topic Re: AMEX 3X CLI in Credit Card Approvals

AMEX 3X CLI

1083690 — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:14:16 GMT

I've been debating over the last month wether to ask for the 3X CLI on my new AMEX because whean I applied for the BCP card I also opened 7 new TLs (Chase Freedom, Sallie Mae, LOWE'S, Marriott Rewards, DCU Visa, HFCU Visa, and an Auto Loan). Long story short, today marks the 61st day; I started with a $11K CL so I asked for $30K and was instantly approved.

2 Months ago I had 3 credit cards with a combined limit of $15K, today I have 10 credit cards with a combined limit of over $120K, which is essentialy 5% over my income...now I'm considering closing the lower limit cards (under $7.5K) to bring down my available credit below my income level and just focus on fewer cards. Is this the best move to minimize the risk of appearing over extended for having too much credit?

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

coldnmn — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:28:17 GMT

Congrats! There are people that have 3 and 4 times their income you will have to decide what's good for you. Thanks for sharing.

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:35:56 GMT

Im not an expert but I think how you use your credit is more imoprtant than "appearing overextended". As long as you keep your utilization low I dont think you total credit amount much matters. Now if you have $120,000 in total credit and you are using a large majority of that I would think that would not look good.

I could be wrong.

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:37:54 GMT

Just curious, how did you use the card during you 60 days.

Did you use it often and PIF?

Keep a balance?

Use a majority of your limit and PIF?

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

1083690 — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:50:14 GMT

Thanks for your input.

In 2 months I ran about $3500 of purchases and always PIF (a couple of times a month), Today, when I requested the CLI, I had $116 reporting as a balance. I did have a balance on a few of the other cards, but all below 10% utilization.

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

SunriseEarth — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:12:08 GMT

@1083690 wrote:
I've been debating over the last month wether to ask for the 3X CLI on my new AMEX because whean I applied for the BCP card I also opened 7 new TLs (Chase Freedom, Sallie Mae, LOWE'S, Marriott Rewards, DCU Visa, HFCU Visa, and an Auto Loan). Long story short, today marks the 61st day; I started with a $11K CL so I asked for $30K and was instantly approved.

2 Months ago I had 3 credit cards with a combined limit of $15K, today I have 10 credit cards with a combined limit of over $120K, which is essentialy 5% over my income...now I'm considering closing the lower limit cards (under $7.5K) to bring down my available credit below my income level and just focus on fewer cards. Is this the best move to minimize the risk of appearing over extended for having too much credit?

Congrats!

As for closing cards, that's up to your needs. If those cards no longer meet your credit needs or cost money or are just a pain to manage, then closing isn't a bad idea. Or you could just SD them. It's really up to you.

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

alvon123 — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:33:58 GMT

congrats

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

BigBS — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:10:34 GMT

Congrats!

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

gdale6 — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 02:34:05 GMT

@1083690 wrote:
I've been debating over the last month wether to ask for the 3X CLI on my new AMEX because whean I applied for the BCP card I also opened 7 new TLs (Chase Freedom, Sallie Mae, LOWE'S, Marriott Rewards, DCU Visa, HFCU Visa, and an Auto Loan). Long story short, today marks the 61st day; I started with a $11K CL so I asked for $30K and was instantly approved.

2 Months ago I had 3 credit cards with a combined limit of $15K, today I have 10 credit cards with a combined limit of over $120K, which is essentialy 5% over my income...now I'm considering closing the lower limit cards (under $7.5K) to bring down my available credit below my income level and just focus on fewer cards. Is this the best move to minimize the risk of appearing over extended for having too much credit?

Very nice CLI, congrats

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

Transmogrifying_Bee — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 05:04:32 GMT

@1083690 wrote:
I've been debating over the last month wether to ask for the 3X CLI on my new AMEX because whean I applied for the BCP card I also opened 7 new TLs (Chase Freedom, Sallie Mae, LOWE'S, Marriott Rewards, DCU Visa, HFCU Visa, and an Auto Loan). Long story short, today marks the 61st day; I started with a $11K CL so I asked for $30K and was instantly approved.

2 Months ago I had 3 credit cards with a combined limit of $15K, today I have 10 credit cards with a combined limit of over $120K, which is essentialy 5% over my income...now I'm considering closing the lower limit cards (under $7.5K) to bring down my available credit below my income level and just focus on fewer cards. Is this the best move to minimize the risk of appearing over extended for having too much credit?

Glad to see others aiming for Amex "six month" CLI's that EXCEED a total limit of $25K, a CL threshold beyond which there has been considerable anecdotal information/opinions/guesses suggesting that the chances for an Amex Financial Review seem to or can notably increase. Certainly factors like degree of credit utilization, exposure level of total credit available, and other criteria factor into Amex's magic algorithms. Still, I was overly cautious on my last CLI go-around on my Amex BCE card, opting for and receiving an increase from $12.5K to $24K, although I certainly could have asked for $30K total CL.

Next month (July) marks another six month opportunity where I can once again ask Amex for another CLI. I can either forgo this request (at least for now), ask for $25K (just "looks/sounds better" than my current $24K CL), or maybe do what I should have done last time and ask for $30K. My current income is $60K, so I may be pushing some kind of threshold somewhere with Amex! To my advantage, my relationship with Amex goes back over 16 years, not counting business accounts. And, like the OP, I am starting to trim down the total number of credits cards I have. I've already closed my Chase Amazon.com Visa card (with its huge $1K CL), and will be closing either one or both of my Capital One cards, although each has a CL of only $3K. Doing so will reduce my TOTAL CL to around $75K over 7 credit cards, yielding a RATIO of total CL to income of around 1.26 to 1, i.e. my total available credit exceeds my income by about 26%. IF I am successful in having my Amex CL raised to $30K, my total available credit will exceed my income by about 36%.

I guess there's only one way to see how any of these numbers figure into my situation . . . hit the Amex CLI button on July 21st! Ironically, that day is also my BIRTHDAY! Now, wouldn't such an increase be a nice present . . . ???

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

MsLadyRover — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 14:05:49 GMT

Congratulations!

Re: AMEX 3X CLI

Man-Of-Steel — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 21:58:56 GMT

@Transmogrifying_Bee wrote:
@1083690 wrote:
I've been debating over the last month wether to ask for the 3X CLI on my new AMEX because whean I applied for the BCP card I also opened 7 new TLs (Chase Freedom, Sallie Mae, LOWE'S, Marriott Rewards, DCU Visa, HFCU Visa, and an Auto Loan). Long story short, today marks the 61st day; I started with a $11K CL so I asked for $30K and was instantly approved.

2 Months ago I had 3 credit cards with a combined limit of $15K, today I have 10 credit cards with a combined limit of over $120K, which is essentialy 5% over my income...now I'm considering closing the lower limit cards (under $7.5K) to bring down my available credit below my income level and just focus on fewer cards. Is this the best move to minimize the risk of appearing over extended for having too much credit?
Glad to see others aiming for Amex "six month" CLI's that EXCEED a total limit of $25K, a CL threshold beyond which there has been considerable anecdotal information/opinions/guesses suggesting that the chances for an Amex Financial Review seem to or can notably increase. Certainly factors like degree of credit utilization, exposure level of total credit available, and other criteria factor into Amex's magic algorithms. Still, I was overly cautious on my last CLI go-around on my Amex BCE card, opting for and receiving an increase from $12.5K to $24K, although I certainly could have asked for $30K total CL.

Next month (July) marks another six month opportunity where I can once again ask Amex for another CLI. I can either forgo this request (at least for now), ask for $25K (just "looks/sounds better" than my current $24K CL), or maybe do what I should have done last time and ask for $30K. My current income is $60K, so I may be pushing some kind of threshold somewhere with Amex! To my advantage, my relationship with Amex goes back over 16 years, not counting business accounts. And, like the OP, I am starting to trim down the total number of credits cards I have. I've already closed my Chase Amazon.com Visa card (with its huge $1K CL), and will be closing either one or both of my Capital One cards, although each has a CL of only $3K. Doing so will reduce my TOTAL CL to around $75K over 7 credit cards, yielding a RATIO of total CL to income of around 1.26 to 1, i.e. my total available credit exceeds my income by about 26%. IF I am successful in having my Amex CL raised to $30K, my total available credit will exceed my income by about 36%.

I guess there's only one way to see how any of these numbers figure into my situation . . . hit the Amex CLI button on July 21st! Ironically, that day is also my BIRTHDAY! Now, wouldn't such an increase be a nice present . . . ???

First of all, congratulations to the OP!

Transmogrifying_Bee, I can relate to your post. Like you, I was overly cautious when I made my second CLI request for my Amex BCE card. This was back in March of this year and my CL was $10,500 at the time. I thought about requesting a limit as high as $25K, but ultimately decided on $24K. The increase was instantly approved and I'm still stoked about that. But I know what you mean when you say that $25K just looks and sounds better. I'll have an opportunity for another CLI in September and I plan to go for $30K. $30K has a very nice ring to it! My last hard pull was 12/2013, I keep my utilization low, and always PIF. My income is similar to yours, but slightly higher. I think I may have a good shot. We'll see. If you decide to go for it next month, good luck. That would indeed be a nice birthday present.