1. Ensure You Have a Strong Credit Score
This is a given, when applying for the best travel rewards credit cards, all of which require strong credit. First, check what your actual FICO score is (but make sure you're not looking at a FAKO score–see Credit Score: FICO or FAKO?) Then, if your credit score is below the 710-720 range, see Understand How Your Credit Score Works to Maximize Credit Card Rewards to better understand how your score is calculated and how to improve your score. And if you're a student and just starting with credit cards, see Best College Student Travel Rewards Credit Cards.
2. If You Have Multiple Cards from an Issuer, Close Credit Cards If Retention Offers Not Worth the Annual Fee
Once you have a number of credit cards, it can be more challenging to get instantly approved for a new credit card. If you dislike making reconsideration calls and want to be instantly approved, you may need to pare down your total number of cards. I would aim to do this gradually. As annual fees come up, check if you have any retention bonus offers, and whether these offers make it worth it to keep the card and pay the annual fee.
3. But Don't Cancel Credit Cards Right Before Applying, Especially for Citi
That said, with Citi in particular, you don't want to close credit cards right before applying, since Citi will count those credit lines against your total available credit for ~3-6 months after you close them, and yet you won't have access to those credit lines to try to get approved for a new card. So at least for Citi, you're often better off simply keeping your Citi cards open until you've gotten the new Citi credit card you really want, in case you need those open cards to move some credit line over and help you get approved for the new card.
4. Apply for Picky Issuers Early On
If you want an instant approval from Barclays or Chase (which declines applications if you have opened 5 or more new credit accounts of any kind within the past 24 months, with a few exceptions for certain business cards) then you'll want to apply for these cards *before* you apply for many cards. Barclays hates to see many recent credit inquiries and won't instantly approve applicants with otherwise stellar credit scores. Sometimes even a reconsideration call won't get you approved, so ensure you apply for Barclays cards early.
5. Don't Apply for a New Credit Card While Traveling Abroad
I recently encountered this myself–I applied for the 100K Citi Executive AAdvantage Credit Card, but wasn't instantly approved. The reason? I applied while traveling in Asia. Citi noted the foreign IP address, and when I called Citi Reconsideration, asked me where I was (as in which country I was in) when I'd applied for the card. So if you're U.S. based, either use a U.S. IP address as it's unlikely you'll be instantly approved using a foreign IP address.
What are your tips for getting instantly approved for travel rewards credit cards?
Understanding How Your Credit Score Works to Maximize Credit Card Rewards
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