In early July much of the credit card chatter was about our last chance to sign up for the Chase British Airways credit card 100,000 miles offer. I didn’t think much about getting in on this deal as Kim and I both received this offer when the card came out a couple of years back. We used our miles to fly in business class to Italy for 120,000 mile each. (Taxes were a bit high but we still found the deal and trip well worth it)
I started thinking about the possibility of getting the BA card again. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to get the card for a second time and I already was approved for a bunch of Chase cards this year. So I pretty much forgot about it.
I thought it over and decided to take a chance at getting the BA card. To apply for the offer, I had to do a mock flight booking with British Airways. This then brought up the offer to earn 100,000 British Airways Avios miles. The offer gave 50K miles after your first purchase. The annual fee of $75 was not waived. The second 50K were given after your first card anniversary by again making a purchase and paying the $75 fee.
If I was approved I would earn 100,000 BA miles after two purchases and $150 in fees. I hate paying fees (and rarely do) but the ease of no minimum spend to earn the miles really appealed to me.
There was another Chase BA offer to earn 100,000 miles- 50K after first purchase, 25K more after spending $10,000 and 25K more after spending another $10,000. The fee for this card was $95. This deal was not an option for me since I would NEVER put $20,000 on one card. How would I reach my minimum spends for future offers?!
After applying for the card I received an application needs further review message. I figured that I would wait a few days and call the Chase Retention Line (888-245-0625) to get a decision.
I called on July 14 and the rep put me on hold a few times before telling me that I was denied. The reason was too many applications & approvals within the last few months. I offered to close some of my old accounts but was told this would not work and that there was no way to “override” the system. I asked again and was told the same thing once again. I figured that it was time to take a break from Chase.
I decided to give Chase a call one more time the following morning. I went through the same conversation and was given the same info. This rep told me to show usage on my cards and suggested that I not apply for any more cards for 6 months.
I received a letter from Chase a few days later regarding my British Airways card denial. In the letter I had noticed that it suggested that I call back if I had any more information to share with them within the next 30 days. I tossed the letter aside and thought about calling again.
A couple of days later I filled out an application for the Chase BA card for Kim. She also received the pending status message but I figured she had a great shot at being approved since she only received one new Chase card in the last 6-8 months.
Sure enough after waiting a few days to call, Kim answered a bunch of questions and was APPROVED for the British Airways card.
All was not lost. In a little over a year, we would have over 100,000 BA Avios miles!
Fast forward a couple of weeks later… I was cleaning up some old papers & mail and came across my Chase BA rejection letter again. I reread it and focused on the “call again if you have any new info within 30 days” sentence…. One of my Chase accounts was closed a week or so back- I did have some new info!
On August 14, around one month from when this application process started I decided to give Chase one final call.
The reconsideration line was answered by a friendly representative and I had a feeling this was going to work out. I gave my application ID # and was placed on hold. Shortly after I was asked why I apply for so many cards. I gave my usual story how I like to keep different purchases with different cards to know how we are spending. I mentioned how each card also gave varying miles for each category (groceries, gas, travel etc). I also shared that we had some international travel coming up and I loved how the BA card does not charge foreign transaction fees (actually neither do some of my other cards!). She said that she understood why I wanted the card. I also mentioned my recently closed account and offered to close or move some credit from another card.
I was then asked which card I would like to move credit from and how much of a credit line I would like for the BA card. I suggested my Southwest card and was placed on hold. The rep came back on the line and told me the credit would have to be moved from my United Explorer card and that I was APPROVED!
By the middle of next August I will have another 100,000+ miles thanks to this amazing offer! Good thing that I did not give up and take no for an answer.
This just shows that you should never give up… In this case it took three calls and I was approved!
Now it’s time for that break from Chase credit card applications…until that next great offer!
