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The word App-O-Rama is not found in any dictionary yet but the practice has become so popular that it’s surely just a matter of time until they add it.

Read our App-O-Rama review to learn more about this popular money-making strategy.

What’s an App-O-Rama? An App-O-Rama, also commonly known as Application-O-Rama, App-a-Rama, and AOR, involves completing multiple credit card applications in a short period of time in order to profit from interest income and/or sign-up bonuses.

1. Interest Income

It’s actually pretty simple:
i) You apply for credit cards that offer introductory 0% APR on balance transfers.
ii.) You transfer the full amount of your credit line to your bank account. You use the balance transfer checks that the credit card issuer sends you or you have the amount directly deposited into your bank account. You do this for every credit card you got.
iii.) You earn interest on the money you put in your savings while you pay no interest on the money you borrowed with your credit card.
iv.) Once the introductory APR term is over, usually after 1 year, you pay off the credit card balance. The interest you’ve earned during that term is your profit.

Obviously, AORs are not going to help you get rich quick but they can make you thousands of dollars every year. If you have good credit, it won’t be hard for you to get credit lines of $10,000 or more per credit card. Apply and get approved for 10 credit cards or more and you’re looking at a total credit line of over $100,000. When you put this money in a high-yield savings account, for example one that earns you 4%, you will make $4,000 in interest in just one year. Not bad.

There are some important factors, though, you need to consider:

i.) Applying to many credit cards at once won’t look good on your credit report. Your credit score wil be lower for several months before it recovers again. So if you’re planning to apply for a mortgage, you should think twice about doing an AOR. On the other hamd, if you think you won’t be needing a good credit score, you might just not care about the potential drop.
ii.) In order to increase the likelihood that you will be approved for most of the credit cards you apply to, you should submit all of your applications on the same day. That’s because it usually takes at least a day for the credit bureau to update your credit report.
iii.) Most credit cards come with balance transfer fees. These fees can vary significantly. Obviously, you will want to apply for cards that come with relatively low fees. Whatever fees there are, they will cut into your profits.

2. Sign-Up Bonuses

Most AOR professionals make money primarily from interest income. Sign-up bonuses are a nice extra but they don’t nearly bring in as much cash. A $50 bonus here and a $100 bonus there sure add up at first, but in the long-term, the availability of these offers is relatively limited. Sign-up bonuses are more popular with AOR beginners and people who can’t get high credit lines.

If you want to read more about the current state of AOR, I highly recommend this Wall Street Journal article: Wall Street Journal - App-O-Rama Article

If you want to learn more about how to make money with credit cards in general, you should read my other post.

• How to Profit From Credit Cards
• Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards
• Discover - 5% CashBack at Department Stores, Clothing Stores and More
• How to Make Money w/ Credit Cards
• Credit Cards - Free Extended Warranties

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