On 7/10, after doing some research on this site and garnering some great advice from the forums, I submitted my first credit apps since 2006. I'm sharing the good, bad, and ugly in case it is helpful to anyone. I certainly learned some lessons from the experience.
Listed in order:
Capitol One Platinum - instant approval w/$2000 CL
Chase Freedom - instant approval w/$4500 CL
[*paused to absorb shock of wins, then my addictive gambling side set in...*]
Citi AAdvantage - instant approval w/$3500 CL
[*does evil laugh and feels unstoppable, until.....*]
Amex Blue - DENIED
[*feels insulted. Thinks they must have been mistaken and I'll give them a chance to reconsider, but first...*]
Discover IT - DENIED
[*accepts defeat and realized my luck has run its course, but continues to supress the "you know better" feeling, and...*]
Walmart card - instant approval w/$400 CL
[*buhBAM! I'm on a comeback streak, so...*]
Citi Hilton Honors - DENIED and with two hard pull from them in 1 day :-(
[*someone or something is clearly trying to save me from myself, so I stop here....sort of*]
The next day, I called Amex, Discover, and Citi to see why they denied me and whether they would reconsider...here are the reasons I was given for the denials:
- AMEX: credit score too low, pulled from Experian, a few baddies, student loan debt load, and not enough credit lines to see use pattern. OK, fair enough.
- Discover: pretty much same as above, but they pulled from Equifax. Fair enough.
- Citi Hilton Honors: I was honostly surprised to be denied since they had just approved me for the Advantage card just hours earlier. And here's the kicker...they cited one reason --- TOO MANY INQUIRIES
Today, I learned that my Equifax score took about a 30 point hit from the inquiries. AMEX actually pulled from two reporting agencies, and I need to be in time out. However, I came home to a card offer from merrick bank (no annual fees, no penalty rates, automatic doubling of CL after 7 months of on-time payments). I went to the website, entered the offer code, applied, and was approved by merrick bank with a $700 CL.
I certainly took this too far in a short period and am placing myself in the timeout corner for a long while (golden spade bound). But at the end of the day, I have an additional $11,100 CL 
@Home2014 wrote:On 7/10, after doing some research on this site and garnering some great advice from the forums, I submitted my first credit apps since 2006. I'm sharing the good, bad, and ugly in case it is helpful to anyone. I certainly learned some lessons from the experience.
Listed in order:
Capitol One Platinum - instant approval w/$2000 CL
Chase Freedom - instant approval w/$4500 CL[*paused to absorb shock of wins, then my addictive gambling side set in...*]
Citi AAdvantage - instant approval w/$3500 CL
[*does evil laugh and feels unstoppable, until.....*]
Amex Blue - DENIED
[*feels insulted. Thinks they must have been mistaken and I'll give them a chance to reconsider, but first...*]
Discover IT - DENIED
[*accepts defeat and realized my luck has run its course, but continues to supress the "you know better" feeling, and...*]
Walmart card - instant approval w/$400 CL
[*buhBAM! I'm on a comeback streak, so...*]
Citi Hilton Honors - DENIED and with two hard pull from them in 1 day :-(
[*someone or something is clearly trying to save me from myself, so I stop here....sort of*]
The next day, I called Amex, Discover, and Citi to see why they denied me and whether they would reconsider...here are the reasons I was given for the denials:
- AMEX: credit score too low, pulled from Experian, a few baddies, student loan debt load, and not enough credit lines to see use pattern. OK, fair enough.
- Discover: pretty much same as above, but they pulled from Equifax. Fair enough.
- Citi Hilton Honors: I was honostly surprised to be denied since they had just approved me for the Advantage card just hours earlier. And here's the kicker...they cited one reason --- TOO MANY INQUIRIES
Today, I learned that my Equifax score took about a 30 point hit from the inquiries. AMEX actually pulled from two reporting agencies, and I need to be in time out. However, I came home to a card offer from merrick bank (no annual fees, no penalty rates, automatic doubling of CL after 7 months of on-time payments). I went to the website, entered the offer code, applied, and was approved by merrick bank with a $700 CL.
I certainly took this too far in a short period and am placing myself in the timeout corner for a long while (golden spade bound). But at the end of the day, I have an additional $11,100 CL
Congrats and yes its time to check into the garden for sure Lol
See you there
@Commandolam wrote:Why the spree?
It was really just out of control behavior. I only intended to apply for two cards.
As background, I've only had one credit card with a $300 limit since 2006. I simpy don't use credit but thought it was time that I obtained a card or two to start building my score. I hope to purchase a home in 2014.
Congrats...By the way... Citi usually will auto deny an app if 2 are submitted on the same day.
Congrats! I also enjoyed the play-by-play. See you in the garden. =)
Current Scores: EX 733, EQ 738, TU 738
Congrats and time to let those accounts and inquiries age! Off to the garden!
Congrats! The play by play was hilarious