Fidelity FIA/Elan CLI Strategy

Anonymous · ‎07-18-2016

Need some opinions from the crowd here...

I have a Bank of America Mastercard (the 3/2/1 one) with a $12,200 limit, and I also have had the original Fidelity Amex 2% since 2012 and have a $20,000 limit (issued by FIA which is owned by Bank of America). I have my new Fidelity Elan card in hand and they kept my $20K limit the same- no issues there.

The FIA card is going to be officially transferred/deactivated on July 26th, although right now is technically still (I believe) an open account.

Since BofA is losing $20,000 of exposure with the FIA account being moved to Elan, I'm hoping to make up the difference in CL on my existing BofA card. I'm wondering what I should do with my BofA account (which gets very light usage) in order to maximize my total CL:

A: Call BofA now (before the transfer) and move as much of my FIA CL as possible over to the 3/2/1 Mastercard (will they do this? which number to call?)
B: Wait until the FIA account is closed and then apply for a CLI with BofA
C: You idiot, don't bother doing anything since the 3/2/1 card gets very light usage... the logical choice but I like to chase high credit limits when I can :-)

Opinions? Experiences? Thank you in advance!

JSS3 · ‎07-18-2016

I'm in the same boat. I'm waiting until the 26th(and FIA) is completely finished. Will then be hitting the CLI button on my BofA Americard. I also want to apply for the Better Balance. In the end, my Elan will have a 20,000 card and I'll hopefully end up with two BofA cards and back at my exposure with them. I have to wait because the last time I attempted a CLI, they moved limits due to me being at maximum exposure. Gotta dump this 20,000 Elan first.

If you do want to transfer from FIA to BoA, call the number on the back of Amex card. Rep responses differ, but I was able to transfer from FIA Amex to Americard(even though they initially said they couldn't). She then went and asked her supervisor. It was a soft pull to reallocate. YMMV.

slap_happy · ‎07-18-2016

Very interesting idea, I wonder if they do allow a transfer of CL if it would actually effect the Elan? I hope some of the members with more experience will chime in on it

Anonymous · ‎07-18-2016

@JSS3 wrote:
I'm in the same boat. I'm waiting until the 26th(and FIA) is completely finished. Will then be hitting the CLI button on my BofA Americard. I also want to apply for the Better Balance. In the end, my Elan will have a 20,000 card and I'll hopefully end up with two BofA cards and back at my exposure with them. I have to wait because the last time I attempted a CLI, they moved limits due to me being at maximum exposure. Gotta dump this 20,000 Elan first.

If you do want to transfer from FIA to BoA, call the number on the back of Amex card. Rep responses differ, but I was able to transfer from FIA Amex to Americard(even though they initially said they couldn't). She then went and asked her supervisor. It was a soft pull to reallocate. YMMV.

I'm pretty much an exact copy of your situation (we even have the same CL!) as I'm also at max exposure with BofA. The BBR is attractive but I'm trying to keep my portfolio slim so probably won't app for it.

slap_happy that raises a good question, my gut would tell me that since Elan already has my card issued I'm safe, but it may not be worth the risk as Elan isn't overly pleasant to deal with from what I've heard. I also would like the final closed FIA Amex to show that I had a $20K limit when it was closed and not show that it was reduced, though not sure how much a difference that makes in the long run.

I'm still thinking about it but right now leaning towards waiting until after the 26th, then I might request a partial CLI to $20K or $25K while leaving some room on the off-chance I do decide on another BofA card at some point... I'm not actually using the 3/2/1 so no point in using up all my exposure on it. Still would like to hear others experiences/thoughts.

gdale6 · ‎07-18-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
@JSS3 wrote:
I'm in the same boat. I'm waiting until the 26th(and FIA) is completely finished. Will then be hitting the CLI button on my BofA Americard. I also want to apply for the Better Balance. In the end, my Elan will have a 20,000 card and I'll hopefully end up with two BofA cards and back at my exposure with them. I have to wait because the last time I attempted a CLI, they moved limits due to me being at maximum exposure. Gotta dump this 20,000 Elan first.

If you do want to transfer from FIA to BoA, call the number on the back of Amex card. Rep responses differ, but I was able to transfer from FIA Amex to Americard(even though they initially said they couldn't). She then went and asked her supervisor. It was a soft pull to reallocate. YMMV.
I'm pretty much an exact copy of your situation (we even have the same CL!) as I'm also at max exposure with BofA. The BBR is attractive but I'm trying to keep my portfolio slim so probably won't app for it.

slap_happy that raises a good question, my gut would tell me that since Elan already has my card issued I'm safe, but it may not be worth the risk as Elan isn't overly pleasant to deal with from what I've heard. I also would like the final closed FIA Amex to show that I had a $20K limit when it was closed and not show that it was reduced, though not sure how much a difference that makes in the long run.

I'm still thinking about it but right now leaning towards waiting until after the 26th, then I might request a partial CLI to $20K or $25K while leaving some room on the off-chance I do decide on another BofA card at some point... I'm not actually using the 3/2/1 so no point in using up all my exposure on it. Still would like to hear others experiences/thoughts.

It is hghly likely that FIA will totally delete their TL and only Elan will be reporting, it seems to be the norm with a takeover of a portfolio

wacdenney · ‎07-18-2016

I'm in the exact same situation as everyone else and just waiting on FIA to go away to hit the luv button on BofA. My last CLI request also resulted in limits being moved around. I'm at 25k on FIA and 7k on Bof A.