CC Spree strategy

[IcyCool7227]

I am interested in obtaining at least 4 new cards this month. My FICO 8 scores across the board currently are EQ: 794, EXP: 767 and TU: 769 (which went down 3 points recently because of a $109 reported balance on Kohls but everything is actually 0.46% overall util. currently reported). There was a huge balance of $887.10 on the Amazon Prime store card that was paid down to zero before the statement cut (and was actually at over $3k with Cyber weekend shopping but it quickly got paid off before it could report). I don't think Exp or TU will go quite into the 800s as I originally hoped but it may get into the 780s, which could be enough to score the lowest APR with the Amex BCE. I tend to carry balances but the last few years I barely paid any interest. For inq.: I am at 0/6; 1/12 (2/13 counting Experian which takes an extra month to come off); & 2/24 (3/25 from Exp.).

So my strategy is to wait for Amazon Synchrony to post their report to the CBs and then see after 5 months from the last increase if they will go even higher than the $10k limit I'm on. No biggie if its declined. Then I want to app for the Amex BCE, then the Citi Double Cash card, then wait 8 days for the Citi Rewards Plus as required for multiple Citi cards, then finally my own Discover it Cashback account (which I will remove myself as an AU). Then I think for curiosity I will app for a Barclay card (maybe the Priceline one) to see if I am actually off their blacklist (no inquiry made if I am though). I may wait then 6 months to get the Synchrony PayPal cashback MC, and their My Walgreens cc. When I travel again further into the year I will start looking at good travel cards (I am aware of most of them especially the one from Green State CU and Univ Of IL CU).

But will Citi approve a second card of theirs after 2 new inquiries from the past 8 days? I could go for both Citi cards first but that would drop the score below what I would need to score Amex's 18.24% APR. I know they are inquiry sensitive from reading DPs on these forums and elsewhere.

[GZG]

citi will decline instantly if they pull the report that has the amex inquiry on it within the last 7 days 

[coldfusion]

Just to be clear, be sure to wait until the 9th day after applying for a Citi card before applying for the 2nd Citi card and while it isn't a given if your profile supports it they have been known to approve a 2nd card right after the 2/8 rule has been satisfied.   One thing to keep in mind is that while AMEX is a very reliable EX puller Citi will sometimes instead pull from TU or EQ, so when you apply you might want to keep track of who is pulling what (or even if Citi double pulls) as that may suggest a change in strategy after your AMEX and initial Citi applications.

I would apply for the AMEX first as their current process is to make an offer of credit based upon only using a soft pull.  You only get an inquiry if they extend an offer of credit and you accept it,  if they deny your application or if you reject their offer of credit there is only the soft pull.

If you're off the Barclays blacklist (they do have a very long memory btw) if they see the recent inquiries don't be surprised by a denial, however they're a pretty reliable TU puller. 

The 2/12 vs 2/13 difference is meaningless with regard to FICO scores,  the scoring models automatically exclude an inquiry if it's more than 12 months old.  

[IcyCool7227]

Thanks for the replies. I've been checking my scores every several hours besides sleeping (usually I only check it once daily otherwise). All the Vantage scores have updated but not one of the actual FICOs. It's hard waiting but I'm proud of myself for being so disciplined! I have some necessary purchases I'd like to make that I already have funds for to cover them so I don't even need the intro purchase APRs but def. could use the SUBs.

The next question I have is when it does update, is it best to wait another day or two to make sure when the lenders HP that they see the updated score or do they see the same thing when like for example Experian.com's score is showing me right then and there?

[IcyCool7227]

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@GZG wrote:

citi will decline instantly if they pull the report that has the amex inquiry on it within the last 7 days 

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If this is true then after applying for Amex do you recommend I wait 8 days to apply for one Citi card? I think I will stick with applying for Amex first if that's true becuz it would give me the best possible APR interest rate. If Experian doesn't improve by much though, I guess it's possible from reading DPs on here that at some point Amex could lower the APR. An Amex rep over the phone also told me today that reductions have happened. I am perhaps overthinking about this a bit much but I want the best possible outcome.

[GZG]

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@IcyCool7227 wrote:

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@GZG wrote:

citi will decline instantly if they pull the report that has the amex inquiry on it within the last 7 days 

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If this is true then after applying for Amex do you recommend I wait 8 days to apply for one Citi card? I think I will stick with applying for Amex first if that's true becuz it would give me the best possible APR interest rate. If Experian doesn't improve by much though, I guess it's possible from reading DPs on here that at some point Amex could lower the APR. An Amex rep over the phone also told me today that reductions have happened. I am perhaps overthinking about this a bit much but I want the best possible outcome.

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depends what citi pulls for you, they will pull EQ for me, but can differ in different places

[IcyCool7227]

The only FICO 8 score completely updated is Equifax. I contacted TU and they said the balance with Synchrony was showing as updated to zero. The rep told me that the score would take a few days to update too. I am checking that score on my Mercury Rewards Visa cc but that doesn't display account balances.

I read more DPs that Amex could lower APRs over time - more so than not so I think I'm gonna change my strategy of applying for Citi DC first as they are extremely inquiry sensitive, then Amex afterwords in the same day. Or I could apply for the Citi Rewards plus card 9 days afterward like advised here but not sure if that would be a guaranteed approval with the new inquiry being 2/6 and 3/12. Then Amex then finally Disco. But I think I'll give it a few days for both EX and TU to update first.

[IcyCool7227]

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@coldfusion wrote:

Just to be clear, be sure to wait until the 9th day after applying for a Citi card before applying for the 2nd Citi card and while it isn't a given if your profile supports it they have been known to approve a 2nd card right after the 2/8 rule has been satisfied.   One thing to keep in mind is that while AMEX is a very reliable EX puller Citi will sometimes instead pull from TU or EQ, so when you apply you might want to keep track of who is pulling what (or even if Citi double pulls) as that may suggest a change in strategy after your AMEX and initial Citi applications.

I would apply for the AMEX first as their current process is to make an offer of credit based upon only using a soft pull.  You only get an inquiry if they extend an offer of credit and you accept it,  if they deny your application or if you reject their offer of credit there is only the soft pull.

If you're off the Barclays blacklist (they do have a very long memory btw) if they see the recent inquiries don't be surprised by a denial, however they're a pretty reliable TU puller. 

The 2/12 vs 2/13 difference is meaningless with regard to FICO scores,  the scoring models automatically exclude an inquiry if it's more than 12 months old.  

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In response to that, I already pretty much know that I will get approved for that Amex card because I am preapproved both on their site plus either Credit Karma or Experian. But I'm not gonna do that first as Citi is the most inquiry sensitive other than US Bank (but that's not in the plan yet because I am paying a very old CO from them in full which should be completed this year). Also Citi would be pulling EX and maybe TU or EQ based on DPs from the state I live in, not just this forum but elsewhere online.

[IcyCool7227]

I did want to ask another question. Everything went well getting approved for Citi DC. I think I'll wait a little bit into the 10th day (Monday) to be safe but would I almost certainly have a lower SL on the second Citi card (Rewards +) since I got approved for the DC card recently?

[derboesekoenig]

You might be pushing it a little. Might get roundabout similar limit or lower. I just did a Citi spree with much worse profile than yours and results were in order:

AAdvantage plat select world elite- 9.4k

Then DC- 3k

Then for whatever reason it said in the app I was selected for AAdvantage MileUp, which gave me another 4k