Tips for Churning When you Have a Mortgage?

[Catweazle]

Got rejected several times, like Ricky Baker ('scuse the movie pun). From both ANZ and a Virgin Money card (despite being with them for insurance purposes for now).

What could I be doing wrong? It might be that my credit report hasn't updated with another card having been recently cancelled. Perhaps they still think I have it. Never been rejected in the past when applying for a card, and that's with Amex on hand since 2021.

We now have a mortgage, so that's different. Got an NAB card, but wanted a third. Got that be it? Perhaps I should cancel the NAB card first?

Any tips for mortgage owners when it comes to looking better on paper when churning through cards? I know we're fine but maybe the banks don't think so.

How should I list our repayments – the minimum monthly amount owing or the amount we actually pay to smash it down hard and fast?

 

[albyd]

I think the days of card issuers handing out new cards like they were lollies is over. Regulation has killed it. I’ve got an Amex charge card and a backup MC which took 4 weeks to increase the limit (original card last year took <1 day to approve via paper application in branch last year). I think it’s a sign of time times. With CCR, issuers can see everything & we can’t have amnesia about certain credit lines as they can see them even if we’ve forgotten them.

I think I’m going to concentrate on my day job going forward. Seems the ‘most reliable’ way to afford travel & all the things we were looking for card SUBs to provide historically.

It will continue to work for some but churning is increasingly on card issuers’ radars (Amex is the best example of that) with increasing wait times and rejections for no good reason.

YMMV of course depending on your credit profile.

 

[levelnine]

Main difference between no mortgage & mortgage is that you now have an additional debt you need to service and thus the amount of credit a bank will want to extend to you via credit card decreases.

So do everything you can to decrease the amount of debt already extended to you — eg only open one credit card at a time & make sure previous cards are gone from your report.

As albyd notes, you also have to remember we are in a new era of credit card churning. Banks are increasing wait times between SUBs & less inclined to issue new cards to churners (both Amex and Citi/NAB have tightened up their new card approvals).

The days of churning 4+ Australian credit cards per year are likely gone. With bank consolidations, smaller/fewer SUBs & recent Qantas & Velocity reward devaluations, make sure the pursuit is still worth it for you.

 

[VPS]

Got rejected several times, like Ricky Baker ('scuse the movie pun). From both ANZ and a Virgin Money card (despite being with them for insurance purposes for now).

What could I be doing wrong? It might be that my credit report hasn't updated with another card having been recently cancelled. Perhaps they still think I have it. Never been rejected in the past when applying for a card, and that's with Amex on hand since 2021.

We now have a mortgage, so that's different. Got an NAB card, but wanted a third. Got that be it? Perhaps I should cancel the NAB card first?

Any tips for mortgage owners when it comes to looking better on paper when churning through cards? I know we're fine but maybe the banks don't think so.

How should I list our repayments – the minimum monthly amount owing or the amount we actually pay to smash it down hard and fast?

The minimum a monthly payment. If you’re applying in your own name and not your partner just say that your partner pays 70% of the bills.

 

[Rich]

The minimum a monthly payment. If you’re applying in your own name and not your partner just say that your partner pays 70% of the bills.

Bills but not mortgage, right? I had one card issuer tell me I had to say half the mortgage was mine, even though my wife earns more, and therefore effectively pays more.

 

[Quickstatus]

Any tips for mortgage owners when it comes to looking better on paper when churning through cards

Reduce the loan balance by actually reducing it, not via an offset/redraw. Stop churning cards. or at least slow it down significantly.

How should I list our repayments – the minimum monthly amount owing or the amount we actually pay to smash it down hard and fast?

The problem is again the offset account. Any extra repayments over and above the minimum goes into an offset or redraw facility
It is therefore irrelevant.

Example:
$1M mortgage
$500K in an offset account or in a redraw facility. This means at any time you can take that $$$ out and spend it on the pokies etc.
Your loan is still $1M

Maybe tell the bank to take the offset and redraw amount and apply it to the mortgage to actually reduce the loan from $1M to $500K with zero inthe offset and redraw facility. The problem then is you dont have anything to redraw on a rainy day- which is my point again.

(In my opinion...)

 

[Human]

Banks will look at the combined credit limit of all your cards to determine what level of debt you can service. To have the maximum chance of getting approved for new cards, there are two big things you can do:

1. Reduce the credit limits on your existing card/cards to the minimum amount possible. I have three cards (AmEx Platinum Reserve, AmEx Platinum Edge, CommBank Mastercard) which have $3000 credit limits. Even better: cancel as many cards as you can before applying for a new card.
2. When you apply for a new card, select the lowest allowable credit limit.

The lower your combined credit limit, the more likely it is that you'll get approved for a new card.