The other day, I found myself making a purchase on eBay. After receiving an offer for interest free/no payments for 6 months on PayPal Credit, I decided to apply for **bleep**s and giggles. Bam! Instant approval with a $1k limit. A few hours later, I realized that if I'm going to take the temporary hit from inquiries, may as well apply for more cards. Applied for the Chase Freedom, because free money--a $200 bonus is nothing to scoff at.
Not only did I get instant approval, they gave me a $1900 limit. I realize this may not sound like a lot, but I've had cards with Discover/BoA for the past 1.5-2.5 years and my limits on those cards is $1k a piece. It was at this point that I said "**bleep** it" and applied for an American Express. 5 minutes later, I had a Blue Cash card with a $2k limit to boot! Too bad they wouldn't let me backdate as an authorized user on my parents' Platinum Skymiles card.
Only decline was for the Fidelity AmEx, but considering that a) I have no real use for the card and b) I more than tripled my credit over the course of two days, I don't really care. The rep on their recon line suggested they could reverse the decision if I closed my existing account with BoA, but I like to keep a Visa with no forex fees on hand for travel.
Until I turn 22 or start work full time, it's back to the garden for me!
Discover IT $17k / US Bank Ace (VSig) $13.5K / US Bank Cash+ (VSig) $13.5k
