AMEX, NFCU, Discover and Cap1 generally use soft pulls to give CLIs. They will also tell you ahead of time if a CLI will be to be a Hard Pull so you don't get blindsided. Chase is the one that requires a HP for everything, unless they do it themselves. It looks like you might be in a position to apply for a Chase card so if you want to go that route, do that before the Wells Fargo app.
Not sure about Wells Fargo CLIs since I've never had a Wells Fargo product.
8/8/25
2/16/26
Definitely hit Chase up first, then Wells if you wish. I'd wait till your scores updated before any of this as you'll have a nice bump from the payoffs. Then go nuts. Amex is usually a soft pull as are the others.... usually. 🤣
@Maverick3 wrote:Hello....
So my credit has been in great standing since for the past 2 years now. I had 3 cards (Amex, NFCU, and Discover) that were maxed out for about the last 3-6 months but this week I just paid them all off.
I have had all 3 accounts for about 2 years now in perfect standing.
I would like to grow my accounts now to hire limits now but I have been wanting to get into some Chase card (Chase Freedom or Sapphire) now as I have been getting business credit card offers but also like a few of their other cards.
My limits are:
Amex $9,500 (10 months old)
NFCU $4,500 (24 months old)
Discover $1,500 (25 months old)
Cap 1 $600 (25 months old)
I received a business line of credit offer from Wells Fargo that I would like to take adavantage of for my business.
I understand that all these increases may be a hard inquiry and that I should keep myself to 2 hard inquiries per year.
So should I grow my existing accounts and/or go for this new Chase and Wells Fargo accounts?
You don't mention what your new scores are.
It's a judgment call as to whether to increase your present limits, or to go for a new personal Chase card, or both.
As far as I know, all 4 of your present credit card lenders will typically only soft pull when you apply for a CLI.
So my guess is your best plan of action is, after your new scores have reported, to go for SP CLI's on your present cards, and then after the new limits have reported, to apply for the personal Chase card of your choice.
Welcome to MyFICO. 
Have you gotten your credit reports and scores? Some banks including Discover (I believe still) offer FICO scores for cardholders. I think Amex does too, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong there. You can usually get a refreshed score once per month, or you can pay for updated reports and scores from MyFICO and some other credit score services. Credit Karma is fine for looking at your TU and EQ reports, but take thier scores with a grain of salt, since they're Vantage 3.0 scores, not FICO.
While your cards were maxed out, your scores would have suffered due to high utilization. Now that you've paid them off, let them report (most FIs report statement balance a few days after statement cut) and let your scores bounce back. Utilization has no memory, so they will recover as soon as your new balances report. Ideally, have all cards but one report a zero balance, and the one that isn't zero, let it report a small balance, less than 9% of the limit. This will give you the best possible score. Maybe wait a month (keeping your reported balances low!) to ensure all your issuers have pulled your latest reports, then request CLIs. Most, if not all of your issuers will offer CLIs with a soft pull... if they want a hard pull, they'll tell you and allow you to back out before the pull occurs.
Don't be discouraged if you aren't approved for CLIs from all your issuers. If your Capital One card is bucketed for example (which happens if you had no or bad credit when you applied for it), they may not let the card grow much or at all. Amex and NFCU are usually pretty generous with CLIs if they like your profile. Discover can be hit or miss. But try all of them if they let you do it with a soft pull. Worst they can do is say no, and best they can do is say yes!
Once you've gotten your CLIs under your belt and your limits look good (and they've reported to the bureaus!... wait for statements to cut with the new limits)... then go for a Chase card. You're well under 5/24 so you should be approved if your scores are good.
Then go for Wells Fargo.
Good luck!
@Maverick3 wrote:Hello....
So my credit has been in great standing since for the past 2 years now. I had 3 cards (Amex, NFCU, and Discover) that were maxed out for about the last 3-6 months but this week I just paid them all off.
I have had all 3 accounts for about 2 years now in perfect standing.
I would like to grow my accounts now to hire limits now but I have been wanting to get into some Chase card (Chase Freedom or Sapphire) now as I have been getting business credit card offers but also like a few of their other cards.
My limits are:
Amex $9,500 (10 months old)
NFCU $4,500 (24 months old)
Discover $1,500 (25 months old)
Cap 1 $600 (25 months old)
I received a business line of credit offer from Wells Fargo that I would like to take adavantage of for my business.
I understand that all these increases may be a hard inquiry and that I should keep myself to 2 hard inquiries per year.
So should I grow my existing accounts and/or go for this new Chase and Wells Fargo accounts?
May I ask what happened more than 2 yrs ago? That Cap1 card appears to be a bucket card. Nice job paying down the cards.
