"Upgrading" my cards with Discover & Chase after clearing credit fraud/lowering debt ratio

[Anonymous]

Hello,

WIth everyones help here and major persistence I've been able to clear up all fraud on my credit report.  I then just paid off 100% of my debt right now and it will be reportedto the credit reporting companies on 12/07.  

Current score with over 80% credit utilization: 747

ScoreWatch FICO simulated score says I should be at roughly 780+ once my debt ratio comes down to $0 on the 7th

Currently I have 2 credit cards
Discover from 14 years ago with a $500 limit (lol first card)

Chase Visa from 5 years ago with a $2400 limit

I want to call Chase and ask if they can upgrade me to a sapphire, or is it better to ask for a new Sapphire card and keep my old one?  I want to avoid having them do a hard pull and was hoping they could do a soft pull.  

I will also want to call discover and ask them to just upgrade my card to one of the newer ones and increase my limit.  Again, since I already have the card I am hoping they do a soft pull.

Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences?  Will Chase care that I just paid off my card in bulk when it was at $1900 for the last statement?  I recently got a raise and this is a good time for me to start getting better cards.  

Thanks in advance.

[webhopper]

Fyi I got my discover card in 1999 and I found out this year that its a "More" now. Best thing to do would be to call and ask them to match your chase limit.

[webhopper]

And ya I would definately ask them for a product change to sapphire or sapphire preferred if that's a card that interests you... otherwise. Just apply for a new sapphire. Might want to compare amazon card to sapphire and see which one would put you ahead.

[navigatethis12]

Chase does not do a hard pull for product changes. You would have to have one since the Sapphire cards need at least a $5000 credit limit, so an increase would be needed

With Discover you can do it right from the website. Log in and in the search bar type "change rewards". It will be the first search result.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone, 

I need to ask some follow up questions before I pull the trigger on anything if that's allright!

navigatethis: Thanks for the reply.  Just so I'm clear though, will Chase *not* have to do a hard pull since I am only doing a product switch, or does the fact that I am asking for over 5k of credit immediately mean I will be hard pulled?  If I am hard pulled, I'll probably just ask them for a brand new card and keep this one too so I have more overall credit.  Does that sound like a sound strategy? 

webhopper: You mentioned 'the amazon card', do you mean the amazon rewards visa?  If so, which one woud you recommend?  Are they both backed by chase?

[bettercreditguy1]

If you use your Discover Card  they are very lenient with auto cli's. My wife and I have recieved three auto clis in about 24 months on our joint account. Good Luck!

[webhopper]

The amazon rewards visa is backed by chase.
3 points on amazon purchases
2 points on restaurant; gas; drugstore; office supplies
1 point everything else.

The sapphire

2 points on travel and dining
1 point on everything else

For me; the sapphire is not as good as amazon. But it you travel a lot then the sapphire really shines.

[navigatethis12]

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navigatethis: Thanks for the reply.  Just so I'm clear though, will Chase *not* have to do a hard pull since I am only doing a product switch, or does the fact that I am asking for over 5k of credit immediately mean I will be hard pulled?  If I am hard pulled, I'll probably just ask them for a brand new card and keep this one too so I have more overall credit.  Does that sound like a sound strategy? 

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Normally, no they do not do a hard pull. Since you would need to be increased to $5000, they would probably need to do a hard pull. I would apply for the card directly, so that you get the bonus. If the account is in good standing and your report looks fine, they should approve you for it. You have been with them for five years, so they should have no problem giving you a $5000 limit. My sister got it and did not have a limit of $5000 when she applied, but she did have a Chase Freedom for about a year.

If you really do not want the hard pull, some people have had luck ringing the executive office (888-622-7547) and asking to have an increase without a hard pull.

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys for your replies!  I'll update my answer in a week when my payment posts to the credit bureus.  If anyone has other ideas/suggs I'll take them.  I think I'll go w/ the Amazon.com card if I can't avoid a hard pull!

[YahComb]

only issue with the chase amazon is AFAIK chase won't allow you the PC to that card-not surprising considering you can't apply for it on the chase site, it takes you to amazon to apply. You are allowed to move limits to/from the chase amazon, but not PC.