Step-by-Step Guide: Before Applying for a New Card

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Before you apply for the card
Applying for the card
When you receive the card
Spend enough to earn the signup bonus
(optional) Enroll your new card in dining and shopping programs
For cards that you are planning to keep

Register for Award Wallet (if you haven't already). Award Wallet is a free tool that keeps track of all your loyalty accounts and information. We are big fans of signing up for every hotel and car rental loyalty program (and a handful of frequent flyer programs), and AwardWallet is an indispensable tool to help us deal with all our different accounts. Use AwardWallet to Easily Manage Your Loyalty Program Information.

If you sign up for a hotel or airline credit card, you'll need to enter your corresponding loyalty account information and the easiest way to retrieve it is with AwardWallet. If you start collecting signup bonuses, you'll eventually wind up signing up for a card that is associated with a program that you haven't joined yet. The credit card company will set up a new account for you, and you can store that information in it as well.

If you are thinking about collecting signup bonuses, you may also want to:

Start a spreadsheet to keep track of your credit cards. At a minimum, make a column for the bank, the card, the date you signed up for it, and the date you got rid of it. If you are going to manage credit card applications for multiple people, add a column for the cardholder.
Consider opening a Bank of America and/or a U.S. Bank savings account. If you don't have a bank account, Bank of America usually won't approve a new credit card application once you've gotten at least 3 cards, from any bank, in the last 12 months. Once you start signing up for even a small number of cards, you'll no longer be able to get any Bank of America cards that you may want. And if you are collecting signup bonuses, you won't be able to take advantage of any of Bank of America's lucrative offers. If you have a bank account, the limit increases to 7 cards in the last 12 months. This provides a lot more flexibility.

If you don't have a bank account, it is hard to get approved for U.S. Bank's valuable Altitude Reserve Card.

You can avoid fees on these savings accounts by maintaining a balance of $500 at Bank of America or $300 at U.S. Bank.

(optional) Find the best signup offer

If you go directly to the card’s signup webpage, you might miss a better promotional offer. Sometimes, a more valuable signup offer is available through another application page or by using a special link.

Our credit card guides provide information about the best currently available offer. However, it is always possible that we've missed something.
If you want to be sure, take the time to check some other sites. Not every promotional offer winds up on every website, so your best bet is to check a couple of websites, and maybe do a general web search. The whole process should only take a few minutes and you'll sometimes uncover a better offer that lets you earn tens of thousands of extra points for the same new credit card.

The best single resource we’ve found is the US Credit Card Guide site. They provide information on the current best signup offers for each card. They even include a handy chart that shows a recent history of the card’s signup bonuses and initial spending requirements. We've linked to the US Credit Card Guide graph from every one of our individual credit card guides.

Another good resource is the signup offer page on Frequent Miler. Checking both sites can uncover an offer that one site knows about, but the other site does not.

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(optional) Take advantage of a referral link (if you can). Some cards will give you extra points for referring another customer (assuming they get approved). If you have a friend who already has the card you want, you can apply through their referral link, you'll get the normal signup bonus, and they'll get some valuable extra bonus. If you and your spouse or partner are both planning to get a card, you can earn extra points by having one person get it first and then referring the other. Taking Advantage of Referral Bonuses.

But be careful. Sometimes, the referral offer isn't as good as the best signup offer out there. In that case, you may be better off applying with a promotional link, getting the best possible offer, and forgoing the referral points.

Always use a referral link to apply for American Express cards. American Express has the most flexible referral process. Anyone with an American Express card can generate a link that can be used to apply for any of their other cards. You can even apply for a business card using a referral link from a personal card and vice versa.

When you sign up for an Amex card with a referral link, you will almost always receive the best possible signup offer and your friend will receive a large number of extra points as well. In a perfect world, you have a family member that can refer you, or you and a friend can make a deal to refer each other.

(optional) If you are applying for airline or hotel card, try making a "fake reservation". Usually, when you are partway through the reservation process, the airline or hotel will pop up an offer to sign up for their card. These offers often include an extra $50 or $100 statement credit that you wouldn't get by applying for the card the regular way. Once you are done applying, you can cancel out of the reservation process—you don't need to book a room or flight. If you don't see an offer, or the offer isn't as good as the best promotional offer, you can switch over to applying elsewhere.

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Application tips

If you've recently signed up for a few cards, check your credit rating to make sure everything is still okay. If your credit rating is starting to drop, you might want to take a break for a while. The VantageScore you get from Credit Karma should be a good enough indicator of what is going on with your credit score, but you will want to occasionally check your actual FICO score using one of your credit card accounts (or the Discover website, if necessary). Monitor Your Credit Score to Make Sure Everything is On Track.

(Until you're an expert) only apply for one card at a time. Even if you are primarily getting the card for other reasons, you still want to make sure you earn each new card's signup bonus. If you stick to one card at a time, it is more straightforward to make sure that you meet the initial spending requirement. When you are ready, there are some advanced techniques that can make it worthwhile to apply for multiple cards at the same time. But we strongly recommend starting off with a simpler approach.

Include all your sources of income. When you are asked for your income, you can include all your household income, not just the income from your job. That includes the income from a spouse or domestic partner.

Don't add an authorized user as part of the initial signup process unless they are offering you a bonus. Some cards will provide an extra bonus when you add an authorized card holder to an account. If they don't offer you one at signup and you add an authorized cardholder then, you won't be able to take advantage of any bonus offer that is available at some later time. Also, if the potential authorized cardholder isn't already blocked by getting too many cards, adding them to your card will potentially limit their ability to get cards they may want later.

Don’t worry if you aren’t immediately approved. If the credit card website indicates that your application is “pending” and doesn’t give you an immediate decision, don’t worry too much. Most of the time, you’ll be approved a few days later. With most credit card companies, it is possible to check your application status online. For more information see this article at Doctor of Credit.

If you do eventually get denied, call and talk to the "reconsideration" department. If you get a rejection notice, it usually includes a number to call. When you call in, they can frequently reverse the initial decision and get approved for the card. Sometimes, you’ll need to make an adjustment first, such as decreasing your credit limit on (or closing) another card from that bank. Many people are reluctant to call in. But you’ve already taken the hit from the credit report inquiry and you undoubtedly still want to get the card you were aiming for. At the very least, you’ll learn a bit more information about why you were denied and can adjust your signup strategy moving forward. Reconsideration Line Advice.