How to Break the CLI Barrier

[Anonymous]

I'm fairly new on my credit journey.  Within 18 months, I went from no score (thin file) to buying a house just 2 weeks ago.  Every step I've taken to get here has been a shot in the dark with very little understanding but now I want to really start making purposeful, calculated steps to increase my scores and limits. 

I have a decent collection of cards in my wallet, all store cards except for 2 Cap1s (1 platinum and 1 secured) and mostly small limits.  My largest limit is $4k on Amazon but then my limits take a sharp dive to the next highest at $1500 with my Cap1 Platinum.  My inq are sitting pretty high right now with 17 in the last 12 months (about half from mortgage) but my util is only at 13%.  My scores are in the 660 range so I know I have lots of room for improvement.  
I don't want to add any more new cards or inquiries to my deck for at least 6-9 months but I do want to start increasing my limits.  When I'm trying to go for SP CLI lately (by luv button, call or chat), I've been getting either tiny offers of only $200-$300 or flat out denials.  

Reading on here, I see lots of different strategies of how to start getting those mega CLI.  The denial letters I get back state that its either high inquiries or too many new accounts.  At this point, is patience my best friend until my accounts and inquiries age or is there a course of action that I could try taking?  TIA!

[ddemari]

are you refering to synch bank soft increases that are being flat out denied or cap 1?

if you are talking about synch. bank call this number 866 519 6441 and ask for a CLI on the card of your choice, if granted which is possible with credit solutions. hang up and call again and ask on a different card for a CLI. 

calling credit solutions yields an approval for me when chat would not give me anything. they are easy to deal with. the whole process takes a few minutes. no harm by calling, its a soft pull look at your reports. 

[fury1995]

What Store cards do you have?

Also, you stil have a secured card with Cap One? i would think if you are clean enough for a brand new mortgage, you should be able to move on from the secured card.

[pizza1]

you need to list your cards and limits so we know more

[Anonymous]

Sorry!  Here's the added info:

Amazon $4000

Cap1 Platinum $1500

Cap1 secured $525

The Limited $700

NY&Co $900

VS $350

Express $750

Kohl's $300

Menard's $1000

TJMaxx $250

I've thought about closing out my secured but I thought I'd keep it until I'm ready to replace it.  My AAoA is only 1.2 years and without that card, I'm afraid it will drop too significantly.  My goal is to gain cards outside of stores and Cap1 but knowing how high my inq are, I want to hold off for several months before apping any more.  So in the meantime, my goal is to work with what I have and start growing these limits.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry!  Here's the added info:

Amazon $4000

Cap1 Platinum $1500

Cap1 secured $525

The Limited $700

NY&Co $900

VS $350

Express $750

Kohl's $300

Menard's $1000

TJMaxx $250

I've thought about closing out my secured but I thought I'd keep it until I'm ready to replace it.  My AAoA is only 1.2 years and without that card, I'm afraid it will drop too significantly.  My goal is to gain cards outside of stores and Cap1 but knowing how high my inq are, I want to hold off for several months before apping any more.  So in the meantime, my goal is to work with what I have and start growing these limits.

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Your AAoA wont drop just because you close the card. It will continue to report on your CRs for roughly another 10 years before it falls off, adding to your AAoA and length of history.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry!  Here's the added info:

Amazon $4000

Cap1 Platinum $1500

Cap1 secured $525

The Limited $700

NY&Co $900

VS $350

Express $750

Kohl's $300

Menard's $1000

TJMaxx $250

I've thought about closing out my secured but I thought I'd keep it until I'm ready to replace it.  My AAoA is only 1.2 years and without that card, I'm afraid it will drop too significantly.  My goal is to gain cards outside of stores and Cap1 but knowing how high my inq are, I want to hold off for several months before apping any more.  So in the meantime, my goal is to work with what I have and start growing these limits.

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Your AAoA wont drop just because you close the card. It will continue to report on your CRs for roughly another 10 years before it falls off, adding to your AAoA and length of history.

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That's so good to know!  I always assumed it was based off of open accounts only.  Any other pros or cons I should consider before closing it now?

[Countingpennies]

Are the 17 inqs on one CRA, or the total on all 3?

Since you plan on gardening for awhile, if it were me, I would add a couple of new cards before gardening and let them start aging now. You might consider a Discover card, it has been giving CLIs for many, sometimes monthly. Barclays is a good card to add now, seems slower to grow, but decent. Walmart and Lowes are also good to have, and can grow fairly quickly to a nice limit. 

The only Visa/MC cards you have are Cap1. The above cards I've mentioned can be obtained with a 660ish score.

And this is just my experience, but my Synchrony cards, some of which I've had for over 2 years, stayed on the low CL side until my scores went over 670, then I was able to get them all up to $4-6k, all in the same week.

[Anonymous]

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@Countingpennies wrote:

Are the 17 inqs on one CRA, or the total on all 3?

Since you plan on gardening for awhile, if it were me, I would add a couple of new cards before gardening and let them start aging now. You might consider a Discover card, it has been giving CLIs for many, sometimes monthly. Barclays is a good card to add now, seems slower to grow, but decent. Walmart and Lowes are also good to have, and can grow fairly quickly to a nice limit. 

The only Visa/MC cards you have are Cap1. The above cards I've mentioned can be obtained with a 660ish score.

And this is just my experience, but my Synchrony cards, some of which I've had for over 2 years, stayed on the low CL side until my scores went over 670, then I was able to get them all up to $4-6k, all in the same week.

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Its 17 inq listed on EX - my other reports are similar.  The last card I tried was Lowe's but got shot down for inq and too many new accounts.  I called to try a recon but was shot down.  I'll take a look at Discover and Barclays and see if I should go for one more before I garden.  Thanks!

[tntexans72]

Credit is a game of patience. You need to let those accounts age for 6-12 months before applying for any more cards. Having a short history with that many inqs will get you shot down. You really don't want to waste any more inqs. In the meantime, you can work on getting those cap1 cli because those are all SP. Let cap1 see some usage and history before applying for a QS or Venture in 6-12 months. Even if you get approved now, most likely it will be a small SL. Congrats on getting those cards, you just have to sit tight and let them grow.