Hello all -
Been taking some time to read these boards, and they have been so incredibly helpful. I filed Ch 7 BK in 3/2007 (discharged 6/2007) with a fair amount of debt partly due medical illness and living beyond my means. I burned MBNA, BoA, Chase, and Citi. I've done some work on improving my credit since then - some smart...some dumb, but now that I'm over 7.5 years out, I have a system that is working well for me. I budget like crazy, have an emergency fund, and I do spend a fair amount of time thinking about needs and wants. I had some cards early on after my BK, but I carried a balance, and realized that I needed to make my cards work for me. At that point, I learned to pay my cards in full, and for the most part, earn money from my cards.
Up until the 14th of this month, I had the following cards:
1) Capital One QS WMC CL$5000
2) Chase Freedom CL $2800 (Initially a WaMu Visa, then became Chase Platinum after the merger, and then PC in 2011 to Freedom).
3) Discover More CL$6000
4) Barclaycard Apple iTunes Visa CL$5000
5) Target Credit Card CL$3000
My cards have been sitting at the same limits for more than a year. My scores were in the 710-730 range across the board and have not budged in a while. My utilization is anywhere around 3% to 35%, and as I mentioned, I pay my cards off each month. (I've not paid interest since 2011 when I finally decided that it wasn't worth it). My other debts include student loans and a car lease.
While I try hard to minimize having HP, I decided that it might be time to expand my cards. I also really wanted an American Express card as I wanted to travel more. So...after a lot of thought and time reading these boards, I went on an app spree. I wanted to share my results.
I applied for AmEx Platinum, AmEx BCP (since it would be a SP, I figured why not), Chase Freedom (before I realized you can't have two cards in the same product family - but that didn't end up in a HP), Barclaycard Rewards Plus (had a preapproved offer), and REI Visa (because I like the store a lot). Here's what happened:
1) AmEx Platinum: Approved instantly.
2) AmEx BCP: Approved with $8000 CL
3) Chase Freedom #2: No pull, no card. (Not wishing to push my luck with them for now)
4) Barclaycard Rewards Plus: Approved with $1500 CL (now in a sock drawer)
5) REI Visa: Declined. (Not surprised, I had read here that USB wasn't a huge fan of having a BK on the record)
I was happy, but here is where everything gets weird. I go on my merry way, happy to get what I did. I saw messages about Cap1 being generous with CLIs in the last week - so I look online, and voila! I had a CLI for a new limit of $10,000. I also took the opportunity to upgrade my Discover More Card to the IT card so I get my full 1% cashback when used, instead of the tiered rate. The AF for the AmEx Platinum and BCP are offset from the benefits for each card.
Then, yesterday, I went to get my mail. There was a thick envelope with a new card, and I just assumed with my new Discover IT....
Surprise! REI Visa Signature with $14000 CL. I didn't recon. I don't even know how that happened.
I am in the garden until this time next year. I'm thinking about going for a Marriott Rewards card or a CSP at that point, but we'll see. Also, am planning for the 3x CLI on BCP on day 61.
So, there is hope for us who have had messed up in the past. 
Grats OP, nice surprise on the REI
That's amazing! What a blessing. Congrats on your rebuild and your approvals!!
Starting Score : 575 May, 2013