BOA or Chase for a high limit?

[tiger0]

Hi everyone! First post here

I'm sure this has been asked many times before but I couldn't get a definate answer through Google so thought I'd ask anyways.

I have a score of 751 according to credit karma, approx 2 years age, two cc totaling 4k with <8% utilization. I'd like to get a cc with atleast 7k limit, should I be better off going to BOA or Chase? Already have a citi

[gdale6]

The first thing to do is to CLI the cards you have then go for a higher limit card. Higher limits beget higher limits. In the scenario you have proposed I like Chase better if your profile is completely clean.

[Creditaddict]

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@tiger0 wrote:

Hi everyone! First post here

I'm sure this has been asked many times before but I couldn't get a definate answer through Google so thought I'd ask anyways.

I have a score of 751 according to credit karma, approx 2 years age, two cc totaling 4k with <8% utilization. I'd like to get a cc with atleast 7k limit, should I be better off going to BOA or Chase? Already have a citi

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looks like you might have a thin file.

I would check your Citi card though as other poster stated and see if you click the credit line increase if your account has the new form loaded "to check for increase without doing a hard credit pull" and put that through and see where that gets you.

what is your 2nd credit card?

have you checked the pre-qual online for both Chase and BofA and see if you get any offers?

[longtimelurker]

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@gdale6 wrote:

The first thing to do is to CLI the cards you have then go for a higher limit card. Higher limits beget higher limits. 

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Very frequently said, but really not true in at least my experience.   I think it is more:

Once your CR(s) are good enough to get high-limit cards, it is then good enough for other lenders to also give you high limits.  So higher limits beget higher limits is, to my mind, mixing up causation and consequence.

And then other factors, such as lender policies and lender exposure limits intervene as well.   So my last few cards have had CLs like (in chronological order) $22K, $12K, $5K and $15K.

Not much evidence there for high limits begetting higer limits.

[slick_shoes_182]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@gdale6 wrote:

The first thing to do is to CLI the cards you have then go for a higher limit card. Higher limits beget higher limits. 

---

Very frequently said, but really not true in at least my experience.   I think it is more:

Once your CR(s) are good enough to get high-limit cards, it is then good enough for other lenders to also give you high limits.  So higher limits beget higher limits is, to my mind, mixing up causation and consequence.

And then other factors, such as lender policies and lender exposure limits intervene as well.   So my last few cards have had CLs like (in chronological order) $22K, $12K, $5K and $15K.

Not much evidence there for high limits begetting higer limits.

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In my experience, the phrase "Higher limits beget higher limits." is definitely true for some banks. The causation is also clear.

The credit analysts at some of my banks say that seeing someone that has experience with a credit line of a particular magnitude (can be at another bank) is less risk than someone who has similarly high income, FICO scores, and account ages but has never had as much credit available to use (or misuse). Also, they say that it is less risky for them when they are not a cardholders largest credit line. As a result, it makes sense to grow your credit line at a more generous bank first, then go back to other banks to grow their credit line (of course you could run into "too much credit available" at that point.. so many factors to consider and it really varies by bank and luck with your credit analyst).

I have a Chase and Bank of America (BOA) card. I can't really speak to which one is easier to grow since I haven't sought a credit limit increase at Chase for around 7 years. I find that my BOA card is far more useful because they regularly send 0% APR offers, while my Chase Freedom hasn't sent those in ages (And when they did, they were less useful as they had to be used for balance transfers and not direct deposists.. I didn't have a no-cash-advance fee card I could pair those with at the time). Both are large enough to accomodate regular spending so I don't have any reason to grow them further for that purpose. In my experience, BOA definitely follows the approach I mentioned above and is more likely to grow credit lines when you already have other credit lines (especially with age)  that are higher. That's not to say that they won't be your biggest credit line.. they are often willing to.. but they will move faster if they are playing "catch up" to other credit lines.

[tiger0]

Thanks for the great responses everyone, definitely a lot to learn. I think I'll see how a cli goes at my citi card then try BOA if needed.

[Dr_Credit]

If you want higher credit limit, then try BOA. At least for my case, BOA Visa Signature worked better for me when it was about higher limits. Chase Freedom did not help me with high limit. In fact, they decreased my limit when my credit score dropped back in 2009. However, Chase Sapphire Preferred recently gave me high CL. But CSP has annual fee and i think their approval requirements are also higher (require higher income and higher credit score).

[B335is]

Agree with Dr_Credit. I think the card type you're going for also plays a significant roll. Chase Marriott will likely yield a higher limit than Freedom. BoA always gives me middle of the pack limits, but there's always exceptions. Citi Executive AAdvantage has been handing out some sick limits lately and with your established relationship that might actually be your best bet for a high limit.

[efranklin23]

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@Dr_Credit wrote:

If you want higher credit limit, then try BOA. At least for my case, BOA Visa Signature worked better for me when it was about higher limits. Chase Freedom did not help me with high limit. In fact, they decreased my limit when my credit score dropped back in 2009. However, Chase Sapphire Preferred recently gave me high CL. But CSP has annual fee and i think their approval requirements are also higher (require higher income and higher credit score).

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+1 BofA would definitely get you there. Be sure to try a CLI using one of the backdoor numbers to get directly to an credit analyst.

[Walt_K]

You might be better off going for another Citi card.  Which Citi card do you have?  When I got a Forward, they gave me an initial CL of $7K.  About a year later I applied for a Citi AA card and the initial limit was $17.5K.  If you've developed a good history with Citi, you might get a better initial limit on anther Citi card than you would get as an initial limit on a first card with either BofA or Chase.