topic Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!) in Credit Card Applications

Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 01:20:50 GMT

Hey Fico Fam,

I’m about to go on an “App spree” and looking for some vets to let me know anything I’m missing or give some insight I may not know.

My Goal: Get $125,000 total lines of credit. I don’t care about SUB, points, perks, annual fee, or even APR really. Need money to invest in my business so the highest possible credit limits on each card is my *sole* objective.

----

I’ve read opening too many cards at once could risk some of them getting shut down (then again, I’ve seen others apply for 7 to 8 cards and get approved). So I’m *thinking* 5 cards max.

Right now I only have 2 cards total, and below are my stats:

$1,000 - cap one (also bank with them)

$3,000 - local bank card

- 0 debt

- 1% utilization

- thin profile (4 to 6 total open accounts)

- Inquiries: 1/12 EX, 0/12 TU, 0/12 EQ

- New accounts in last 12 months: 2

- AAoA - 1 Year, 5 Months

Scores:

EX F8 = 769

EX F9 = 756

TU F8 = 772

TU F9 = 794

EQ F8 = 775

EQ F9 = 778

Income: $60k

---

Here were the cards I had my eye on / my plan:

1st App: Chase - Pull EQ and maybe EX: Sapphire Preferred or a IHG or SW Card -- I’ve read people say co-branded cards give them higher credit limits. I really wanted the Reserve initially, but got scared since I have thin profile and saw some getting declined even with high scores. I also know Chase has the whole 5/24 thing, so I wanted to apply to them first.

2nd App: Citi Prestige - Pull EQ -- I’ve seen people getting high limits with them recently (1 guy with a ~750ish score, 1 year credit history got $24,000)

3rd App: NFCU - Pull T9 which is 794 -- This will be my only Transunion pull I think. Need help with what card to go with for this one. I see people getting huge limits on Power Cash Rewards, Flagship, and others, so not sure which card to pick.

4th App: PenFed (EQ 9-778), Synovus (EQ 8-775), or Unify (EX F2 which is 751) -- Not sure which to go with out of these since they all give high limits. From what I’ve seen Synovus gives the highest, but it’d be another EQ pull.

5th - Capital One Venture (All 3 Bureaus) -- Going with this one last since: 1) I have a relationship with them which will help. And 2) They pull all 3 bureaus…. So I want the 3 dings to happen and then I be done.

----

Well Vets, this is (was?) my plan.

Where am I going wrong?

For Chase should I get the Preferred, IHG, SW or some other co-brander?

What card do I go with for NFCU? How can I get a $25k limit with that 794 TU9?

Who to go with between PenFed, Synovus and Unify? Should I apply to MORE than 5 apps? Help a noob out.

Your expert help and insight would be GREATLY appreciated!

(P.S. while $125k is my ultimate goal I understand I may fall short)

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Jnbmom — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 01:27:08 GMT

@Anonymous

Your previous thread you mentioned negatives, are they still reporting? Your scores are good, but remember scores aren't everything > I have doubts you are going to get big limits right off the bat given your current short and low limit cards.

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Remedios — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 01:42:37 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hey Fico Fam,

I’m about to go on an “App spree” and looking for some vets to let me know anything I’m missing or give some insight I may not know.

My Goal: Get $125,000 total lines of credit. I don’t care about SUB, points, perks, annual fee, or even APR really. Need money to invest in my business so the highest possible credit limits on each card is my *sole* objective.

----

I’ve read opening too many cards at once could risk some of them getting shut down (then again, I’ve seen others apply for 7 to 8 cards and get approved). So I’m *thinking* 5 cards max.

Right now I only have 2 cards total, and below are my stats:

$1,000 - cap one (also bank with them)
$3,000 - local bank card

- 0 debt
- 1% utilization
- thin profile (4 to 6 total open accounts)
- Inquiries: 1/12 EX, 0/12 TU, 0/12 EQ
- New accounts in last 12 months: 2
- AAoA - 1 Year, 5 Months

Scores:
EX F8 = 769
EX F9 = 756

TU F8 = 772
TU F9 = 794

EQ F8 = 775
EQ F9 = 778

Income: $60k

---

Here were the cards I had my eye on / my plan:

1st App: Chase - Pull EQ and maybe EX: Sapphire Preferred or a IHG or SW Card -- I’ve read people say co-branded cards give them higher credit limits. I really wanted the Reserve initially, but got scared since I have thin profile and saw some getting declined even with high scores. I also know Chase has the whole 5/24 thing, so I wanted to apply to them first.

2nd App: Citi Prestige - Pull EQ -- I’ve seen people getting high limits with them recently (1 guy with a ~750ish score, 1 year credit history got $24,000)

3rd App: NFCU - Pull T9 which is 794 -- This will be my only Transunion pull I think. Need help with what card to go with for this one. I see people getting huge limits on Power Cash Rewards, Flagship, and others, so not sure which card to pick.

4th App: PenFed (EQ 9-778), Synovus (EQ 8-775), or Unify (EX F2 which is 751) -- Not sure which to go with out of these since they all give high limits. From what I’ve seen Synovus gives the highest, but it’d be another EQ pull.

5th - Capital One Venture (All 3 Bureaus) -- Going with this one last since: 1) I have a relationship with them which will help. And 2) They pull all 3 bureaus…. So I want the 3 dings to happen and then I be done.

----

Well Vets, this is (was?) my plan.

Where am I going wrong?

For Chase should I get the Preferred, IHG, SW or some other co-brander?

What card do I go with for NFCU? How can I get a $25k limit with that 794 TU9?

Who to go with between PenFed, Synovus and Unify? Should I apply to MORE than 5 apps? Help a noob out.

Your expert help and insight would be GREATLY appreciated!

(P.S. while $125k is my ultimate goal I understand I may fall short)

Don't.

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:20:48 GMT

Its going to be hard to get huge limits out of the gate when lenders see your current limits. Your scores may be high but not all 790s are created equal. Of your list, Navy may be the only one to give huge limit off bat but then again you might get $500. Play the long game if you want big limits , 60k can get good limits regardless if some may think small but Rome wasnt built in a day. Lending environment is very different right now as well. You asked the Vets, i think you'll find us saying much the same.

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 03:19:39 GMT

@Anonymous

My kinda boy !!!!....I also never cared for SUBs, points, annual fees, APRs...etc..etc..Just the higher credit limit. That's all. Secondly, I am not a vet but I think I can relate to your objective better.

You say that your goal is to get $125k then I will be honest to tell you that you not gonna get this much limit and all these cards. Period. The list of cards you have mentioned here, to be interested in, to get then most of them you will not get especially Chase Reserve. The starting limit on that card is $10k...your profile doesn't support that kinda of limit. I am sorry but all you have is good score...that's all...otherwise, you have a very thin profile...not enough age of your cards...low limits...In order to get approval of big shot credit cards with higher credit limit, you have to have thick profile...income...no baddies...and at least two big limit cards...You have nothing going on....sorry but its a bitter truth...I don't know about your income...Income also plays a vital role when it comes to a credit limit...There is no way in this world you will get approved for all these cards or get approval for $125k total limit as of now...

If I were you then I will strategically go ahead with my plan...slowly and surely...you can indeed achieve your goal but with a plan, patience and of course with time. Otherwise, it could be possible that you might get approved for some cards here and there now but SL will be very small given your profile. To achieve your goal, I would apply ONLY Navy Federal credit card as NFCU loves profiles like yours..thin one and even with baddies...no income verification either...and the biggest advantage is big SL which you desperately need to get big limit cards in the future...So apply for a card with Navy Federal, and do not apply for any other card with any other lender for at least for two years...otherwise, you most probably will get denial from every lender or if you get approved then credit limit will be very low. And don't apply for their Flagship card yet because the starting limit on that card is $5k...So if they don't approve you for this card then it would be flat out denial...With their other cards, at least you get approval no matter how low SL would be.. Responsibly take care of that card for at least 2 years or better 3 years and then apply for all these cards...3 cards in every 6 months..These cards are not going to disappear, so to say that you have to apply and get now. If your ultimate goal is to get all these cards and this much limit then you can achieve your goal but time is all you need and at least 2 higher limit cards ...at least one would be mandatory, otherwise there is no way you can get this much limit.

On a personal note, do not ever apply for more than 3 cards in 6 months, otherwise lenders can/may shut down your accounts and you would risk getting shutting down of long time existing accounts too...Last month I applied for 14 cards and got approved 12 of them. But 2 weeks later, 4 of those cards closed down by saying- aggressive behavior in seeking credit. Remind you, limit on each of those cards was over $35k ...Very hardly and many days of back and forth calling/writing, I was able to get reinstatement on the condition that I will be closing down some of my accounts within 6 months...And 2 of my previous lenders lowered my CL to very low to mitigate their risk...and one lender has completely shut down my account and don't budge to reinstate it. All this happened within 2-3 weeks period. I am not completely out of hook yet because other lenders might respond too... sooner or later, I assume. If I would have listened to good people over here, this might not have happened. I was told that I shouldn't do this kind of spree, and now result is here for not listening to them. I got total $415k in two weeks spree.

So its not about how much credit limit you will get in the end, rather how many accounts you opened which would make lenders to take adverse action on accounts...Thus, its better to get at most 3 cards in 6 months...slowly but surely, otherwise you will risk losing cards which you would have worked so hard to get....

You say that you want all this credit so that you could start a business or invest in a business then I am not sure how you could do this...because lately (in a year or so) most banks do not allow good portion of your available credit for cash advance...most limits are for purchases...Some lenders (credit unions) do allow cash advance or even balance transfer for full limit of your available limit without any fees, but zero % APR would be only for time beings though....Unless you have plan to run away with the money...lols...I don't know how you can invest credit cards' money in business...Anyway, I don't need to know all this...lols

Speaking of higher limit cards then there are many to chose from...Of course, Amex, Chase...Bank of America..BBVA...Fidelity....and most credit unions cards especially First Tech FCU...NASA...Penfed...Affinity...Langley...United Nation FCU...But with credit unions, be ready to provide proof of income...with most of them...Bottom line- credit limit is profile and income driven. Even if a bank or credit union is well known to give out higher credit limit, yet still it would depend on how thick profile and income someone has except NFCU...because NFCU is known to give big big CL to applicants with low income...bad credit profile...thin profile...And let's assume that even NFCU will give you very low CL, yet still it would be ok because you would have enough time to get huge credit limit with them in next 2-3 years as NFCU is extremely generous in increasing credit limits later on if they start out with lower limit...so your best bet is- start out with NFCU and work your way up...Hold on to applying any more credit for at least 2-3 years then you will be rewarded ..and then you would have the last laugh...Time is what you need to add to your profile...Good luck...

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

coldfusion — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 02:33:25 GMT

@Remedios wrote:

Don't.

This is the correct answer.

As an aside issuers have varying levels of tolerance for business spend being placed on personal credit cards. If you're going to insist on overlooking sound advice at least research this.

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

OmarGB9 — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 05:08:08 GMT

Yea this may have worked about 4-6 years ago, but not anymore. Especially with the pandemic and current economic climate. I'd suggest applying for 1 card every 6 months, going with most important to least important.

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 05:16:38 GMT

@Jnbmom Hey man yea I got the derogs removed. Only thing wrong with my credit now is history and length of accounts.

To everyone else, I appreciate all of the constructive feedback. I'm going to try a few cards and report back on the results .

Thanks!

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 05:27:02 GMT

This is a bad idea. Even if you get an approval from Chase, they're gonna sp your reports in a few weeks and if they see the other apps, they'll shut down the card. Not to mention using personal cards to fund a business.

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 05:48:45 GMT

@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
This is a bad idea. Even if you get an approval from Chase, they're gonna sp your reports in a few weeks and if they see the other apps, they'll shut down the card. Not to mention using personal cards to fund a business.

If possible: disregard the personal cards to fund a business part. That's not going to happen, I will try to get a business loan.

Also this is good info on Chase. This is why I'm here, so I know. I understand they are very strict, so I'll simply not apply to any of their cards right now.

---

Just did prequalifaction for Discovert It Cash Back, Miles, Navy Fed flagship (and all their other cards). Pre-qualified for all and going to check more where I can.

Who knows, I might shock the world. Lol. I'll report back.

I've been researching this for over 4 months, so let's see. Nothing to lose for me. I don't want to credit score there to look pretty. I fought harder than you can imagine to get 3 derogs off, and going to see if I can cash in. If I can't, no issue, I learned something.

But we're going to see.

My TU9 bankcard score is 804. All my bankcard 8 and 9 scores are higher than my standard scores.

I think there's something about my profile where banks might like me.

---

And let me say this one thing in my "defense":

I understand my credit history sucks... Is horrible....

But now think about the people who have had credit for 15 to 20 years: YES, they have the length and the history, but they also have an average debt of $80 to $130,000

So we have:

Them: 15 to 20 year credit history, $80 to $130,000 debt

Me: 1.5 year credit history, $0 debt

---

For Fico Scores, credit length counts 15%, debt counts 30% .... *shrug*

In Fico's eyes, I'm kicking their *** (I think).... But we are going to see here soon.

---

Keep the input coming it's helping me. Thanks a lot

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Jnbmom — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 06:06:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
This is a bad idea. Even if you get an approval from Chase, they're gonna sp your reports in a few weeks and if they see the other apps, they'll shut down the card. Not to mention using personal cards to fund a business.
If possible: disregard the personal cards to fund a business part. That's not going to happen, I will try to get a business loan.
Confused, you state disregard personal cards, then state that;s not gonna happen??

Also this is good info on Chase. This is why I'm here, so I know. I understand they are very strict, so I'll simply not apply to any of their cards right now.

---

Just did prequalifaction for Discovert It Cash Back, Miles, Navy Fed flagship (and all their other cards). Pre-qualified for all and going to check more where I can. Navy's preapprovals are not really preapprovals at all there have been quite a few that got denied from their "preapproval offers" and I doubt you will get Flagship off the bat, Discover is usually pretty solid

Who knows, I might shock the world. Lol. I'll report back.

I've been researching this for over 4 months, so let's see. Nothing to lose for me. I don't want to credit score there to look pretty. I fought harder than you can imagine to get 3 derogs off, and going to see if I can cash in. If I can't, no issue, I learned something.

But we're going to see.

My TU9 bankcard score is 804. All my bankcard 8 and 9 scores are higher than my standard scores.
Again score isn't everything, you have limited history and credit lines.

I think there's something about my profile where banks might like me.

---

And let me say this one thing in my "defense":

I understand my credit history sucks... Is horrible....

But now think about the people who have had credit for 15 to 20 years: YES, they have the length and the history, but they also have an average debt of $80 to $130,000
Care to share some statistics on this statement? There are plenty of people here with very well aged credit history and majority have ZERO debt.

So we have:

Them: 15 to 20 year credit history, $80 to $130,000 debt

Me: 1.5 year credit history, $0 debt

---

For Fico Scores, credit length counts 15%, debt counts 30% .... *shrug*

In Fico's eyes, I'm kicking their *** (I think).... But we are going to see here soon.

---

Keep the input coming it's helping me. Thanks a lot

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Slabenstein — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 06:45:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
This is a bad idea. Even if you get an approval from Chase, they're gonna sp your reports in a few weeks and if they see the other apps, they'll shut down the card. Not to mention using personal cards to fund a business.
If possible: disregard the personal cards to fund a business part. That's not going to happen, I will try to get a business loan.

Also this is good info on Chase. This is why I'm here, so I know. I understand they are very strict, so I'll simply not apply to any of their cards right now.

---

Just did prequalifaction for Discovert It Cash Back, Miles, Navy Fed flagship (and all their other cards). Pre-qualified for all and going to check more where I can.

Who knows, I might shock the world. Lol. I'll report back.

I've been researching this for over 4 months, so let's see. Nothing to lose for me. I don't want to credit score there to look pretty. I fought harder than you can imagine to get 3 derogs off, and going to see if I can cash in. If I can't, no issue, I learned something.

But we're going to see.

My TU9 bankcard score is 804. All my bankcard 8 and 9 scores are higher than my standard scores.

I think there's something about my profile where banks might like me.

---

And let me say this one thing in my "defense":

I understand my credit history sucks... Is horrible....

But now think about the people who have had credit for 15 to 20 years: YES, they have the length and the history, but they also have an average debt of $80 to $130,000

So we have:

Them: 15 to 20 year credit history, $80 to $130,000 debt

Me: 1.5 year credit history, $0 debt

---

For Fico Scores, credit length counts 15%, debt counts 30% .... *shrug*

In Fico's eyes, I'm kicking their *** (I think).... But we are going to see here soon.

---

Keep the input coming it's helping me. Thanks a lot

The Disco pre-qual is pretty reliable, but NFCU's doesn't really give you a better idea of your approval odds than if you just cold apped.

The 8/9 bankcard industry scores have a higher score range than their classic counterparts, so you can see higher scores on those versions. Whether higher or lower, bankcard scores don't indicate any more than any other FICO scores that there's something about a person's file that banks do or don't like. They're just another FICO version that some lenders use for cc lending and that many lenders do not.

With regards to having low debt on a young profile, credit age and balances/utilization are factors that both lenders and FICO scores look at independently, so having a strong profile in one area doesn't necessarily cancel out a weakness in another. Some lenders are very comfortable with clean, young, thin profiles, and others can be more conservative until you gain some age.

If you're not going to try to open personal cards for your business spend, is 125k TCL still your goal, or is there something else you'd be looking for from your cc lineup? You've gotten good advice upthread about how to build your TCL in today's lending environment, and I want to chime in to also say that measured, considered card acquisition spread out over years is what you're going to be looking at to get to where you want to be, whether that's high TCL, a good cashback card lineup, or optimized point redemption. I think the two best ways to approach it would either be to follow the one card every six months rule of thumb, or to open 2-4 cards now (assuming no other recent apps), garden on that for 2 years, and then look at expanding again. It's going to take time and some credit gardening to get from the relatively small limits you'll probably be offered now to the kind of CL's you would want for 125k TCL. If you app at too aggressive a pace, you'll likely run into toy limits, denials, and shutdowns pretty quickly. Even if you're only interested in increasing TCL, you're going to want to be selective in your apping, so I'd still suggest looking at your spend and what kind of rewards structures would work best for you so you can open the cards that will give you the most benefit when you do app. You can also look at different issuer's CLI policies and exposure tolerances so that you're opening cards with issuers that are more likely to offer easy growth, such as NFCU or Amex, versus those that might be harder to grow or more prone to CLD/shutdowns, such as Chase, Capital One, or Synchrony.

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

jcooks — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 13:04:55 GMT

Why not just apply for a business card. I'd recommend going with Amex as they are more inclined to obtain newcomers. Along with their generous CLI's, they may be the best option. Another one to look into is Chase business cards

Re: Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

Remedios — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 17:55:59 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
This is a bad idea. Even if you get an approval from Chase, they're gonna sp your reports in a few weeks and if they see the other apps, they'll shut down the card. Not to mention using personal cards to fund a business.
If possible: disregard the personal cards to fund a business part. That's not going to happen, I will try to get a business loan.

Also this is good info on Chase. This is why I'm here, so I know. I understand they are very strict, so I'll simply not apply to any of their cards right now.

---

Just did prequalifaction for Discovert It Cash Back, Miles, Navy Fed flagship (and all their other cards). Pre-qualified for all and going to check more where I can.

Who knows, I might shock the world. Lol. I'll report back.

I've been researching this for over 4 months, so let's see. Nothing to lose for me. I don't want to credit score there to look pretty. I fought harder than you can imagine to get 3 derogs off, and going to see if I can cash in. If I can't, no issue, I learned something.

But we're going to see.

My TU9 bankcard score is 804. All my bankcard 8 and 9 scores are higher than my standard scores.

I think there's something about my profile where banks might like me.

---

And let me say this one thing in my "defense":

I understand my credit history sucks... Is horrible....

But now think about the people who have had credit for 15 to 20 years: YES, they have the length and the history, but they also have an average debt of $80 to $130,000

So we have:

Them: 15 to 20 year credit history, $80 to $130,000 debt

Me: 1.5 year credit history, $0 debt

---

For Fico Scores, credit length counts 15%, debt counts 30% .... *shrug*

In Fico's eyes, I'm kicking their *** (I think).... But we are going to see here soon.

---

Keep the input coming it's helping me. Thanks a lot

Funny story, I was totally going to stay out of thsi one and however...

Who are "15 to 20 year credit history, $80 to $130,000 debt"

You really dont have to worry about the answer because, well because you wont be able to answer it. You can try, though, as we say around these parts "can't hurt"

Lets digress to those with 15 to 20 year credit history...are they avoiding pulls on two CRAs because of collections and lates/COs?

I am not trying to be hard on you, but when you make judgemental statements like that, it's only fair we use all the facts at our disposal.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Banks-that-only-Pull-Experian-done-research-still-dead-end/m-p/6287472#M288523

To be fair, there are people with significant debt burden. Our "job" isn't to chide them or use them as examples. We can try helping them when debt shuffle is needed so they can continue paying it down. Additionally, some of the people who still carry debt and/or have had in the past are some of the most helpful, understanding and compassionate members we have. Guess how we know? Because they didnt misrepresent theit situation, but instead are using their experiences to guide others.

That's something to keep in mind at all times.

Length of credit isn't a big piece of Fico pie, that's a fact. In lender's eyes, it's a huge piece of pie, probably one of the most important ones.

You said your credit history is only 1.5 years, so where did the negatives come from? If that's all you have and already managed to make missteps, then all the arguments are out the window.

If you have longer credit history that has fallen off (I'm kinda leaning that way), same applies.

You want to get some cards and max them for "business", okay. It's not the first time this was mentioned, though it almost always results in tragedy. Hopefully you will be an exception to the rule.

Our members are trying to help you since there seems to be profound misunderstanding on how credit works. They dont have to, but they do.

Be kind to them, do not make assumptions or judgements because you never know when someone will start laying down facts for you without wrapping it in pretty packaging.