I am a planner, which is why I think this hobby appeals to me.  So when one out of my two Serve cards was shutdown I’ve spent some time mulling over how this would change my next churn.  As I have written about before I believe the shutdowns will be a net positive.  However, I make no mistakes about how shitty the next few years will be. Including needing to adjust how I go about applying for credit cards.

Even prior to the shutdown I was considering a pretty modest churn for January of only 4 cards.

• British Airways
• Wyndham
• NBA Card
• Alaska Airlines

I was interested in the Wyndham because the new redemption rules mean this could be a lucrative card to MS with. However, with the shutdowns this card is out.  I may get it in the future but it does not meet any immediate need.  At this point I think it is best to focus my MS on meeting card bonuses not padding my points accounts.

With the news about Chase expanding the 5/24 rule The BA card is definitely staying.  The Alaska card is also in because I love Alaska miles and always want more.  That left whether or not to include the NBA card.  I went back and forth on this one. On one hand is it really worth getting just to have a 5x everywhere opportunity twice a year?  Prior to shutdowns the answer was an obvious yes, but post shutdown?

I think I can safely add $1,000 per month to remaining serve card, so it is not like I will be able to go crazy on the card when it is a 5x card.  In the end I decided to include it because I resell.  As a reseller I can’t have enough 5x cards in my tool bag.  This will be my third and I am sure it will come in handy the two times a year I can do 5x on the card.

I applied for all three cards last week.  I was immediately approved for the Alaska card and the BA and NBA cards went pending.  The NBA card, however, was approved a few days later.  Right now we are just waiting to hear from Chase about the BA card.  I sent a SM to see if that could speed things up but it doesn’t look like it.  I am curious to see how it will turn out and crossing my fingers Chase did not institute the 5/24 rule early.

As an aside, these cards are for my wife.  She is a stay at home mom so I am always curious how banks handle that situation and not surprised 2 out of 3 went to pending, that usually happens for her.   She does pretty well with Chase so somewhat annoyed that we have yet to hear anything from them.  Fingers crossed 5/24 did not start early.