be fine.
If you're a business owner and you need a high credit limit for business purposes, be sure to ease into spending on the card. For example, if you recently opened a new business credit card, I don't recommend putting a $20,000 on the second day of having the card. This would raise a red flag, especially if you didn't have a previous relationship with the credit issuer.
If you need a high credit limit and your utilization is high, I recommend routinely paying the balance down to seem low-risk.
Another method is to slowly work your way up to a higher credit limit. Some credit issuers will automatically issue more credit limit if they see you use 60% of the limit and pay it off. I don't recommend calling in to ask for a credit limit increase right away, especially if it's a new credit card.
When a balance is close or over the credit limit (70% or above), credit issuers will view this behavior as high-risk.
This is also true if your credit limit utilization is 70% or higher for multiple credit institutions.
If you pre-pay your cards before applying for a new credit card, it will lower the utilization and de-risk your profile.
With the recent changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, a lot of people are questioning whether they should stick with the Chase card system or move on to American Express. Before making any major changes to your card setup, let’s run through a few scenarios.
Chase has an unwritten rule that you will be automatically denied for a credit card if you have opened 5 or more personal credit or charge cards in the past 24 months from any credit issuer.
If you’re under the Chase 5/24 rule, I recommend adding the Chase cards you want first before moving on to American Express. By adding other issuers first, you’re leaving money on the table.
Chase cards aren’t limited to Ultimate Reward earning cards. There are also co-branded cards like The World of Hyatt Credit Card, United℠ Explorer Card, and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card.
Each Chase card can easily yield $500-$1,000 in value, depending on how you redeem the points. Watch the video below for a detailed explanation on the value of Chase “slots.”
If you’re someone who doesn’t care about travel and prefers to focus on cash back, there’s still value in the core Ultimate Rewards cards.
If you are someone that is over Chase 5/24 or you don’t care for Chase cards, then American Express is a good alternative.
The Platinum Card® from American Express card was one of my favorite card picks of 2019 since it has a strong intro bonus and benefits that I use often.
See if the Amex Platinum is worth it for you: https://www.asksebby.com/credit-cards/the-platinum-card-from-american-express-worth-the-550-annual-fee
Check if you're targeted for the 100k offer via CardMatch: http://bit.ly/2zqinrc
Another reason to go for American Express cards is that you can usually get a retention offer every other year. Your mileage may vary based on your profile with Amex. Chase rarely gives out retention offers.
Before jumping in to get the Platinum card or any other charge card, there are a few reasons why you might want to avoid it:
Overall, I don’t recommend getting an American Express charge card if you don’t have a strong foundation of cards to fall back on. The economy can take a turn, and if you need to cancel, your credit history will take a hit.
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, "Why do you have multiple of the same credit card?" In this post, we'll cover which cards you can have multiples of, the general policies, and the cards I have.
Yes, depending on the credit issuer. With most major issuers, it's possible to hold two of the same credit card. The main issue is HOW you obtain multiple of these cards.
In most cases, you'll need to product change a card to hold two of the same credit card.
Important: You do NOT receive an intro bonus when you product change a card.
For example, if you product change a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you do not receive a bonus for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Some people obtain a second Chase Freedom Flex℠ card from getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred and product changing the card after the first year. You will not receive an intro bonus for the second Chase Freedom Flex.
For some credit issuers, if you currently have the card, you cannot apply for the same card. The application will automatically get rejected. Always check the card offer details and terms for the most accurate information.
Bank of America is more flexible with having multiple cards, but restrictions do apply for select products. You can have multiple Better Balance Rewards and Cash Rewards cards.
Be sure to read the Bank of America card application rules post to see if you qualify to apply for additional cards: https://www.asksebby.com/blog/bank-of-america-adds-24-month-rule-to-some-credit-cards
For example, the Bank of America Alaska card is not available to you if you currently have or have had the card in the past 24 months.
One product that is no longer available is the Better Balance Rewards card. The system allowed me to apply for multiple at the same time, and they were approved. However, Bank of America did close two of the accounts after enforcing their new application rules.
American Express lets you apply for the same product, but you will not receive the intro bonus again due to the "once in a lifetime" rule.
I don't recommend submitting multiple applications all at once; otherwise, the system may view them as duplicate applications and automatically reject them. Space the applications out by a few months.
Keep in mind that applying for a card is different from upgrading a card. When you upgrade a card, there are often upgrade offers after you spend "x" amount in "x" months.
I only recommend doing the product change if you currently have or had the card for the intro bonus in the past, otherwise, you might not qualify in the future.
Watch the video below for the Amex product change strategies.
Chase allows you to earn an intro bonus for a product once every two years, except for the Sapphire cards, which are once every four years.
However, it is possible to product change to a card you already have.
Reminder: You do NOT receive an intro bonus when you product change.
For example, you can sign up for a Chase Freedom card and earn an intro bonus. If you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred that you no longer get positive expected value from, you can product change the Sapphire to a second Chase Freedom card.
There are two main reasons for why I have multiple of the same credit card:
Rotating category cards are some of my favorite cards to have duplicates. For example, the Chase Freedom Flex card earns 5% on up to $1,500 in combined category purchases each quarter you activate.
There are some categories that I can easily maximize, so having a secondary card helps me earn more points.
Another example is the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card that earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on office supply stores; internet, cable, and phone services. Some office managers who carry the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card can easily maximize the $25,000 in combined category spend each year. Having a secondary Ink Business Cash® Credit Card would help earn points faster.
You can product change the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card to a secondary Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. Business cards can only be changed to business products, and not personal cards.
The second group of cards is ones that have annual fees, but you don't need to spend a lot on the card to derive positive expected value.
The best example is the Amex Hilton Aspire that has a $450 annual fee and comes with a free weekend certificate and resort credits. Since I can redeem the free weekend certificate at high-value properties, I derive more than $450 in value each year.
The automatic Diamond status has also saved me hundreds of dollars on breakfast and executive lounge access.
Your mileage may vary depending on where you plan to redeem the free weekend night. I currently hold two Amex Hilton Aspire cards.
Having multiple of the same credit card isn’t for everyone. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a specific use case like maximizing spend categories or utilizing travel benefits.
The one year anniversary of the revamped American Express® Gold Card is quickly approaching, and people are starting to wonder if they should renew their card membership for another year.
It’s important to note that the American Express Gold Card is a charge card, and not a credit card. You can only product change an Amex charge card to another charge card within the same family:
There isn’t a product change option available that does not have an annual fee. If you don’t want to keep paying annual fees on a charge card, you’ll need to cancel.
Before you cancel, make sure you have a way to keep the Membership Reward points “alive.” Either have another open charge card that earns MR points or the Amex EveryDay card.
Ask Sebby crunches the numbers for you to calculate the Expected Value of the American Express® Gold Card. For the expected value of points, we derive the approximate dollar value based on the numbers you enter in the calculator. Scroll down to the end of the post to see our methodology.
The calculator below contains default figures and serve as an example only. Users should insert their own data for the most accurate results.
Huge changes are coming to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® starting on Jan 12, 2020. The most significant change is that the card’s annual fee will jump from $450 to $550 — a $100 increase.
Quick overview of changes effective Jan 12,2020:
The new Chase Sapphire Reserve $550 annual fee kicks in on Jan 12, 2020. There’s still time to lock in the $450 annual fee and enjoy the new benefits if you apply before Jan 11, 2020.
Existing cardholders will be able to renew at the $450 annual fee, as long as the card anniversary renewal date is before to April 1, 2020. After April 1, all accounts will renew at the increased $550 annual fee.
Lyft Pink is Lyft’s membership program that gives you an elevated Lyft experience with preferred pricing.
Sapphire Reserve cardholders must activate the Lyft Pink membership via the Lyft app to qualify.
Lyft Pink:
Now through March 2022, Sapphire Reserve cardmembers will automatically earn 10x total points every time they use their card for a Lyft car, bike, or scooter.
Chase Sapphire Preferred cardmembers will earn 5x total points on Lyft rides.
Lyft gift card purchases do not qualify for the increased multipliers.
With the new Chase x DoorDash partnership, select Chase credit cards will receive significant discounts on the DashPass membership.
Both the Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Preferred members will receive a complimentary DashPass for at least one year.
To register for DashPass, add your eligible card to the DoorDash app and click to add the offer anytime between now and Dec 31, 2021. Membership is valid for 12 months from the date of activation. For example, if you activate the complimentary DashPass in June 2020, it'll be free until June 2021.
Activate your DashPass membership here: https://www.doordash.com/dashpass-v2/Chase/card/
Starting on Jan 12, $120 in DoorDash credits will be automatically issued as statement credits of up to $60 in 2020 and $60 in 2021.
You must use the Sapphire Reserve card on the DoorDash purchases to qualify, and no activation is required.
The DoorDash statement credits will automatically be awarded when the transaction is posted to your Sapphire Reserve.
The increased annual fee might be a deal breaker for some cardholders if you can’t maximize the Lyft and DoorDash benefits. If you’re someone who’s locked into the $450 annual fee for another year, it’s worth keeping the card to test drive the new benefits.
Does it make sense to upgrade your American Express card when you receive an offer? In this post, we are going to use the American Express Gold® Card as an example.
A few American Express Gold Card cardholders received an offer to upgrade to The Platinum Card® from American Express. The offer is to spend $1,000 to receive a 25,000 point upgrade bonus.
On the surface, it seems like a good deal, but it's more complicated because American Express limits your ability to get a intro bonus if you already had the product.
This means that if you take the upgrade bonus, you will not be eligible for a Platinum Card intro bonus in the future because you already have the card.
Why does this matter? We’ve seen Platinum Card intro bonuses range from 60,000-125,000 Membership Rewards points. By taking the upgrade offer, you’re effectively setting 35,000+ points on fire.
On the other hand, if you were not planning on applying for the Platinum Card in the future OR you previously had the Platinum Card, then taking the upgrade offer might be the optimal strategy.
TLDR: Don’t take an upgrade offer unless you previously earned an intro bonus for the card you’re upgrading to. You disqualify yourself from future intro bonuses (for the card you’re upgrading to) due to the “once in a lifetime rule” if you have or had the card, regardless of if you received a bonus.
The main difference between the two scenarios is one intro bonus. I wouldn't recommend going through the hassle unless it’s a high value bonus, but I think it's important to understand the game theory since this is technically a min-max problem.
These scenarios also apply to downgrades.
When you request a downgrade, you also disqualify yourself from receiving an intro bonus from the respective card.
It's not optimal to upgrade your card unless you don't plan on getting the respective card in the future because it will disqualify you from receiving an intro bonus in the future.
For other credit card issuers, these scenarios aren't applicable because they're more forgiving than American Express. With Chase, you can receive an intro bonus for a product once every 24 months.
No, you typically can’t upgrade a credit card within the first year, especially if there is a difference in annual fee due to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act of 2009).
The CARD Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2009 to protect consumers from unfair practices from credit card issuers, which include changing the annual fee within the first card membership year.
For example, if you apply for the Chase Freedom card today, you can’t product change it to a Chase Sapphire Preferred a few months later since there would be a change in annual fee ($95). Banks are not allowed to charge you more than what you agreed upon the first year.
Unless you accept a product change offer, you will not get a bonus when you upgrade or downgrade your card.
This means that if you product change a Chase Freedom card to a Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP), you will not receive the 60,000 points welcome bonus that’s usually associated with the CSP.
Again, you won’t receive a welcome bonus for the respective credit card when you do product change.
However, upgrade offers do exist with some card issuers like Chase and American Express.
We typically see an upgrade offer from Chase when they want you to product change to the newest version of a credit card.
For example, the “old” grandfathered Hyatt credit card has a targeted upgrade offer of ~5,000 points when you product change to the “new” World of Hyatt card.
Grandfathered card =
1) Card that was previously publicly available
2) Can’t be applied for
3) Potentially can’t be product changed to
Chase Hyatt (discontinued) ($75 Annual Fee)
- anniversary night = Category 1-4
- 3x at Hyatt
- status = Discoverist (Explorist if $50k spend cal. year)
Chase World of Hyatt ($95 Annual Fee)
- anniversary night = Category 1-4
- additional anniversary night = Category 1-4 ($15,000 spend, card year)
- 4x at Hyatt
- status = Discoverist
- 2 nights towards status (not free nights) per $5k spend
Since the Chase Hyatt card isn’t my only hotel credit card, it wouldn’t make sense to pay an increased annual fee when I’m keeping the card for the free anniversary night. I’m grandfathered into the $75 annual fee as long as I don’t accept the upgrade offer.
It depends on the credit issuer, but the general rule is that they prorate a refund based on the months you have the card.
This is an interesting strategy for people who missed downgrading the card on the anniversary date. You’ll receive a prorated refund based on how many months are left in the cardmember year.
For example, if you have an Amex Platinum card that just renewed, but you want the Gold card instead, Amex would refund the prorated amount for the Platinum and then charge the Gold card annual fee. This assumes that you did NOT receive a retention offer for the Amex Platinum card.
If you received a retention offer, keep the Amex Platinum for the year to avoid getting blacklisted. It’s in the terms of the offer that closing a card shortly after accepting a retention offer can qualify as “abuse.”
It depends. The general rule is that you can only product change within a family of cards (same point system).
For example, the Chase Freedom can only be product changed to a Chase Slate, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Freedom Student, Chase Sapphire, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or Chase Sapphire Reserve.
You cannot product change the Chase Freedom to a World of Hyatt or United Explorer card, vice versa.
A few items to keep in mind:
No, they are completely separate credit issuers. You cannot product change across different credit issuers.
No, you can’t product change international products across the same credit issuer. American Express Hong Kong, Amex Canada, Amex UK, etc. are all separate entities that have different regulations.
International organizations have different…
However, if you are an international and looking to gain U.S. credit, American Express has a Global Transfer Program.
You might be able to do this, but I don’t advise it. American Express explicitly has terms that say they can close your account for “gaming” the upgrade bonus.
“ If we in our sole discretion determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so (for example, if you applied for one or more cards to obtain a welcome offer (s) that we did not intend for you; if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months after acquiring it; or if you cancel or return purchases you made to meet the Threshold Amount), we may not credit Hilton Honors Bonus Points to your account. We may also cancel this Card account and other Card accounts you may have with us. “
Source: Offer terms https://online.americanexpress.com/dapply/partner/preacq/hil/hhas-upg-51/cmupgrade/carddetails#/cshop
If you accept an upgrade bonus, I recommend keeping the respective card open for at least 12 months.
Chase Ink business cards like the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card and the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card are marketed as cash back cards, but they actually earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Per the Chase Ink offer details page:
Cash Back and Points: "Cash Back rewards" are the rewards you earn under the program. Cash Back rewards are tracked as points and each $1 in Cash Back rewards earned is equal to 100 points. You may see "Cash Back" in marketing materials when referring to the rewards you earn.
For example, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a $750 intro bonus after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. When you earn the intro bonus, your account will be credited 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
Points do not expire as long as you have a Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card open.
Points can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards, and travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
If you have multiple Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards, you can pool the points together for redemption.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can redeem points for travel at 1.5x via transfer partners or Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardholders can redeem points at 1.25x through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
The Discover It 5% cash back category for Q2 (April-June) 2018 is grocery stores. As a reminder, you need to activate the 5% promo to receive the cashback bonus. Earn up to 5% on up to $1,500 in combined category purchases when you activate.
If you're in the first year of your Discover It card, then the 5% cash back is 10% with Cashback Match.
You can view credit card offers by going to the "Credit Card Offers" tab. Find offers for the respective cards in "Cash Back Credit Cards." You don't have to use our links, but we're grateful when you do. Thank you for supporting AskSebby!
The reason why Discover Q2 categories sound familiar is that it's the same exact category for the Chase Freedom card as well. Learn more about the Chase Freedom Q2 categories here.
If you're in the first year of your Discover card, it makes sense to take advantage of the Cashback Match.
Discover It = 5% for groceries
= 10% if in Year 1
= 5% if in Year x
Chase Freedom = 5x for groceries, PayPal, Chase Pay
= 5% as a statement credit
= 6.25% with CSP
= 7.5% with CSR
= 10%+ via transfer partners (CSP/CSR/CIP)
If your Discover card is not in the first year, then you have some balancing to do between the Discover and Chase Freedom cards.
The Chase Freedom card extracts more value from Ultimate Reward points when you transfer the points to a Chase Sapphire card to redeem for travel. In the example below, if you maximize the 5x with grocery stores alone using the Chase Freedom, you'll receive more value than the Discover card.
Assumptions
Discover != Year 1
discover_max_value = 5%
freedom_max_value = range(5% to 10%)
Spend
Groceries = $1,500
PayPal = $0
Chase Pay = $0
Allocation
Groceries = $1,500
= 100% to Chase Freedom
For most people, it depends if the merchants you shop at take Chase Pay or PayPal to earn the 5x points.
In the example below, I use the Discover card that's in the first year to maximize the groceries category, and I use the Chase Freedom to maximize the PayPal category.
Assumptions
Discover != Year 1
discover_max_value = 5%
freedom_max_value = range(5% to 10%)
Spend
Groceries = $1,500
PayPal = $1,500
Chase Pay = $0
Allocation
Groceries = $1,500
= 100% to Discover
PayPal = $1,500
= 100% to Freedom
If you're having a hard time maximizing the grocery store category near the end of the quarter, buying store-branded gift cards are always an option.
The points game is always changing when it comes to valuations and redemptions. Should you diversify your points to de-risk?
The main factors that come into play for diversification are:
To simply things, we created this quadrant to determine your strategy.
If you’re someone who has a high amount of spend, but you don’t want to add that many credit cards, then Quadrant 1 is for you.
Pick a points system that works for your spending habits based on categories, and what you want to redeem the points for.
For example, if you don’t care about travel and prefer cash back, then I suggest looking into the Bank of America card set up to earn cash back.
If you have high spend and you want to redeem points for first class or business class flights, then American Express, Chase, or Citi cards would be ideal.
Quadrant 2 is for people who have a high amount of spend and want to obtain more credit card bonuses that provide outsized value. Diversifying your points portfolio should be relatively easy based on spend.
For people who spend less than $1,000 per month and want to optimize for cash back, I suggest picking one card or a simple cash back system.
A flat-rate cash back card like the Citi Double Cash or the Chase Freedom Unlimited card is ideal.
If you want to play the 5% cash back game, then adding the Chase Freedom, Discover It, and ABOC Platinum card is optimal.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is another card to consider since the welcome offer is worth $500 in cash, and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. You can product change it to a Chase Freedom or Chase Freedom Unlimited after 12 months of account opening.
If you have low spend, but you’re willing to add a few more cards, then going for cards that offer $100-200 as an intro offer is ideal.
There are a handful of cards in the travel, hotel, and cash back categories that fit the bill.
For cash back, cards like the Bank of America Cash Rewards card offers $200 after $500 in spend within the first 3 months of account opening.
For travel, the Capital One Venture card offers 50,000 bonus miles after $3,000 in spend within the first 3 months of account opening.
Monthly spending is an interesting topic because some people might not spend that much money on a day-to-day basis. However, they might have large monthly bills to pay like health insurance, rent, mortgage, or student loan payments.
The ideal strategy is taking the large monthly bills and paying them with a credit card to meet a minimum spend requirement on a new credit card.
