Chase CC CLI - worth the HP?

[Anonymous]

Hey y'all!

I know Chase pretty universally only does CLIs with a HP (save for the occassional, lucky auto SP CLI).  I've even read that, if you have multiple Chase CCs, they do an HP for each CLI request (i.e., even if you request them the same day).  Wondering whether y'all think, either in general and/or specifically for me (my info below for background), it's would be worth the HP to request a CLI with Chase.

I currently have 7 cards:

AmEx Blue Cash Preferred—$0 balance/$13,500 limit (got a SP CLI just yesterday, up from $5,000)

AmEx Delta Gold—$0 balance/$1,000 limit (ugh, I know, and they just refuse to approve a CLI on this one, or reconsider the CLI denials)

BofA Travel Rewards—$0 balance/$11,300 limit (also got CLI just yesterday, with only a SP thankfully, up from $4,700)

Chase Freedom Unlimited—$0 balance/$5,000 limit

Chase Slate—$0 balance/$3,500 limit

Citi Double Cash—$6,500 balance/$7,300 limit

Discover It—$2,000 balance/$6,500 limit

I was unfortunately running at 90%+ of the limit on all of my cards for several months until just a few weeks ago, when I finally was repaid money I had to lend for an imminent emergency using cash advances on my CCs.  I immediately paid off all but the $2,000 on my Discover and the $6,500 on my Citi (which I'll also be able to pay down gradually over the course of the next several months, definitely before the end of the year).  My Equifax and Transunion are both back up over 700 (now that my utilization ratio is back down under 20%).  I currently have 3 HPs on my Equifax (2 will fall off in December), and 0 HPs on my Transunion.  I'll need to have at least 1 more HP on my Equifax in September when I have to re-lease or purchase another vehicle.

So my questions are:

1. Is Chase typically, or to someone with my profile, generous or not with CLIs?

2. Does Chase prefer to use a specific bureau for CLI HPs (if it's TR, I'm much more likely to consider the CLI since I have 0 TR inquiries)?

3. In light of my information, would you recommend me requesting a CLI on either of my 2 Chase cards?

4. Does the fact I need to re-lease/purchase a vehicle in a few months impact your opinion in any way, and how so?

Thanks a million in advance for your time and input!

[pipeguy]

Without going step by step on your post, I'll just ask if you "need" the extra credit limit from Chase? The reason I ask is it looks like you have plenty of available credit and at least for me Chase seems to be a tough nut to crack as far as CLI's.

I've wasted more than a few over the years with Chase with the same "not today" results. I do have 3 Chase cards, two are my only cards under $10k (AARP SL $6k, current limit $5k and Amazon SL $5k,  current limit $5k) The one Chase card I have with a 10k limit Freedom Unlimited has an APR of 24.74% which makes it useless to carry a balance.

I don't think the extra HP will hurt you as far as buying or leasing a new car in September, but at least for me, a CLI HP request from Chase has never been a good use of an HP. 

[kdm31091]

If the CLI is really needed for your spend level on the card, maybe go for it. Otherwise I’d just save the pull because Chase isn’t known for great CLI results even with taking the pull. If you can get by with the current limit, I’d just leave it. Not that the HP is the end of the world, but it just rarely seems to yield people much success.

[Anonymous]

I'd only suggest it in the event you really need the increased limit - purchases that exceed your CL in a single transaction, higher limit to better utilize a BT on your slate etc..

In my case I'll be taking the HP cli on my sapphire preferred sometime after 1yr anniversary in September because I NEED to have at least a $10k limit in order to PC to sapphire reserve, and even if I don't get the full $5k needed to get me to CSR territory I still make a lot of travel related purchases that butt right up against or exceed my $5k SL in a single transaction & I don't like the idea of having to hope the charge is within the "flexible spending" range above my credit limit that Chase is willing to grant me.

From your post it seems to be more of a want rather than need, so I'm suggesting NO don't take the HP but I might be wrong or have misread your post. Only you know for sure but I'd say don't do it

[Credit-hoarder]

I took a double HP hit earlier this month to get my 4 year old CSP up from its original SL of $5k. The result was only another $5k. Wasn't super disappointed but was hoping for a little more- like $15k total line.Wasn't worth the double hit for me because I've gotten more from other lenders with single SP's. But what's done is done.

[Viva-LV]

Chase is a tough nut when it comes to cli's.  I took an hp only to get denied on my Marriott awhile back, but gambled on the new Hyatt card, got a monster sl.  I'd leave them alone for a few months, and work on BOA.  I'd consider a BT card from BOA, lessen some of that Citi card balance.  BOA likes you (with that cli), I'd try for another card.  I've had up to four with them, now down to two.  Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input, y’all! As for my reasons for wanting CLIs, I figured it might be a good way to decrease my utilization ratio even further while I work on getting the remainder of my balances paid off. I know the effect on my score, as a result of decreasing my utilization ratio further, would only be marginal given that I’m already under 20% (wow that feels nice to say after being at over 90%+ and seeing my score plummet 100+ points during that time). But if the effect of a CLI would be to raise my score by more points than an HP would decrease it, wouldn’t that make it worth the HP?

As for some of y’all’s comments suggesting I should perhaps consider getting a whole new card to BT my Citi balance, that raises a couple questions for me.

1) I obviously already have a BT card with the Chase Slate, but it’s unfortunately beyond the 15-month 0% interest promo on BTs, so I highly doubt it’d be of any good use in transferring any of my balances. Additionally, I currently have 7 CCs in total, so I’m concerned getting any more would start to be a red flag for future creditors—if not the auto leasing/financing companies, then perhaps—and more importantly—(a) housing lenders (I have a 2-year, or at the most 3-year, timeline in mind to purchase a home); and/or (b) student loan refinancing companies (which I’ll definitely be considering in the next 2-3 years, as well). If that’s just me being paranoid or making an incorrect presupposition, and getting another card for a BT is definitely my best option, then by all means let me know and I’ll look into that.

2) I suppose the only other thing I could do would be closing the Chase Slate, and then get a different BT card. But my concern with doing that is, I’ve heard closing an account can be very harmful to your score and/or a red flag to lenders. Is that also incorrect, and would it not negatively affect me much to close an account (I opened the Slate account a little over 2 years ago, so it’s my second youngest account).

My main goal in all of this is to increase my score and creditworthiness.

[RadioRob]

In terms of doing all of this to increase score/creditworthiness, I personally would not waste the HP.

You seem to have your UTIL under control and you're not going to see much further help score wise.

With that being said, my Chase cards have been my primary drivers. I just put 9K through my CSP and another 3K through the Freedom. (It was painful cutting the check this month, lol.) They recently doubled my CSP from 15K to 30K and for the Freedom from 10K to 20K.

Regarding your questions.... closing a card does not hurt you. It would only hurt you if you closed it with a balance (you would be maxed out on that card basically). It would obviously lower your overall UTIL as well. But as long as your overall percentages are not hurt.... no score impact. That card will help contribute to AAoA for approximately another 10 years before falling off.

In terms of adding cards and how it looks to lenders, they typically only really get concerned if you've taken a bunch of credit in a short period of time. I have way more than 7 cards and had MULTIPLE prime offers for the last vehicle I financed back in May and have been approvals from Chase and AMEX. In terms of a mortgage... just don't apply for anything within 6-12 months of when you plan to apply for that mortgage. (Again, it's not the number... it's how recently you were seeking credit.)

[iced]

My experience has been Chase will gleefully toss 5-figure CLIs your way if you ask them. I'm also under the impression I've somehow broken through their barriers and mastered their secret sauce given how many others here state Chase is notoriously difficult to get CLIs from.

All of that said, if you're going to them from a position of desperation (my util is high and I need breathing room) they'll probably toss you to the wolves. The best time to go to them is when you don't need the breathing room, but rather you're doing them a favor by letting them give you a CLI. Taking in your data points on the whole, I'm not optimistic they won't see you as falling into the first category. They won't see your recent CLIs, but they will see the util on the Citi card. I would say your best chance is to call them and ask for the CLI on the Slate and explain the intent is to do a BT from the Citi. The Slate's a BT card and you're making your request look like one of prudence that will benefit both you and Chase.

If you tell them you're about to buy a car, I'd say your chances will drop as taking on more debt is the last thing you should be doing (or they will want to see you doing) with your profile right now.

In my case, Chase only ever pulls EX, but some others have reported other bureaus.

As an aside, you never have to lend money and you should never be compelled to lend money. If lending someone money puts you in a precarious situation or exposes you to risk, you can always say no.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again everyone for the input!  From reading y'all's responses and researching more information and experiences, I feel the best option is to reallocate the entire CLI from my Chase Slate card over to my Freedom card, and close the worthless Slate.

Another interesting issue y'all have made me consider now, is whether I should consider another BT card (i.e., one of the many out there with a 15-month 0% BT interest rate promo), to move over the balance of my Citi card.  Even a card that charges a 4% upfront transfer fee on the BT (some apparently even offer 3%) would have saved me money after less than 4 months, due to the interest I'm paying every month on my Citi card balance.  I'll definitely be able to (and will) pay the Citi card off within the next 6-12 months, but almost certainly not within the next 3 months.  So getting another BT card in the meantime seems to make good financial sense, and far more worth the HP than the one required to request a CLI from Chase.

My final questions, then, are:

1. Before closing the Chase Slate card, would it be worthwhile to call customer service, let them know I'm considering closing the card to get a BT card with a different company since the Slate 0% interest promo is over and the credit limit is too low anyways to take on the balance of my Citicard, and see if they offer a CLI and/or another 0% interest promo? 
2. Assuming that isn't possible and/or doesn't happen with my Slate card, are there any other cards y'all would particular recommend I consider, perhaps including those (i) known for giving generous credit limits (I would obviously need it to be at least $7k to take on the Citi balance), (ii) with especially great BT promos (i.e., lower BT transfer fees, longer 0% BT interest promos, no annual fee, etc.), and/or (iii) with notable benefits (i.e., rewards, cash back, etc.) other than the 0% interest BT promo, so that I don't end up in the same boat with the Slate, where I have a worthless card once I've paid it off?  I've seen in other threads people recommend the following cards for BTs: CapitalOne Quicksilver, Citi Simplicity and/or Diamond Preferred, BofA BankAmericard, Wells Fargo Platinum Visa, and HSBC Gold Mastercard and/or Cash Rewards Mastercard.  Do y'all have any strong preference and/or aversion to any of these?

• Is there any benefit whatsoever, one way or the other, to getting another card with a bank you already have an account, versus a new bank altogether?  For example, it'd seem odd to me for Citi to give me a second card that I'd in turn be using to transfer the balance off my current Citi card (in fact, I wouldn't even expect that to be allowed)—perhaps I'm mistaken in that suspicion, though.  And given that I'd be closing my Slate card, it'd seem weird for me to turn around and immediately open another Chase card, assuming there even is another one besides the Slate with a worthwhile 0% BT interest promo.  As I mentioned above, the BankAmericard is apparently recommended for BTs, and I currently have a BofA account, so I suppose that would be a potential candidate if it'd indeed be better (or at least not worse) to have a second card with them, rather than a card from a new bank.  Otherwise, I only have cards with AmEx and Discover, and I haven't seen cards from either that seem good for my BT purposes.
• For whatever reason, I was told my entire life that Cap1 is a lesser brand, which is why I've never applied for one.  But if I didn't know any better, the Cap1 Quicksilver seems on its face to be the best overall option here, given that it has no annual fee, the lowest upfront transfer fee (3%), a more-than-sufficient BT interest promo period (15 months), and rewards other than the BT promo (1.5% cash back) to warrant future use of the card after I pay it off.  By comparison, the Quicksilver seems to be essentially the same as the BankAmericard, except the latter has no rewards benefits at all.  The only drawback I see to the Cap1 is that they apparently do an HP on all three bureaus, which isn't really a big deal but still doesn't seem to be the case with any other bank.  If the Cap1 does happen to be the one y'all would recommend here, since I have zero experience with them, I have no clue what kind of credit limits they're generally known to give, and which I can reasonably predict given my profile—any general insight on this either?

Many thanks yet again for your time and suggestions!