Hmm... I think the best thing you can do with this card is just to treat it very, very carefully and very, very well, and you will definitely see the benefits when AmEx grows to know you and trust you more (like everyone here always says, they're like some new girlfriend you need to treat with the softest of kid gloves and who might take fright and bolt at any minute... wait, that sounds more like some scared kitten, but still - treat it gently and well, is what I'm trying to get across!)
The fact that they've given you a $1000 limit would indicate (to me, anyway) that they're taking a chance on you but are not quite sure - they're willing to give you a try, though, and see how you get on. Immediately asking for a CLI is not a good plan (or even asking for one after a couple of months, given the current credit climate and AmEx's general state of mind!) - they thought they could trust you with a $1000 limit, you need to give them PROOF that you deserve to have more, rather than just jumping in and asking for it. Sure, they've been very generous with CLIs to a lot of people, but... just take it easy, and you won't be running the risk of freaking them out and deciding they're going to demand every sort of proof under the sun that you're 'worthy' of what they've already offered you, let alone anything else.
As for a product change and not wanting the card you've been accepted for... this might sound harsh, and I don't mean it to at all (take this from one who's just product changed from Blue to Blue Cash - I really have no room to talk!), but you say you wanted to get your foot in the door with AmEx... you now HAVE your foot in the door. Don't immediately try to shove it all the way open and grab what you can get. If you call them and say you don't want the card you applied for, they might wonder why you bothered applying for it... give them any idea that you just wanted it as an immediate step up to something 'better' and they might start demanding proof (in the form of tax returns and such) that you qualify for that 'better' something, whatever it may be.
You've obviously already read that you can ask for a CLI of up to 3x your initial credit limit at the six month mark (hm, possibly at the 60 day mark too? I forget, I wasn't on a CLI rampage when I got my card, although I did call all nervously and ask for one after I'd had the card six months or so and read that AmEx routinely gave them out for the asking after that point!)... in which case, my advice, for whatever it's worth, would be to be a bit conservative in taking advantage of that. Don't wait until the first day you'd be eligible to even ask for a CLI, and then ask for $3000. Wait a while... wait a few months... use the card, pay it in full, use the card, pay it in full... get AmEx used to you... then when you DO call for a CLI (after a decent amount of time, rather than giving them any reason to think you're desperate or just trying to rack up your CLs as fast as possible as part of some game), don't ask for the full 3x, even though you know you CAN technically ask for that. Why not ask for an extra $1000, or $500, even. Might not sound like much, but might also help keep you under the radar of people AmEx might be likely to want to FR.
... then, even though the CSR will probably tell you you can apply for CLIs every six months, don't be in a rush to ask for another one right on the six month anniversary. Try it at eight months, nine months, or something... and again, don't just ask for the maximum. Don't give them the impression that you need them!
Sorry to go on... but from everything I've read, treating AmEx very cautiously rather than with an 'I want more, now please!' attitude is the way to win with them... I wish I'd been MORE like that (I worry that my CLI might have taken me to more than they really think I should have, and I can't imagine what possessed me to ask for a product change when I'd feel much more secure knowing I'd never asked them for a thing, right about now, knowing what the economy & credit climate is!), and definitely intend to keep my head down, my nose clean, and make no sudden movements for the foreseeable future!
Oh! One other thing... this is just what I do, not sure what AmEx thinks of it... but if you're planning on running a decent amount of money through the card (and you can get lots of money off flights by doing so - you'd soon be able to rack up a free round trip to some cool city of your choice what with all those bonus miles and all...), it might be a good plan to PIF (or pay big chunks) maybe twice a month, or even more often. Apart from the fact that if you wait for the statement, that's the (possibly rather high, if you've been spending a lot) balance that they'll report to the CRAs, I just think it's a more cautious way to treat a new card with a new lender that doesn't really know anything about you. With mine I didn't just spend and spend for weeks before paying anything - I charged some stuff, sent a payment... charged some more stuff, sent another payment. I've had that card for 9 months now and have got into a routine where I pay them upwards of three times a month, and the balance never really gets high at all. If I go out and do some shopping on my AmEx that I might as well have done on my debit card, I do an online bill payment for the exact same amount as soon as I get home. I'm a new customer to them, and I hope this at least does something to keep me off the 'potential non-payers' radar that they no doubt have checking out those of us with short credit histories.
Oooooops! Sorry for the uber-long post, I got carried away as usual. Seriously, congrats on the card, it's an excellent one - treat it well, and I'm sure AmEx will return the favor!! Just try to keep the thought in your head that AmEx are testing the waters with you, rather than thinking 'wooohooo, look at me, I've got an AmEx!!!' - even when they tempt you with a glut of preapprovals in the mail over the coming months. Slow and steady would appear to be the way to win the race with AmEx, every time!!
Message Edited by fevmlo on
07-28-2008 11:05 PM