@Anonymous wrote:I had a collections from Progressive Insurance which I was able to clear off my CR. I prefer cash back, but at this point I'm not even using my amex cards.
If you like cash back, then just go ahead and use the BCE and take advantage of the 3% on supermarkets with no AF.
You mention that you are at 6% utilization overall, but AMEX and your current CCC don't really care that much about utilization. They want you to use their cards, to generate swipe fees. If you are holding back in using a $500 or $1,000 card because you never want to go over 10% reported on any card, because of things you've read here, you are doing it wrong. With a $500 card, you can't avoid pushing the limit with daily spend if you want to show usage.
Will going over 50% utilization on a card ding your score? Yes, for me it causes about a 7 point drop for each card when I recently let both my $500 secured cards go over 50%. But in the long run, with your AMEX cards, your objective is to get the rewards from spend, and try to get a CLI down the road. The best way to accomplish that is to use the cards often, and show AMEX that you know how to charge and pay, charge and pay, rinse and repeat.
My Delta AMEX was issued with a $2,000 starting limit in July 2013. I was regularly running $500 - $600 per month through the card and PIF, then a year later, in June 2014, ran the card up with some significant purchases to $1,950 out of the $2,000 lmit. Before I could PIF that amount, they gave me an Auto CLI to $3,000.
Until you get the cards out of the SD, start showing usage, and pushing these limits, until then AMEX thinks you are just fine with the card, and they are very comfortable with the initial CL they have granted.
Your job is to show them more about your payment habits by using the cards. And not be so focused just on your FICO score.
Good luck!
@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I had a collections from Progressive Insurance which I was able to clear off my CR. I prefer cash back, but at this point I'm not even using my amex cards.
If you like cash back, then just go ahead and use the BCE and take advantage of the 3% on supermarkets with no AF.
You mention that you are at 6% utilization overall, but AMEX and your current CCC don't really care that much about utilization. They want you to use their cards, to generate swipe fees. If you are holding back in using a $500 or $1,000 card because you never want to go over 10% reported on any card, because of things you've read here, you are doing it wrong. With a $500 card, you can't avoid pushing the limit with daily spend if you want to show usage.
Will going over 50% utilization on a card ding your score? Yes, for me it causes about a 7 point drop for each card when I recently let both my $500 secured cards go over 50%. But in the long run, with your AMEX cards, your objective is to get the rewards from spend, and try to get a CLI down the road. The best way to accomplish that is to use the cards often, and show AMEX that you know how to charge and pay, charge and pay, rinse and repeat.
My Delta AMEX was issued with a $2,000 starting limit in July 2013. I was regularly running $500 - $600 per month through the card and PIF, then a year later, in June 2014, ran the card up with some significant purchases to $1,950 out of the $2,000 lmit. Before I could PIF that amount, they gave me an Auto CLI to $3,000.
Until you get the cards out of the SD, start showing usage, and pushing these limits, until then AMEX thinks you are just fine with the card, and they are very comfortable with the initial CL they have granted.
Your job is to show them more about your payment habits by using the cards. And not be so focused just on your FICO score.
Good luck!
On the other hand, I just got a CLI to $8000 on my Blue that was issued with a $3500. Total spend over 8 months: $440 on around 20 swipes 
. Previously denied twice.
If you want an Amex in your future, just sit tight and be patient.
@icyhot wrote:
I've heard that people initially approved with low limits by Amex have a hard find getting CLIs, I have 2 Amexes and one that barely gets use and has an AF, when they allow me I'm gonna roll the CL over to the one I use. It'll still be a measly $2000, but it's better than 2 $1000 cards :-/
This may be a common occurence, but my experience is that AMEX wants to see usage, so utilizing nearly all of the $1k limit then PIF is a definite, likely successful, strategy to get a CLI from AMEX, and earn points at the same time. Others will see CLI with almost no usage, but I'm a believer in active credit strategies, not SD 
The Delta AMEX is fairly easy to get, but yes, the $95 AF can be a problem if one is not flying Delta. Still, it only takes two Delta round trips per year to see the benefit in the $25 first bag free; 2 trips x 2 legs x $25 = $100.