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Newbie here, spree success!

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azguy13
Senior Contributor

Re: Newbie here, spree success!

@ notusher, Welcome to the forum! We all hope you will become an active member and you learna s much from us as we can learn from you.

 

@Peterson, also, welcome to the forum! Great job getting those CL's and now is the time to Garden for quite some time to let your AAoA get older. When I was approved for my first mortgage (VA Home Loan) they did look at that a decent amount. I even ahd to supply college transcripts to them even though I had been out of school for some time. 

Message 11 of 13
ezdoesit
Valued Contributor

Re: Newbie here, spree success!


@NotUsher wrote:

Hi all! I've been lurking around these parts for a few months now and learning a ton, so first off: thanks!

 

With July 4th being the most American holiday in all of America, I decided to do one of the most American things out there..Go on a CC spree! 

 

A little about me:

24 years old, male, career in advertising/marketing. I've been renting an apartment for ~2 years out of school and am thinking a mortgage may be in line in a little over two years, so I decided to take a hit (inquiries and account age) on my credit now to be better off around that time. While checking my reports on creditkarma, creditsesame, etc I kept seeing notes saying that I had too little bankcard credit, so I decided to take care of that with this spree. Credit score estimated by various services in the past two months was usually 740-780 depending on date, model, and CRA pulled.

 

Current (Pre-Spree) Accounts/Limits:

USAA Platinum MC ($4k) - PIF monthly, oldest account at 6 years and a few months.

Restoration Hardware - Comenity ($4k) - PIF monthly with exception of promo purchases (interest-free for 12 months if purchase is over $1000).

Pottery Barn - Comentiy ($2.5k) - same as RH above, but their promo financing starts at $750.

Nordstrom Retail ($1k) - PIF monthly

Total Revolving = $11.5k

 

I also have a car loan through Chase (a little over $12k remaining).

 

The New Accounts

Barclay Arrival World MC - no annual fee version ($7.5k - Instant)

Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Sig. ($14.5k - Instant)

FIA/Fidelity Investment Rewards AMEX (originally got 30 day message, called automated system and was told approved for $1.5k. Called on a non-holiday to talk to a credit analyst and was boosted to $4.5k)

Total New Revolving = $26.5k

 

CLI/Upgrades

After the new accounts were approved, I decided to maximize my current lines while doing as little damage as possible.

USAA Platinum MC upgraded to World MC with CLI of $4k (now $8k CL)

Nordstrom retail-only card converted to Nordstrom Visa Sig. with $6.5k CLI (now $7.5k CL)

LUV button hit on both Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn websites, both resulting in $2k CLI (now $6k and $4.5k CL, respectively)

Total CLI = $14.5k

 

Overall Current Revolving CL = $52.5k

 

Overall, I'm pretty happy (no denials, yay!) and was honestly surprised that I got such a high instant limit with Penfed and such a comparatively low limit with FIA on the Fidelity card. The analyst stated that it was because I didn't have enough history with them and that most of my accounts were retail. I was planning on using the Fidelity card as my everyday (food, general stuff) card, so it'll be a bit of a pain (utilization-wise) to use. Hopefully I'll see a CLI after a few months. I plan to request a CLI (as long as it's a soft pull) probably at the 6 month mark. 

 

I'm off to the garden for 2 years unless I see something shiny that I have to have before then!

 

All that said, what do y'all think? Did I do a good job in my first (and only foreseeable) spree? I know without a mortgage, a handful of revolving accounts and an auto loan my credit profile can only be so strong. I have a plan to use all of my cards in different ways to keep them active, but also keep utilization down. Do you see any likelihood of Barclays being sensitive to the spree and shutting down my Arrival card? Tips on FIA/Fidelity CL? Other random advice?

 

I'm all ears and would welcome any feedback!


Congrats on your approvals.  If you don't mind me asking what is your Annual income?   The reason I ask this is the only thing I would of changed on your spree is not to request CLI on your store cards.  Based on your income if you plan on applying for something shiny as you said the credit card company might already think you have enough available credit based on your income.  Plus any future CLI from your present companies.  This is just my opinion I am sure others might have a different take on it.

Message 12 of 13
azguy13
Senior Contributor

Re: Newbie here, spree success!


@ezdoesit wrote:

@NotUsher wrote:

Hi all! I've been lurking around these parts for a few months now and learning a ton, so first off: thanks!

 

With July 4th being the most American holiday in all of America, I decided to do one of the most American things out there..Go on a CC spree! 

 

A little about me:

24 years old, male, career in advertising/marketing. I've been renting an apartment for ~2 years out of school and am thinking a mortgage may be in line in a little over two years, so I decided to take a hit (inquiries and account age) on my credit now to be better off around that time. While checking my reports on creditkarma, creditsesame, etc I kept seeing notes saying that I had too little bankcard credit, so I decided to take care of that with this spree. Credit score estimated by various services in the past two months was usually 740-780 depending on date, model, and CRA pulled.

 

Current (Pre-Spree) Accounts/Limits:

USAA Platinum MC ($4k) - PIF monthly, oldest account at 6 years and a few months.

Restoration Hardware - Comenity ($4k) - PIF monthly with exception of promo purchases (interest-free for 12 months if purchase is over $1000).

Pottery Barn - Comentiy ($2.5k) - same as RH above, but their promo financing starts at $750.

Nordstrom Retail ($1k) - PIF monthly

Total Revolving = $11.5k

 

I also have a car loan through Chase (a little over $12k remaining).

 

The New Accounts

Barclay Arrival World MC - no annual fee version ($7.5k - Instant)

Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Sig. ($14.5k - Instant)

FIA/Fidelity Investment Rewards AMEX (originally got 30 day message, called automated system and was told approved for $1.5k. Called on a non-holiday to talk to a credit analyst and was boosted to $4.5k)

Total New Revolving = $26.5k

 

CLI/Upgrades

After the new accounts were approved, I decided to maximize my current lines while doing as little damage as possible.

USAA Platinum MC upgraded to World MC with CLI of $4k (now $8k CL)

Nordstrom retail-only card converted to Nordstrom Visa Sig. with $6.5k CLI (now $7.5k CL)

LUV button hit on both Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn websites, both resulting in $2k CLI (now $6k and $4.5k CL, respectively)

Total CLI = $14.5k

 

Overall Current Revolving CL = $52.5k

 

Overall, I'm pretty happy (no denials, yay!) and was honestly surprised that I got such a high instant limit with Penfed and such a comparatively low limit with FIA on the Fidelity card. The analyst stated that it was because I didn't have enough history with them and that most of my accounts were retail. I was planning on using the Fidelity card as my everyday (food, general stuff) card, so it'll be a bit of a pain (utilization-wise) to use. Hopefully I'll see a CLI after a few months. I plan to request a CLI (as long as it's a soft pull) probably at the 6 month mark. 

 

I'm off to the garden for 2 years unless I see something shiny that I have to have before then!

 

All that said, what do y'all think? Did I do a good job in my first (and only foreseeable) spree? I know without a mortgage, a handful of revolving accounts and an auto loan my credit profile can only be so strong. I have a plan to use all of my cards in different ways to keep them active, but also keep utilization down. Do you see any likelihood of Barclays being sensitive to the spree and shutting down my Arrival card? Tips on FIA/Fidelity CL? Other random advice?

 

I'm all ears and would welcome any feedback!


Congrats on your approvals.  If you don't mind me asking what is your Annual income?   The reason I ask this is the only thing I would of changed on your spree is not to request CLI on your store cards.  Based on your income if you plan on applying for something shiny as you said the credit card company might already think you have enough available credit based on your income.  Plus any future CLI from your present companies.  This is just my opinion I am sure others might have a different take on it.


I agree completely with ezdoesit. If you request so much credit that it comes close to your annual income or exceeds it, the banks may think you are trying to over extend yourself and deny you. Another thing that could happen would be AA from a creditor and once you get one AA, there may be more to follow. 4 years ago I received AA from Amex and then less than a month later Chase lowered my CL. Its a slippery slope so don't get too close to the edge. 

Message 13 of 13
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