How To Acquire A Massive 0% APR Credit Line

Preparation:

1. It’s a good idea to cash out any rewards you have. There have been some rare cases of arbitrageurs being too aggressive with their utilization %, companies freaking out and closing accounts. These are very isolated incidents and you can avoid this by keeping your credit usage below 90%. Still, it never hurts to be prudent.
2. Apply for credit line increases with your existing cards, but only if it takes a “soft pull”. “Hard pulls” put inquiries on your credit history. Inquiries from existing creditors doesn’t hurt your credit rating but they’ll look bad when you do your applications for new cards. Companies take into account the credit limits on your existing cards when they calculate the new ones.
3. Consolidate your credit cards. Most banks allow you to in effect move credit lines between your cards. Once again, companies take into account the credit limits on your existing cards when they give you a new card. If they see a card with a large credit limit, they’ll be more comfortable to give you a large credit limit as well.
4. Come up with a list of credit cards to apply for. CreditCardArbitrage.com keeps an updated list. The general target to do is 10-20 cards and 2-3 per issuer.
5. Business credit cards have some of the best terms and rewards. They also do not appear on personal credit reports. It is highly recommended that one applies for them. If you sell on eBay for profit, you have a business. Some also interpret that credit card arbitrage is in fact a buiness. Any individual can apply for them; you do not need a registered business or an EIN (SSN for businesses) from the IRS. Companies do not ask you to provide any documentation.
6. Apply for all the cards on the same day. There are computer problems that make online applications very easy, with RoboForm being the most popular.  The reason behind this is simple: most credit reporting services when doing an inquiry deduct same-day inquiries, so the more inquiries on the same day the better.  Some companies pull credit reports as soon as an online application is finished. Others send applications to the back office and take days or even weeks to process. It is common practice (but not crucial) to do the applications on a Tuesday or Wednesday around 9 AM EST when most eastern banks open. Monday is not recommended as companies are processing backlogged applications from the weekend.