Need Help with an App Spree (Fun one for the Vets!)

[Anonymous]

Hey Fico Fam,

I’m about to go on an “App spree” and looking for some vets to let me know anything I’m missing or give some insight I may not know.

My Goal: Get $125,000 total lines of credit. I don’t care about SUB, points, perks, annual fee, or even APR really. Need money to invest in my business so the highest possible credit limits on each card is my *sole* objective.

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I’ve read opening too many cards at once could risk some of them getting shut down (then again, I’ve seen others apply for 7 to 8 cards and get approved). So I’m *thinking* 5 cards max.

Right now I only have 2 cards total, and below are my stats:

$1,000 - cap one (also bank with them)

$3,000 - local bank card

- 0 debt

- 1% utilization

- thin profile (4 to 6 total open accounts)

- Inquiries: 1/12 EX, 0/12 TU, 0/12 EQ

- New accounts in last 12 months: 2

- AAoA - 1 Year, 5 Months

Scores:

EX F8 = 769

EX F9 = 756

TU F8 = 772

TU F9 = 794

EQ F8 = 775

EQ F9 = 778

Income: $60k

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Here were the cards I had my eye on / my plan:

1st App: Chase - Pull EQ and maybe EX:  Sapphire Preferred or a IHG or SW Card -- I’ve read people say co-branded cards give them higher credit limits. I really wanted the Reserve initially, but got scared since I have thin profile and saw some getting declined even with high scores. I also know Chase has the whole 5/24 thing, so I wanted to apply to them first.

2nd App: Citi Prestige - Pull EQ -- I’ve seen people getting high limits with them recently (1 guy with a ~750ish score, 1 year credit history got $24,000)

3rd App: NFCU - Pull T9 which is 794 -- This will be my only Transunion pull I think. Need help with what card to go with for this one. I see people getting huge limits on Power Cash Rewards, Flagship, and others, so not sure which card to pick.

4th App: PenFed (EQ 9-778), Synovus (EQ 8-775), or Unify (EX F2 which is 751) -- Not sure which to go with out of these since they all give high limits. From what I’ve seen Synovus gives the highest, but it’d be another EQ pull.

5th - Capital One Venture (All 3 Bureaus) -- Going with this one last since: 1) I have a relationship with them which will help. And 2) They pull all 3 bureaus…. So I want the 3 dings to happen and then I be done.

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Well Vets, this is (was?) my plan.

Where am I going wrong?

For Chase should I get the Preferred, IHG, SW or some other co-brander?

What card do I go with for NFCU? How can I get a $25k limit with that 794 TU9?

Who to go with between PenFed, Synovus and Unify? Should I apply to MORE than 5 apps? Help a noob out.

Your expert help and insight would be GREATLY appreciated! 

(P.S. while $125k is my ultimate goal I understand I may fall short)

[Jnbmom]

@Anonymous 

Your previous thread you mentioned negatives, are they still reporting? Your scores are good, but remember scores aren't everything > I have doubts you are going to get big limits right off the bat given your current short and low limit cards.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey Fico Fam,

I’m about to go on an “App spree” and looking for some vets to let me know anything I’m missing or give some insight I may not know.

My Goal: Get $125,000 total lines of credit. I don’t care about SUB, points, perks, annual fee, or even APR really. Need money to invest in my business so the highest possible credit limits on each card is my *sole* objective.

----

I’ve read opening too many cards at once could risk some of them getting shut down (then again, I’ve seen others apply for 7 to 8 cards and get approved). So I’m *thinking* 5 cards max.

Right now I only have 2 cards total, and below are my stats:

$1,000 - cap one (also bank with them)

$3,000 - local bank card

- 0 debt

- 1% utilization

- thin profile (4 to 6 total open accounts)

- Inquiries: 1/12 EX, 0/12 TU, 0/12 EQ

- New accounts in last 12 months: 2

- AAoA - 1 Year, 5 Months

Scores:

EX F8 = 769

EX F9 = 756

TU F8 = 772

TU F9 = 794

EQ F8 = 775

EQ F9 = 778

Income: $60k

---

Here were the cards I had my eye on / my plan:

1st App: Chase - Pull EQ and maybe EX:  Sapphire Preferred or a IHG or SW Card -- I’ve read people say co-branded cards give them higher credit limits. I really wanted the Reserve initially, but got scared since I have thin profile and saw some getting declined even with high scores. I also know Chase has the whole 5/24 thing, so I wanted to apply to them first.

2nd App: Citi Prestige - Pull EQ -- I’ve seen people getting high limits with them recently (1 guy with a ~750ish score, 1 year credit history got $24,000)

3rd App: NFCU - Pull T9 which is 794 -- This will be my only Transunion pull I think. Need help with what card to go with for this one. I see people getting huge limits on Power Cash Rewards, Flagship, and others, so not sure which card to pick.

4th App: PenFed (EQ 9-778), Synovus (EQ 8-775), or Unify (EX F2 which is 751) -- Not sure which to go with out of these since they all give high limits. From what I’ve seen Synovus gives the highest, but it’d be another EQ pull.

5th - Capital One Venture (All 3 Bureaus) -- Going with this one last since: 1) I have a relationship with them which will help. And 2) They pull all 3 bureaus…. So I want the 3 dings to happen and then I be done.

----

Well Vets, this is (was?) my plan.

Where am I going wrong?

For Chase should I get the Preferred, IHG, SW or some other co-brander?

What card do I go with for NFCU? How can I get a $25k limit with that 794 TU9?

Who to go with between PenFed, Synovus and Unify? Should I apply to MORE than 5 apps? Help a noob out.

Your expert help and insight would be GREATLY appreciated! 

(P.S. while $125k is my ultimate goal I understand I may fall short)

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Don't. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

Its going to be hard to get huge limits out of the gate when lenders see your current limits. Your scores may be high but not all 790s are created equal. Of your list, Navy may be the only one to give huge limit off bat but then again you might get $500. Play the long game if you want big limits , 60k can get good limits regardless if some may think small  but Rome wasnt built in a day. Lending environment is very different right now as well. You asked the Vets, i think you'll  find us saying much the same. 

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous 

My kinda boy !!!!....I also never cared for SUBs, points, annual fees, APRs...etc..etc..Just the higher credit limit. That's all. Secondly, I am not a vet but I think I can relate to your objective better.

You say that your goal is to get $125k then I will be honest to tell you that you not gonna get this much limit and all these cards. Period. The list of cards you have mentioned here, to be interested in, to get then most of them you will not get especially Chase Reserve. The starting limit on that card is $10k...your profile doesn't support that kinda of limit. I am sorry but all you have is good score...that's all...otherwise, you have a very thin profile...not enough age of your cards...low limits...In order to get approval of big shot credit cards with higher credit limit, you have to have thick profile...income...no baddies...and at least two big limit cards...You have nothing going on....sorry but its a bitter truth...I don't know about your income...Income also plays a vital role when it comes to a credit limit...There is no way in this world you will get approved for all these cards or get approval for $125k total limit as of now...

If I were you then I will strategically go ahead with my plan...slowly and surely...you can indeed achieve your goal but with a plan, patience and of course with time. Otherwise, it could be possible that you might get approved for some cards here and there now but SL will be very small given your profile. To achieve your goal, I would apply ONLY Navy Federal credit card as NFCU loves profiles like yours..thin one and even with baddies...no income verification either...and the biggest advantage is big SL which you desperately need to get big limit cards in the future...So apply for a card with Navy Federal, and do not apply for any other card with any other lender for at least for two years...otherwise, you most probably will get denial from every lender or if you get approved then credit limit will be very low. And don't apply for their Flagship card yet because the starting limit on that card is $5k...So if they don't approve you for this card then it would be flat out denial...With their other cards, at least you get approval no matter how low SL would be.. Responsibly take care of that card for at least 2 years or better 3 years and then apply for all these cards...3 cards in every 6 months..These cards are not going to disappear, so to say that you have to apply and get now. If your ultimate goal is to get all these cards and this much limit then you can achieve your goal but time is all you need and at least 2 higher limit cards ...at least one would be mandatory, otherwise there is no way you can get this much limit.

On a personal note, do not ever apply for more than 3 cards in 6 months, otherwise lenders can/may shut down your accounts and you would risk getting shutting down of long time existing accounts too...Last month I applied for 14 cards and got approved 12 of them. But 2 weeks later, 4 of those cards closed down by saying- aggressive behavior in seeking credit. Remind you, limit on each of those cards was over $35k ...Very hardly and many days of back and forth calling/writing, I was able to get reinstatement  on the condition that I will be closing down some of my accounts within 6 months...And 2 of my previous lenders lowered my CL to very low to mitigate their risk...and one lender has completely shut down my account and don't budge to reinstate it. All this happened within 2-3 weeks period. I am not completely out of hook yet because other lenders might respond too... sooner or later, I assume. If I would have listened to good people over here, this might not have happened. I was told  that I shouldn't do this kind of spree, and now result is here for not listening to them. I got total $415k in two weeks spree.

So its not about how much credit limit you will get in the end, rather how many accounts you opened which would make lenders to take adverse action on accounts...Thus, its better to get at most 3 cards in 6 months...slowly but surely, otherwise you will risk losing cards which you would have worked so hard to get....

You say that you want all this credit so that you could start a business or invest in a business then I am not sure how you could do this...because lately (in a year or so) most banks do not allow good portion of your available credit for cash advance...most limits are for purchases...Some lenders (credit unions) do allow cash advance or even balance transfer for full limit of your available limit without any fees, but zero % APR would be only for time beings though....Unless you have plan to run away with the money...lols...I don't know how you can invest credit cards' money in business...Anyway, I don't need to know all this...lols

Speaking of higher limit cards then there are many to chose from...Of course, Amex, Chase...Bank of America..BBVA...Fidelity....and most credit unions cards especially First Tech FCU...NASA...Penfed...Affinity...Langley...United Nation FCU...But with credit unions, be ready to provide proof of income...with most of them...Bottom line- credit limit is profile and income driven. Even if a bank or credit union is well known to give out higher credit limit, yet still it would depend on how thick profile and income someone has except NFCU...because NFCU is known to give big big CL to applicants with low income...bad credit profile...thin profile...And let's assume that even NFCU will give you very low CL, yet still it would be ok because you would have enough time to get huge credit limit with them in next 2-3 years as NFCU is extremely generous in increasing credit limits later on if they start out with lower limit...so your best bet is- start out with NFCU and work your way up...Hold on to applying any more credit for at least 2-3 years then you will be rewarded ..and then you would have the last laugh...Time is what you need to add to your profile...Good luck...

[coldfusion]

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@Remedios wrote:

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Don't. 

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This is the correct answer.

As an aside issuers have varying levels of tolerance for business spend being placed on personal credit cards.  If you're going to insist on overlooking sound advice at least research this.

[OmarGB9]

Yea this may have worked about 4-6 years ago, but not anymore. Especially with the pandemic and current economic climate. I'd suggest applying for 1 card every 6 months, going with most important to least important.

[Anonymous]

@Jnbmom Hey man yea I got the derogs removed. Only thing wrong with my credit now is history and length of accounts.

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To everyone else, I appreciate all of the constructive feedback. I'm going to try a few cards and report back on the results .

Thanks!

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

This is a bad idea. Even if you get an approval from Chase, they're gonna sp your reports in a few weeks and if they see the other apps, they'll shut down the card. Not to mention using personal cards to fund a business.

[Anonymous]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

This is a bad idea. Even if you get an approval from Chase, they're gonna sp your reports in a few weeks and if they see the other apps, they'll shut down the card. Not to mention using personal cards to fund a business.

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If possible: disregard the personal cards to fund a business part. That's not going to happen, I will try to get a business loan.

Also this is good info on Chase. This is why I'm here, so I know. I understand they are very strict, so I'll simply not apply to any of their cards right now.

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Just did prequalifaction for Discovert It Cash Back, Miles, Navy Fed flagship (and all their other cards). Pre-qualified for all and going to check more where I can.

Who knows, I might shock the world. Lol. I'll report back.

I've been researching this for over 4 months, so let's see. Nothing to lose for me. I don't want to credit score there to look pretty. I fought harder than you can imagine to get 3 derogs off, and going to see if I can cash in. If I can't, no issue, I learned something.

But we're going to see.

My TU9 bankcard score is 804. All my bankcard 8 and 9 scores are higher than my standard scores.

I think there's something about my profile where banks might like me.

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And let me say this one thing in my "defense":

I understand my credit history sucks... Is horrible....

But now think about the people who have had credit for 15 to 20 years: YES, they have the length and the history, but they also have an average debt of $80 to $130,000

So we have:

Them: 15 to 20 year credit history, $80 to $130,000 debt

Me: 1.5 year credit history, $0 debt

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For Fico Scores, credit length counts 15%, debt counts 30% ....  *shrug*

In Fico's eyes, I'm kicking their *** (I think).... But we are going to see here soon.

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Keep the input coming it's helping me. Thanks a lot