CLI strategy for multiple lenders

[Anonymous]

Finally after 2 years of rebuilding my credit from the ground up, with mistakes along the way all over the place, I'm finally ready to garden. When I first started, I made the mistake of adding a bunch of cards & trying to build up my Util % instead of letting those seeds grow into a better score. So my goal for 2018 (and probably 2019) is squeezing what CLIs I can out of the lenders I have cards with. My 1st goal is to get every card over $5000, which is easier said than done. Every time I have recon'd a starting limit, one of these cards is brought up as to the reasoning for my low SL. I am hoping I can pick the brains of you guys for some advice on how to achieve that goal, and I have no problem taking HPs if necessary (to a certain extent). Here is what is still <$5000: Cap 1 Secured (opened 6/2015) - SL $249, current limit $551 (1 CLI) Express (opened 2/2016) - SL $250, current limit $2100 (6 CLI) NY&C (opened 2/2016) - SL $300, current limit $1600 (5 CLI) Discover it (opened 4/2016 as secured) - SL $200, current limit $1200 (2 CLI, 14 months apart btw) Chase Freedom (opened 4/2016) - SL & current limit $1000 , no CLI Cap 1 BuyPower (opened 4/2016) - SL $750, current limit $1250, 1 CLI (Credit steps after 6 mo) AMEX BCE (opened 6/2016) - SL $500, current limit $1000, 1 CLI (denied 3x when asked for CLI, denied CLI req twice in 2017) Penfed Plat Cash Rewards (opened 2/2017) - SL $15500, current limit $1500, no CLI (moved bal to Plat Rewards card) BoA BankAmericard (opened 5/2017) - SL & current limit $3500, no CLI (total BoA exposure is $25k) Marvel MC (opened 7/2017) - SL $1000, current limit $1500, rec'd CLI 2 days after opening acct US Bank Cash+ (opened 2/2018) - SL $600, already called in for increase and awaiting response I know why some are stuck, such as Discover being weird with CLI last year & Penfed exposure being very high ($51k including loans & PLOC). And I've had all kinds of issues with AMEX (FR imposing hard limits on my charge cards and a returned payment due to autopay mistake on my part) so I'm probably stuck for a while there too. But Chase I can't understand, since I've had a couple of months of using 90% of my limit. I appreciate any insights as to a strategy to get some of these limits either higher or gone completely. The Cap 1 Secured I know is a waiting game for Cap 1 to unsecure it, and it is the oldest card I have, but I'm willing to cut bait on some of the others.

[DeeBee78]

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@Anonymouswrote:
Finally after 2 years of rebuilding my credit from the ground up, with mistakes along the way all over the place, I'm finally ready to garden. When I first started, I made the mistake of adding a bunch of cards & trying to build up my Util % instead of letting those seeds grow into a better score. So my goal for 2018 (and probably 2019) is squeezing what CLIs I can out of the lenders I have cards with. My 1st goal is to get every card over $5000, which is easier said than done. Every time I have recon'd a starting limit, one of these cards is brought up as to the reasoning for my low SL. I am hoping I can pick the brains of you guys for some advice on how to achieve that goal, and I have no problem taking HPs if necessary (to a certain extent). Here is what is still <$5000: Cap 1 Secured (opened 6/2015) - SL $249, current limit $551 (1 CLI) Express (opened 2/2016) - SL $250, current limit $2100 (6 CLI) NY&C (opened 2/2016) - SL $300, current limit $1600 (5 CLI) Discover it (opened 4/2016 as secured) - SL $200, current limit $1200 (2 CLI, 14 months apart btw) Chase Freedom (opened 4/2016) - SL & current limit $1000 , no CLI Cap 1 BuyPower (opened 4/2016) - SL $750, current limit $1250, 1 CLI (Credit steps after 6 mo) AMEX BCE (opened 6/2016) - SL $500, current limit $1000, 1 CLI (denied 3x when asked for CLI, denied CLI req twice in 2017) Penfed Plat Cash Rewards (opened 2/2017) - SL $15500, current limit $1500, no CLI (moved bal to Plat Rewards card) BoA BankAmericard (opened 5/2017) - SL & current limit $3500, no CLI (total BoA exposure is $25k) Marvel MC (opened 7/2017) - SL $1000, current limit $1500, rec'd CLI 2 days after opening acct US Bank Cash+ (opened 2/2018) - SL $600, already called in for increase and awaiting response I know why some are stuck, such as Discover being weird with CLI last year & Penfed exposure being very high ($51k including loans & PLOC). And I've had all kinds of issues with AMEX (FR imposing hard limits on my charge cards and a returned payment due to autopay mistake on my part) so I'm probably stuck for a while there too. But Chase I can't understand, since I've had a couple of months of using 90% of my limit. I appreciate any insights as to a strategy to get some of these limits either higher or gone completely. The Cap 1 Secured I know is a waiting game for Cap 1 to unsecure it, and it is the oldest card I have, but I'm willing to cut bait on some of the others.

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Chase CLI's are few and far between. You have a better chance of receivng a decent credit limit by applying for a new card, then reallocating the limits elsewhere. 

I would close the store cards, unless you're shopping there often enough to use the rewards. Express doesn't go over $3k, so you'll never get that to your $5K threshold. I would also close your Capital One secured, as these don't grow very much, if at all. You have plenty of other accounts that will age around the same timeframe, so it's not going to hurt your AAoA. 

[Anonymous]

To be honest I quit reading half way through. If you want strategies then all the answers are in these forums. You literally posted like 20 different creditors and that is asking a lot. All you have to do is research this forum. Type in CLI in the search forum along with each creditors name and read each post. There are Probaly hundreds on each creditor .Also read up on here everyday and you will see a new post every day .At least one or two per day concerning one of the creditors you listed. I guarantee it. Nobody minds helping anyone out on here but with an umbrella of a question like that and you looking for an individual response per creditor is the easy way out .Do your due diligence and you will find many different strategies on this forum for each creditor and which ones are the best/worst. Hope this helps. Sorry its not the answer you're looking for. 

[SwarthyOgre]

My 2 cents....

Unless it would throw you under the bus with your overall UTIL ditch all but Chase, AMEX and Discover, pay down what you have and garden for 6 months.  I will tell you my secured Cap1 Plat never went above 750 in almost 5 years and I recently cut it loose....no love, stuck in low tier bucket. BUT thanks to them giving me a chance ive got a few decent limits with some better lenders.