A couple of days ago I posted in here about my recent experiences trying to raise the limit on my Capital One Platinum: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Capital-One-CLI/td-p/3691598
Anywho, following all that I noticed that today was the last day of Chase's get $200 back on a $500 spend new account offer for the Chase Freedom. This was a card I had had my eye on for a while, but was going to put off until next year. The fact that the offer was expiring today made me figure what the hell, and I app'd. Unfortunately I received the dreaded "your application needs further review" message, so instantly called Chase's backdoor reconsideration number (1-888-270-2127) and spoke to a very nice lady there. She asked for my social, and to confirm my personal information. At that point she said she would put me on hold and would be right back in a couple of minutes. Sure enough, about three minutes later she comes back on the line to tell me congratulations, you have been approved for a $4,500 CL and should receive your card in about 7-10 days. This puts the Freedom second in my CL, right behind my AmEx BCE which is now sitting at $7,500 as of a few days ago.
I have also been looking around for a replacement Amazon card, as Discover's 5% online shopping expires at the end of this month. The popular consensus seems to be that the Sallie Mae World Mastercard is the way to go here (although these days it's run by Barclays). Again, I was going to wait until the new year to app for this, but fresh off the Freedom high I slapped in the application anyway. Instant approval, with a $6,300 initial CL. I was a little blown away by that point.
A year ago I started out with absolutely no credit history whatsoever. I was an immigrant with a newly-issued green card, and I couldn't get the time of day from anyone. I had to start out with a Merrick Bank secured Visa, which I opened in December 2013. From there I responded to a mailed offer from Capital One and got a Platinum from them, and a few months later was somehow approved for an AmEx BCE and a Discover It. I am basically the poster child for starting from absolutely nothing, and just paying your bills on time each month, every month, and keeping a low utilisation. I've got some great advice from people here, too; this forum has been invaluable.
From hereon out I really only have my eyes set on one more card, that being a Chase Sapphire Preferred, which I plan on app'ing for sometime early in the new year (maybe after 1-2 months of paying my Freedom will help me there). On Chase's site I was shown as pre-approved for the Freedom, CSP, and the Slate, so I don't think that is going to be a hard sell. My latest FICO listed on my Discover statement was 724, and that's probably going to take a small hit with the inquiries from Sallie Mae / Barclays and Chase, but there you go.
As someone who has quite modest means and am about as far from a six-figure salary as you can get, this has been quite a surprise. I guess managing credit responsibly, even with a moderate income, can really reap dividends. Put it this way: if I can do it then anyone can do it.
A summary, for anyone this may help:
Merrick Bank Secured Visa - $500 initial CL - Opened December 2013, Closed (by me) August 2014
Capital One Platinum - $500 initial CL - Opened April 2014 - Increased CL to $750 October 2014 (automatic - credit steps program)
American Express Blue Cash Everyday - $2,500 initial CL - Opened July 2014 - Increased CL to $7,500 December 2014 (online request by me)
Discover It - $750 initial CL - Opened July 2014 - Increased CL to $1,250 November 2014 (online request by me, took a hard pull)
Amazon Chase Rewards Visa - Rejected August 2014 (reason: not enough credit history)
Sallie Mae World Mastercard + Chase Freedom both on their way
Discover IT $17k / US Bank Ace (VSig) $13.5K / US Bank Cash+ (VSig) $13.5k
