So I have literally no negative credit history but not a ton of credit history. What I do have is really good and PIF and utilize a lot. I know Amex is very happy with me with both my personal card and my business - chatted online with a few questions here and there and the CSR's have commented on their appreciation for how I am handling my accounts. I app'd for both amex personal and business at the same time ~ July 25 but had to send in some docs for the business one so didn't get that one until a month after the personal card. I then asked for the 3x increase on my personal card after my 2nd statement .... not realizing I wouldn't be able to do the same on my business card. After much reading apparently I am 180 days from October 15 from asking for any other CLI with amex - no matter the card 
.
About that same time (July 25) I also got the Cap One Quicksilver for $3K on a pre-approval and app'd for the US Bank and got $3K. I app'd for Citibank and they denied me for too many inquires. At that point I stopped.
I currently have prescreened offers (3) from Chase Freedom and (1) from Chase Slate. I would additionally like a Chase Ink card for my business. Can I, and/or, should I apply for these on the same day, split them up by a week, by a month? .... Will they approve 2 requests if they 1 is for business and 1 is for personal? will my current personal TL amounts affect the CL Chase Ink Business offers? .... Additionally I wanted to continue to build my relationship with Amex. Should I go ahead and do that now and apply for another personal card and business card that would be useful to me or should I wait until after I try to bump the business card CL? I haven't moved on the Chase Freedom apps yet because I am waiting for that Amex increase to $6K to show on my report this next statement cycle which should be this coming week so hopefully they will be more inclined to match it. I use my cards heavily but PIF or keep it to like 3% for a few months and then PIF after 2 or 3 months - never run too high a balance on anything for any length of time. Eventually I would like the Chase Sapphire Preferred as well but it seems people have the best luck getting it after they have the Freedom card.
Also thought about trying to maybe join a credit union like NASA or something - wish I could get in with NFCU but don't think I meet their criteria
How long do you usually wait between app sprees and how many times a year do you find it acceptable while still building and in that growth phase? Income is substantial and payments are not really an issue. I have a thin credit profile because I just generally pay for things but I am realizing the benefits of reward points and benefits of keeping cashflow in the bank longer and utilizing buying power etc so see enormous potential in building this properly.
Thanks for any help with this.
@Anonymous wrote:So I have literally no negative credit history but not a ton of credit history. What I do have is really good and PIF and utilize a lot. I know Amex is very happy with me with both my personal card and my business - chatted online with a few questions here and there and the CSR's have commented on their appreciation for how I am handling my accounts. I app'd for both amex personal and business at the same time ~ July 25 but had to send in some docs for the business one so didn't get that one until a month after the personal card. I then asked for the 3x increase on my personal card after my 2nd statement .... not realizing I wouldn't be able to do the same on my business card. After much reading apparently I am 180 days from October 15 from asking for any other CLI with amex - no matter the card
I fell into this one as well when I got a CLI on my BSP from $7,000 to $12,000 in July. Got shot down for a CLI on my new ED, stuck at $1,500
About that same time (July 25) I also got the Cap One Quicksilver for $3K on a pre-approval and app'd for the US Bank and got $3K. I app'd for Citibank and they denied me for too many inquires. At that point I stopped.
I currently have prescreened offers (3) from Chase Freedom and (1) from Chase Slate. I would additionally like a Chase Ink card for my business. Can I, and/or, should I apply for these on the same day, split them up by a week, by a month? .... Will they approve 2 requests if they 1 is for business and 1 is for personal? will my current personal TL amounts affect the CL Chase Ink Business offers? .... Additionally I wanted to continue to build my relationship with Amex. Should I go ahead and do that now and apply for another personal card and business card that would be useful to me or should I wait until after I try to bump the business card CL? I haven't moved on the Chase Freedom apps yet because I am waiting for that Amex increase to $6K to show on my report this next statement cycle which should be this coming week so hopefully they will be more inclined to match it. I use my cards heavily but PIF or keep it to like 3% for a few months and then PIF after 2 or 3 months - never run too high a balance on anything for any length of time. Eventually I would like the Chase Sapphire Preferred as well but it seems people have the best luck getting it after they have the Freedom card.
If you know your scores and your income will support it, I encourage you to apply for the Chase Ink and CSP. App them on the same day.
Also thought about trying to maybe join a credit union like NASA or something - wish I could get in with NFCU but don't think I meet their criteria
How long do you usually wait between app sprees and how many times a year do you find it acceptable while still building and in that growth phase? Income is substantial and payments are not really an issue. I have a thin credit profile because I just generally pay for things but I am realizing the benefits of reward points and benefits of keeping cashflow in the bank longer and utilizing buying power etc so see enormous potential in building this properly.
Once a year for App-o-rama.
Thanks for any help with this.
You're welcome.
@jamie123 wrote:I would suggest that you put at least 6 months and better yet 1 year between app sprees and then app for only 2 cards at a time. The problem you run into if you do it earlier is, like you, you will get approved because you have high scores but you might recieve low CLs because you lack the history. It also gives you the 6 month time frame to get CLIs on your existing cards before you app for other new cards. It can be really disappointing to get the card you want but with a low credit line.
AMEX does CLIs without HPs so you don't really have a problem there but other banks like Chase and BoA INSIST on HPs for any customer initiated CLI requests. Chase has been known to do another HP when people call up to request an increased CL hours after being approved for the card in the first place.
So you really need to answer this question: Do I want the card or do I want the card AND a high starting CL?
If you want the card and the high CL you need to wait. Credit building is a marathon and not a sprint.
So....basically what I said. 
Sounds like a plan. I thought I had read where some people app every 90 or 120 days so I wasn't really sure. So even though I get these prescreened Chase things in the mail weekly - I should ignore them until I am at 6 months and then just go for the biggies the CSP and the Business Card? I will keep using the heck out of the cards I have now. I know they are liking the PIF and reusage. With places like US Bank and my Cap One Quicksilver Card - when do you hit them up for a CLI? Is that at 6 months or a year or you wait for them to auto increase it? .... any advice there? Will Discover ever catch up on its own with good use or will I need to call them - they just auto increased it but only from $750 to $1000.
Not really interested in a sprint - I am totally fine with the marathon and doing slow and steady. I have read a ton on here and KNOW you guys know what you are talking about, so I will happily take the advice and listen .
If there are other Amex Cards I want for the variety - should I just wait on those until I get the 2 cards I have at the Limits I want and then focus on something new?
@Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a plan. I thought I had read where some people app every 90 or 120 days so I wasn't really sure. So even though I get these prescreened Chase things in the mail weekly - I should ignore them until I am at 6 months and then just go for the biggies the CSP and the Business Card? I will keep using the heck out of the cards I have now. I know they are liking the PIF and reusage. With places like US Bank and my Cap One Quicksilver Card - when do you hit them up for a CLI? Is that at 6 months or a year or you wait for them to auto increase it? .... any advice there? Will Discover ever catch up on its own with good use or will I need to call them - they just auto increased it but only from $750 to $1000.
Not really interested in a sprint - I am totally fine with the marathon and doing slow and steady. I have read a ton on here and KNOW you guys know what you are talking about, so I will happily take the advice and listen
If there are other Amex Cards I want for the variety - should I just wait on those until I get the 2 cards I have at the Limits I want and then focus on something new?
About the earliest you can ask for a CLI with most cards is 6 months and you can keep asking every 6 months thereafter. Like I said earlier, some cards require an HP for a customer initiated CLI request so you don't want to do those cards very often. If a lender is asking to do a HP for a CLI make sure that you are asking for an increase to at least double your current CL to make the HP worthwhile. They will always give you a counter offer if they can't give you the full amount you requested. If a lender hasn't given you an auto CLI in a year, I would suggest calling them.
Some lenders have a maximum number of cards that you can have open with them. I think AMEX and Chase limit you to 2 or 3 cards but I'm not sure.
Your best course of action IMHO is to wait until you get the CLI on your AMEX card in about 6 months and then app for 1 Chase card and 1 BoA card. Then, in six months to a year app again for 1 Chase card and 1 BoA card. You want a variety of lenders and not a variety of cards with one lender. If for some reason one lender decides to cut you off you can always fall back on another lender's cards.
You would then have a lot of the so called "prime" banks covered. The prime banks are generally agreed upon to be:
AMEX
Bank of America
Barclays (Maybe)
Chase
CitiBank
Discover
Wells Fargo
All these banks have a strong national and in some cases international presence, so can and will grow with you for life no matter where you move.
