Are Frequent-Flier Miles About to Lose Value?

Re:Are Frequent-Flier Miles About to Lose Value? by ethbro on Monday December 24, 2018 @05:38PM (#18754668)

Not really. Because of the rules to generate the score (see Credit Karma etc) the effects of a new card mostly balance each other out if you have an old enough average age of credit. On the order of -150 pts for a few months.

The only really valid question for point hacking is, "Are you planning to do anything with your credit score in the next 6 months?"

Decreases credit score: Decreases average age of credit

Increases credit score: Increases total number of credit accounts, decreases utilization rate vs total credit

The main barrier to doing this is single-card limits at certain banks (e.g. Chase's "No more than x new cards in y months").

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Re:Are Frequent-Flier Miles About to Lose Value? by loeg on Monday December 24, 2018 @07:24PM (#18755069)

Not even close to -150 in my experience, hah.

And Chase's 5/24 rule only includes personal cards; many people on HN may consult or otherwise have a business, and business cards don't count. Even sole proprietors (which is you, if you have a SSN) can get business cards.

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Re:Are Frequent-Flier Miles About to Lose Value? by ethbro on Tuesday December 25, 2018 @12:59AM (#18756183)

I gave a ceiling number, as someone asking likely wouldn't have an optimized card portfolio for bonuses.

Worst case, they're pulling their second card, where it could easily have a 150 pt impact.

Last I heard, the Chase rule is a lot more nuanced than that with business cards. And if you're at 5/24, you'll be turned down for a new Chase business card as well.

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