topic Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply? in Credit Card Applications

AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 23:46:36 GMT

Hello and Season's Greetings! As of January 5th (according to the Amex Chat CSR), I will be eligible to apply for my 61 3x CLI. I've been using my card A LOT in the past two months. PIF the first month and about to PIF yet again for this statement. Utilization is 88% but I am paying it off, in an attempt to show that I will use the card, and that I am responsbile enough to pay the bill as well. My opening credit limit is $1k.

Here are the pertinent details:

24 Total Account

No lates/baddies on anything new.

1 judgement (medical) ready to age off in May 2015. Other than that: Clean reports.

Inquiries: 7

Total Credit Limit: $60.5 k

Total Used: $6.6k

Average Age: 4 years

Income: just under 6 digits

Credit Scores as of today: Walmart TU 675, MyFico Equifax 678, TU 702, Experian 732, Discover 718

Here's what scared me: I applied for the Delta (Gold) AmEx shortly after I was approved for the Amex Everyday card and was denied due to "derogatory" accounts (meaning that 1 judgment which is ready to age off in a few months) and insufficient credit experience (I am guessing they were referring to some type of internal factor). This happened in early November (the denial).

Should I wait for my medical judgment to age off before I apply for my CLI? It's already been removed as a gesture of Goodwill by Transunion, but remains on my Equifax & Experian reports. Experian is telling me to call back April 1st and they will consider a goodwill removal of the entry.

Summarily, should I apply for the CLI or wait until my credit reports have been totally cleaned up and for more of a payment history with Amex to be established?

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

coldnmn — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 01:10:40 GMT

If your utilization is 88% I hope it's on that one card and not total utilization. If you get your total utilization down under 20% if it was me I would go for the 3x CLI. I would wait at least 6 months between AMEX cards to show responsibility with the response they gave you. Good Luck!

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 01:20:40 GMT

Yes, 88% utilization on the Amex. I've ran the same utilization the 2 months I've had the card. I'll make the PIF a couple of days before I apply (if I apply) for the CLi. And, thank you for the input regarding waiting to apply between AmEx cards (6 months). I can definitely wait 6 or so months!

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

DiabolicallyRandom — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 01:29:20 GMT

You should be good to go after paying the balance off. I would just wait until the payment is processed and posted.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:30:40 GMT

+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 19:30:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.

Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

taxi818 — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 22:17:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.
Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.

its not exactly true they like lots of swipes. but they just want responsible use. you should be fine. but 88 percent is high. pay down at least. and yes its ok to carry a balance with amex. they know you have no choice with that 1k let us see if we can trust you limit.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 22:34:46 GMT

@taxi818 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.
Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.
its not exactly true they like lots of swipes. but they just want responsible use. you should be fine. but 88 percent is high. pay down at least. and yes its ok to carry a balance with amex. they know you have no choice with that 1k let us see if we can trust you limit.

Sound advice and well received! I figured the $1k paltry limit was some type of test limit. Hopefully, they see I've responsible and are receptive to increasing my limit. I found out today that I can officially apply for a 61 day increase on January 11th. I've already paid off the balance on my Amex account. I know I will need to make some small purhases between now and the 11th, but I will keep it minimal (roughly $75-$100 on the $1k credit limit).

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

ojefferyo — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:50:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@taxi818 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.
Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.
its not exactly true they like lots of swipes. but they just want responsible use. you should be fine. but 88 percent is high. pay down at least. and yes its ok to carry a balance with amex. they know you have no choice with that 1k let us see if we can trust you limit.
Sound advice and well received! I figured the $1k paltry limit was some type of test limit. Hopefully, they see I've responsible and are receptive to increasing my limit. I found out today that I can officially apply for a 61 day increase on January 11th. I've already paid off the balance on my Amex account. I know I will need to make some small purhases between now and the 11th, but I will keep it minimal (roughly $75-$100 on the $1k credit limit).

You should try it now, I did the 3x on my Hilton card today and was approved. That's 2 weeks ahead of 61 days

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

DiabolicallyRandom — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 05:26:13 GMT

@ojefferyo wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@taxi818 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.
Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.
its not exactly true they like lots of swipes. but they just want responsible use. you should be fine. but 88 percent is high. pay down at least. and yes its ok to carry a balance with amex. they know you have no choice with that 1k let us see if we can trust you limit.
Sound advice and well received! I figured the $1k paltry limit was some type of test limit. Hopefully, they see I've responsible and are receptive to increasing my limit. I found out today that I can officially apply for a 61 day increase on January 11th. I've already paid off the balance on my Amex account. I know I will need to make some small purhases between now and the 11th, but I will keep it minimal (roughly $75-$100 on the $1k credit limit).
You should try it now, I did the 3x on my Hilton card today and was approved. That's 2 weeks ahead of 61 days

My spouse has gotten to auto increases from amex in the last two months. The first one in october and the second one this week. Im not sure whether or not that is normal considering everyone here is generally requesting their increases.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 05:50:59 GMT

@DiabolicallyRandom wrote:

@ojefferyo wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@taxi818 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.
Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.
its not exactly true they like lots of swipes. but they just want responsible use. you should be fine. but 88 percent is high. pay down at least. and yes its ok to carry a balance with amex. they know you have no choice with that 1k let us see if we can trust you limit.
Sound advice and well received! I figured the $1k paltry limit was some type of test limit. Hopefully, they see I've responsible and are receptive to increasing my limit. I found out today that I can officially apply for a 61 day increase on January 11th. I've already paid off the balance on my Amex account. I know I will need to make some small purhases between now and the 11th, but I will keep it minimal (roughly $75-$100 on the $1k credit limit).
You should try it now, I did the 3x on my Hilton card today and was approved. That's 2 weeks ahead of 61 days

My spouse has gotten to auto increases from amex in the last two months. The first one in october and the second one this week. Im not sure whether or not that is normal considering everyone here is generally requesting their increases.

I actually just got my second Auto-Increase from AMEX. $12,000 to $14,200. -- Got 2 more days to my next 3X. I think I will try for it on my ED.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

ojefferyo — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 17:32:13 GMT

I tried it on my GF blue cash last night and it said the system was updating and to try again in 24hrs, tried this morning and it gave the 7-10 day message. Of course she hasn't met the 61 days yet.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

NRB525 — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 18:07:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@taxi818 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.
Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.
its not exactly true they like lots of swipes. but they just want responsible use. you should be fine. but 88 percent is high. pay down at least. and yes its ok to carry a balance with amex. they know you have no choice with that 1k let us see if we can trust you limit.
Sound advice and well received! I figured the $1k paltry limit was some type of test limit. Hopefully, they see I've responsible and are receptive to increasing my limit. I found out today that I can officially apply for a 61 day increase on January 11th. I've already paid off the balance on my Amex account. I know I will need to make some small purhases between now and the 11th, but I will keep it minimal (roughly $75-$100 on the $1k credit limit).

88% Utilization is irrelevant. You will be fine once the 61 days passes. You are PIF so AMEX could care less if you were at 95% utilization in this case. I was there (97.5% utilization) with a $2k limit on my Delta AMEX after it had been open a year, and they responded with an auto CLI of $1k before I learned of the 3x here.

Absolute dollars outstanding and then paid is the key metric in this case, not utilization.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 19:35:05 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@taxi818 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
+1 imho.

Pay it off, assure that it's posted, and go for the increase. They should understand you need a little more breathing room on the card I'd think.
Thank You for the advice! And, yes, I've been hitting a spending wall with the $1k limit. They like lots of swipes, but that becomes hard to do with such a small credit line. On the whole though, no complaints yet about AmEx, but having a larger credit line would be helpful.
its not exactly true they like lots of swipes. but they just want responsible use. you should be fine. but 88 percent is high. pay down at least. and yes its ok to carry a balance with amex. they know you have no choice with that 1k let us see if we can trust you limit.
Sound advice and well received! I figured the $1k paltry limit was some type of test limit. Hopefully, they see I've responsible and are receptive to increasing my limit. I found out today that I can officially apply for a 61 day increase on January 11th. I've already paid off the balance on my Amex account. I know I will need to make some small purhases between now and the 11th, but I will keep it minimal (roughly $75-$100 on the $1k credit limit).
88% Utilization is irrelevant. You will be fine once the 61 days passes. You are PIF so AMEX could care less if you were at 95% utilization in this case. I was there (97.5% utilization) with a $2k limit on my Delta AMEX after it had been open a year, and they responded with an auto CLI of $1k before I learned of the 3x here.

Absolute dollars outstanding and then paid is the key metric in this case, not utilization.

Great input here.... It makes me feel better going into the CLI request. Much appreciated!!! Happy New Year!

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

ForumPheen — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:21:06 GMT

Since they've already taken you in, medical record and all, I suggest what you already know-pay in full then go for it.

I now know that was my one caveat when i went for my 61 days a few days ago. I hadn't paid in full and I believe had I done so, they would've honored my request. I also think that once I do, I might receive an automatic CLI, as I've read numerous folks here who had the same happen to them after an initial decline.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:30:27 GMT

@ForumPheen wrote:
Since they've already taken you in, medical record and all, I suggest what you already know-pay in full then go for it.

I now know that was my one caveat when i went for my 61 days a few days ago. I hadn't paid in full and I believe had I done so, they would've honored my request. I also think that once I do, I might receive an automatic CLI, as I've read numerous folks here who had the same happen to them after an initial decline.

Will do. The account is now paid in full. In fact, I have a credit balance of $14 because I overpaid knowing that there was still one charge that was still pending and hadn't posted. Others have said the early requests (pre 61 day 3xCLI) have worked for them. I tried it last week, when my account balance was $880 (out of $1000 CL). I got the 7-10 day message (no, it wasn't a flat out "denial" either -- it was a "further review" message), but then was told via CSR chat it was because I had applied "too early." So, now that my account is paid in full (2 months in a row) and my balance is $0, I'm going to wait until the 61 day mark and then try again. I'd love to try right now to see if I am granted the early 61day CLI, but am going to do it by the book just in case and wait it out.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

ForumPheen — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:38:02 GMT

Good for you! I do think they did away with the 61 day rule though based on certain criteria which is unknown to me. The rep said I could try again in 90 days, when in the past, it would've been 180 days, and with succes stories to affirm the pre 61 day rule, I actually look forward to what Amex will do for me this year. I don't intend (keyword!) to apply for anything this year, and my 2015 plan is to vie for the attention of a soft pull CLI from Amex and Saks.

Since your'e so close, don't pull a me and hit it too early . I wonder if I was a day too early myself, but I realize it had to be my large UTI and no PIF.

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

NRB525 — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 03:13:24 GMT

@ForumPheen wrote:
Since they've already taken you in, medical record and all, I suggest what you already know-pay in full then go for it.

I now know that was my one caveat when i went for my 61 days a few days ago. I hadn't paid in full and I believe had I done so, they would've honored my request. I also think that once I do, I might receive an automatic CLI, as I've read numerous folks here who had the same happen to them after an initial decline.

So you did the 3x CLI request at or after 61 days, had a balance on the card and the CLI was denied outright?

What CL are you at? Going for? Usage pattern? Any other AMEX cards? Time with this card?

Re: AmEx CLI: Should I wait or Should I apply?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 22:28:07 GMT

@ForumPheen wrote:
Good for you! I do think they did away with the 61 day rule though based on certain criteria which is unknown to me. The rep said I could try again in 90 days, when in the past, it would've been 180 days, and with succes stories to affirm the pre 61 day rule, I actually look forward to what Amex will do for me this year. I don't intend (keyword!) to apply for anything this year, and my 2015 plan is to vie for the attention of a soft pull CLI from Amex and Saks.

Since your'e so close, don't pull a me and hit it too early . I wonder if I was a day too early myself, but I realize it had to be my large UTI and no PIF.

Well I'm in the same boat as you. I pulled the trigger early for a second time and got a notice that it was declined. I first tried for the early 61day on December 20th and was declined. I tried again on January 1st (which actually, after all, according to the phone rep was day 60 -- so early again). However, they are now telling me that I can't apply for a CLI for 90 days now. So, I'm not sure if it's because I kept jumping the gun early or if it's due to other internal factors. Interestingly, and after feeling awful about the denial, I decided to apply for an Amex PRG and was APPROVED -- TODAY! I called and asked them to reconsider my CLI on everday Amex and NO GO. What a weird and wild system they have there!