Higher limit:CFU cli, new Chase app or new Amex?

[lowspender]

Have a training wheels SL on my 6 mo Chase Freedom Unlimited (scores at bottom). Reading on Chase and cli's, they seem to rarely auto cli. Even with a hp, the increases seem meager.

Is a new Chase app (Flex) likely to get a higher limit with them than a cli on my CFU? Plan to reallocate the sl's to one card. Since the CFU app I opened an ssl, as chase mentioned that as a weakness on my acceptance letter. Score is up, so I don’t think an increase is blind optimism.

For CFU, seems you can transfer all the sl but a $500 base, which is a majority of my current sl with them. The Flex is newer & I haven't seen an amount confirmed- both have a $500 min sl, so I'm guessing that would be the same, until I see otherwise.

Amex has a well-established path to a 3x cli, even if only to highlight how easily we miscount exact days. Even if I start with only 1k from them (i.e. blue cash everyday), sounds like that could increase significantly inside of a year. 

Not sure if any chase changes would affect the size of an Amex sl offer. That could also be 2 more hp's. That said, no apps planned for the near future. Another card hurts aaoa more than a hp for now, but my file is thin and a new card is recommended, long term.

Will have an NFCU card in the future (i.e. flagship) when I have a longer relationship with them, as I'm reading of their generosity in that situation. I don't like the lack of 0% apr's, as I've been reporting high balances, then PIF the following cycle. Doing that, with a larger limit and anything but 0% apr, neutralizes any card savings. I like responsibly taking advantage of 0% anyways.
That said, if I thought a "high" SL was near, with their cli, I'd probably be wise to forego the 0% offer. Sounds like a wait, for now.

Is either chase option mentioned clearly better? Avoiding annual fee cards like the Sapphire for now. Not sure I’d spend enough in 3 months for the welcome anyhow.

Looking at odds of highest sl, path to cli if sl is average, 0% apr offers, in that order. I stopped considering disco as their cli takes a year, cap one for their 3x hp, etc.

My credit stats:

aaoa 3.5 yrs (2.5 after next app)

Ex 775 Eq 828 TU 835 (yes, big gap, asked in a thread. 0 missed pmts, no bad history. Best guess is Ex is penalizing a thin file/low aaoa)
CFU 6 months old, only HP in last 48 months+. Hp was on TU and EX
NFCU SSL 2 mo's old

Thanks in advance for the advice!
edit: unclear thread title?

[_bobby_lee]

I have a very similar profile to yours in terms of scores, AAoA, no derogs etc, and I applied for both AMEX BCE and Chase FF last year, and got approved for both, but the SL's were very different. My BCE was my first app - I had not apped for anything and no HPs since summer 2018 (at least 18 months) and my SL was $15k, which I have now grown to $20k with one CLI request at about 11 months of tha account opening. 

As for the Flex, I was already a customer as I have had the regular freedom since 2014, but that one has been super slow to grow. Only two CLIs, and one of them was a HP. I apped for the Flex back in October, 6 months since AMEX when I was 1/6, 1/12, 1/24 and got an instant approval for $6500. Bigger than my freedom, but les than half of my SL with Amex.

Based on my experience, AMEX has been a lot more generous to me with SL and CLI, so I feel like that would be better route for you to go in you are looking for the highest limit in the shortest amount of time.

[lowspender]

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@_bobby_lee wrote: I have a very similar profile to yours in terms of scores, AAoA, no derogs etc, and I applied for both AMEX BCE and Chase FF last year, and got approved for both, but the SL's were very different.

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Thanks for the data points! Does 2 of bureaus scoring me at 800+ help at all? I'm seeing approval threads for $2.5k with scores in the high 6's, often low 7's. Yeah, we had about identical scores when I did the CFU app. Maybe it's my thin file... the ssl helped.

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@_bobby_lee wrote:

My BCE was my first app - I had not apped for anything and no HPs since summer 2018 (at least 18 months) and my SL was $15k, which I have now grown to $20k with one CLI request at about 11 months of tha account opening. 

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So the BCE was your first hp in 18+ months (previous hp's not hurting your score by then, right..) and SL of 15k? That's really impressive. I think it's unusually high, from what I've been reading. They liked what they saw. I wouldn't complain

How many cards did you already have factored into your aaoa at the time of the apex app..more than the '14 freedom? 

edit..ah, looking at your sig.. were the disco and citi similar age to the freedom? I should've applied for a few back with my original. 

Mind saying where disco and citi started you off?

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@_bobby_lee wrote:

Based on my experience, AMEX has been a lot more generous to me with SL and CLI, so I feel like that would be better route for you to go in you are looking for the highest limit in the shortest amount of time.

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Agreed, from reading, does seem Amex grows more quickly than Chase. Am concerned my low cfu will affect Amex apps.. and that the FF+ will beat Amex handily, if they give me a miniature sl, which I have no idea whether or not to expect, from reading :/

[_bobby_lee]

I believe that having high scores always helps, but I cannot say for sure that having a score of 800+ will guarantee more favor from either Chase or AMEX, becuase theyhave their algorithm and methods to judge profiles based on many factors and score is just one of those. I do think the higher score will positively affect your starting APR, no doubt.

Yeah, I was really pleasantly surprised with that number - it was almost shocking when I saw it. At the time of app my highest CL was on my Citi card, which was $11.5k, which I was putting all my monthly expenses on and paying in full, so usually a $1-2k balance. I think that heavy usage helped not only grow the CL for that card, but show AMEX I could use a moderately high limit responsibly.

Freedom was 2014, Disco opened in 2017 as a balance tranfer with a starting limit of $2k, I paid that off in spring 2018 and Citi was opened in summer 2018 with a SL of $7.5k. Got an auto CLI after making several large purchases and paying it off quickly - I think within 2-3 months it had jumped to $11.5k. Stayed there until I requested an increse last year when account was over a year old, and went to $13.5k. Now it's at $14.5k.

My oldest account is a student loan opened in 2011, and was my only credit history when I apped for the Freedom in 2014. Then Disco in 2017 and Citi in 2018, so my aaoa was roughly 5 years when I apped for Amex in 2020. Oh, also had an auto loan added to the mix in Fall 2017, so the AAoA was priabbly more like 3 after adding that one.

So yeah, if you can find any similarities in your situation, it may shed some light on what to expect from an app to AMEX. Obviously, the cleaner your profile (no recent HPs, no missed payments, regular usage of current credit with paying it off every month etc) the better the chances you are of starting with a higher SL. I don't see your CFU growing very much unless your income changed significantly - they are by far the most reserved in giving CLIs of all the cards I currently have. If you can time it correctly, apping with AMEX may be your best bet, and getting in on the 3x CLI at 61 days would get you to a bigger number quickly even if you have a smaller SL. I didn't know the 3x rule when I got my amex. I think I was too impressed with the S already that I couldn't really imagine trying to increase it because it's waaaayy overkill for my spending habits. lol (I make about $60k and spend much less than many people on myFico)

[lowspender]

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@_bobby_lee wrote: Yeah, I was really pleasantly surprised with that number - it was almost shocking when I saw it. At the time of app my highest CL was on my Citi card, which was $11.5k, which I was putting all my monthly expenses on and paying in full, so usually a $1-2k balance. I think that heavy usage helped not only grow the CL for that card, but show AMEX I could use a moderately high limit responsibly.

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Yeah, that would be a shock for me too. Important distinction for me here is to note that I don't have and never have had any 5 figure limit cards, you've earned that advantage, as the high citi is an example to amex.

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@_bobby_lee wrote: Freedom was 2014, Disco opened in 2017 as a balance tranfer with a starting limit of $2k, I paid that off in spring 2018 and Citi was opened in summer 2018 with a SL of $7.5k. Got an auto CLI after making several large purchases and paying it off quickly - I think within 2-3 months it had jumped to $11.5k. Stayed there until I requested an increase last year when account was over a year old, and went to $13.5k. Now it's at $14.5k.

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Ok this is helpful.. your freedom and transfer disco sl's are probably closer to what I should expect. I can't really make "large" purchases without maxing out the limit on my cfu. Did your freedom start at $1k? Impressive citi growth.

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@_bobby_lee wrote: My oldest account is a student loan opened in 2011, and was my only credit history when I apped for the Freedom in 2014. Then Disco in 2017 and Citi in 2018, so my aaoa was roughly 5 years when I apped for Amex in 2020. Oh, also had an auto loan added to the mix in Fall 2017, so the AAoA was probably more like 3 after adding that one.

So yeah, if you can find any similarities in your situation, it may shed some light on what to expect from an app to AMEX. Obviously, the cleaner your profile (no recent HPs, no missed payments, regular usage of current credit with paying it off every month etc) the better the chances you are of starting with a higher SL. I don't see your CFU growing very much unless your income changed significantly - they are by far the most reserved in giving CLIs of all the cards I currently have.

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This is good to find patterns in, thanks. Definitely need more accounts to thicken my file, so they can age together. The Amex 3x cli is a big deal, agreed. I think the cfu is probably stuck also, so I now know I won't be doing a cli on that.
I'd be happy with your $6500 Flex sl. Your aaoa at that point had 4 accts included, more than one 10k+ limit if I read it right..so for them to give you half of what Amex started you at, when you had a thinner file.. Chase does plays it safe.  Disco would be on my short list, if not for their recent policy change on delaying cli's.

So, down to Amex, the Flex and scouring on here for who might have the best sl. Even if it's a card like US bank, who I wouldn't think of as a more "standard" cc brand (maybe incorrectly).

Making progress!

[_bobby_lee]

Freedom started at $1k, yes.

Yeah definitely keep the research going. I've heard a lot of good things about the generosity of Navy Federal (I'm sure you have too if you've spent any time at all scanning the credit card forums) and they are the most recommended by users here for larger SLs and quick limit growth. I never would have known about the Elan max cash card that I have if it weren't for this forum, and it was exactly what I was looking for.

You mentioned US Bank - you're correct about them not being a top "major" cc company, but they are number 12 on the 2021 list of largest credit card companies. They are notoriously difficult to apply with - super picky about new accounts and inquiries - and they are not as generous in their SLs either based on my research and first hand experience. I apped for 2 cards in one day with the exact same stats, and US Bank's SL was $7.5k less than the other.

As you mentioned, time is your best friend in the credit game, so waiting for your accounts to age together is a great strategy, as well as waiting a while between apps. Patience is the most annoying part when you are passionate about growing your credit profile. Best of luck to you - I think AMEX and NFCU are good companies to continue researching. There have got to be some threads on here about people with similar profiles who have applied for those.

[lowspender]

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@_bobby_lee wrote: I never would have known about the Elan max cash card that I have if it weren't for this forum, and it was exactly what I was looking for.

As you mentioned, time is your best friend in the credit game, so waiting for your accounts to age together is a great strategy, as well as waiting a while between apps. Patience is the most annoying part when you are passionate about growing your credit profile. Best of luck to you - I think AMEX and NFCU are good companies to continue researching. There have got to be some threads on here about people with similar profiles who have applied for those.

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Ok, so chase wasn't generous with the freedom for you to begin with either :/ Big fan of NFCU, will have a card with them in the future when I've had a longer relationship with them. Wish they had some 0% offerings. That Elan card is a good one, no doubt..a less picky lender version of a similar US Bank offering, from threads on here. Looks like I'd need to join one of those cu's to qualify.

Appreciate your input and data points.

Going to do the amex bce.. think I may also do a hp for the chase cli right after the amex is approved. Since I'll be inactive with apps for a year after that, I don't think that inquiry will hurt much, especially if it's done before slow amex reporting changes my score. More research today, to confirm if that is likely to be the case..

edit- here I was thinking about my sl, was flat out declined! lol. I prequalified by filling out my info a week or so ago, didn't expect this at all. They said to call Ex...