topic Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull? in Credit Card Applications

NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

ThomasJNewton — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 15:35:23 GMT

Yesterday I asked Navy Federal to reduce the interest rate on my card and had it lowered from 18% to 14%, what their representative said was their lowest rate. While I have not paid interest in over 6 months, I figured that it would be better to as now than at some point in the future when I was paying interest (not in my plan, but just in case. :-)

I also asked if credit line increase requests were a hard or soft pull, and was told if requested by me it was a hard pull, while if done by them it would be a soft pull. I have read some posts that seem to say doing a request through the App/Web page is a soft pull while a call is a hard pull.

Which is correct? Can I safely request a credit line increase through the app without incurring a hard pull? My current Equifax (via the NFCU app) is 786, while on Experian I am at 793. I have used the card quite a bit, but have not run a balance (as I mentioned before).

Current limit is $25,000 (my starting limit from 8+ years ago), and I would like to ask for a 20% increase (to $30,000). Is that a reasonable request?

Last data point: I tried their pre-qualify tool and was told I pre-qualified for all of their cards.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

Creditwiser — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 15:44:28 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
Yesterday I asked Navy Federal to reduce the interest rate on my card and had it lowered from 18% to 14%, what their representative said was their lowest rate. While I have not paid interest in over 6 months, I figured that it would be better to as now than at some point in the future when I was paying interest (not in my plan, but just in case. :-)

I also asked if credit line increase requests were a hard or soft pull, and was told if requested by me it was a hard pull, while if done by them it would be a soft pull. I have read some posts that seem to say doing a request through the App/Web page is a soft pull while a call is a hard pull.

Which is correct? Can I safely request a credit line increase through the app without incurring a hard pull? My current Equifax (via the NFCU app) is 786, while on Experian I am at 793. I have used the card quite a bit, but have not run a balance (as I mentioned before).

Current limit is $25,000 (my starting limit from 8+ years ago), and I would like to ask for a 20% increase (to $30,000). Is that a reasonable request?

Last data point: I tried their pre-qualify tool and was told I pre-qualified for all of their cards.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

CLI's done via online or app are typically SP. Years ago my CRwds Visa SL was 1k. I'm at 25k and each increase was a SP via online and /or app. As i just learned yesterday, if you're interested in another card as well, app for it first, then request the CLI on existing card via app or online.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

ThomasJNewton — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 16:23:46 GMT

@Creditwiser wrote:

CLI's done via online or app are typically SP. Years ago my CRwds Visa SL was 1k. I'm at 25k and each increase was a SP via online and /or app. As i just learned yesterday, if you're interested in another card as well, app for it first, then request the CLI on existing card via app or online.

Thanks! Requested a $5,000 limit increase via the app. Was told it was under review. Now I wait and see.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

Creditwiser — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 16:51:45 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@Creditwiser wrote:

CLI's done via online or app are typically SP. Years ago my CRwds Visa SL was 1k. I'm at 25k and each increase was a SP via online and /or app. As i just learned yesterday, if you're interested in another card as well, app for it first, then request the CLI on existing card via app or online.
Thanks! Requested a $5,000 limit increase via the app. Was told it was under review. Now I wait and see.

Normal to be under review at those amounts. They may counter with a lower CLI but of course it can go either way. I find Navy to be a bit slow with their CLI reviews. My guess is Monday / Tues at best. Good luck !

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

FireMedic1 — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 17:52:16 GMT

Mine have always been SP's. Takes a day or two. But I'm not into getting 20, 30 40 grand credit lines. No use for them.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

ThomasJNewton — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 19:26:35 GMT

@FireMedic1 wrote:
Mine have always been SP's. Takes a day or two. But I'm not into getting 20, 30 40 grand credit lines. No use for them.

I have no inquiries in the last 2 years, so it is not a hardship either way, but it would be nice to get the increase. I do not really need it, would bring my total utilization down (although I still do not really understand the relationship between balances on cards for which I am an authorized user and balances on my own card). Currently I have no balance on that card (my only card of my own $25,000), no balance on my BF's Apple Card ($8,500 limit), and $4,116 on my friend's Chase Sapphire Preferred (I am an authorized user for rental car primary insurance, $5,100 limit).

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

Adkins — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 07:28:09 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@Creditwiser wrote:

CLI's done via online or app are typically SP. Years ago my CRwds Visa SL was 1k. I'm at 25k and each increase was a SP via online and /or app. As i just learned yesterday, if you're interested in another card as well, app for it first, then request the CLI on existing card via app or online.
Thanks! Requested a $5,000 limit increase via the app. Was told it was under review. Now I wait and see.

Next time, I recommend requesting $10K or higher. The current CLI maximum seems to be $8K at the moment. If they won't give you the whole $8K CLI, they'll give you the maximum you can have and tell you that you've reached their maximum internal limit. At least that way you won't be leaving any CLI $$$ on the table.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

OmarGB9 — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 07:32:03 GMT

SP when done via app or website. The rep is right in a way because if you ask for a CLI via phone with them, it *does* seem to trigger a HP.

ETA: The prequal tool is useless/unreliable. Don't bother using it to gauge approval odds of anything.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

ThomasJNewton — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 01:06:12 GMT

@Adkins wrote:
Next time, I recommend requesting $10K or higher. The current CLI maximum seems to be $8K at the moment. If they won't give you the whole $8K CLI, they'll give you the maximum you can have and tell you that you've reached their maximum internal limit. At least that way you won't be leaving any CLI $$$ on the table.

Thanks for the information. Given that they decided to review my 20% increase, I am not so sure they would not just have rejected a 40% outright. For the last few months I have spent well over $15,000 a month, but have not run into my limit yet, so I was not really sure I could justify a larger increase anyway. Also, in the period before I stopped paying interest, I had run a large balance for several years (with periods when I would zero it). This is by far the longest I have kept the card balance-less, but they may not really trust me yet. :-D

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

ThomasJNewton — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 01:17:55 GMT

@OmarGB9 wrote:
SP when done via app or website. The rep is right in a way because if you ask for a CLI via phone with them, it *does* seem to trigger a HP.

That fits.

ETA: The prequal tool is useless/unreliable. Don't bother using it to gauge approval odds of anything.

Good to know. I am not really looking for another card from them, at least not for a while. I am interested in only a few other cards (in no real order):

Apple Card
Capital One Venture X
Chase Sapphire Reserve
United Quest

If/when I get those, I might look around at some of the others:

Alliant Visa Signature
PenFed PowerCash Rewards
NASA FCU Star Trek Card
State Department FCU Premium CashBack+
UN FCU Visa Signature

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

Shooting-For-800 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 02:45:55 GMT

My CLIs have all been SPs online.

I am up to $74k between 3 cards.

GL!

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

OmarGB9 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 05:27:17 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@Adkins wrote:
Next time, I recommend requesting $10K or higher. The current CLI maximum seems to be $8K at the moment. If they won't give you the whole $8K CLI, they'll give you the maximum you can have and tell you that you've reached their maximum internal limit. At least that way you won't be leaving any CLI $$$ on the table.
Thanks for the information. Given that they decided to review my 20% increase, I am not so sure they would not just have rejected a 40% outright. For the last few months I have spent well over $15,000 a month, but have not run into my limit yet, so I was not really sure I could justify a larger increase anyway. Also, in the period before I stopped paying interest, I had run a large balance for several years (with periods when I would zero it). This is by far the longest I have kept the card balance-less, but they may not really trust me yet. :-D

If you ask for "too much," they'll simply counter and only increase you by whatever they feel comfortable with (if they feel you qualify for any increase at all). In other words, it's not all or nothing. It's profile-based.

BTW, the max they'll approve you for on a single CLI is $8k right now.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

Adkins — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 06:53:22 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@Adkins wrote:
Next time, I recommend requesting $10K or higher. The current CLI maximum seems to be $8K at the moment. If they won't give you the whole $8K CLI, they'll give you the maximum you can have and tell you that you've reached their maximum internal limit. At least that way you won't be leaving any CLI $$$ on the table.
Thanks for the information. Given that they decided to review my 20% increase, I am not so sure they would not just have rejected a 40% outright. For the last few months I have spent well over $15,000 a month, but have not run into my limit yet, so I was not really sure I could justify a larger increase anyway. Also, in the period before I stopped paying interest, I had run a large balance for several years (with periods when I would zero it). This is by far the longest I have kept the card balance-less, but they may not really trust me yet. :-D

A good chunk of CLI requests go to review, so it's not something to be concerned about. Even if you ask for too much, they won't deny your CLI request outright, they'll just give you what they are comfortable with. Either way, good luck and I hope you get your CLI!

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

Anonymalous — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 17:17:28 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@Adkins wrote:
Next time, I recommend requesting $10K or higher. The current CLI maximum seems to be $8K at the moment. If they won't give you the whole $8K CLI, they'll give you the maximum you can have and tell you that you've reached their maximum internal limit. At least that way you won't be leaving any CLI $$$ on the table.
Thanks for the information. Given that they decided to review my 20% increase, I am not so sure they would not just have rejected a 40% outright. For the last few months I have spent well over $15,000 a month, but have not run into my limit yet, so I was not really sure I could justify a larger increase anyway. Also, in the period before I stopped paying interest, I had run a large balance for several years (with periods when I would zero it). This is by far the longest I have kept the card balance-less, but they may not really trust me yet. :-D

Navy isn't Cap1. They don't require high spend before they give out high CLs. There's a good chance you could bump your card to twice that limit with a fraction of that spend. They seem to care more about the relationship stuff. They also don't seem to care how much you ask for, they'll just counter with whatever they're comfortable with. You can ask for a CLI every 6 months, and an APR reduction every year. The current cap seems to be +$8K per CLI, up to $50K max for most of their cards or $80K for the Flagship, and a total of $80K across all your cards. Of course, they won't give that to everyone. A good way to test if you're at your personal cap is to ask for $8K, and if they give less, that means you've reached the maximum credit they're willing to extend to you. For instance, last time I asked for a CLI on my More Rewards, I asked for +$8K, and (to my surprise), they gave me the full $8K. Clearly, I haven't reached my cap, and I could ask for more. But I haven't bothered, because it's already more credit than I need. I did my CLIs using the app, and my APR reduction using secure messages, and they were all soft pulls.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

ThomasJNewton — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 17:50:18 GMT

@Creditwiser wrote:
Normal to be under review at those amounts. They may counter with a lower CLI but of course it can go either way. I find Navy to be a bit slow with their CLI reviews. My guess is Monday / Tues at best. Good luck !

Have not seen a message from them, but now have a $30,000.00 limit, meaning I am now under 9% even before the credit posts my friend's Chase Sapphire (it should report at $3,314.00 out of $5,100.00 getting that card to under 65% - not great but moving in the right direction).

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

butterpecan — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 19:49:04 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@Creditwiser wrote:
Normal to be under review at those amounts. They may counter with a lower CLI but of course it can go either way. I find Navy to be a bit slow with their CLI reviews. My guess is Monday / Tues at best. Good luck !
Have not seen a message from them, but now have a $30,000.00 limit, meaning I am now under 9% even before the credit posts my friend's Chase Sapphire (it should report at $3,314.00 out of $5,100.00 getting that card to under 65% - not great but moving in the right direction).

So do the AU account limits count as part of your real UTI?

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

OmarGB9 — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 22:13:55 GMT

@butterpecan wrote:
@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@Creditwiser wrote:
Normal to be under review at those amounts. They may counter with a lower CLI but of course it can go either way. I find Navy to be a bit slow with their CLI reviews. My guess is Monday / Tues at best. Good luck !
Have not seen a message from them, but now have a $30,000.00 limit, meaning I am now under 9% even before the credit posts my friend's Chase Sapphire (it should report at $3,314.00 out of $5,100.00 getting that card to under 65% - not great but moving in the right direction).
So do the AU account limits count as part of your real UTI?

There's two separate UTI calculations, so yes. It counts for both aggregate utilization and AU utilization.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

butterpecan — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 23:16:35 GMT

There's two separate UTI calculations, so yes. It counts for both aggregate utilization and AU utilization.

@OmarGB9 Thanks, I am a pretty new MF member just researching and I'm trying to decide if I should be added as an AU or not.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

PayAndProsper — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 05:06:24 GMT

Just remember to keep in mind, that when in doubt, you can always freeze your CRs before pulling the trigger on a request. If it is a HP they will have to ask you to remove it in order to proceed. It will never hurt you to go for a CLI that way.

Re: NFCU Credit Line Increase Soft or Hard Pull?

JMD2 — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 19:51:50 GMT

Hi, were you able to confirm that you got the CLI without a HP? I want to be sure that if I do it via the app it will be a SP. Thanks.