What is the secret to Synchrony Backdoor CLI's? Can't get them to budge!

[Anonymous]

I have been reading over and over about the success that people have with CLI's from Synchrony's backdoor number. My accounts are new, and I do have a small balance on them, but I have tried for the last two months, and have had no success. They deny me and they say it's based on my credit report, but I read all the time about people telling the reps about how they are going to make a big purchase, etc - does that really help, or is it more based on scores, and credit worthiness. Also, the reps I spoke to said that it was automated and they couldn't do anything to help me. Am I talking to the wrong people? I have tried chat and calling with no luck. I am trying to increase my WM and Amazon so I can do some Christmas shopping. I have enough, but the shopping will likely take me to my max. My starting limit at WM is $800 and the same at Amazon. Any tips or tricks to help me get a CLI?

[Anonymous]

Your situation may vary, but I found that keeping very low overall utilization helped, as well as keeping low utilization on my Synchrony cards.

And, the CLI floodgates started to open when my FICO hit 730. Synchrony likes mid-700's TU FICO's. That's not to say that you won't have success with a different FICO, as many have had success at all levels. I can only say that I noticed more movement with CLI's and Credit Solutions relative to Synchrony when I brought my utilization way down and my TU FICO went up.

Your comment that your accounts are brand new also factors in. If you are new to Synchrony and they are telling you that your credit profile does not support an increase, they may need time as well as usage and payment history to get to know you as a new cardholder. Normally you can place a CLI request with Synchrony every 4 months, although at times a number of us on the board have received them sooner.

I'm sorry you are having difficulty. Perhaps review the reasons they are giving you once you receive the letter from Synchrony and start to work on those.

[Anonymous]

Usage and history will go a long way, making up stories does not.

[Anonymous]

I couldn't get an increase on my Amazon card until my TU scores improved.

[Anonymous]

Usage and history makes sense to me, but what about the posts that I see about someone having an Amazon card and getting a CLI a month later? That isn't enough usage or history to make a difference, but I am seeing other people with an upper 500 score talk about calling and giving stories and getting a larger credit line - how is that possible? Are people just making stuff up when they say they called and told them this or that and got a CLI? My scores hover around 630 right now because my average age is down due to a few new accounts. The credit report looks no different from the time that I applied, so I wondered if it was due to the new inqs? It's frustrating seeing so many people say all they did was call and give a story, and they got a CLI, so I figured there has to be more to it.  One guy said he would really like to help me out, but it's all automated, so I thought maybe I was calling the wrong people based on what others are posting.

[Anonymous]

I guess the first question is what if your current TU score at? That in part is going to determine the max that you can probably climb to on the CL of those two cards. Being at certain score ranges is partly going to drive the max CL or CLI's that you can get. To really start opening the doors on CLI's with Synch you need to be 680 or above. That's not to say that you can't get some increases prior to that though. I got my Sam's card when I was in the 630's and it started at $437. They would not raise it or increase it at all. With that card it seems that you need to cut your first statement before they will even consider a CLI. Now for me in that months time my TU jumped from 634 to 679. I was able to call them about a month and a half after getting it and bump it to 4k. Just prior to that I apped for the Amazon store card when I hit 679 and was approved for 1.2k. I immediately called and was able to push that to 4k. It may have help with getting Sam's to 4k that my Amazon was already there. In fact I asked them to match the 4k on Amazon and they did. I'm also helping DGF with her credit and she was approved for Walmart for 600 and Amazon 800 with a 634 TU. I'm probably not going to have much luck pushing much past that until her TU score climbs although with some usage and payment history she might be able to get some small bumps though I doubt she's going to see those two cards climb past 1500 or 2k until the score jumps. 

[Anonymous]

I agree with numberzgame that stories are not helpful. Where exactly have you seen people with upper 500 FICO scores getting magical CLI's from Synchrony?

Everyone's profile is different and there is no "one size fits all". CLI's are not solely based on score. Another person may receive a CLI at the exact same FICO score when you do not due to differences in their profile.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Usage and history makes sense to me, but what about the posts that I see about someone having an Amazon card and getting a CLI a month later? That isn't enough usage or history to make a difference, but I am seeing other people with an upper 500 score talk about calling and giving stories and getting a larger credit line - how is that possible? Are people just making stuff up when they say they called and told them this or that and got a CLI? My scores hover around 630 right now because my average age is down due to a few new accounts. The credit report looks no different from the time that I applied, so I wondered if it was due to the new inqs? It's frustrating seeing so many people say all they did was call and give a story, and they got a CLI, so I figured there has to be more to it.  One guy said he would really like to help me out, but it's all automated, so I thought maybe I was calling the wrong people based on what others are posting.

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You must have been posting this while I was typing up my last reply. If you're right around 630 or so that's probably is part of why you having trouble getting them to bump the CL's past what they are at. You may simply need to wait just a bit and let all your new accounts age a bit. INQ's, new accounts, and the reduced AAoA pull you down a bit but they rebound. Sometimes takes a couple of months to see it. I saw big drops in my scores as my first 6 or 7 accounts hit my reports but then they climbed back to what they were previously and then way beyond after that. Sometimes it's just a matter of letting stuff balance back out and then rebound. You'll get there though. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 The credit report looks no different from the time that I applied.

Here is another part of your answer right here. If your credit report looks no different than at the time you applied, you really haven't given them any reason nor basis to offer a CLI.

[Anonymous]

I actually had three synchrony accounts.  WM, Sams Club MC, and Paypal.  I had them over 5 years before I got an increase.  Because my scores stayed around the 600 mark.  Once my credit profile started changing and my score started climbing I finally was able to see some increases.  Walmart went from 400-3500 and paypal went from 690-2000 when my score reached 647.   Sams club MC has been much harder, because it's a MC they want it over 700 before they'll increae it any.  Hope this helps.