topic Amex 25k credit limit question. in Credit Cards

Amex 25k credit limit question.

Techno — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 06:17:27 GMT

So everyone knows that usually amex don't like to give more than 25k without asking for some proof of income.

My income is at 36k, also something that we know is usually lenders dont issue more than 40% of your income on one card.

my progress on blue cash was approved for 1k after first 3x i got it to 3k, 2nd time i got 8.3k(i had 24k income back then).

last time i asked it was for 17.5 and the reason is i have a delta card with them with 7k and didn't wanna go through verification proccess so i asked for a total of 24.5k of credit from amex, suprisingly i was approved even though it's almost half my income.

soon enough i can ask again, and i am probabably gonna request the next increase on the delta and shoot for 21k.

can i ask for 25k on both cards eventually? or is it 25k combined?

also it's a silly question, does the request for proof of income triggers at 25k or anything above it? just so i know if i should ask for 24500 or exactly 25k if i ever increase my blue cash again.

Tried to find an answer to both of my questions on the 3x thread, wasnt able to land on a defentive answer, thanks in advance.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 06:45:32 GMT

Some people claim that 25k on a single card or 34k or so across all accounts is a threshold for increased scrutiny and a higher chance of an FR. We don't have solid evidence indicating this and I doubt Amex has a bright line where FRs are more common. More likely, the higher the extended limits the higher the chance of an FR rather than a specific limit that triggers the FR. Again all of this is just plain speculation and citing one or two examples is insufficient to establish a significant correlation between a specific threshold limit and FRs.

With that said, your limits are exceedingly high for your income. I doubt Amex will extend 50k of credit (25k on 2 cards) with 36k income. Again things like assets might be sufficient to get around the income factor since issuers often take assets into account as well. However, given the normal profile of someone with 36k income, a 50k credit line across two cards with one issuer is not very likely, but it never hurts to try. Even if you do trigger something like an FR, all you have to do is provide thee 4506-T which is not a big deal in my opinion. If you don't want to risk an FR, you might want to hold back on asking for higher limits since the more credit they extend to you the more likely they will eventually FR you.

Disclaimer: No one here likely knows what triggers an FR. Chances are extended credit, suspicious spending (too much for income, potential MS, etc) and such factors increase the chance of an FR. Everything stated here by me is mere speculation and chances are any other posters who purport to give you an answer are also merely speculating.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 06:47:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Some people claim that 25k on a single card or 34k or so across all accounts is a threshold for increased scrutiny and a higher chance of an FR. We don't have solid evidence indicating this and I doubt Amex has a bright line where FRs are more common. More likely, the higher the extended limits the higher the chance of an FR rather than a specific limit that triggers the FR. Again all of this is just plain speculation and citing one or two examples is insufficient to establish a significant correlation between a specific threshold limit and FRs.

With that said, your limits are exceedingly high for your income. I doubt Amex will extend 50k of credit (25k on 2 cards) with 36k income. Again things like assets might be sufficient to get around the income factor since issuers often take assets into account as well. However, given the normal profile of someone with 36k income, a 50k credit line across two cards with one issuer is not very likely, but it never hurts to try. Even if you do trigger something like an FR, all you have to do is provide thee 4506-T which is not a big deal in my opinion. If you don't want to risk an FR, you might want to hold back on asking for higher limits since the more credit they extend to you the more likely they will eventually FR you.

Disclaimer: No one here likely knows what triggers an FR. Chances are extended credit, suspicious spending (too much for income, potential MS, etc) and such factors increase the chance of an FR. Everything stated here by me is mere speculation and chances are any other posters who purport to give you an answer are also merely speculating.

To that end...

If I were to add POT feature to my PRG, Would that effectively lower my internal risk score thus potentially triggering FR?

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Techno — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 08:30:53 GMT

Well, yeah i have a very good report and scores, it might have a big role in me getting 17.5

taking what you are saying i probably should be happy with what i got so far.

but i can still shoot for the 34, or so, even if FR comes, i can either send it or just decline it and keep the same limit.

the reason i dont want an FR is i was unemployed most of last year, so my tax return shows little income, i am trending this year for more than 36k ( i work for vzw and it's a comission based job so it's only an estimate), but that is only going to show on my next return if i keep this job for the rest of the year, so i'd rather avoid it.

next CLI i am thinking i am gonna ask for like 16k on my delta then probably less risky then 25k on the blue

Also, what happends if i do get to more than 25 combined, lets say 16 on delta and 17 on the blue, can i close my delta and move the limit to the blue without an FR?

since i already got approved for that CL.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

takeshi74 — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 14:26:22 GMT

@Techno wrote:
My income is at 36k, also something that we know is usually lenders dont issue more than 40% of your income on one card.

Incorrect. That 40% is for AmEx based on aggregated anecdotal evidence but you'll find those that have qualified for more and those that have qualified for less. My Chase internal limit, for example, was about 70% (found out by bumping into it).

@Techno wrote:

can i ask for 25k on both cards eventually? or is it 25k combined?
also it's a silly question, does the request for proof of income triggers at 25k or anything above it?

Read the 3x CLI guide as it addresses this. The $25K figure is like the 40% figure. It seems to be common but some encounter verification at different points.

@Techno wrote:
Tried to find an answer to both of my questions on the 3x thread, wasnt able to land on a defentive answer, thanks in advance.

Copied and pasted from the 3x CLI Guide:

The following often (but not always) are potential reasons why Amex asks for 4506T for a CLI request.
New requested credit limit exceeds $25,000 for that particular account.
New requested credit limit would make overall credit extended across all Amex revolving accounts exceed $34,500
High internal risk score due to income on file to overall credit across amex and non-amex accounts ratio being too low.
Unusual/large/manufactured/risky spending patterns.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

MyDataMyChoice — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 14:31:43 GMT

As long as you are putting in your verifiable income (taxes) when asking for CLI you should be fine if they FR you.... you didnt lie

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

BarryNTexas — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 14:35:03 GMT

@takeshi74 wrote:
@Techno wrote:
My income is at 36k, also something that we know is usually lenders dont issue more than 40% of your income on one card.
Incorrect. That 40% is for AmEx based on aggregated anecdotal evidence but you'll find those that have qualified for more and those that have qualified for less. My Chase internal limit, for example, was about 70% (found out by bumping into it).

@Techno wrote:

can i ask for 25k on both cards eventually? or is it 25k combined?
also it's a silly question, does the request for proof of income triggers at 25k or anything above it?
Read the 3x CLI guide as it addresses this. The $25K figure is like the 40% figure. It seems to be common but some encounter verification at different points.

@Techno wrote:
Tried to find an answer to both of my questions on the 3x thread, wasnt able to land on a defentive answer, thanks in advance.
Copied and pasted from the 3x CLI Guide:

The following often (but not always) are potential reasons why Amex asks for 4506T for a CLI request.
New requested credit limit exceeds $25,000 for that particular account.
New requested credit limit would make overall credit extended across all Amex revolving accounts exceed $34,500
High internal risk score due to income on file to overall credit across amex and non-amex accounts ratio being too low.
Unusual/large/manufactured/risky spending patterns.

As a data point I did my 181 Day CLI request last week on my Delta and was given the message pertaining expect something in the mail. I asked for the full 45K and my income is 135K.

If they want docs I'll send back in without a problem or I guess it could be a total denial letter coming. Funny thing was there wasn't even a counter offer that many claim will happen in the process.

Keep you all posted.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

baller4life — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 14:59:35 GMT

I asked for and was instantly approved for $25k no problem. Docs can and does get requested at ANY limit. Not just $25k and above. I've seen instant approvals over $30k. It's truly a YMMV kinda thing.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 15:18:42 GMT

@Techno wrote:
So everyone knows that usually amex don't like to give more than 25k without asking for some proof of income.
My income is at 36k, also something that we know is usually lenders dont issue more than 40% of your income on one card.
my progress on blue cash was approved for 1k after first 3x i got it to 3k, 2nd time i got 8.3k(i had 24k income back then).
last time i asked it was for 17.5 and the reason is i have a delta card with them with 7k and didn't wanna go through verification proccess so i asked for a total of 24.5k of credit from amex, suprisingly i was approved even though it's almost half my income.
soon enough i can ask again, and i am probabably gonna request the next increase on the delta and shoot for 21k.
can i ask for 25k on both cards eventually? or is it 25k combined?
also it's a silly question, does the request for proof of income triggers at 25k or anything above it? just so i know if i should ask for 24500 or exactly 25k if i ever increase my blue cash again.

Tried to find an answer to both of my questions on the 3x thread, wasnt able to land on a defentive answer, thanks in advance.

If your Income is 36k, don't you think asking for 25k on both cards eventually is too much? Reverse the roles and assume you are the lender. Would you give an applicant with an Income of 36k a credit limit of 25k each on both cards?

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:43:39 GMT

@baller4life wrote:
I asked for and was instantly approved for $25k no problem. Docs can and does get requested at ANY limit. Not just $25k and above. I've seen instant approvals over $30k. It's truly a YMMV kinda thing.

Yep, all these "rules" (25K, 40% etc) are just induced data points, and there are lots of exceptions. (But it seems easier for people here to just repeat the "rules")

And also a number of replies referenced FRs, whereas the OP was really talking about 4506-T income verification.

The most important differences are that accounts aren't frozen for income verification, and if you don't send in the form nothing bad happens (you just don't get the CLI)

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:46:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Techno wrote:
So everyone knows that usually amex don't like to give more than 25k without asking for some proof of income.
My income is at 36k, also something that we know is usually lenders dont issue more than 40% of your income on one card.
my progress on blue cash was approved for 1k after first 3x i got it to 3k, 2nd time i got 8.3k(i had 24k income back then).
last time i asked it was for 17.5 and the reason is i have a delta card with them with 7k and didn't wanna go through verification proccess so i asked for a total of 24.5k of credit from amex, suprisingly i was approved even though it's almost half my income.
soon enough i can ask again, and i am probabably gonna request the next increase on the delta and shoot for 21k.
can i ask for 25k on both cards eventually? or is it 25k combined?
also it's a silly question, does the request for proof of income triggers at 25k or anything above it? just so i know if i should ask for 24500 or exactly 25k if i ever increase my blue cash again.

Tried to find an answer to both of my questions on the 3x thread, wasnt able to land on a defentive answer, thanks in advance.
If your Income is 36k, don't you think asking for 25k on both cards eventually is too much? Reverse the roles and assume you are the lender. Would you give an applicant with an Income of 36k a credit limit of 25k each on both cards?

Many people have a much higher CL/Income ratio (of course OP may have other cards) so this is certainly not out of the question. Even with a CL, the issuer can reject any particular transaction, so the risk isn't huge.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Techno — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 17:02:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Techno wrote:
So everyone knows that usually amex don't like to give more than 25k without asking for some proof of income.
My income is at 36k, also something that we know is usually lenders dont issue more than 40% of your income on one card.
my progress on blue cash was approved for 1k after first 3x i got it to 3k, 2nd time i got 8.3k(i had 24k income back then).
last time i asked it was for 17.5 and the reason is i have a delta card with them with 7k and didn't wanna go through verification proccess so i asked for a total of 24.5k of credit from amex, suprisingly i was approved even though it's almost half my income.
soon enough i can ask again, and i am probabably gonna request the next increase on the delta and shoot for 21k.
can i ask for 25k on both cards eventually? or is it 25k combined?
also it's a silly question, does the request for proof of income triggers at 25k or anything above it? just so i know if i should ask for 24500 or exactly 25k if i ever increase my blue cash again.

Tried to find an answer to both of my questions on the 3x thread, wasnt able to land on a defentive answer, thanks in advance.
If your Income is 36k, don't you think asking for 25k on both cards eventually is too much? Reverse the roles and assume you are the lender. Would you give an applicant with an Income of 36k a credit limit of 25k each on both cards?

Both cards well yeah, no way i would give that. 34k maybe. i have same limits from other lenders and amex is known to be able to give higher limits as they are credit-card only issuer. with chase for example i would not expect 25k on any of my cards, even though i have 25k in their savings account, it's just they way they are.

since it doesn't cost me anything i still think i would try and opt for the 34.5k, if i get declined so be it

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 18:42:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Some people claim that 25k on a single card or 34k or so across all accounts is a threshold for increased scrutiny and a higher chance of an FR. We don't have solid evidence indicating this and I doubt Amex has a bright line where FRs are more common. More likely, the higher the extended limits the higher the chance of an FR rather than a specific limit that triggers the FR. Again all of this is just plain speculation and citing one or two examples is insufficient to establish a significant correlation between a specific threshold limit and FRs.

With that said, your limits are exceedingly high for your income. I doubt Amex will extend 50k of credit (25k on 2 cards) with 36k income. Again things like assets might be sufficient to get around the income factor since issuers often take assets into account as well. However, given the normal profile of someone with 36k income, a 50k credit line across two cards with one issuer is not very likely, but it never hurts to try. Even if you do trigger something like an FR, all you have to do is provide thee 4506-T which is not a big deal in my opinion. If you don't want to risk an FR, you might want to hold back on asking for higher limits since the more credit they extend to you the more likely they will eventually FR you.

Disclaimer: No one here likely knows what triggers an FR. Chances are extended credit, suspicious spending (too much for income, potential MS, etc) and such factors increase the chance of an FR. Everything stated here by me is mere speculation and chances are any other posters who purport to give you an answer are also merely speculating.

My understanding is that the income verification process from requesting a CLI is NOT an FR. If you decide not to provide the 4506-T within two weeks, they just cancel the CLI request and it turns into a denial. This is under the assumption that your accounts are in good standing and you're not doing anything questionable. FR gets blown up on these forums, but it's just because it's a forum for credit card related topics. In reality, the chances of FR are very low and you normally wouldn't get reviewed for requesting more credit. If you do, there's probably something else giong on.

Just wanted to clear the air that the 4506-T from CLI requests is not necessarily an FR.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

taxi818 — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 20:49:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Some people claim that 25k on a single card or 34k or so across all accounts is a threshold for increased scrutiny and a higher chance of an FR. We don't have solid evidence indicating this and I doubt Amex has a bright line where FRs are more common. More likely, the higher the extended limits the higher the chance of an FR rather than a specific limit that triggers the FR. Again all of this is just plain speculation and citing one or two examples is insufficient to establish a significant correlation between a specific threshold limit and FRs.

With that said, your limits are exceedingly high for your income. I doubt Amex will extend 50k of credit (25k on 2 cards) with 36k income. Again things like assets might be sufficient to get around the income factor since issuers often take assets into account as well. However, given the normal profile of someone with 36k income, a 50k credit line across two cards with one issuer is not very likely, but it never hurts to try. Even if you do trigger something like an FR, all you have to do is provide thee 4506-T which is not a big deal in my opinion. If you don't want to risk an FR, you might want to hold back on asking for higher limits since the more credit they extend to you the more likely they will eventually FR you.

Disclaimer: No one here likely knows what triggers an FR. Chances are extended credit, suspicious spending (too much for income, potential MS, etc) and such factors increase the chance of an FR. Everything stated here by me is mere speculation and chances are any other posters who purport to give you an answer are also merely speculating.
To that end...

If I were to add POT feature to my PRG, Would that effectively lower my internal risk score thus potentially triggering FR?

How are you actually gonna add that? It's not like optional. Either they offer it or they don't. You don't get the option.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 20:59:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Some people claim that 25k on a single card or 34k or so across all accounts is a threshold for increased scrutiny and a higher chance of an FR. We don't have solid evidence indicating this and I doubt Amex has a bright line where FRs are more common. More likely, the higher the extended limits the higher the chance of an FR rather than a specific limit that triggers the FR. Again all of this is just plain speculation and citing one or two examples is insufficient to establish a significant correlation between a specific threshold limit and FRs.

With that said, your limits are exceedingly high for your income. I doubt Amex will extend 50k of credit (25k on 2 cards) with 36k income. Again things like assets might be sufficient to get around the income factor since issuers often take assets into account as well. However, given the normal profile of someone with 36k income, a 50k credit line across two cards with one issuer is not very likely, but it never hurts to try. Even if you do trigger something like an FR, all you have to do is provide thee 4506-T which is not a big deal in my opinion. If you don't want to risk an FR, you might want to hold back on asking for higher limits since the more credit they extend to you the more likely they will eventually FR you.

Disclaimer: No one here likely knows what triggers an FR. Chances are extended credit, suspicious spending (too much for income, potential MS, etc) and such factors increase the chance of an FR. Everything stated here by me is mere speculation and chances are any other posters who purport to give you an answer are also merely speculating.
My understanding is that the income verification process from requesting a CLI is NOT an FR. If you decide not to provide the 4506-T within two weeks, they just cancel the CLI request and it turns into a denial. This is under the assumption that your accounts are in good standing and you're not doing anything questionable. FR gets blown up on these forums, but it's just because it's a forum for credit card related topics. In reality, the chances of FR are very low and you normally wouldn't get reviewed for requesting more credit. If you do, there's probably something else giong on.

Just wanted to clear the air that the 4506-T from CLI requests is not necessarily an FR.

You are correct. However, having a higher credit line likely increases the chance of an FR. While we don't have the data to say FR chances spike at specific credit limits, we can probably make a general statement that the higher your credit line the higher the chance of an FR. If you actively pursue CLIs, you probably have a higher chance of an FR somewhere down the road.

With that said, I don't see why people are so worried about FRs. I have had numerous Amex cards with a few still open (churned Amex cards). I have never been FR'd, and if I was, I would have no problem going through the 4506-T process.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

racer-x — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 01:35:46 GMT

I'm 2mos late on my 6 mo CLI after my 61 day 3X CLI, that netted me $5k on my $10.1k BCP, at $15.1k now. I think I only asked for $20k instead of $30k.

The last SP 8 days ago from AMEX on EX shows a 717 on 08 model and a 723 on the bankcard model.

Those scores are higher than when I lst got the card and when I got the 61 day CLI.

I wanna try for a CLI, but am scared as hell because of the AA I had last month. Reports are in order now. What to do what to do.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

hot4u — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 03:01:21 GMT

All the Hype on FR for total limts over $34,000

Not true Have $37,500 without any Docs..

Just use your card and be patient.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

RENATO1 — Fri, 08 May 2015 00:06:51 GMT

You're right. I got $30,000 without providing any documentation. I have been with AMEX for 8 years. I just ask for more every year. I never missed a payment.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

kdm31091 — Fri, 08 May 2015 00:13:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@baller4life wrote:
I asked for and was instantly approved for $25k no problem. Docs can and does get requested at ANY limit. Not just $25k and above. I've seen instant approvals over $30k. It's truly a YMMV kinda thing.
Yep, all these "rules" (25K, 40% etc) are just induced data points, and there are lots of exceptions. (But it seems easier for people here to just repeat the "rules")
And also a number of replies referenced FRs, whereas the OP was really talking about 4506-T income verification.

The most important differences are that accounts aren't frozen for income verification, and if you don't send in the form nothing bad happens (you just don't get the CLI)

Exactly.

The "rules" are merely anecdotal evidence gleaned from here. You also have to keep in mind this forum represents a tiny chunk of cardholders. It is not a good idea to draw hard and fast conclusions based on a forum simply because the sample size is pretty small.

Sure, the 25k thing has some basis in fact, or at least to the point where it has happened to some people. But we don't know everyone's full story and every factor that went into it. Most people don't spell out every detail of their file, and everything does come into play with limits and CLIs. The point is not to assume anything.

Re: Amex 25k credit limit question.

Anonymous — Fri, 08 May 2015 00:37:42 GMT

I've been through a full fr and recently went through a more minor verification to get a third Amex card. My theory on fr triggers is this.

I think the number one reason to get one is high spending. It seems if things worry Amex but the member is not a high spender a cld is more possible. Over my tenure with Amex if things went south they generally just did a cld. The fr seemed to come about when I either tried to spend large amounts or charged too much on a new card. Also seems like credit increase requests usually come with send us documents or no increase and rarely a fr over a credit request.

Maybe not the only factor and there are exceptions but a full fr seems to be mainly tied to either high spending or crazy spending like gift cards etc.

Either way it seems that if a customer doesn't abuse spending a fr will he unlikely.