Amex CLI requiring IRS 4506-C

[Anonymous]

So I usually try and bump up my credit limit once a year, currently at 70k limit for My Preferred Everyday Card.  Throughout the life of the card I haven't run into this before.  I made about 126k last year, should be around 135k this year which I reported as my income.  I have read through some of the other forums that when you submit it there's a possibility they could reduce your limit as well.  Just wondering people's experiences with it, if it's even worth it, or just wait a few months and request a smaller amount.  I also read anything after 35k you can expect having to fill it out.

I spend anywhere between 2-3k a month using it. Thanks

[FinStar]

What was the amount you requested?  Do you currently have any other AmEx cards besides EDP? 

Without many other details, it sounds like you might be bumping up to the maximum they would be willing to extend even with the highest incom you've shared. 

[GatorGuy]

From what I've seen, once they request the 4506-C you likely won't see any new approvals for cards or CLI's without submitting it. 

If you are reporting accurate income then you should be safe from a decrease unless there is the possibility of confusion on your return. 

[SPChaser]

---

@GatorGuy wrote:

From what I've seen, once they request the 4506-C you likely won't see any new approvals for cards or CLI's without submitting it. 

If you are reporting accurate income then you should be safe from a decrease unless there is the possibility of confusion on your return. 

---

I'd have to disagree here. I'm not sure if this DP holds true at OP's current limit, yet when I requested a CLI to 35K having a 20K SL, I discovered, after speaking to a CSR, they needed a 4506-C. I then, after getting off the call, went to request 34K instead and was approved. 

[coldfusion]

---

@SPChaser wrote:

---

@GatorGuy wrote:

From what I've seen, once they request the 4506-C you likely won't see any new approvals for cards or CLI's without submitting it. 

If you are reporting accurate income then you should be safe from a decrease unless there is the possibility of confusion on your return. 

---

I'd have to disagree here. I'm not sure if this DP holds true at OP's current limit, yet when I requested a CLI to 35K having a 20K SL, I discovered, after speaking to a CSR, they needed a 4506-C. I then, after getting off the call, went to request 34K instead and was approved. 

---

That's a trick that has been fairly common knowledge for a while, when doing it online you need to use the back function on your browser to back out of the request and try again with a slightly smaller request until you either hit paydirt or you give up.  You'd get a letter for every attempt you backed out of but they can be ignored,  AMEX doesn't take AA for not responding to a 4506-C request tied to a CLI request.

[SPChaser]

---

@coldfusion wrote:

---

@SPChaser wrote:

---

@GatorGuy wrote:

From what I've seen, once they request the 4506-C you likely won't see any new approvals for cards or CLI's without submitting it. 

If you are reporting accurate income then you should be safe from a decrease unless there is the possibility of confusion on your return. 

---

I'd have to disagree here. I'm not sure if this DP holds true at OP's current limit, yet when I requested a CLI to 35K having a 20K SL, I discovered, after speaking to a CSR, they needed a 4506-C. I then, after getting off the call, went to request 34K instead and was approved. 

---

That's a trick that has been fairly common knowledge for a while, when doing it online you need to use the back function on your browser to back out of the request and try again with a slightly smaller request until you either hit paydirt or you give up.  You'd get a letter for every attempt you backed out of but they can be ignored,  AMEX doesn't take AA for not responding to a 4506-C request tied to a CLI request.

---

@coldfusion Most definitely but I was wondering at OP's CL, does that tried and true DP still applicable at that limit. 

[coldfusion]

The $35K figure itself isn't a hard and fast rule either, it was derived emperically from a number of reports that indicated it was a common threshold but it wasn't a universal one.

There have also been a few data points that suggest another potential threshold that also factors in aggregate CL across all AMEX credit cards roughly somewhere in the $75-$85K range, this could be an example of that break point as well.

[GatorGuy]

---

@SPChaser wrote:

---

@GatorGuy wrote:

From what I've seen, once they request the 4506-C you likely won't see any new approvals for cards or CLI's without submitting it. 

If you are reporting accurate income then you should be safe from a decrease unless there is the possibility of confusion on your return. 

---

I'd have to disagree here. I'm not sure if this DP holds true at OP's current limit, yet when I requested a CLI to 35K having a 20K SL, I discovered, after speaking to a CSR, they needed a 4506-C. I then, after getting off the call, went to request 34K instead and was approved. 

---

That's good information, thanks for sharing. So they should have just gone back in and requested a lower amount?

[coldfusion]

---

@GatorGuy wrote:

---

@SPChaser wrote:

---

@GatorGuy wrote:

From what I've seen, once they request the 4506-C you likely won't see any new approvals for cards or CLI's without submitting it. 

If you are reporting accurate income then you should be safe from a decrease unless there is the possibility of confusion on your return. 

---

I'd have to disagree here. I'm not sure if this DP holds true at OP's current limit, yet when I requested a CLI to 35K having a 20K SL, I discovered, after speaking to a CSR, they needed a 4506-C. I then, after getting off the call, went to request 34K instead and was approved. 

---

That's good information, thanks for sharing. So they should have just gone back in and requested a lower amount?

---

In a nutshell, yes.  I haven't seen anyone comment recently that they used this technique but at one point it was pretty popular and a lot of people had success with it.

A quick sketch of the way to do it:

- Go through the steps to request your CLI online

- If you get a 4506-C request, use the Back function of your browser - left-facing arrow in the top left if using Firefox for example - to go back to the page where you typed in the requested credit limit.   It's important to follow this step correctly.

- Enter in a lower amount for the requested credit limit, dropping it by $500 or $1000 was a popular option, and resubmit.

- If you still get a 4506 request, repeat the above steps until you either get an approval, you get tired of doing it, or you get down to the point where the remaining potential CLI isn't worth it to you to continue.

You would get a request letter in the mail for every attempt.   You didn't have to respond to the letters, if you didn't respond your CLI request(s) would be denied and you risked getting no further approvals for CLIs or cards but there would be no AA taken against your existing cards.

I'll add a caveat that I haven't seen anyone report doing this recently so it's possible that the rules of the game may have changed.

[Anonymous]

Just some more feedback- I actually got hit with you will get a decision in 7-10 days after I first submitted the request.  I thought that would mean a denial.  A few hours later I got an email for the request of my income.

Also, I have 2 charge cards with them - a Platinum and a Gold Card.  I know the spend power on the Platinum is 35k and think the Gold is in the ballpark.  I don't know how that impacts the CL across all cards, since technically they are charge cards, but you can pay over time.  I always pay the total full each month with the exception of using plan it once since I have a 3.99 APR on the Platinum for a year.

I mean I'm not opposed to sharing my income, my W-2 shows 123k from LY.  My compensation package letter from this year shows 133k, and I reported 135k. I wouldn't imagine they would take AA based of that, but I wasn't sure. I included 200k in assets, which I think I lowballed, should be like $270k.