Planning my attack for September! Any suggestions?

[masscredit]

Last year's app spree was in August. Those inquiries should no longer be making an impact on my score. Cards that I aquired were -

Barclay's - Started at $1300.00, reconned to $2k then got an auto-CLI to $3700. May 2nd.  - Think it will be to soon to try the Love Button or call for another increase. Would ask for $5k.

Merrick - Started at $1000. then an auto-CLI to $1200. in July. I read that they aren't to free with increases. Don't know if I will try.

Target - $3000. It will probably stay at $3k so I'll leave this alone.

Walmart - Started at $600. and received an auto-CLI to $700. in November.  Have been shot down a few times when I requested an increase. Reason was lack of experiece with the account. Account has a zero balance. Might call and request $1500. and seriously present my case about having a great credit history with them. 

JCP - Started at $200. and holding there. Same as Walmart. Will probably do it on the same call as Walmart and request $1000. 

Cards that I had - 

Orchard that is now Cap 1 -  Started at $750. in Sept of '11. Received an auto increase to $950. in 2012. Thinking about calling the EO and seeing if they will match my other Cap 1 card that is currently $2500.

Capital 1 - Also received this one in Sept of '11. Went to $1500. in Aug of '12 and then backed doored it $2500. in May of this year. It will be 4 months soon. Think it's to soon?  I think 6 months is better.

I'm paying off as much as I can over the next few weeks. 3 accounts have balances right now. Only one account will be reporting a balance in a few weeks. That will be Barclay's. It will be about $1500. Might even be able to get it down to to $1100. which would give me a utilization of 8% when it reports. That will be down from a total of $5900. that is reporting between the three cards now. I expect my scores to jump up by maybe 20 points. 

Any comments on what I have listed or suggestions? I figure if anything, trying for CLIs will be smart credit that won't ding my score. I've thought about applying for another card but I'd want to make it worth it. Like a credit line of $4k+ but there is no gaurentee that is what I'd get. Hate to waste an inquiry or end up being approved for a card with a lower limit.  My AAoA would also take a hit.  

I still have the goal of 700 by the end of the year. 4 more months to make it happen! 

[09Lexie]

Without knowing what type of cc ( other than a CL of $4k) its hard to give advice. Are you looking for travel, cashback, BT?

[kimmiller112]

Wait for the 6 months on the Barclays and Capital One cards.  For Barclays, a customer initiated CLI will be a HP.  If you go through the EO for Cap One, it should be a SP.  For Walmart and JCP, try every 4 months and aim high - these will be SPs.  I'd be inclined to ask for $2000 on each of them.  They will counteroffer if they feel what you are asking for is too high (I just got an increase on my PayPal MC, which is also GE backed.  I asked for an increase from $3000 to $6000 and they countered with $5500, which I accepted).  For the Orchard Bank card that switched to Cap One, I would email the EO and not call them - people seem to have the best results that way and I have done that twice successfully.  Again, with them, aim high as they will counteroffer too.  $2500 seems reasonable to me and it should be a SP.  I can't comment on Merrick or Target as I don't have experience with those cards but $3000 seems like a great limit on the Target card - it seems like a lot of people on here complain about low limits and not being able to increase those limits.  I'm assuming that a CLI request on either of these would be HP. 

[mauve]

I think that there is no reason to not call every single card and ask. Maybe decide if you want to suffer a HP. I also think the Target is your least likely prospect. And, well, I don't know how often people ask the EO for stuff, but why-the-heck-not. Good luck! 

[skyisthelimit]

OP, you curently have a good ammount of tradelines to help with future ding's to your Age (just keep them open, reason why i still have CAP1 around).  Congrats on waiting the 13 months (allowing some inq's to drop off/not impact as much).  Just make sure your CLI are soft and in the next few months-1 year you should be able to apply and get approved for some nice cards.

[SnackTrader]

I think it will be difficult for you to hit 700 this year by adding new accounts and INQs to your reports. I would play it calm if I were you, and work on your financial picture. It sounds like you've been carrying balances past the 0% periods...

[Justine_Alpha]

The thread title could use a little more tact.

[masscredit]

Thanks for the suggestions!  If I had to pick a card benefit that is most important to me I'd say it would be a low APR. I have a BK that was discharged in Feb of '10 so most of my cards are in the 19.9%+ range. The only one lower is my old Orchard which is now Cap 1. That is 14.9%. 

My income has increased so I'm using the extra money to hammer away at the cards that I've been carrying balances on.  If everything goes as planned, I should be able to keep my utilization below 10% soon. 

[Dubious]

I'm gonna have to agree with SnackTrader. You're pretty far away from 700 as is. If you go on a spree in Sept you won't be able to recover your points in the 3 months before the year ends, never mind increasing it to 700... 

Further decreasing util by pursuing soft CLI's on current cards might be a viable option for you. 

[FinStar]

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@Dubious wrote:

I'm gonna have to agree with SnackTrader. You're pretty far away from 700 as is. If you go on a spree in Sept you won't be able to recover your points in the 3 months before the year ends, never mind increasing it to 700... 

Further decreasing util by pursuing soft CLI's on current cards might be a viable option for you. 

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