Amex BCP 75k+ limit possible?

[bch238]

There is no point to getting that high a limit on a card given your income. You will never use it.  Or, at least, you shouldn't.  And Amex certainly wouldn't grant it.

Moreover, mortgage companies are concerned about different things when extending credit than are credit card companies.  Every mortgage app is reviewed by a human being, and sudden run-up in credit like you imagine would probably be viewed as a negative, not a positive.

[RandomCreditDude]

Rather not say, if you don't mind.

No offense intended, I just like to stay anonymous. And this post has a fair bit of personal info already, though I did anonymize it. 

But thank you (and everyone else who responded) for the help. I learn something new everyday.

[Anonymous]

yeah you don't need to put any info on here you're not comfortable with. no one would ask you to go outside of your comfort level and that question had nothing to do with your post lol i was only curious due to wondering how other countries deal with credit scoring

[myjourney]

I see no need for a limit like that on a card that's capped on rewards IMHO 

If it were another card with uncapped rewards that you would benefit from greatly with large purchases then different story but BCP isn't it.

Just my 2 cents tho

[tacpoly]

I think if you don't need such a high limit and you're not close to bumping up on your current limit, then I wouldn't apply. 

You also have to consider that when applying for a mortgage, many banks look at your credit limit as possible debt (i.e. if you have a lot of credit, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble) so super high limits aren't necessarily a good thing in this instance.  So those people whose total credit limits are multiples of their income may find it biting them in the butt if they apply for a mortgage.  By the way, if you're carrying a balance (paying interest) I'd pay it off it as soon as possible.  Then just keep your credit report clean clean clean for the next year before you apply for a mortgage.  That means no inquiries, pay the full statement balance, and definitely no lates.

[redpat]

Get that 3x CLI right out of your head.  Anyone that says go for it is crazzzzzzy. 

Believe it or not your income isn't high enough to have a single 74k card, IMO.

[CreditScholar]

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@redpat wrote:

Get that 3x CLI right out of your head.  Anyone that says go for it is crazzzzzzy. 

Believe it or not your income isn't high enough to have a single 74k card, IMO.

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+1. Not only would it be questioned why you'd want such a high limit on a single card, your income doesn't even come close to warranting a 75k limit. 

[takeshi74]

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@RandomCreditDude wrote:

I have an Amex BCP with a $27k limit (and 6.5% APR). It's been that way for about a year now, and I was thinking about trying to get a 3x increase to ~75K. However, I'd like to hear from the community before I go ahead with such a large ask. 

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3x was just a limit on what one could request without getting an outright denial but AmEx changed that long ago.  3x is not what you would qualify for.  That depends on your credit profile, income and whatever other items AmEx considers.  No harm in making a $75K request IMO but I wouldn't suggest expecting 3x in your case.  If you qualify for less you'll get a counteroffer.  If you don't qualify for anything then you'll get a denial.  If they determine that income verification is required then you'll run into the 4506-T.  The implications there are that you're disclosing everything in your tax returns for the years requested.  Some find that to be too invasive and that's why they're 4506-T averse.

The point made earlier about diminishing returns with lower revolving utilization is definitely something you should consider if your goal is to increase your scores.  It's not just about limits.  It's about revolving utilization.  Generally, bigger scoring improvements come from bigger reductions in revolving utilization.  If you're already very low you won't see massive gains from getting it lower.  $6K / $120K is 5%.  You can probably get some points by driving it lower than 5% and by having fewer balances report but don't expect drastic gains.  At 5% revolving utilization isn't the major factor holding you back.

Additionally, revovling utilization is a fraction: balance(s) / limit(s).  You're not stuck with just increasing the denominator (limits]) to make a fraction smaller.  You can also decrease the numerator (balance[s]).  You can easily see if lower revolving utilization and fewer balances will produce major change by paying balances prior to report dates.  See what happens when you get down to 1% with only 1 balance reporting.

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@RandomCreditDude wrote:

I want a high limit because I'm planning to buy a house in a year or so, and want to drive up my credit score as much as I can.

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Keep in mind that best terms are generally offered with FICO 8 at around the 740-760 range.  Anything above that is just gravy.  While mortgage lenders don't use FICO 8 you probably have very good mortgage scores as well.  Nothing wrong with wanting the best possible score but don't put the cart before the horse.

Your AAoA is probably one of your limiting factors at this stage.  The people who frequent the Understanding FICO Scoring subforum may be able to give you better insight.

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@RandomCreditDude wrote:

Also, remember that I'm new to the US so I don't have the deep knowledge of the US credit system like you guys do.

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Don't assume that people in the US know the credit system.  Most are probably clueless.  Some here are more knowledgeable but we're all learning.

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@RandomCreditDude wrote:

Is there anything else I can do to drive up my credit score?

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Big gains come from addressing major issues with one's credit profile.  Consider your reports and compare against that standard factors for FICO scoring and their typical weights.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Based on what you've said, it doesn't sound like there's a whole lot of room for major gain.  Instead of thinking of the scoring range as a flat spectrum, think of it as a curve.  As your score improves additional improvements come with more effort and less return.  Assuming the score you posted is a FICO 8, a 765 is already very good.  Rather than just looking to push it higher for the sake of doing so, think about whether or not you're able to accomplish what you're looking to do with that score.  Again, 740-760 is generally the range where best terms are offered with FICO 8.

You don't have just one score.  For most models you have a score with each CRA.  Make sure you considering the shape you're in with all 3.

[hawaii-girl]

Just a small point about scores. Remember that it's not FICO 08 that's used for mortgages. TU is FICO 04, EX is FICO 02, and EQ is FICO 05.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@RandomCreditDude wrote:

EDIT: I have decided not to do this. I'll leave the post up for discussions sake, but I got some great responses that helped me decide to keep it simple and not go ahead.

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I have an Amex BCP with a $27k limit (and 6.5% APR). It's been that way for about a year now, and I was thinking about trying to get a 3x increase to ~75K. However, I'd like to hear from the community before I go ahead with such a large ask.

Here's my general credit picture -

Total credit available across 6 credit cards - ~120K (Amex is the highest at 27, the others range from 6-20k)

Utilization total - ~6000. Most of this is on the Amex, with smaller sums (in the $50-$100 range) on the other cards just to keep them active. 

FICO Scores - Last checked it was 765, but it should go higher cause I just paid down CC debt from 10k to 6k

Inquiries - 5, 3 of which are from 2014 and will age out soon. The other two are Saferent (from my lease) and Verizon (got FIOS). If I do ask for the CLI, I'll wait for the 2014 inquiries to drop off.

I also have a car loan which has ~$12k remaning. No other debt of any sort

Never had any negatives, missed payments etc. The only negative is my AAoA, at 2 years, with my oldest card at 4 years. I moved to the US in 2011, hence the relatively short credit history.

I have a high-ish income (150-165k depending on bonuses), and can validate that with my W2s from the past three years. This is a steady monthly salary, not variable income.

EDIT - forgot to say that my spending habits are modest and my existing credit is FAR more than I need.

I don't mind filling out a 4506-T, but not sure what the implications are. I've seen the forms and I don't mind sharing that information with Amex if needed.

Why do I want such a high limit? I want a high limit because I'm planning to buy a house in a year or so, and want to drive up my credit score as much as I can. The only variable that I can control is the total credit. Also, it would be kinda cool to have a really high limit, but I don't really care about that as much.

So, thoughts? Is it even possible to get a 50-70K limit on a BCP? Will this help strengthen my credit score? Is there anything else I can do to drive up my credit score?

Thank you

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I haven't read the post chain so pardon me for repeating what may have already been said.

Not seeing much value in cranking up the limit further on your AMEX relative to Fico score and credit worthiness. Your aggregate CL to annual income is 75%. That usually is sufficient for CC spend without undue hardship keeping AG UT under 9%. Nonetheless increasing total CL to 100% of income might be worth considering for added spend flexibility in the long run. I'd suggest doing this by spreading smaller CLIs across multiple cards or adding another card. 

Note: I allow my aggregate utilization on CCs to float naturally between 1% and 5% month to month. Never see an impact on Fico score specific to utilization in that utilization range. However, VS 3.0 bumped up my score by 5 points when utilization went up to 4% from 1%. That matched with what the CK simulator "predicted"

Best thing you can do to strengthen your score is stay clean and allow accounts to age.

You already have an open installment loan so you are good from that perspective. When your car loan drops to less than 10% remaining you are likely to see a score increase associated with balance to loan ratio dropping below a threshold. Unfortunately, when your car loan is paid off and closes, a score drop of 20 or 30 points is likely based on what other posters have experienced.