2 replies to this topic

[bjoltus1973]

Hi,
I'm new to the site.

Are there any pitfalls to continuously chasing down these deals?

The only ones I can think of are that the credit card deals hit your credit report which could be negative if done too much. I'm not sure getting a $50 gift card is worth it if it means extra points on a $200K+ loan.

Do the bank account deals make a difference toward your credit? I think they would just count towards the assets you have to pay off the available credit, but not as credit inquiries or credit accounts. Any comments?

the only other negative I can think of is if you get in and out of a bank and later want to get an account there for other reasons than a reward or bonus. But in that case they probably wouldn't turn away the account again, but rather just not pay the bonus/reward out.

Oh, yeah, more interest income statements to report at tax time.

Anyone think of any others?

bjoltus1973

[scottjm]

Many Banks do a hard credit check when opening an account. I use MyFico.com to track my score and they sent me an email stating my score dropped 19 points because of those checks. Have no idea why giving a Bank money would require them to do a check on you. Most Banks that offer special deals know that there are many of us rate chasers around and do so with the understanding many will just open for the bonus or promo rate then close but figure they will pick up a percentage of people that will stick with them. Yes, At Tax time you will have a stack of 1099-INT but my account say's they are a lot easier than the numerous stock trades I had when I was day trading

[vivyip]

the stuff I can only think of are the following:

A. chexsystems -- you're limited to 4 accounts every 3 months (usully, I think) This system is used by credit unions and some smaller banks...heavily. VERY annoying.

B. hard pulls -- they're doing this to see what promos they can offer you. I thnk it's like those loans and credit offers....that's where the annoying fico score drops and stuff (not much though...maybe)

C. the 1099 They're going to pile up.

D. Last but not least is the the occasional "darn, I should've waited/gotten it earlier" when you see the bank offer something better/worse.

but that's just me