topic Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button? in Credit Cards

Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 17:24:31 GMT

Amazon Prime Store card with toy limit of $400. Instant approval on Amazon's site, but $400 is useless since the only things I buy on Amazon are usually in the $4000 and up range. The only option I guess would be for me to buy Amazon gift cards ($400) and then PIF and repeat -- not sure if Synch will even allow me to do that!

Since my TU is at 689 today (Fico 08) I wanted to require a CLI but there's no luv button at all, and the chat says unavailable. Pretty weird.

Does anyone know if this is normal for a new account? I've had three statements so far (June 01, July 02, August 02) and expect the 4th statement Sept 02 or so.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

JimBo99 — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 17:55:06 GMT

It took 3 statements before the Luv button showed up. But, the chat was always there. I would call the overseas number (877- 379- 8173), always have good luck with it, the lasy is always friendly enough.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 18:01:57 GMT

Thanks! I definitely had 3 statements cut, but the first statement cut immediately upon getting the card so maybe that one doesn't count.

I'll wait until the 4th statement cuts and if it doesn't show up I will call them if chat doesn't appear. I have a $6000 electronic item I want to buy and get 5% back on, but I would prefer not to play games with buying gift cards and paying it off 15+ times to get there, haha.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 18:05:09 GMT

Just as a FYI, Chat always comes and goes for me, I am guessing it depends upon how busy it is. As for a CLI, the button came up for me on my 2nd statement, but declined me when I asked. I then went via chat and got a $5k increase.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 18:08:15 GMT

Yeah I never looked before if chat or luv button were there. Just realized my $400 toy limit is ridiculous and I have the income to back up a way higher limit.

Going to just sit and wait 2 weeks for the next statement to cut and then see what happens. If I have to call in, that's fine. Maybe with luck my TU will go above 700 in a month.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 18:18:05 GMT

Update, lol -- thanks to @smc4getnot for letting me know the chat button reappears randomly. I logged out and back in and the chat button DID appear. So I said what the heck, I'll ask for $5000.

He asked for my income (I always low ball it by $50,000) and instant approval for $5000. Logged out and back in and there it is:

Still no LUV button. I will make a $5000 purchase in September for sure, PIF and then try to figure out when to ask for more.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 18:29:32 GMT

See, now that's a pretty fantastic limit for Amazon!! Can I get a woot woot

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 18:31:33 GMT

Wish I asked for $6k as one of the things I want to buy before February is $6499 hahaha. Although I hear you can ask for a CLI every 4 months + 1 day at synch -- not sure if that's still true but I put in December 16th as my next request date anyway. Doesn't hurt to plan ahead of time and I have a "cash flow" spreadsheet I use to estimate my cash flow for the next 24 months, and I always put CLI requests in future months on the date I should request it.

I also put in future credit cards apps based on my estimate AAoA in the future and how a new account will affect AAoA. Really helpful for planning and also keeps my spend below my checking balance any given day.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

VipreArmed — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 20:30:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Wish I asked for $6k as one of the things I want to buy before February is $6499 hahaha. Although I hear you can ask for a CLI every 4 months + 1 day at synch -- not sure if that's still true but I put in December 16th as my next request date anyway. Doesn't hurt to plan ahead of time and I have a "cash flow" spreadsheet I use to estimate my cash flow for the next 24 months, and I always put CLI requests in future months on the date I should request it.

I also put in future credit cards apps based on my estimate AAoA in the future and how a new account will affect AAoA. Really helpful for planning and also keeps my spend below my checking balance any given day.

I've had my Walmart card for only 3 months and have asked for a CLI monthly and been approved. Not to encourage you to keep pushing for a CLI but Synch definitely doesn't have a 4 month wait policy though I do hear they keep reports on CLI requests.

Congrats though. The Amazon Prime Store card is on my list post-garden for the same reasons.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 21:01:26 GMT

I'm a weird Amazon shopper. I never find deals there that I can't beat in person elsewhere on most products. But a few times a year they will have something major that's cheaper than anywhere else. Sometimes it's an open box item, other times it's a third party vendor selling. Always items over $3000. I have bought a few things with my $400 toy limit but not much

My other toy limit is Comment Williams Sonoma store card. Also $400. WS is crazy overpriced but they do price match and 5% in rewards means I'll find a deal every few months. They refuse me CLI and gave me two hard inquiries trying both Robolady and on the luv button. Won't use them anymore with the toy limit. Recently wanted a $5500 item they had but bought it elsewhere for 7% less after looking for a few weeks. Two inqs for $0 CLI means permanent sock drawer other than $4 item in store to show activity.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

VipreArmed — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 21:09:23 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm a weird Amazon shopper. I never find deals there that I can't beat in person elsewhere on most products. But a few times a year they will have something major that's cheaper than anywhere else. Sometimes it's an open box item, other times it's a third party vendor selling. Always items over $3000. I have bought a few things with my $400 toy limit but not much

My other toy limit is Comment Williams Sonoma store card. Also $400. WS is crazy overpriced but they do price match and 5% in rewards means I'll find a deal every few months. They refuse me CLI and gave me two hard inquiries trying both Robolady and on the luv button. Won't use them anymore with the toy limit. Recently wanted a $5500 item they had but bought it elsewhere for 7% less after looking for a few weeks. Two inqs for $0 CLI means permanent sock drawer other than $4 item in store to show activity.

LOL. I understand. I have signed up for a few discount sites like FatWallet and FatKidDeals and they always have these great deals on things I want that happen to be on Amazon. It would be nice if I had the Amazon card instead of paying with other methods but I'm still trying to avoid leaving the garden.

I thought about the WS card just because it was a Visa but everything was way too high for my liking. I'm still a newbie to rebuilding credit so when I went on my spree I was tempted to apply for everything I could but luckily I followed the advice of people on this forum and just stuck with the places I know I'll shop at.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 21:13:25 GMT

Congrats on your increase. Yeah the $400 was low but remember, their limits and increases are more based on your rising TU score than your income. Lol, with all the high income earners here, if it was only based on that people would be sporting 30-40k amazon accounts lol.

With a 689, a 5- 6k limit is the norm. Once you start getting 700 and higher, the limits will get better. We have the exact opposite problems, a nirmal purchase for me would be $40 or less haha. The abcs of my economy

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

DeeBee78 — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 03:20:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
See, now that's a pretty fantastic limit for Amazon!! Can I get a woot woot

My amazon PLCC has been at $5K for almost 2 years now, despite a huge improvement in my scores. Online CLI request always results in a no, and the couple of times I've talked to chat as well. The reason always given is not enough experience with current limit, despite me running the balance up to $4,700 and paying it down.

I see people with 12-15K limits in here sometimes, which would give you room for a large purchase, plus 6 months, without high utilization. Chances are I'll just end up closing the card because as I get wiser about my finances, I find myself needing 0% less often. I guess if I absolutely needed to, I could use my blispay to speak the payments out.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 03:26:23 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Congrats on your increase. Yeah the $400 was low but remember, their limits and increases are more based on your rising TU score than your income. Lol, with all the high income earners here, if it was only based on that people would be sporting 30-40k amazon accounts lol.

With a 689, a 5- 6k limit is the norm. Once you start getting 700 and higher, the limits will get better. We have the exact opposite problems, a nirmal purchase for me would be $40 or less haha. The abcs of my economy

Oh yeah the $400 was fine, I knew they'd raise it eventually and once my score jumped so much over just 3 statements I guess $5000 is better than being stuck at $400!

Most of the high ticket items I buy (including my house!) I also rent out to people who need to use it but can't afford it. For example, I could have bought a nice $1000 DSLR which I would use maybe 10-15 times a year, or I could buy a $10,000 pro level camera which I can rent out to wedding photographers I know who are already paying $300 per weekend. Since wedding season is about 20 weeks here, I could earn back the difference between the two cameras in a few years (in fact, I earned it back that first year and kept the camera basically free).

I am extremely thrifty with things in the normal price range. I never see any great deals at Amazon (or most online sites) except for holiday sales and the very, very rare open box or whatever. I always look. If I want something, I'm also willing to wait for a year or longer to get it if I can find a better value.

I know of 3 things I'll buy on Amazon in the next 6-9 months, all are 4 figure items, all I know I can rent immediately on receiving them -- and Amazon happens to be the cheapest (plus the 5% rewards makes it even better). I was planning on paying with my 1.5% card (gift card purchases) but this now gives me a lot of wiggle room -- still not enough for the biggest buys but it'll get there in time.

Amazon, like almost all businesses, pull a lot of advertising gimmicks to get people to buy there, but 19/20 times, I find better values locally just negotiating a bit. Recently bought a gift for someone (they told me what to buy and said Amazon was the cheapest) for almost 15% cheaper just going into a local store and telling them I'm paying cash if they're willing to budge a bit on the price. They budged more than I had expected!

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 03:29:21 GMT

@DeeBee78 wrote:

My amazon PLCC has been at $5K for almost 2 years now, despite a huge improvement in my scores. Online CLI request always results in a no, and the couple of times I've talked to chat as well. The reason always given is not enough experience with current limit, despite me running the balance up to $4,700 and paying it down.
I see people with 12-15K limits in here sometimes, which would give you room for a large purchase, plus 6 months, without high utilization. Chances are I'll just end up closing the card because as I get wiser about my finances, I find myself needing 0% less often. I guess if I absolutely needed to, I could use my blispay to speak the payments out.

Wow, $15K would be perfect! I never carry a balance -- I'd rather get 5% rewards today than 0% over 3 months. I never buy something on credit I can't pay off tomorrow -- I blew my FICO scores many years ago in an ugly divorce, and then again in an ugly business failure. I don't ever want to go through rehabbing a third time, it's exhausting, frustrating, and a waste of money and time. Every time I'm about to charge something to a credit card, I go into my online banking and transfer the amount from main checking to my payment account checking so that way I am never freaking out come statement cut.

For those who do need or like 0% financing, the Amazon card is fantastic! Also, "Pay with Amazon" now works with a bunch of other online stores and even some restaurants in person, and I believe the 0% financing offer is granted there, too. That's a pretty nice feature. Not sure if "Pay with Amazon" would offer 5% cash back, so I can see the 0% being a freebie bonus.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 05:29:28 GMT

@ABC, just my data points for what it's worth. I have received CLI's twice with the Amazon store card, one at 60 days and the next at four months. I started at $1800>$2600>$6000. I have asked for the CLI both times through chat.

You should be in great shape for your purchase and congrats on the nice CLI!

Chapter 7: Discharged November 2015
Total Revolving Credit Lines 1 month post discharge: $2600, no secured loans
Total Revolving Credit Lines 1 Year post discharge (Nov. '16): $86K, Total with installment loans: $174K
Total Revolving Credit Lines 21 months post discharge (Aug '17): $184K, Total with installment loans: $326K
11/15 Fico 8: EQ-585, TU-550, EX- 551
01/17 Fico 8: EQ-695, TU-703, EX-673
08/17 Fico 8: EQ-693, TU-696, EX-682
Inquires: Next subject please

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

UncleB — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 20:13:10 GMT

Congrats on the CLI, @Anonymous!

Just a reminder that calling the Credit Solutions number provided earlier isn't the same as using chat (or calling the number on the back of the card); there's no required minimum time between request with Credit Solutions (i.e. no four month wait). People have even called them for a CLI, realized they should have asked for more, then called back in the same day and received another CLI (I probably woudn't recommend that; I'm just providing the data point).

Of course the results will always be YMMV, but it's a painless call and if you're needing a significant bump on a Synch card they can't be beat. Edited to add: Remember to aim high, since they will counter-offer.

Side note: You might already be aware of this, but it would be irresponsible of me not to at least mention the Synchrony blue envelope possibility for others reading who might not otherwise be aware. I'll add that I don't think you have anything to worry about, and it's been a while since I've read of somebody getting one anyway.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 20:30:28 GMT

Thanks for the data point! That's good to know. I'm not in a rush to use my CL since I wasn't expecting it so wasn't putting cash aside to cover it. Plus I kinda want to wait until Black Friday or a monthly double-cashback deal happens. I bought some musical instruments this summer when cashback was 10% instead of 5% and they were sitting and waiting in my cart for months, haha. Only $200 but still...

I did also notice that the Amazon Store card is also usable at (some?) Amazon Pay merchants -- and there are thousands of them out there! Was surprised to see that.

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

trant3 — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 13:01:13 GMT

Congrats. What items do you buy that are $4k+ only?

Re: Amazon Prime Store Card: No chat, no luv button?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 13:57:37 GMT

One of my income sources is to turn things I actually use into items I can rent to friends and neighbors.

Fir example, a $1500 camcorder is amazing quality today, but a $6000 one can rent for $400 a day.

I found many items on Amazon under $2000 might be cheaper to source from vendors I can negotiate with. But around that price range Amazon actually gets cheaper on some things. Not everything, some high ticket items sold online can still be bought cheaper just by contacting a sales person. Amazon doesn't really have sales people to contact.