Advice on Amex / Chase new applications

[Anonymous]

Should I keep trying for a credit limit increase or would it be a better idea to apply for new credit with either of these two companies and roll over the limits... and if applying for new credit is the best option, which company would be the best to apply with in order to grow my limits?

My profile is rather new and quite thin, my cards range between

2 cards at 1 year and 3 months 

- Cash Magnet and Freedom

1 card at 1 year and 4 months

- Hilton Aspire

1 card at 1 year and 5 months

- Chase Preferred

I want to grow my limits rather than find new lenders. I have tried for the amex 3x cli on my aspire and have been denied a few times. I recently came across and viewed the history chart of my score in the amex credit tracking area ( low to mid 600s )... I do not blame them for denying me the increases that I asked for. Apparently every time that they checked it was not in my favor 

Amex recon would not consider the amount spent in the past year and a half, or that a higher limit would result in lower utilization... which would result in an increase of my credit score. They simply told me that my score was too low and would not consider anything else... it was a 711 fico on the paperwork that they sent in the mail

However, for the last few times that amex has checked and tracked my score, my score has been reported at over 725-750 vantage 3.0

In regards to my chase account, I recently asked them for a cli to 12.5k and was originally denied. But when I asked recon to review my credit profile, account and previous spending pattern they brought my sapphire from 5k to 10k. My arguement was that I have blown through the card limit time and time again and that I have also made multiple payments each and every month which basically means that I have never been late or close to it. In addition to that, I also told chase that whenever my credit score was low, it was simply due to a balance being reported, and if I had a higher limit then my score would never have been that low in the first place. Finally, since I always pay in full, I told them that if I had a higher limit I would be more prone to leaving a balance as it would not effect my score as much and that would allow them to make money off of interest.

Chase, unlike amex, was willing to consider all of this information and they approved the increase.

However, each company is in business to make money and turn a profit for themselves. I told chase that I also needed an increase so that I could eventually product change to the CSR if I ever wanted to in the future. I think that is what really sold them on the idea to at least increase my limit to the minimum CSR amount.

So I believe that in this particular case chase had something to gain by giving me an increase and amex didnt.

To wrap this up, I would like to remain with these two lenders and grow my limits any way that I can, the best possible way that I can without going through new lenders

Thank you in advance for your time and information in regards to my credit limits and profile.

[Anonymous]

If you charge so much that you cycle your limits then you could get a charge card and avoid that issue. Charge cards don't affect utilization scoring either so your score won't drop for high balances.

[sjt]

When did you last request a CLI with Amex? What is your current utilization ratio? Do you have any balances currently on your Amex Cards?

It looks like you are/were in the building stages of credit. If that's the case, I would side on CLI and let your cards age more.

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous Thank you for the great suggestion. However, I like the idea of knowing my exact limit so that it does not flucuate and get denied for any reason, I have read in the forums that the charge cards can be quite finicky at times.

@sjt My last request from Amex was around the beginning of august. My current utilization is 3%, my only balance on my amex accounts are the amount that I leave on one card in order to get my 3% util.

The only balance I have on any of my cards is the one card that I use to report 3%

 
This month, september, I am going to leave the same exact amount on my chase sapphire (10k card) in order to see what the difference is in my credit score if the 3% overall util is on a 10k card, rather than a 5k card

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What is my best option to / how can I obtain a credit limit increase from either company?

Is it too soon to ask chase to increase my freedom if they just increased the sapphire last month?

How will I know when I can/will get cards with higher limits in which I can start moving the limits to other cards without getting denied for them first?

Does it make that much of a difference in what limits I will receive if I apply now for new cards or wait the 2 years until my initial applications for my current cards are removed from my profile?

Thanks again for all information and advice!

[Anonymous]

@Anonymousanecdotally, the lower limit Amex cards, (1K) are harder to CLI, I have a 5K and 1K Amex and don't get CLIs either. Chase also dishes out more credit on a new account than a CLI on an existing.

It's been over a year since you've gotten a card, I think you could afford applying for a new Chase card and maybe Amex even, then just shift around the new limits.

If you want some non Chase/Amex lenders that'll give you dumb high limits and your DTI is on the lower end, we have a good list of decent lenders that fit that purpose : )

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous I was honestly waiting for a pre approval from either of the companies to apply for new credit, amex and their wording after clicking apply... or chase and their green / black stars

But I haven't gotten either so far, and then when they denied my cli, i figured they'd deny me a card or give me another low limit. So I created this post to get some outside information...

I might apply for a new card soon. Whenever I do, I will come back here and update the post with current information and data points

I am sure it will be with chase, this way I can get my 5 / 24 then... if they give me a good limit, shortly there after i will try amex 

Thank you for your time and information 

[AverageJoesCredit]

if you only want to be with these two lenders, only thing i can say with Amex is just keep being  persistent. Keep trying every 91 days after cli denial. If not good thing about both lenders is you can move limits around

[Anonymous]

@AverageJoesCredit i will most definitely start to wander around the other credit paths and lenders, but at the beginning I would like to work on and get "adult sized" limits as opposed to my current toy limits

My theory is that if all of my cards are over 10k, then there is no reason for an outside lender to give me anything less

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With that being said, what happens if I apply for a new credit card and I am approved, but the SL is only 1k

If I do not activate the card, will it still show up as a new card and effect my credit report?

I think it is a little shady and awkward how that works.

They show us a shiny new object with an unknown variable - the starting limit, we apply... only to find out that we have been the victim of the old bait and switch program

And now we have an added card that is worthless, but at the same time creates a negative impact on our reports 

Honestly, that is what prevents me from applying for new credit, I am afraid of getting more cards with low limits

[sxa001]

Realistically what is your spend?  You have a 10K limit on the CSP so you could use that card for bigger purchases and then rotate the other three cards for daily spend (paying the balance several times a month).  It isn't ideal but I think if you do want to stick with these two lenders if you show them say another 6 months or so of solid history they may be more inclined to grant a CLI. 

Venturing our to other lenders, and honestly I would wait until these cards age to two years, may grant you bigger limits.  You seem adament against looking at other options but as mentioned Credit Unions tend to give bigger limits, my FICO scores weren't as good as yours when NASA FCU gave me 15K at 10.9%.  Discover can be hit or miss, I started with a 1K limit with them but I know others who have started out with much bigger limits. Diversification is a good thing, and I understand you have your reasons for wanting to stick with AMEX and Chase but if you hit a brick wall with them (which can happen if a lender gives you all the credit they are willing to) venturing out is a good next step. 

Diversification is a good thing.  I don't know as much about this stuff as th

[SecretAzure]

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@sxa001 wrote:

Realistically what is your spend?  You have a 10K limit on the CSP so you could use that card for bigger purchases and then rotate the other three cards for daily spend (paying the balance several times a month).  It isn't ideal but I think if you do want to stick with these two lenders if you show them say another 6 months or so of solid history they may be more inclined to grant a CLI. 

Venturing our to other lenders, and honestly I would wait until these cards age to two years, may grant you bigger limits.  You seem adament against looking at other options but as mentioned Credit Unions tend to give bigger limits, my FICO scores weren't as good as yours when NASA FCU gave me 15K at 10.9%.  Discover can be hit or miss, I started with a 1K limit with them but I know others who have started out with much bigger limits. Diversification is a good thing, and I understand you have your reasons for wanting to stick with AMEX and Chase but if you hit a brick wall with them (which can happen if a lender gives you all the credit they are willing to) venturing out is a good next step. 

Diversification is a good thing.  I don't know as much about this stuff as th

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Couldn't agree more regarding the 2 years AAOA. This seems to be the magical threshold. Even CK lists 2 years as a higher bracket of AAOA. 

OP, if your biggest concern is higher CL's, the only way to achieve that in a meaningful and lasting way is to let your profile age. Yes, technically, you could apply for another card and PC the limit over but that will serve to only ding your profile with yet another "New Account" penalty as well as another hard inquiry. Your AAOA will also take a dive and you will be endlessly striving for higher limits without ever showing that you aren't just ravenously seeking more and more credit (which scares the normal lenders). 

This is just my opinion based on my research/experience. There are other ways to achieve what you want OP, I'm just recommending the one that I feel has the best chance at actually increasing future SL's.