UPDATE Approved When it comes to CLIs, should I ask for something realistic or shoot for the moon?

[JNesbit89]

For instance, one of my credit cards has a limit of $3,400. I have had perfect history with this bank (Citi) and have another card with them. Never once missed a payment or anything. I also have a FICO score of 778 and 785 with Experian and Equifax.

PayPal Credit (which is through Synchrony and only does soft pulls) has increased my limit from a leasly $1,200 to $3,800 to $6,000 to a final amount of $10,000 over the last two years.

I would very much like to get my two Citi cards increased from $3,400/$3,600 to $6000 at least. But why stop there? If I ask for $10,000 and they said NO, would they simply decline me OR would they give me the highest increase possible? How does that work? Thanks.

Bonus question - Anyone know with certainty if Citi does hard pulls or soft

[SoCalGardener]

Shoot for the moon!! That's my new-and-improved attitude after hanging around here lately.

I used to ask for paltry amounts, but I've reformed. And it can pay off! Or not...  But you have nothing to lose by asking.

Offhand, I can't recall any specifics of Citi, so I'm just speaking in general, if you ask for a big CLI and they're not willing to grant it, it can go one of two ways. One, they counter-offer with something smaller and you're free to accept or reject it. Two, they flat-out deny the request. But keep in mind that the denial may  have happened anyway, even if you'd asked for $1, because of your specific profile at that moment in time. In other words, I don't think denials are linked to how big an increase you requested--if they don't like your amount, but they're willing to give you *something*, they'll counter.

Citi is a soft pull. At least it has been for me.

[Remedios]

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@JNesbit89 wrote:

For instance, one of my credit cards has a limit of $3,400. I have had perfect history with this bank (Citi) and have another card with them. Never once missed a payment or anything. I also have a FICO score of 778 and 785 with Experian and Equifax.

PayPal Credit (which is through Synchrony and only does soft pulls) has increased my limit from a leasly $1,200 to $3,800 to $6,000 to a final amount of $10,000 over the last two years.

I would very much like to get my two Citi cards increased from $3,400/$3,600 to $6000 at least. But why stop there? If I ask for $10,000 and they said NO, would they simply decline me OR would they give me the highest increase possible? How does that work? Thanks.

Bonus question - Anyone know with certainty if Citi does hard pulls or soft

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SPs but you don't get to ask for any particular amount. In a nutshell, you get what you get. 

Citi trends to deny CLI requests when there are recent new accounts/inquiries. 

You can ask for HP after you get SP increase, but you shouldn't expect too much if spend isnt there. 

First SP CLI link can show up anywhere from 7 weeks to 6 months after account opening, after that it's every six months.

There is no shooting for the moon with them, though again, it's possible with HP and sufficient spend. They've also been refusing to do  HP for increases, so that may not be an option for you. 

[practical1]

Adding my 2 cents...

I have a Citi AA Advantage card -- the $95 / year one.  Applied for and was approved last May but was given a relatively low (for me) SL of $6,500.  Used the card a fair amount, paid off each charge just as soon as I could see that they posted; consequently, never ran any monthly balances.

Wanted a CLI to something more useful, so I also checked these forums for advice.  At that time, it was possible to ask for a specific CLI amount -- this may not be the case at present, as the Moderator noted or might not apply for your specific product.  Ultimately, I decided to try for a large amount and settled on a request for $15K, representing around 2 1/2 times my starting SL, rounded down to a nice even number.  Waited until I had a full 6 months of history booked with the account, then pulled the trigger through the online site.

Took a hard-pull, but did recieve the full $15K I requested.  Note:  My FICO-8 scores were in good shape (all in the 770 - 780 range), credit utilization  1%, few HPs, etc. and income more than sufficient.  No particular reason they should not have approved the request.

So, if this helps, I'd say.... shoot the moon, pick a defensible number, perhaps 2 or 3 times your current level, as a maximum and see what happens.  Worst that can happen is they turn it down. Best, they approve.  Maybe, they'll counter.  If they deny, you can always call their reconsideration number and see if anything can be done (you can probably search the forums and find that number, if you need it).

Best of luck!

[chiefone4u]

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@JNesbit89 wrote:

For instance, one of my credit cards has a limit of $3,400. I have had perfect history with this bank (Citi) and have another card with them. Never once missed a payment or anything. I also have a FICO score of 778 and 785 with Experian and Equifax.

PayPal Credit (which is through Synchrony and only does soft pulls) has increased my limit from a leasly $1,200 to $3,800 to $6,000 to a final amount of $10,000 over the last two years.

I would very much like to get my two Citi cards increased from $3,400/$3,600 to $6000 at least. But why stop there? If I ask for $10,000 and they said NO, would they simply decline me OR would they give me the highest increase possible? How does that work? Thanks.

Bonus question - Anyone know with certainty if Citi does hard pulls or soft

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Citi seems to have different rules for different cards... some of my cards with them don't let you request an amount online, some do. In my experience, the cards that ask how much you want will ask you to call a number to complete your request if you ask for more than their online limit is set at.

From my experience, ExxonMobil card is $2,500 max without calling in.

Macy's is $25,000 max limit from what I've read here (subtract your current limit from 25,000 to request maximum the online system will allow).

Off the top of my head those are the one's I know ask for an amount, my other cards I don't remember it asking for a desired amount. 

In my experience, if you ask for to much the computer will counter... if you have to call in, it has been my experience the response is a yes or no they don't counter. 

[PapaTunde]

Good luck with your CLI

[coldfusion]

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@chiefone4u wrote:

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@JNesbit89 wrote:

For instance, one of my credit cards has a limit of $3,400. I have had perfect history with this bank (Citi) and have another card with them. Never once missed a payment or anything. I also have a FICO score of 778 and 785 with Experian and Equifax.

PayPal Credit (which is through Synchrony and only does soft pulls) has increased my limit from a leasly $1,200 to $3,800 to $6,000 to a final amount of $10,000 over the last two years.

I would very much like to get my two Citi cards increased from $3,400/$3,600 to $6000 at least. But why stop there? If I ask for $10,000 and they said NO, would they simply decline me OR would they give me the highest increase possible? How does that work? Thanks.

Bonus question - Anyone know with certainty if Citi does hard pulls or soft

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Citi seems to have different rules for different cards... some of my cards with them don't let you request an amount online, some do. In my experience, the cards that ask how much you want will ask you to call a number to complete your request if you ask for more than their online limit is set at.

From my experience, ExxonMobil card is $2,500 max without calling in.

Macy's is $25,000 max limit from what I've read here (subtract your current limit from 25,000 to request maximum the online system will allow).

Off the top of my head those are the one's I know ask for an amount, my other cards I don't remember it asking for a desired amount. 

In my experience, if you ask for to much the computer will counter... if you have to call in, it has been my experience the response is a yes or no they don't counter. 

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If one is talking about core Citi cards (which based on how OP phrased the questions I suspect is what they were referring to) Remi got it exactly right.   CLI requests on core cards triggers a soft pull and if approved you will be advised of the amount given and possibly a message that you may (emphasis mine) get a larger CLI if you agree to a hard pull, with the option to just accept the SP CLI or proceed with the HP to see if you can get more.  You don't get to tell them what you want.

The rules are a bit different when it comes to cards issued through Citi Retail Services, and even then the rules differ from card to card.  For example, Macy's AMEX and Sears Mastercard CLI requests are soft pulls and you can request what you want but a CLI request on a Home Depot card triggers a hard pull and if you get anything it's what they want to give you.

[AndySoCal]

My approach in the past to credit limit increases is this I usally ask for 1000 to 2000 more than the current limit. I use this approach with all  credit card companies.  If I remember correctly it has been 4 years or so since I did this. My Citi Double cash card had a limit  around 7100 and I asked for 8000 received 11,100 where is is today. I did a similiar thing with my Lowes card which was at 6000 and aksed for 7500 received 10000.  I would also remind that my credit profile and other data points are different than  other credit profiles etc. Will my strategy work accross the board I do not know.

[JNesbit89]

I requested CLIs for both of my Citi credit cards. As others have said on here, they only did soft pulls. I didn't have the option to request a specific amount. I did get nice bumps though!! I went from $3,200>$5,800 and $3,600>$7,700.

I am attempting to increase my Best Buy credit card limit. They do require an Equifax hard inquiry. Here's the thing: I only have 4 hard inquries reported on Equifax, and all of them are mortgage applications that will fully drop off in 3 weeks. Therefore, I am unfreezing Equifax so they can do the hard pull and increase my BBY card. I initially was going to request $10,000, up from my $6,000 limit. But if there's no harm in asking for more, I'd probably ask for $15,000. That way when I eventually buy appliances it won't raise the utilization to the max!

[Remedios]

@JNesbit89 congrats, those are awesome bumps from Citi, especially since only SP was done 

I've moved your thread to approvals instead of locking it, so no need to start another one (unless you want to lol)