Best app strategy?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, been cleaning my credit for 2 years and finally ready to make the big app spree to get the most limit with least amount of inquiries etc.ie multiple cards with one hard pull each card.

Started in the high 400's and now at 675 ex, 700 on eq and tu.

2 medical collections 2 years old remaining- tried everything they are not coming off but have little effect anyway.

Havnt app'd or had an inquiry on any report in 1.5 years

Ex 4 inquiry
Tu and eq 2 inquiry each

Current cards:

Discover secured w 1k limit, balance $0. 1.5 years old
Cap one quicksilver $750 (was in credit steps and they raised from $300 to $750 6 months ago. 1.5 years old
Cap one platinum secured $3300 limit, $0 balance 2+ years old
First national bank Omaha Amex secured (was savings star and converted to their bank straight. 1k limit $0 balance

Income 100k yearly, no mortgage, no car loan, late 30's.

I carried balances on all 4 cards since I had them. Zero late pay on all cards with perfect payments and now all carrying no balance.

So I'm ready to finally rock and app spree away. I'm looking to go highest limits on any card doesn't matter the strategy. There is nothing more to improve at this point as cards are paid, history is built as good as I can and the 2 collections over 2 years old for 2k are medical and they won't negotiate or come off.

What is my best strategy to app? Looking for high end cards with best ways to max the limits been reading on this forum for years and looking for everything you guys got, i.e. Should apply at specific cards first that look at inquiry count, amex3x limit, some cards should be app first as my ex score is on the cusp etc. want to have a good strategy to go all in one day or within the same minute to apply for all to have best chances. Open to anything

Thanks!

[TrialByFire]

Congrats on your rebuilding journey keep it up! Have you tried a PFD on the med collections? Any bump in score could help out with the APR you get. Speaking from experience, it sucks to get a decent SL and high APR then need to carry a balance on it.

Back to your original question, if I understand correctly, your goal is to high SL without regard to card features such as rewards, BT, etc? If so NFCU and penfed seem to get better mileage in terms of SL for a less than perfect profile. CapOne used to be known for high SL with the Venture, not sure if that's still the case or if you're within safe striking distance. CSP would be minimum $5k and it's a good Chase product. BofA cash rewards is a good all around card and the HP CLI can be monsters! However both pull EX and that looks like your lowest score, although Chase could hit your TU as well. Are there any particular features you're looking for? That'll help further narrow down the options. What's your tolerance for paying an AF?

Now for an alternate, more conservative approach: work on unsecuring the cards you have like discover and requesting SP CLI. It also looks like you're ready for a SP CLI on your quicksilver. Not saying you wouldn't get decent SL if you app now, but my personal experience shows lenders hand out higher SL when you have high SL at the time of the app.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi everyone, been cleaning my credit for 2 years and finally ready to make the big app spree to get the most limit with least amount of inquiries etc.ie multiple cards with one hard pull each card.

Started in the high 400's and now at 675 ex, 700 on eq and tu.

2 medical collections 2 years old remaining- tried everything they are not coming off but have little effect anyway.

Havnt app'd or had an inquiry on any report in 1.5 years

Ex 4 inquiry
Tu and eq 2 inquiry each

Current cards:

Discover secured w 1k limit, balance $0. 1.5 years old
Cap one quicksilver $750 (was in credit steps and they raised from $300 to $750 6 months ago. 1.5 years old
Cap one platinum secured $3300 limit, $0 balance 2+ years old
First national bank Omaha Amex secured (was savings star and converted to their bank straight. 1k limit $0 balance

Income 100k yearly, no mortgage, no car loan, late 30's.

I carried balances on all 4 cards since I had them. Zero late pay on all cards with perfect payments and now all carrying no balance.

So I'm ready to finally rock and app spree away. I'm looking to go highest limits on any card doesn't matter the strategy. There is nothing more to improve at this point as cards are paid, history is built as good as I can and the 2 collections over 2 years old for 2k are medical and they won't negotiate or come off.

What is my best strategy to app? Looking for high end cards with best ways to max the limits been reading on this forum for years and looking for everything you guys got, i.e. Should apply at specific cards first that look at inquiry count, amex3x limit, some cards should be app first as my ex score is on the cusp etc. want to have a good strategy to go all in one day or within the same minute to apply for all to have best chances. Open to anything

Thanks!

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I had decent luck getting a better limit than my Quicksilver by apping for a second Quicksilver - I'd recommend a trip through the capital one pre-qualifier and bite if they offer a low APR (lowest is 13.24%) - if you go this route you can then combine whatever you get with your existing QS in 6 months

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

If your goal is high limits on your cards, apping with 675-700 scores IMO is not the right move.  Most of the cards you'd be considering give the higher SLs to profiles with scores that are 730+ generally speaking.  Certainly there are exceptions.  If you don't actually need the card(s) right now, I don't see the purpose in apping if you goal is big credit limits as the limits you get aren't going to be all that great.  And, IMO, you won't grow those limits as quickly as if you just garden a while longer and start out with greater limits to begin with.  Just my opinion here.  If you've already gone 1.5 years without apping, what's another 6 months to put yourself in a better position to get what you really want.

[myjourney]

Questions:

Cashback or travel?

Where's most of your spending food, travel, other?

What is the purpose of the cards you select other than high limits I guess is my question because every card should have a purpose and reason for the app since UTL buffer is not needed in your case and even when I see UTL buffers I suggest paying it down instead of getting more cards as a hide all 

Otherwise there's no sense in obtaining it 

Just my .02 tho 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply. Yes the Amex will graduate the reps have told me anytime now. Discover will as well. I spend on food and travel but this is not as important to have a card specifically for his. I'm trying to get cards that are 2-5k then work on them from there and ideally apply for as many that make sense all in one day.

[Anonymous]

Thanks as well for the post. I don't think waiting 6 more months will being scored up 50+ points. The capital one secured at 3300 is already over 2 years and I do t have any balance on any of the cards. It's either garden for years more or try to establish some decent cards and work on cli on those wouldn't it? Shouldn't I try to get at least 2-3 better cards and work on building those? If so would it be best to app them all at once? I appreciate the feedback!

[Anonymous]

Sl is preferred the highest but I'm ok with just getting my foot in the door with better cards I will use from now on the build relationships with them. Do you think a 675 ex is enough to app Amex, BofA, csf and penn fed? These seem to be the best and I could grow with them. If so is there a right or wrong way to app these as far as which first or second etc as well as min the hard pulls?

Thanks again!

[kuku4koco]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi everyone, been cleaning my credit for 2 years and finally ready to make the big app spree to get the most limit with least amount of inquiries etc.ie multiple cards with one hard pull each card.

Started in the high 400's and now at 675 ex, 700 on eq and tu.

2 medical collections 2 years old remaining- tried everything they are not coming off but have little effect anyway.

Havnt app'd or had an inquiry on any report in 1.5 years

Ex 4 inquiry
Tu and eq 2 inquiry each

Current cards:

Discover secured w 1k limit, balance $0. 1.5 years old
Cap one quicksilver $750 (was in credit steps and they raised from $300 to $750 6 months ago. 1.5 years old
Cap one platinum secured $3300 limit, $0 balance 2+ years old
First national bank Omaha Amex secured (was savings star and converted to their bank straight. 1k limit $0 balance (How Long?)

Income 100k yearly, no mortgage, no car loan, late 30's.

I carried balances on all 4 cards since I had them. Zero late pay on all cards with perfect payments and now all carrying no balance.

So I'm ready to finally rock and app spree away. I'm looking to go highest limits on any card doesn't matter the strategy. There is nothing more to improve at this point as cards are paid, history is built as good as I can and the 2 collections over 2 years old for 2k are medical and they won't negotiate or come off.

What is my best strategy to app? Looking for high end cards with best ways to max the limits been reading on this forum for years and looking for everything you guys got, i.e. Should apply at specific cards first that look at inquiry count, amex3x limit, some cards should be app first as my ex score is on the cusp etc. want to have a good strategy to go all in one day or within the same minute to apply for all to have best chances. Open to anything

Thanks!

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The FIRST thing I would do is unsecure these cards...  Why have they been secured so long?  You aren't going to get 'Better' cards still having 'Secured' cards on your profile.  Call Discover, Call Captial One and get those unsecured.  First National as well, if it's been a year or more.  You might be putting the cart before the horse until this is done... Apping for BOA will get you another secured BOA...   Just my .02 cents..!!  Goodluck!!

[Anonymous]

I don't see anything wrong with adding another card now (though waiting a little longer won't hurt either).

I'd just be very selective about the cards you try to get, and whenever possible, try to get pre-qualified before applying. Not very long ago, I had scores and a card selection similar to yours. I then got myself frustrated with a round of inquiries and denials. Then I decided to only go app on prequalified offers. 

Chase might be a good place to start. They have an online prequal site. They gave me my first unsecured card with FAKO's around 670. They also gave me a credit limit that I was more than happy with ($2500), as my highest CL at the time was $500. Chase might also make sense as you are still in the 5/24 window.

I don't have any experience with Nave Federal, but others here seem to really like them and it sounds like they can be very accommodating to folks that are still rebuilding.