topic Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice in Credit Cards

Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 21:36:37 GMT

Hey,

So I've had a Chase Freedom for almost 7 months now. When I applied, I was approved for a $1000 limit. After 3 months, I logged in to my Chase online account and noticed they gave me a $300 increase to $1300. I've been paying my balance off on time and in full every month.

I got approved for the American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card with a $2000 limit and Citi Diamond Preferred for $4500 around the same time I applied for the Freedom. I have since doubled the BCE to $4000 and just recently received a $1300 increase to $5800 to the Citi DP.

All my other cards have limits of at least $4000 or more and the Freedom is my lowest limit card. I would love to use the Freedom more but I can't due to the low limit and I'm trying to get and keep my utilization below 10%. I've read that if I just spend more on the card then pay it off as soon as the purchase posts to my account, that will kinda trigger Chase to consider giving me a higher limit. Is that true? I noticed that my utilization was higher than it was now at the time that I got the $300 increase so maybe it does work?

Are there any tips or advice on how to get them to give me an auto CLI. I was thinking about just applying for the Chase Slate then reallocating the limit to the Freedom but I don't want to waste a hard inquiry. The reason I don't want to add any more inquiries is because I'm going to ultimately be applying for the Sapphire Preferred in August/September and I read that having my Freedom for at least a year and being inquiry-free in the past year will increase my chances of approval so I don't want to risk that. Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Shock — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 23:58:39 GMT

I would put 800 or 900 bucks on it and let it cut. PIF right after. Your utilization will be high for that month but I have an inkling they look at high balance vs credit limit. High balance meaning the highest youve ever let it cut at. Heavy usage would help too. Then next month run it up again and let 30 bucks or so cut.

For what it's worth, my friend started with a low limit on his Freedom. Never worried about utilization. Just swiped and swiped and PIF each month. They gave him like 4 or 5 auto CLI's. Doesnt hurt to try. What does utilization matter for that month if you are apply for other cards or any type of loans?

There's no rhyme or reason to it. But I can tell you for sure that you need to have it as your main card for a while. I'm trying to get my limit up as well, I've been using it for everything, even though I'm losing rewards on my other cards. But my Chase accounts are the only ones under 2k.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

audia4 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:32:18 GMT

I just got my Chase Freedom last year around August. I used them (and Amex) as my main cards. We charge quite a bit and PIF. I have only left a balance once (just to see what it would do). My beginning balance was $4500. There isn't a CLI love button, so I figured I would just let them do their thing. Well, after having the card (I'm guessing) around 6 months, they took it upon themselves to double my limit and now it's $9k. I'll continue to just let them be and they can increase when they feel like it.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

mongstradamus — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:50:13 GMT

I apped for freedom back in sept. Got an surprise cli in January it was for like 50% of my CL. Not the biggest CLI but it was an sp CLI so i can't complain that much.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 06:33:37 GMT

@Shock wrote:
I would put 800 or 900 bucks on it and let it cut. PIF right after. Your utilization will be high for that month but I have an inkling they look at high balance vs credit limit. High balance meaning the highest youve ever let it cut at. Heavy usage would help too. Then next month run it up again and let 30 bucks or so cut.

For what it's worth, my friend started with a low limit on his Freedom. Never worried about utilization. Just swiped and swiped and PIF each month. They gave him like 4 or 5 auto CLI's. Doesnt hurt to try. What does utilization matter for that month if you are apply for other cards or any type of loans?

There's no rhyme or reason to it. But I can tell you for sure that you need to have it as your main card for a while. I'm trying to get my limit up as well, I've been using it for everything, even though I'm losing rewards on my other cards. But my Chase accounts are the only ones under 2k.

When you say let it cut, what exactly do you mean by that? Like let that report as my statement balance? Do I pay in full right after the statement closing date or wait until the statement is ready for the next cycle? And then you're saying let $30 report as my balance the next month? Am I understanding that correctly? Thanks for the speedy reply.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

takeshi74 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:25:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
All my other cards have limits of at least $4000 or more and the Freedom is my lowest limit card. I would love to use the Freedom more but I can't due to the low limit and I'm trying to get and keep my utilization below 10%.

Usage and reported utilization are two different things. You can use as much of the Freedom's CL as you like. Just get it down to 10% by statement end. As for the CLI, it all depends on your credit and their internal scoring system. Usage alone won't guarantee a CLI.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Involver — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 13:44:38 GMT

Chase happily gave me a large CLI 3 months after opening. I was running about 3x the CL through the card every month and I got a little over a 3x CLI after recon.

Remember you can always recon CLI requests and explain to the underwriter why you want them.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Shock — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 15:26:38 GMT

Yes AO,

Suppose your due date this month was the 15th and your balance was 700 bucks. Around the 17th or 18th, your new statement will be out/cut with a balance of 700.

A dead giveaway of when to pay is looking at online account. There will be a minimum balance instead of it saying 0.00. So pay that in full.

Then, run your bill up again, for simplicity, let's say 800 bucks. Your due date is the 15th, so on the 13th/14th pay 770, and hold off on charges until the 18th when the statement cuts at 30 dollars.

All these numbers are examples given for simplicity..But you get the point. Good luck!

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Aug 2014 06:27:13 GMT

AO424, regarding my two chase accounts before I signed up for Amazon Chase, I did spent close to 90% and pay them off again within a month. Sometimes I intentionally let them carry over a month but paid them off again. I usually spent big time when travelling oversea or staying oversea. However, my credit lines on both of them remained the same since the last 4/5 years so I gave up trying. I guess, I am getting the SCRA so they do not even bother to give me the credit line increased.. well just my conspiracy theory. However, for my Amazon chase I only get $2000. So, I am not really sure how do they review the credit line approval based on my FICO/credit scores.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Astudillo1321 — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:01:07 GMT

Thank you for all the advise on this topic. I will have to take it into practice myself. I want to increace my CL for my Chase Freedom card and had no idea how to do it. i had to recon several times to finally get approved for it. soI figured i would never even get a CLI. but i think if i put this into practice it might work.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 20:04:26 GMT

I did this & they still declined me. Kind of bothered me as I spend a good amount of money with them & I love my Southwest Card for travel. How long do you need to wait before bugging underwriting again?

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 20:13:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I did this & they still declined me. Kind of bothered me as I spend a good amount of money with them & I love my Southwest Card for travel. How long do you need to wait before bugging underwriting again?

Did...what?

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

kdm31091 — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 22:08:13 GMT

Chase seems to tough with CLI's. Plus if they do not give you one, it's a HP.

I don't want to derail you from your original plan, but if running up a balance and paying it down multiple times isn't helping you with Chase, you could consider the Discover IT card assuming you don't have it. It is extremely similar. The categories throughout the year are usually the same as Freedom's. The only one I haven't seen Discover do (at least not since I have had it, 2012) is Groceries, but with your BCE it's not a huge big deal.

Discover offers SP CLI's, is good with auto increases and growing with you, and a FICO score. It's just my opinion but I feel like Discover is more committed to growing with someone, whereas Chase seems to leave people stuck where they are with CL and APR for a long, long time if not forever.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

GetMeSlick — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:03:33 GMT

I have the Chase Amazon card. i got it initially for 4k CL. later 4 months, they increased to 5K. I never asked them. looks like auto CLI. i do have a chase freedom card recently opened it. have to wait for 3-4 months and check if they repeat the same like other chase amazon card.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 18:18:12 GMT

Took me almost 4 years to get an email from Chase for an SP CLI for my Freedom. I got a 2x CLI though. From $200 to $400!

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Crickette — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 15:27:31 GMT

I am in the exact same boat (have both Chase Freedom and Chase Amazon cards) and even though I pay my card balances off each month no credit increases for years.. my credit score is excellent so not sure what is going on.. but it is an insult to me. I have thought about going w/ another provider but do not want a hard inquiry.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 15:56:29 GMT

I think that Hard Inquiries should last no longer than a year. It's not an indicator if a person will pay on time but a person seeking different credit options is all. I have been with Chase over a year and have not had any late paymentd with my car loan or Chase Freedom and still have not gotten an automated CLI.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 23:04:17 GMT

I, too, have had my Chase Freedom Card for a little over 7 months. Never have had a CLI, nor anything from Chase. I got a Discover It Card a month after my Chase Freedom and they gave me a requested CLI of $1000 with a SP after 6 months. I just got a raise in income, and asked for another increase due to my raise in pay. I hit the LUV button, and it said "We will review your request and let you know". I sent an internal e-mail explaining why I asked and for what reasons. Guess I'll see tomorrow what happens.

Chase, as has been mentioned here, does a HP if requested at all.

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 23:18:56 GMT

kudos for thread searching instead of starting one from scratched; took me a sec to see that it was back in march...

you've already hit the love button but I would suggest calling in to see the status, if you don't hear by tmr.

I would start off by calling in the CC#, explain to the rep your situation and than let them transfer you (once they check on the status of your CLI app and see its been declined) or you can call the recon number (they should have it around here somewhere)

OP had the perfect verbage for asking for a CLI when calling in, and also a really good set up.

When you're trying to get a rep to help you, always always start the conversation off light and friendly. Ask them how their day is going, whether its the start of their shift or end of shift..it takes TWO SECONDS extra to do this, but trust me, much better for you. They can't perform miracles but they're more likely to try harder when they're faced with friendly folks (who doesn't?).

Than let them know that you really love your freedom card, and would love to use it more...but also in the spirit of keeping your utilization low (so your credit score can climb, b/c you are looking to buy down the line), you aren't able to use freedom as your main card because xyz gives you a higher CL.

Couple that, with your recent increase in income, they should be able to do something for you.

Good luck!

PS, I always prefer to call in because with reps, they seem to have the human factor, not that the emails aren't answered by someone human, its just harder to say no logically to someone when you're on the phone or in person--than it is to answer back in a canned email response, of no, sorry....kwim?

Re: Chase Freedom Credit Limit Increase Advice

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 14:17:02 GMT

i've had a chase CC for 14 years, my initial credit liit was $200, back in 2001. my only credit card for the last 13yrs or so.

never had/received a CLI, didnt bother to ask and didnt know about.

i preferrd to do all my transactions in cash/debit.

i only use the Chase CC for gas in gas stations so they cant steal my debit card.

never planned to buy a house and my car was fully paid, so i diddnt bother with CC.

last december 2014, i was looking for a laptop on amazon and found a nice one with the option to apply for an Amazon Chase CC and i got rewards if i use the CC.

never knew about rewards/miles/points i've been using cash for the last 14 years.

so i applied for the chase amazon cc, was approved for $4k.

the next day i called my chase cc to have a CLI on my 13yr old $200 limit CC, they denied me and they did a hard pull.

i was so mad i applied for captial one and discover thru the internet on the same minute!!!!

i got approved for $10.5k with cap1 and $3200 with discover.

it's almost a year now, december 2014 - december 2015, they changed my slate to freedom, i've had slate for 13years, no rewards, LOL and my credit limit is still $200.

my cap1 is still $10.5k never bothered to apply for a CLI, my discover had gone up to $5.5k, i hit their luv button increase in the website.

dont worry about chase.