topic Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score in Credit Cards

Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DesertLife — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:45:39 GMT

Hey everyone,

I've been working really hard on increasing my financial situation and improving my credit score for a long while now. I never thought to ask for a credit limit increase from my bank though. I've had my AMEX since August 2009 (3 years) and it has a limit of $6,000. Well, after reading the forums on here and taking the sage advice, I called and asked for a credit limit increase......

I waited after they asked for my gross income (before taxes)....

Do I own or rent my home....

Then, do I wish to have them run a credit check... yes...

service rep: "Well, it looks like you have been approved for a limit of $11,000 do you wish to accept this limit or a lower limit?"

me: "I'll take the $11,000 limit!......whoohoo"

I'm not going to go crazy and max out the card (I hope), but I will continue to manage my balance wisely and now it will be easier to keep the balance below 10% at all times!

Any more advice on improving my credit score? I'm trying to get it from 714 to 775 by January. Can I apply for another card with such a recent limit increase? I'm wanting to get an airline miles card because of some upcoming air travel.

Other details:

Mortgage 1: $146,000 Mortgage 2: $15,000

Line of Credit: balance $25 / Limit: $2,000

AMEX: Limit: Owe: $25 / $11,000

Gross Income: $5751/mo Net Income: $4364

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:53:34 GMT

Is AMEX your only credit card? If so, I recommend you go for a couple more credit cards. No problem getting credit card after CLI as AMEX only does soft pull on credit after pulling.

I would recommend you app for 2 (maybe 3 cards) at same time:

1) First think about another AMEX revolver to help maintain your AAoA as you will get backdated 3 years. If there are none that you really like, go for a no AF revolver.

2) Get a VISA/MC. CSP is nice card. It doesn't give miles, but UR points which can be converted to many airline miles. The big thing about CSP card (chase sapphire preferred) is that first year AF is waived and pretty good bonus of 40k UR points if you spend more than 3k in 3 months.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

pizzadude — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:54:30 GMT

@DesertLife wrote:
Hey everyone,

I've been working really hard on increasing my financial situation and improving my credit score for a long while now. I never thought to ask for a credit limit increase from my bank though. I've had my AMEX since August 2009 (3 years) and it has a limit of $6,000. Well, after reading the forums on here and taking the sage advice, I called and asked for a credit limit increase......

I waited after they asked for my gross income (before taxes)....

Do I own or rent my home....

Then, do I wish to have them run a credit check... yes...

service rep: "Well, it looks like you have been approved for a limit of $11,000 do you wish to accept this limit or a lower limit?"

me: "I'll take the $11,000 limit!......whoohoo"

I'm not going to go crazy and max out the card (I hope), but I will continue to manage my balance wisely and now it will be easier to keep the balance below 10% at all times!

Any more advice on improving my credit score? I'm trying to get it from 714 to 775 by January. Can I apply for another card with such a recent limit increase? I'm wanting to get an airline miles card because of some upcoming air travel.

Other details:
Mortgage 1: $146,000 Mortgage 2: $15,000
Line of Credit: balance $25 / Limit: $2,000
AMEX: Limit: Owe: $25 / $11,000
Gross Income: $5751/mo Net Income: $4364

Congrats on the CLI ! AMEX is usually pretty good with CLIs, and it should only be a soft pull on your CR.

How many revolving accounts are on your credit reports now ? FICO scoring usually likes to see 2 or 3 open revolving accounts.

If you do decide to open another CC, you could consider getting another AMEX so that it will backdate to 2009 and will have less of an impact on your AAoA.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DesertLife — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:07:18 GMT

Crashem,

Thanks for the advice. The AMEX is my only card. I have a couple questions as I'm not familiar with the terms. I see that AAoA is average age of accounts. The AMEX I have us a USAA AMEX. Because of this it is not a traditional AMEX where it must be paid in full each month. Does that affect whether or not another AMEX will get backdated 3 years? What is a no AF revolver?

I've been seeing lots of reviews and ++'s for the CSP card. It looks good and I wouldn't ordinarly have a problem spending 3k in three months, as I use my card for all purchases and pay off at the end of the month. I'll take your advice and apply for that one, but I'm going to wait until I've decided on another card (or two) as well. I've heard applying at the same time is helpful to get approved.

Another I thought about is Alaska Airlines credit card. I will be flying 10 round trip flights over 10 weeks on Alaska, all low mileage flights (500 per flight) so the extra 25,000 would be nice bonus points to accumulate. They have three cards though and I'm having trouble understanding if it's worth it to pay a $75 annual fee. Also, I see that you can redeem these points on many other airlines. I wonder if there's a better card through another airline that would offer more bonus points but still be redeemable through Alaska.

Here's the comparison:

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® card	Alaska Airlines Visa® Platinum Plus® card	Alaska Airlines Visa® Preferred card
Earn 25,000 Bonus Miles upon approval†	Earn 5,000 Bonus Miles upon approval†	Earn 3,000 Bonus Miles upon approval†
Receive an annual Companion Fare from $110 (USD) ($99 base fare plus taxes and fees, from $11 depending on your Alaska Airlines flight itinerary).†	Receive a $50 (USD) Discount Code Annually†
Earn 3 miles per qualifying $1 in purchases on Alaska Airlines flights†	Earn 2 miles per qualifying $1 in purchases on Alaska Airlines flights†	Earn 1 mile per qualifying $1 in purchases on Alaska Airlines flights†
Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases†	Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases†	Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases†
Earn up to 5 miles per $1 at partner restaurants†	Earn up to 5 miles per $1 at partner restaurants†	Earn up to 5 miles per $1 at partner restaurants†
$75 annual fee†	$50 annual fee†	$35 annual fee†
No miles expiration on active accounts†	No miles expiration on active accounts†	No miles expiration on active accounts†
Redeem points for travel on more than a dozen airlines	Redeem points for travel on more than a dozen airlines	Redeem points for travel on more than a dozen airlines
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. Receive coverage, at no additional cost, for damage due to collision or theft†
Visa Dining Privileges. Obtain prime-time reservations at fully booked restaurants. During non-peak hours get up to 15-20% off at participating restaurants†
Concierge Service. Get assistance with a wide range of services, including reservation, golf tee times and directions, 24/7†

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

injustifiiable — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:19:07 GMT

You should get in with a AMEX-issued AMEX. Unfortunately, it won't be backdated since the one you have isn't issued by AMEX directly. On the bright side though, any other cards you get from AMEX directly WILL be backdated, and it's more beneficial to get that relationship started sooner rather than later.

With your scores and income, you can probably get any of the ones they offer. BlueCashEveryday is a popular one recommended here. It has no annual fee and it is a revolver.

ETA: CLI's on the revolvers are pretty easy to come by too...you can do CLI's with a SP at 62 days after activation (up to 3x the initial limit) and then additional CLI's every six months up to 25K (without triggering a financial review).

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

SwiftTone — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:13:34 GMT

If it's not an AMEX issued by the Centurian Bank, then it will not be back dated. So USAA CC that is processed on the AMEX network will not be backdated

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DesertLife — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:21:11 GMT

Thanks Pizza Dude,

I think applying for another AMEX makes sense to help with AAoA. I didn't understand it, but now it makes sense. I have one CC and one line of credit. Those are the only two revolving accounts. I was looking at the AMEX BLue Sky Preferred. Anyone have advice on that card or other options in the AMEX line?

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DesertLife — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:26:32 GMT

Thanks Injustifiliable and SwiftTone for the info on the backdating. Oh well, I guess I'll have missed out on that backdating for now, but I think you're right; better to get the relationship started now to be able to utilize AAoA in the future.

The Blue Cash Everyday or Preferred seems like maybe a better deal than the Blue Sky. I mean, I will be flying more often for a few weeks, but in the long term probably not.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

swpopham — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:29:13 GMT

Blue cash preferred is a great card, the chase sapphire preferred is my favorite card, its a metal cc and not plastic. Navy federal cash rewards is great too.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DaveSignal — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:33:37 GMT

I would wait till your next statement so your CLI can post to your reports and then apply for another card. There is good chance the new creditor will give you a higher limit when taking to account your current credit limits.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:34:17 GMT

Desertlife, you have an non AMEX issued AMEX. As such all my advice on AMEX does not apply so ignore it. The USAA Amex is a nice card, but doesn't have the AMEX issued AMEX benefits. This means to you, no backdating and you did take hard pull on Equifax. So if I was you, I would apply for only 2 cards.

1) The more expensive Alaska Card you mention is only worthwhile in one way. The companion ticket is basically unrestricted. So if you bought a discounted first class ticket on Alaska, you would receive another first class ticket on same flight for $99. So if you have expensive airline ticket upcoming on Alaska, this makes the card worthwhile. Otherwise it is just mediocre. Don't be fooled that they say you can get miles on other airlines. It is just referring to the fact that you can use your Alaska miles with their airline partners (not the same thing).

2) CSP is still good deal for you. You get 2 pts on every dollar spent on travel expenses so you would still get 2 miles per dollar even on Alaska flights as well as every other airline, car rental, hotel, etc.

3) App for real AMEX from Amex. My recommendation is not to do Blue Sky. The real superior cards from AMEX is either the Blue Cash Preferred (5% on grocery, 3% on gas/department stores, 1% on everything else) and AF (annual fee) of $75 dollars, but you get $150 dollars back for spending 1k in 3 months. BCE is no AF but lower rewards and only $100 back for 1k in 3 months. The other great AMEX card is Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) card. The main reason the SPG is great is that SPG points is one of the best hotel reward programs out there. One you can use at Starwood hotels, but more importantly you can change SPG points into airline miles with the most airlines I have seen at good conversion rates.

The big thing is 3 cards will help you maximize your FICO over time. However, expect to take a FICO hit for new accounts, new inquiries, and reduced AAoA. This will be offset by FICO gains for having 3 revolving trade lines. Additionally, you will probably have less problems in future with bigger credit products as under manual review, you will not have a "thin" file.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

JusdoNit — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:51:46 GMT

$5k increases always look good. Looking real good.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DesertLife — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:58:15 GMT

DaveSignal,

Thanks for the advice on this. I was kind of stoked from the CLI, so I decided to go for the CSP card and got approved online. They didn't tell me how much or anything, but said the card is coming in the mail in 7-10 days.

I guess my question is now, should I wait on applying for other cards for another month, or go ahead and go for an AMEX now?

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:00:08 GMT

Go for the AMEX now . Good luck

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

injustifiiable — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:00:24 GMT

I'd go ahead and apply now...might as well get all the inquiries over and done with so they could age at the same time.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DesertLife — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:03:31 GMT

Crashem,

Thanks for advice on the Alaska cards, that makes sense. On the website for the Blue Cash Preferred it appears the rewards are: 3% grocery; 2% gas station; 2% dept stores; 1% everything else. I would have preferred the terms you mentione (5% grocery; 3% gas/dept) but still sounds good. The Starwood also looks good. Wow, I don't know which to choose, other than the Blue Cash seems a bit better b/c of cash back on purchases.

I understand that I'll see a hit in the short-term, but do hope this will benefit me in the long term.

Thanks again, this is really helpful.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:08:59 GMT

Sorry Desertlife. You are looking at the no AF Blue Cash Everyday card. There is also a Blue Cash Preferred Card with the higher rewards (my mistake on groceries as it is 6% not 5%) but AF of $75. On the upside you get $150 with BCP and $100 with BCE so really only $25 difference for first year. So if you think reward difference will earn you more than $25 dollars, then worth it.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

DesertLife — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:42:46 GMT

Well I applied for the AMEX online too. They said they'll notify me within 7-10 days if I've been approved. I thought it was instant approval, but guess I was wrong. Anyway, now that the CSP should be on it's way, I'll have to wait and see about the AMEX BCP.

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

SwiftTone — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 02:29:17 GMT

You can call and get the CSP overnighted if you like, free of charge

Re: Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

TNTransplant — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 02:49:02 GMT

@DesertLife wrote:
Well I applied for the AMEX online too. They said they'll notify me within 7-10 days if I've been approved. I thought it was instant approval, but guess I was wrong. Anyway, now that the CSP should be on it's way, I'll have to wait and see about the AMEX BCP.

Don't wait to find out. I got the 7-10 day message also, but you can check online and instantly see if you are approved. Fingers crossed for you...

Amex Approval