Advertiser Disclosure

We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Advertiser Disclosure

We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Signing-Up for Multiple Cards

Now that you have applied for 1 or 2 cards you have an idea of how things work. It’s time to start applying for multiple cards at 1 time, so you can earn lots of points quickly. This is how you get Big Travel with Small Money!

How Many Cards Should I Apply For?

Emily and I each like to sign-up for 3 to 6 cards every 3 to 4 months. But do what feels comfortable to you!

Apply to Cards From Different Banks

Banks don’t like to see that you’re applying for a lot of credit at once. But many banks only pull your credit score from 1 of the 3 credit bureaus. So by spreading your applications across different banks you are limiting the number of credit inquiries with each credit bureau.

loremipsum — Spreading Your Credit Pulls Across Different Credit Bureaus Can Increase Your Chances of Being Approved

For example, if you apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Barclays Arrival Plus card (card no longer available) in the same day and Chase pulls your credit report from Experian, then Barclays pulls your credit report from TransUnion they will not see that you have already applied for a card from Chase.

Which credit bureau is used not only depends upon the bank, but also the card you are applying for and your location. You can check the CreditBoards and Flyertalk to get an idea of which bureau a bank may use.

Maintain a Good Relationship With the Banks and a High Credit Score

If you don’t do these 2 things, banks will consider you a risk and you will be denied credit. Here are the steps you should take to ensure you stay in the game:

Stay organized
Pay your bills on time
Find no annual fee cards and cards with great benefits to keep and establish a long history with the bank
If you decide to cancel a card after you get the sign-up bonus, wait 8 to 10 months!

Our Favorite Partner Cards