Education Hub

30 guides covering every rule, strategy, and pitfall of the credit card game.

Basics

Statement close vs payment due date

The #1 misunderstood date in the card game. What reports, what saves interest, and what you should pay when.

4 min read

Credit Score

Utilization and the 9% rule

Why 9% is the magic number for credit utilization, and the difference between per-card and overall util.

3 min read

The 5 factors of your FICO score

Weighted breakdown of payment history, utilization, age, mix, and new credit — and which ones you actually control.

4 min read

Hard vs soft credit pulls

Which bureau each issuer pulls, how long a hard pull stays on your report, and how to game the duplicate-pull rule.

3 min read

Tracking your credit score for free

Which free tools are accurate and which use VantageScore.

3 min read

Freeze and unfreeze process per bureau

How to keep your credit locked by default and open it only when you need to.

3 min read

Issuer Rules

The Chase 5/24 rule — full explanation

What 5/24 is, which cards count, which don't, and how to manage your slots across 24 months.

5 min read

Amex 2/90, 1/5, 1/8 velocity rules

How fast Amex will approve you, the 5-day and 8-day cooldowns, and why they exist.

4 min read

Amex once-per-lifetime — how it actually works

Pop-up jail, NLL offers, closed-account behavior, and how long to wait.

5 min read

Citi 8/65 and 1/8 rules

Citi's two timing rules and how they actually work in practice.

3 min read

Capital One 0/6 folklore vs reality

Is Cap One really 0/6? What actually blocks approvals.

3 min read

Barclays rules and the 6/24 folklore

Barclays isn't as well documented — here's what's reliable.

3 min read

Business cards and the personal 5/24 count

Why Ink cards are the churner's secret weapon.

4 min read

Churn cycles by issuer — timing table

How long until you can re-earn each bank's bonus.

3 min read

Strategy

Authorized users: how to share bonuses with a spouse

Two-player mode, age piggybacking, pros and cons.

4 min read

Married couple two-player mode (P2)

How to run a household wallet for 2x the bonuses without doubling the work.

5 min read

Product change vs cancel — when to do which

Keeping account age while dropping an annual fee.

4 min read

Welcome bonus math — is the AF worth it?

How to actually value a SUB: points × partner value − fee − opportunity cost.

5 min read

Category bonuses and category caps

The sneaky caps that hide in fine print and how to spot them.

4 min read

How statement credits post and timing gotchas

Why the $200 airline credit sometimes vanishes.

3 min read

Travel

Transfer partners and sweet spots

Hyatt Cat 1-4, Flying Blue promo awards, Virgin Atlantic ANA, Turkish domestic.

6 min read

Award search tools — seats.aero, point.me, ExpertFlyer

The three tools every churner should have.

3 min read

Foreign transaction fees

Which cards are safe abroad and which will hose you with 3%.

2 min read

Protections

Travel protections — trip delay, baggage, rental car CDW

The quiet value of using the right card for travel.

5 min read

Purchase protection and extended warranty

What actually pays out and how to file.

4 min read

Cell phone insurance via credit card

Replace your carrier's $15/mo protection with the right card.

3 min read

Dispute process — chargebacks and billing errors

When to dispute, when to just eat it, and what the Fair Credit Billing Act actually protects.

4 min read

Advanced

Business credit and DUNS numbers

How to build business credit separately from personal.

5 min read

EIN-only credit card applications

When you can apply with just your EIN and no personal guarantee.

4 min read

Manufactured spending — legality and issuer risk

How it works, why it's risky, and why we don't recommend it.

5 min read