I've had a Macy's store card since 2010 and have had Bloomingdale's for four months. For shots and giggles last Wednesday I called Macy's to request a CLI since it has been at $2000 since three months after opening. I was prepared to bite the bullet with a hard pull. Actually, I was going to decide on the hard pull based on what they offered. I didn't really need a Macy's increase, but Bloomingdale's hasn't budged with the $300 limit since opening and if you know Bloomie's merchandise, you know there ain't much you can buy there for $300. I had spoken with Macy's credit department a couple of times, but never got consistent answers with respect to hard or soft pulls, vis a vis CLIs. The lady I spoke with at Macy's explained that she would send over my request and asked how much I wanted. I pulled a $5000 figure out of my backside and she sent in the request, explaining that if I was unhappy with the counter offer (with a soft pull) they would ask my permission to do a hard pull. They came back with: $600. I decided then that it wasn't worth the hard pull, so I said fine, I'll take it. She offered that they consider CLIs on store cards every three months with a soft pull. This was nice to hear. I told her I would check back in six if needed. Yesterday I called Bloomingdale's. They said it would also be a soft pull but didn't ask for a desired amount. They came back with a $500 increase, putting my overall line at $800. Since Macy's owns Bloomingdale's (and, amusingly, their credit office's phone number differs from Macy's by one digit) I don't know if their policy of three months between CLI requests is the same. But I will also try in six months. As long as they continue to offer even small increases with soft pulls, I can check in twice yearly.
Experian Score: 689--Amex 27 July 2014; Equifax Score 680--MyFICO--17 September 2014; TransUnion Score 718-Discover 20 August 2014--PUH-RAISE JESUS, I finally broke 700!!! Cards and Credit Lines: Escape by Discover, Chase Freedom Signature Visa, Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Signature Visa, Chase Sapphire Preferred Signature Visa, Barclay's Holland America Visa, Citibank Custom Credit Line, Paypal Custom Connect Credit Line, Bloomingdale's, Macy's Premier Elite, Amazon Store Card, Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom, Discover It, Gold Delta SkyMiles from American Express, PayPal BML.
