BCE/BCP are revolvers. Revolvers are just what the name implies, its a revolving credit card as opposed to Amex charge cards which requires pyt in full each month. With Amex revolvers, the CLI's are all SPs and the first one can happen as fast as 61 days.
@09Lexie wrote:
BCE/BCP are revolvers. Revolvers are just what the name implies, its a revolving credit card as opposed to Amex charge cards which requires pyt in full each month. With Amex revolvers, the CLI's are all SPs and the first one can happen as fast as 61 days.
Oh ok. Gotcha. Gosh I remember when I was a teenager and my mom got her first Amex. We went on vacation in Florida and had a good old time. When we returned, that's when she found out that it was a card you had to PIF monthly. OUCH is all I can say. I vowed never to get one and even though I plan on PIF every month, I want it to be by choice, not because I have to. Life happens sometimes and I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize what I have built.
I like the idea of the SP with the revolvers and especially if it happens fast. Are they easy to apply for? Do you apply online and get an answer right away?
Also, I wanted to ask...
Out of BCE, BCP, Chase Freedom and Citi Forward, which credit reporting agencies do they use to pull your report?
Any of them pull EQ (which is my highest report)?
It really depends a lot on your location, check here and you can somewhat narrow them down, but in my experience and from what I have read they all like to pull experian or experian + others
@simi_go wrote:It really depends a lot on your location, check here and you can somewhat narrow them down, but in my experience and from what I have read they all like to pull experian or experian + others
Oh my gosh, this website is awesome.
What I'm noticing is that the Chase Freedom doesn't seem to be giving very high limits on people in my area. 
But, their credit scores are lower than mine.
It seems like some of the highest amount with credit scores a little lower than mine are with the BCP or BCE. However, there are none listed for my area. 
So I'm not sure how to take this.
Would it hurt to apply for 2 different cards all at the same time and be done with it and take what I can get and then garden for the next year? Are the HP going to show up instantly if I do them both at the same time?
If I had your scores, what I would do is...start by asking GE for a cli on your Wal-Mart Discover, then app for the BCP ( Blue Cash Preferred ), then app for the Chase Freedom, then after you get your instant approval for I am guessing about $3k call and recon. Then in 61 days get your 3x cli on the BCP, and you should be set. But that is just my 2¢
@simi_go wrote:If I had your scores, what I would do is...start by asking GE for a cli on your Wal-Mart Discover, then app for the BCP ( Blue Cash Preferred ), then app for the Chase Freedom, then after you get your instant approval for I am guessing about $3k call and recon. Then in 61 days get your 3x cli on the BCP, and you should be set. But that is just my 2¢
Wal-Mart Discover just gave me a $1000 increase last month, so I really can't do that. (I hear that they do a SP and increases on their own about every 3-4 monts so I'm good with that).
I pulled out some of my old mail from last month with pre-selected offers. Amex had sent me several. I guess I seen this as a "sign". One that I received was for Blue Sky. After looking it over, I decided it was probably best for me since we cruise twice a year and with the expenses of the cruise, air flight, and hotels, I figured the points would work well in our favor. It gave a bonus 15,000 points offer...so I took it. I was instantly approved. However, it didn't tell me for how much. 
So now I have no clue how much I was approved for. I called the Amex number (24/7 open it said) and the lady said that the department that could tell me the approval amount closed at midnight. Grrr So now I will have to wait until tomorrow.
So then I went with my original idea of applying for 2 cards at the same time and get it over with. So, I applied for the Chase Freedom and was instantly approved for $4500.
So hopefully between the 2 cards, it will be a decent amount. I was really hoping for 1 card with a decent amount instead of 2, but I guess it is what it is. Now I guess it's time to garden for the next year.
Anyone know if the Blue Sky cc's do the SP 3x CLI around the 61 day mark as well? It sure would be nice if it works the same way.
I'm now wondering if adding these 2 cc's to my credit is going to bring my credit score down for a few months like the last time I added my Discover card.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone on here that helped me out and gave me suggestions. A special thanks to you simi_go for sticking with me tonight and giving me ideas and advice. I really appreciate it.
Congratulations on your approvals! Yes, BSP, is a revolver and your are eligible for the 3x CLI. Call tomorrow and am for your terms. I would strongly suggest that you review the sticky 3x CLI by MustangSaluki.
Edit: typo
Edit: typo
@audia4 wrote:
@simi_go wrote:If I had your scores, what I would do is...start by asking GE for a cli on your Wal-Mart Discover, then app for the BCP ( Blue Cash Preferred ), then app for the Chase Freedom, then after you get your instant approval for I am guessing about $3k call and recon. Then in 61 days get your 3x cli on the BCP, and you should be set. But that is just my 2¢
Wal-Mart Discover just gave me a $1000 increase last month, so I really can't do that. (I hear that they do a SP and increases on their own about every 3-4 monts so I'm good with that).
I pulled out some of my old mail from last month with pre-selected offers. Amex had sent me several. I guess I seen this as a "sign". One that I received was for Blue Sky. After looking it over, I decided it was probably best for me since we cruise twice a year and with the expenses of the cruise, air flight, and hotels, I figured the points would work well in our favor. It gave a bonus 15,000 points offer...so I took it. I was instantly approved. However, it didn't tell me for how much.
So then I went with my original idea of applying for 2 cards at the same time and get it over with. So, I applied for the Chase Freedom and was instantly approved for $4500.
So hopefully between the 2 cards, it will be a decent amount. I was really hoping for 1 card with a decent amount instead of 2, but I guess it is what it is. Now I guess it's time to garden for the next year.
Anyone know if the Blue Sky cc's do the SP 3x CLI around the 61 day mark as well? It sure would be nice if it works the same way.
I'm now wondering if adding these 2 cc's to my credit is going to bring my credit score down for a few months like the last time I added my Discover card.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone on here that helped me out and gave me suggestions. A special thanks to you simi_go for sticking with me tonight and giving me ideas and advice. I really appreciate it.
Congrats on the approvals! The new cards may lower your average age of accounts, which could lower your score a little, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. Let us know how your 3x CLI on the Amex goes when the time comes 
@audia4 wrote:The problem is, I don't "know" what I want or what is good to get. All I know is that I don't want to pay a yearly fee to have it and I want a HIGH credit limit. Just 1, that's all I want. I always wondered how do they actually KNOW how much you make? All they do is ask you on the application. Never once have they ever ask to verify it. That has always confused me.
Good is always highly subjective, regardless of topic and it's no different with credit cards. You need to decide what cards you want based on your own needs/wants/preferences/priorities. So far all we know is that credit limit and AF are your criteria. Do rewards matter? What are your top spend categories (goes in hand with the rewards question)? Do you have any preference with regard to points versus cash back? Do any of the benefits matter? Do sign up bonuses matter? Do you travel internationally and want a card with no foreign transaction fees (FTF)? Do you travel internationally and need a card with EMV (and does it need to be chip & PIN or will chip & signature do)? Do you have any other criteria to narrow down the choices?
At its core it's really no different than shopping for anything else. In general, if you're overwhlemed by the options then you probably need to go back and assess your priotities. You use those to narrow the options whether you're shopping for credit card, clothes, cars, or anything else.
Keep in mind that better rewards and benefits are often associated with AF's and higher rates. If you're paying in full the rate shouldn't really matter but it's understandable to go for the lowest rate possible. If lowest rate is an absolute priority then you might want to look at the bare bones cards.
As for income -- they do ask for verification but they don't ask every single person applying.
EDIT: Didn't read the entire thread before replying but I'd say the comments still apply for anyone else who might be in the same boat.
@audia4 wrote:
I'm not talking about fudging it, I'm thinking of how much I make now versus how much I will be making next year once I graduate. Like how will they know? It will be significantly different.
Unless the app says "future income" (which I've never seen) they mean current income. If you can't provide a W2 or other appropriate documents to prove the income then don't put it on the app.
@audia4 wrote:I just read up on them and someone on a forum did a review on them and said hands down it was the best cc to go with for the value and cash back bonus. When I mentioned it to my husband, he said that's the one he has been looking at for awhile now and I should go with that one.
Keep in mind that best is subjective as well. If you're ok with its 5% categories that change every quarter (and you can take a look on its site to see what the categories for each quarter have been and will be for 2013) then it could be a good fit. Using myself as an example, I've been focusing on getting cards with fixed categories for my major spend or other benefits (e.g. United MileagePlus Explorer) and haven't seriously considered any of the cards with rotating categories.
@audia4 wrote:
Oh ok. Gotcha. Gosh I remember when I was a teenager and my mom got her first Amex. We went on vacation in Florida and had a good old time. When we returned, that's when she found out that it was a card you had to PIF monthly. OUCH is all I can say. I vowed never to get one and even though I plan on PIF every month, I want it to be by choice, not because I have to. Life happens sometimes and I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize what I have built.
Did your mom not understand that when applying for the charge card? That seems to be an issue of lack of due diligence on her part. The lesson there should be not to avoid charge cards (they have their uses) but to fully research before making a decision.
In any case I'm another one that appreciates the AmEx's 3X CLI. I have also found AmEx's backdating to be beneficial. For maximum backdating results, one should get an AmEx membership as soon as possible. If you establish an AmEx membership then any future AmEx cards you open will be backdated to the year you started your membership which can boost your average age of accounts (AAoA). I originally joined AmEx in 1998 but had a bankruptcy that closed my AmEx account (which was paid off). I finally got my second AmEx this year, a BCP, but it is backdated to 1998. Several months ago also acquired the TrueEarnings card to boost my AAoA in an attempt to mitigate the impact of 4 other new cards this year. The new TE card is also backdated to 1998. That gives me two cards with 15 years each despite both being issued this year.