AmEx CLI or Apply for new card or both?

[Anonymous]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

After some really stupid decisions in my 20's which brought my score down in the 400's (I believe), I've been working to rebuild my credit. Currently, I have a local CU card with a $2.5k limit. A few months ago, I decided to try to boost things a little and applied for an AmEx Delta Gold and was approved for $1k. My scores are now in the high 600's/low 700's (just over 700 is the latest according to my AmEx account. We are also buying a house (closing any day now, I hope!).

I was reading though here about the CLI with AmEx and plan to apply for it after we close. But, I also started digging some more into the other AmEx cards and found that I am pre-approved for one I really thought looked good for my uses: Blue Cash Preferred. 

My question is: can I apply for both the CLI and the BCP or should I choose one or the other? My AmEx has been PIF every month since I got it. My CU card has also stayed PIF since around May or so (liquidated some investments because I wanted to wipe my card and start from scratch with credit-building). The BCP looks great and a CLI would be big for us as we get ready to furnish this house, but I'm not sure what I should do so wanted to get some advice:

CLI current AmEx?

Apply for the Blue Cash Preferred?

Both?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You can do both and they're both SP and since Amex takes 2-3 months to show up on your reports you can execute w/o worrying about he mortgage process.  

During the mortgage process they typically shy away from apps / new accounts but, if you're not adding debt to the mix from the original numbers it's as simple as explaining the new account through a letter to the UW.

Also, Check the offers in INCOGNITO mode to make sure you're getting the highest possible bonus offer since you can only collect them every 7 years on new apps.  https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/?category=all

[Remedios]

Hi and welcome to the forums @Anonymous 

With an approval as low at that, you'll probably have better luck at 6 months than 61 days. A lot do not get a CLI even after a year with $1000.00 approvals when negative info is present. 

If negatives are still present on you CR, your next app with Amex may yield the same results

In general, Amex prefers clean files. Once your CR is clean, they will get over it 

They will approve with negatives present, but there is certain level of "punishment" after the fact associated with them. 

Honestly, until your CR is clean, I'd look elsewhere, or work on your negatives if you can. 

Good luck with however you decide to proceed 

[grower1]

Although Amex usually does soft pulls on new cards for existing members, it is not uncommon for them to do a hard pull. DH received a hard pull to Experian last week for opening a EDP. This was his 2nd Amex card, he typically runs about 10K per month through his Gold Card and PIF each month. No idea why Amex decided to hard pull but it does happen to some people. He was approved for the EDP, with a 20K starting limit. 

[Anonymous]

The maximum credit limit increase that would be granted by Amex is three times the current level; so the max you might be approved for on our current card is $3,000.

Also, some lenders treat a new credit card the same as a CLI so you'd want to pay attention to the order in which you apply.  With Amex you will only be allowed one CLI every 6 months so you'd be better off applying for a CLI then applying for a new card.

How long have you had the Amex Delta card?  What negatives, if any, are on your credit reports?

[MrCreditInternational]

Ask for CLI first, since you can't ask for a CLI for 61 or 91 days after getting approved for a card

Also I would say wait 3-4 months after approval to make sure you only get SP approval. I got HP when I applied for a second card even though my first card was 2 or 3 months old and reporting 

[K-in-Boston]

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@MrCreditInternational wrote:

Ask for CLI first, since you can't ask for a CLI for 61 or 91 days after getting approved for a card

Also I would say wait 3-4 months after approval to make sure you only get SP approval. I got HP when I applied for a second card even though my first card was 2 or 3 months old and reporting 

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Just to clarify, you can get a CLI on an existing card as long as you are eligible at any point after opening a new card as long as your profile supports it of course.  While the "at least 61 days" rule on CLIs on new cards does seem to apply to most people, there are exceptions where people have received CLIs on cards right away.  Keep in mind that Amex does have a policy that you can only receive a CLI on one card in any 181 day period, and you cannot ask for a CLI on any card if you have been denied a CLI on any card in the past 91 days.

Even though Amex does almost always take 2-3 statement cycles to report, this is a mortgage we're talking about.  Things can and do go awry during the process and I would not apply for any new credit prior to having the keys in your hand.  Most people usually see a decent score boost after a mortgage appears on their credit reports, so my advice would be to ask for the 3X CLI on your existing card now (worst case, you have to wait at least 91 days before asking again) and then wait until your mortgage is reporting to Experian before applying for the new card.

As @Remedios stated earlier, often Amex cards that are issued with $500 or $1000 limits can be very difficult if not outright impossible to grow while negative information appears on your credit reports, so indeed whatever you can to get those cleared up if possible.

[Anonymous]

Than you to everyone who has replied so far. Just to clarify: I am not doing *anything* until after closing. Just thinking ahead.

[darkpearl]

I recently applied for a new Amex card and they decided to split (reallocate) my large limit between my old card and new card with no warning. I called in and they restored my first card’s high limit which made my new card’s limit much lower than what they initially told me I was approved for. I think you have to weigh your desire to grow your current card’s limit with your desire to have both cards.