Welcome to the forums - you will get lots of different opinions and ideas to think about - Here are mine
I decided to increase my credit limit. What would be the ideal way to do this without hurting my score? The low hanging fruit would be to ask for CLI's on your existing accounts that use SP's instead of HP's. There is a list somewhere in the forums of what banks SP vs HP.
Some people say that hard pull dont matter at all if your credit is above 800 is that true? Not true. But it does vary based on other factors. If your credit file is 20 yrs old - 10 hard pulls are viewed very differently versus a 1 year old credit file with 10 hard pulls. And scorewise - HPs lowers it a few points not a big deal - but some CC banks are more sensitive to too many HPs than others.
How many hard pulls are considered okay for credit score above 800? Again - depends on what the CC bank thinks the answer is. But I would say 2 every 6 months is safe. They stay on your file for 24 months - so 8 or fewer - staggered and not all at once. Again I would go back to stress the CC banks tolerance of HPs varies.
Some people did like 12 inquirys per credit agency in a year totalling 24 hard pulls can I do the same? Sure you could - but not all at once obviously. And it may cause some banks to decline your application citing too many recent inquiries. Chase is well known that if you get approved and then proceed to apply for alot more cards - to reverse thier decision and immediately close your new account. I think Citibank and others may follow a similiar policy. Staggered apps are a better way to go in my opinion. 1 or 2 new accounts every 6 months tops.
Perhaps since i wont need any loans in the future for very long time can I apply credit cards as much as I can until bank turn me down? Oh Hell No - that is the first thought that popped into my mind. As mentioned above - banks can reverse their decisions if they see any signs of fraud or unusual activity that is not consistant with your previous credit history. I think 20 apps in a month would be a major red flag and have consequences.
SUMMARY - You want to hit 500k in limits, cool. Set a reasonable goal. This will take time to do it right. You are at 100k now - try and get to 200k in a year. And then 300k in 2 years etc. If I were you, right now I would add 2 more cards to your portfolio that can grow over time. You have Chase - no 1 bank is likely to give you a total of 500k in total credit unless your a millionaire - so you will have to spread it out. I recommend you establish a relationship with Amex, Citibank and Discover. Get one card from each and start building trust and history with them. Then next year if you want the larger credit lines - credit union cards like Pen Fed and Navy Fed CU are examples of banks that will offer higher CLs.
Anyways - like I said you will get a lot of different advice and others may have different ideas than me. Take it all in and then decide what makes sense to you.
Good luck on your journey and please keep us posted !
