Hi All,
Since discovering the forums in 12/11, I have done a ton of reading and learned a tremendous amount of valuable information from the members here. I joined the gardening group, and worked on letting inquiries drop off while paying down overall utilization.
My original stated goal was to have no apps (i.e. no inquiries) for the entire year, but I’ve realized recently that I will have a couple of new tradelines reporting within the next 2-3 months (Walmart card was upgraded to Discover, and I have one more student loan that will show up in Aug/Sept for my final year of grad school). I have had no inquiries for the past 6 months, and my FICO scores have increased by 40-50 points on EQ/TU. Along with that, my overall utilization has decreased to around 40% (from close to 80%). With this in mind, I put a lot of thought into my long-term credit plans and felt that my best chance to get back in with AMEX (and get the backdating to 2006) would be now – before the new accounts hit my credit profile.
So, tonight I filled out the online app, hit the submit button, then waited for what seemed like an eternity (it was so bad I even minimized the screen and came back to it after 2-3 minutes – didn’t want to see the dreaded 7-10 message). Could not believe it when I saw that I was instantly approved for AMEX Green with NPSL!
I then thought “what the hey” and decided to see if I could maybe get lucky and also get a revolver with the same hard pull, knowing that my utilization was probably too high/scores not high enough. So, I applied for the BCP and got the expected 14-day message. This was not surprising, but I figured I would check the online status page anyway. Result – APPROVED for BCP with a CL of $5200 (this is now my second-highest CL). And, I’ll finally get an EX score out of the deal. 
I know this is probably not a big deal for some, but for me it is huge; it’s amazing how quickly one’s scores/overall profile can improve with knowledge and some concentrated effort. And for the knowledge, I thank the members of this forum. 
And for the trifecta (yes, it’s been a very good day), I hit the LUV button on my Citi Diamond Preferred card and was given a $1000 CLI with only a soft pull (afraid to ask for more), so this CL is now $5100.
After a strategic detour from the garden, back I go until 2013 at the least...
Actually TNT; I think most of us would consider it a very big deal
HUGE CONGRATS on the double AMEX and Citi CLI! That is a very nice trifecta! ESP with BCP coming back with a starting CL of 5000+ !!
@DM6410 wrote:What an awesome night....I'd call it a wrap at this point and enjoy the gardening fruits of your credit improvement labor!
Yep, nothing happening here for a long time. Need to cultivate what I've got now, and get rid of some more weeds after I finish paying some things off.
@RyVision wrote:Actually TNT; I think most of us would consider it a very big deal
HUGE CONGRATS on the double AMEX and Citi CLI! That is a very nice trifecta! ESP with BCP coming back with a starting CL of 5000+ !!
Yes, it has been a good day, and thanks.
I now have 3 cards > $5000, but my third one is the BoA constrictor card with a CL of $5700, and I never use it. It's nice to have a couple of replacements for when I get that thing paid off. With the credit storm of 2008/2009, they balance chased me down from an $8000 CL until finally stopping at it's current limit, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they cancelled it once I finish paying it all off. As bad as that was, though, BoA was the only one to not cancel my cards on me during that time (as did Chase, Merrick, Capital One), so I do feel some sense of loyalty to them.
Just checked my CMS and it only shows the one pull from AMEX - two for the price of one is so nice...
Very nice! CONGRATULATIONS!
Starting Score: 639 (Walmart TU)
Awesome!! Congrats!
