As I’ve stated many times before, one of the best ways to get a lot of miles and points is through careful and judicious credit card applications and signup bonuses. Again, you should not signup for a credit card just because some guy on the Internet says so ™, but if you are planning on signing up for a card, I receive a commission if you signup for a card through my top credit card offers page.
Applying for an(other) Alaska Airlines card
For whatever reason, some cards and banks don’t seem to mind if you have multiple cards. The Bank of America Alaska Airlines cards are one such card. So even though I already have 3 Alaska cards, I went ahead and applied for another one.
My application went into a “pending” status, which is fine and not unexpected. As I often caution, I did NOT call the reconsideration line
(SEE ALSO: This time I CALLED the reconsideration line… and it worked!)
Application…. denied!
Then I got a letter in the mail, saying that my application for the Alaska Airlines card was unable to be approved because
…. because you already have an account endorsed by this organization
Calling into Bank of America
Looking at the Bank of America reconsideration line phone number and website, I called in to Bank of America. My first choice (“Option 3”) led me to an automated phone line that just told me what I already knew (my application was denied) and then hung up on me. Undaunted, I called again and eventually keyboard mashed my way to a live agent. I explained myself once, twice then three times to three different agents before finally getting the right department.
I spoke to the lady, who gave me the same reasons and then mentioned that she could re-open my application to try again. I asked if that would cause another hard pull on my credit report, and she said no, that they recycle credit reports for 30 days. I had her try again and I was denied again. She mentioned that if I closed an account, they could try again, so I decided to close one of my accounts and I will try calling back tomorrow
Readers – any tips or suggestions? Ever dealt with trying to get Bank of America to approve multiple cards?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I hit something similar about a year ago. I just reviewed my notes, and I was auto declined for applying for a duplicate card. When I tried again a few months later, I cancelled anther card first, then was automatically approved, with the credit limit identical to the card that I’d just closed.
Right – that is my plan as well
What’s the point of this – really? Get a small signup bonus and never use the card again? Are you continuing to pay annual fees on these cards? Really hope that CC co’s clamp down on this kind of CC whoring.
Do you have to call and cancel or is there a way to do that on the BOA website? I find the BOA website about the worst of all of them.
I applied 5 days ago, hit the same snag. I’ve only had one previous personal Alaska card. I’m waiting for the letter but I bet it will say the same as yours. If so I’ll call and ask if I can move credit around, or, cancel the old account and apply again. I wonder if the goal posts have moved.
Is there an update on this? Did you get the card approved after cancelling an account?
I had the same thing happen to me today, so I want to know if it’s worth fighting. Thanks!
Yup – it worked fine. Once I closed one of my cards, I had Bank of America re-process my application and it was approved