topic Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance? in Credit Card Applications

Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 03:40:45 GMT

I'm sure the general answer here is going to be "it probably doesn't matter" but I'm looking for anyone with personal experience here that may have a feeling either way on the subject.

If you're a Transactor that always PIF (statement balance) on your Amex, does that give you the best possible look leading up to a CLI request, OR, is it "better" to pay your current balance (and/or reported balance) to $0 before making your CLI request?

I always PIF the statement balance and often my current balance, or at least half anyway of what is left after my statement balance... so my reported balances are normally in the $800-$2000 range, give or take, so maybe 2%-5% utilization. I tend to always second guess myself, but I'm thinking that what I'm doing is probably just fine when it comes to positioning myself in the best possible light for a CLI request?

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 03:53:23 GMT

Really doesn't make much of a difference in my opinion. Amex probably takes into account the actual usage more than what your balance is at the time of the request. And if they want to consider what's on your credit report, then your history with other creditors should also be taken into account, not just Amex. I requested a CLI a couple months ago and the account had a balance, it was granted just fine.

I would just use the card the normal way, leave some balance and even let it report, this way they can't deny the request with the rationale "no recent revolving account use". At the time I requested, 3 out of my 5 accounts were reporting balances (including Amex).

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Gmood1 — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:03:50 GMT

I've already explained how I do it. As the poster before me, the statement cuts and then paid normally several days before due date. I've had 12 or 13 CCs reporting balances when requesting a CLI or apping for another Amex card. My reported household income isn't much different than yours BBS. Amex has given me over 60% of that in open credit.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:25:40 GMT

I've already explained how I do it. As the poster before me, the statement cuts and then paid normally several days before due date. I've had 12 or 13 CCs reporting balances when requesting a CLI or apping for another Amex card. My reported household income isn't much different than yours BBS. Amex has given me over 60% of that in open credit.

I'm never at more than 2-3 cards (out of 8) with balances reported, but I don't really think that's a factor here. So you're just saying that any reported balance is fine, so long as you're PIF your statement balance every cycle? Do you typically pay your statement balance, your current balance, or somewhere in between? I tend to land somewhere in between. Amex card utilization is always 1%-5% and aggregate utilization is always 1%-4% on my end.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Gmood1 — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:38:30 GMT

wrote:
I've already explained how I do it. As the poster before me, the statement cuts and then paid normally several days before due date. I've had 12 or 13 CCs reporting balances when requesting a CLI or apping for another Amex card. My reported household income isn't much different than yours BBS. Amex has given me over 60% of that in open credit.
I'm never at more than 2-3 cards (out of 8) with balances reported, but I don't really think that's a factor here. So you're just saying that any reported balance is fine, so long as you're PIF your statement balance every cycle? Do you typically pay your statement balance, your current balance, or somewhere in between? I tend to land somewhere in between. Amex card utilization is always 1%-5% and aggregate utilization is always 1%-4% on my end.

I pay only the statement balance. Nothing more and nothing less. My aggregate is normally 1%. to 2%. Not sure of my TCL. Probably north of $550,000.

Amex utilization maybe 2 to 3%. It varies widely at times.

All of my Amex cards are set to autopay the same intervals every month. They pull every month like clockwork.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:57:40 GMT

Gotcha, so statement balance paid is more than adequate to paint a favorable CLI picture.

I know I always overthink these things, but when you can only request a CLI twice per year, you want to make sure you're doing it the "best" way. I've got the 25th of this month marked on my calendar for my next CLI request. On the 17th I'll be making my next payment and wasn't sure if I should simply go with the statement balance or take it all the way down to zero.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Gmood1 — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 05:02:43 GMT

I see, sometimes it's ok to acted like the normal, average consumer. lol
Even though I realize most of us here are far from normal. 😜

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

simplynoir — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 05:24:02 GMT

I think once you're with AMEX long enough any concerns with balances and when they're PIF don't really matter unless it's some obscene amount relative to your normal spending to getting CLIs with them. They have enough spending/payment history to work with when considering requests. At least that's the way I see it.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 15:20:27 GMT

In your opinion, what constitutes "long enough" [history] with Amex? Do you mean > 1 year, or are you talking years?

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

simplynoir — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 16:37:18 GMT

At least one year (2 years to be safe) to me but again that's my opinion/feeling on it.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 18:39:02 GMT

Cool. I'm at 20 months, so I suppose that puts me right in the middle.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

chaos51 — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 02:00:54 GMT

I always pay in full for my Amex revolvers before my statement closes, but I keep a balance on my Platinum and just pay the statement balance each time it closes. However, both of my CLIs with Amex have been mid-cycle with a balance on my card at the time. First one was BCE from $2k - $6k, and today was my SPG from $10k - $30k. I really don't think it matters though.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

FinStar — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 22:25:18 GMT

IME, it doesn't really matter OP. So as long as the account is eligible for the CLI and everything is in line with your profile (internally/externally).

Plus, I can understand the perspective, from a strategic standpoint, given that if an individual has multiple AMEX revolvers there's only a specific window of opportunity for each CLI.

Any CLIs I've received over the years include having a balance about to be PIF as well as another instance where there was no balance for a few months on another card. This also included a mix of my NPSL ones with and w/o a balance during the CLI request. Hope this helps.

Re: Amex CLI request with or without balance?

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 08:22:22 GMT

Sounds good. I'm 3 for 3 on my Amex CLI requests, so I'm fairly confident that I'm doing the right thing with respect to my profile and that Amex sees my account and profile as favorable. I'm always the type of person that likes to maximize things though, so if there's ever anything I can do better leading up to a CLI request I'm all about implementing it.