First Amex starting limit lower than others?

[Anonymous]

I was reading through some old posts about Amex starting limits. It said that a lot of people will get very low starting limits on the first card and then normally thereafter will get a little bit bigger limits. I'm asking because I applied and was approved for the BCP the other day with a starting limit of $1,000. I was pretty surprised by this limit although I'm not trying to complain because I'm very happy I receive the card. I'm just curious about why it was so low. Is it normal for them to test the waters a bit on your first card? If I plan on getting the everyday card I was curious if it may have a bigger limit. Thanks everyone :-)

[myjourney]

In most cases it means you were borderline and should chill on the apps and build some history 

[Anonymous]

Borderline approval. 90 days. You will be surprised. It takes a whileto start  to grow. But then it grows fast.  Congrats. 😀

[Anonymous]

Yeah. Definitely not going to get another one anytime soon. I was denied in January so I semi-understand their thinking. Just surprising.

[Anonymous]

I applied for my first Amex (the Amex Hilton) last week and was approved but only for a $1.4k CL. I am not too upset about it though - I am glad I was approved because now I can work on earning the 75k bonus points. 

I read on another MyFico post that once you receive the card in the mail you can call and ask for a CLI.  I am going to try my luck once my card comes (which will hopefully be later on this week).

[Anonymous]

     I agree with the poster that stated you were borderline and to be honest...yes you are in the AMEX family...you just have to go back to the garden and build on credit history and creditworthiness...I hate waiting...but utimaltley that is what you have to do...I started out with a $6500 SL and after the 61st day I applied for the 3X and got $19500.  I know that I will never use that much credit...but it sure is nice to know that it is there.  I would chill out for awhile and when the time comes...do a 3X and that $1000 will be $3000 and 61 days later after that $6000 and so on..and so on...and.  Hope this helps. 

[Anonymous]

I had a prior relationship with amex over 10 years ago but i had closed the card and applied last year for a bcp and the limit was 1k, just build good history with them and pay on time, currently my bcp is at 25k limit and a have a charge card with them npsl last time I checked with their tool online I could make a 30k purchase with it.  Check out the thread on requesting credit limit increases with amex its very straightforward.  Amex customer service to me has been excellent.

[DoroLucky]

I got my first Amex charge card and CC/EveryDay with a starting limit of $1000 just over a year ago. At 61 days, I got the 3X to $3000 and recently got another 3X CLI to $9000. The next day (after the CLI), I applied for the Amex BCE and was approved for $5000....used the same HP and applied for the Delta Skymiles Gold and was only approved for $1000. I could not get a CLI when I got the card because I had just gotten a CLI on my ED card the day before.