u/thegcdon

Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to credit card churning and just looking for some guidance.
I’ll be honest — I think I made a few mistakes early on and didn’t fully understand how approvals work, so I’m trying to be a bit smarter now.
My history so far:
First card: Amex Explorer (no annual fee version)
Second: Amex Platinum Rewards (just finished and closing soon) (claimed 60,000 velocity points)
Applied for Westpac Rewards Platinum about 3 months ago → declined
What I think I did wrong:
I was only working part-time at the time (low income)
Had a pretty high total credit limit (~$20k with ANZ)
What’s changed now:
Full-time job, ~$62k salary
Reduced my credit limit down to $6k
No missed payments or anything negative on my file except for the rejected application with westpac
So I’m trying to reset and do things properly this time instead of just applying randomly.
What I’m unsure about:
Should I try applying for Westpac again now that my situation is better?
Or go for something like St George instead?
Is 3 months too soon after a decline?
I’ve read that they’re kind of in the same group, so not sure if a decline from one affects the other.
Would really appreciate any advice, especially from people who’ve been in a similar position starting out. Just trying to avoid making the same mistakes again.