Credit Limit Increase... on the way to improving my score

[DesertLife]

Hey everyone,

I've been working really hard on increasing my financial situation and improving my credit score for a long while now. I never thought to ask for a credit limit increase from my bank though. I've had my AMEX since August 2009 (3 years) and it has a limit of $6,000. Well, after reading the forums on here and taking the sage advice, I called and asked for a credit limit increase......

I waited after they asked for my gross income (before taxes)....

Do I own or rent my home....

Then, do I wish to have them run a credit check... yes...

service rep: "Well, it looks like you have been approved for a limit of $11,000 do you wish to accept this limit or a lower limit?"

me: "I'll take the $11,000 limit!......whoohoo"

I'm not going to go crazy and max out the card (I hope), but I will continue to manage my balance wisely and now it will be easier to keep the balance below 10% at all times!

Any more advice on improving my credit score? I'm trying to get it from 714 to 775 by January. Can I apply for another card with such a recent limit increase? I'm wanting to get an airline miles card because of some upcoming air travel.

Other details:

Mortgage 1: $146,000 Mortgage 2: $15,000

Line of Credit: balance $25 / Limit: $2,000

AMEX: Limit: Owe: $25 / $11,000

Gross Income: $5751/mo Net Income: $4364

[Crashem]

Is AMEX your only credit card?  If so, I recommend you go for a couple more credit cards.  No problem getting credit card after CLI as AMEX only does soft pull on credit after pulling.

I would recommend you app for 2 (maybe 3 cards) at same time:

1) First think about another AMEX revolver to help maintain your AAoA as you will get backdated 3 years.  If there are none that you really like, go for a no AF revolver.

2) Get a VISA/MC.  CSP is nice card.  It doesn't give miles, but UR points which can be converted to many airline miles.  The big thing about CSP card (chase sapphire preferred) is that first year AF is waived and pretty good bonus of 40k UR points if you spend more than 3k in 3 months.

[pizzadude]

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@DesertLife wrote:

Hey everyone,

I've been working really hard on increasing my financial situation and improving my credit score for a long while now. I never thought to ask for a credit limit increase from my bank though. I've had my AMEX since August 2009 (3 years) and it has a limit of $6,000. Well, after reading the forums on here and taking the sage advice, I called and asked for a credit limit increase......

I waited after they asked for my gross income (before taxes)....

Do I own or rent my home....

Then, do I wish to have them run a credit check... yes...

service rep: "Well, it looks like you have been approved for a limit of $11,000 do you wish to accept this limit or a lower limit?"

me: "I'll take the $11,000 limit!......whoohoo"

I'm not going to go crazy and max out the card (I hope), but I will continue to manage my balance wisely and now it will be easier to keep the balance below 10% at all times!

Any more advice on improving my credit score? I'm trying to get it from 714 to 775 by January. Can I apply for another card with such a recent limit increase? I'm wanting to get an airline miles card because of some upcoming air travel.

Other details:

Mortgage 1: $146,000 Mortgage 2: $15,000

Line of Credit: balance $25 / Limit: $2,000

AMEX: Limit: Owe: $25 / $11,000

Gross Income: $5751/mo Net Income: $4364

---

Congrats on the CLI !   AMEX is usually pretty good with CLIs, and it should only be a soft pull on your CR.   

How many revolving accounts are on your credit reports now ?   FICO scoring usually likes to see 2 or 3 open revolving accounts.

If you do decide to open another CC, you could consider getting another AMEX so that it will backdate to 2009 and will have less of an impact on your AAoA.

[DesertLife]

Crashem,

Thanks for the advice. The AMEX is my only card. I have a couple questions as I'm not familiar with the terms. I see that AAoA is average age of accounts. The AMEX I have us a USAA AMEX. Because of this it is not a traditional AMEX where it must be paid in full each month. Does that affect whether or not another AMEX will get backdated 3 years? What is a no AF revolver?

I've been seeing lots of reviews and ++'s for the CSP card. It looks good and I wouldn't ordinarly have a problem spending 3k in three months, as I use my card for all purchases and pay off at the end of the month. I'll take your advice and apply for that one, but I'm going to wait until I've decided on another card (or two) as well. I've heard applying at the same time is helpful to get approved.

Another I thought about is Alaska Airlines credit card. I will be flying 10 round trip flights over 10 weeks on Alaska, all low mileage flights (500 per flight) so the extra 25,000 would be nice bonus points to accumulate. They have three cards though and I'm having trouble understanding if it's worth it to pay a $75 annual fee. Also, I see that you can redeem these points on many other airlines. I wonder if there's a better card through another airline that would offer more bonus points but still be redeemable through Alaska.

Here's the comparison:

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® card	Alaska Airlines Visa® Platinum Plus® card	Alaska Airlines Visa® Preferred card
Earn 25,000 Bonus Miles upon approval†	Earn 5,000 Bonus Miles upon approval†	Earn 3,000 Bonus Miles upon approval†
Receive an annual Companion Fare from $110 (USD) ($99 base fare plus taxes and fees, from $11 depending on your Alaska Airlines flight itinerary).†	Receive a $50 (USD) Discount Code Annually†
Earn 3 miles per qualifying $1 in purchases on Alaska Airlines flights†	Earn 2 miles per qualifying $1 in purchases on Alaska Airlines flights†	Earn 1 mile per qualifying $1 in purchases on Alaska Airlines flights†
Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases†	Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases†	Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases†
Earn up to 5 miles per $1 at partner restaurants†	Earn up to 5 miles per $1 at partner restaurants†	Earn up to 5 miles per $1 at partner restaurants†
$75 annual fee†	$50 annual fee†	$35 annual fee†
No miles expiration on active accounts†	No miles expiration on active accounts†	No miles expiration on active accounts†
Redeem points for travel on more than a dozen airlines	Redeem points for travel on more than a dozen airlines	Redeem points for travel on more than a dozen airlines
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. Receive coverage, at no additional cost, for damage due to collision or theft†
Visa Dining Privileges. Obtain prime-time reservations at fully booked restaurants. During non-peak hours get up to 15-20% off at participating restaurants†
Concierge Service. Get assistance with a wide range of services, including reservation, golf tee times and directions, 24/7†

[injustifiiable]

You should get in with a AMEX-issued AMEX. Unfortunately, it won't be backdated since the one you have isn't issued by AMEX directly. On the bright side though, any other cards you get from AMEX directly WILL be backdated, and it's more beneficial to get that relationship started sooner rather than later.

With your scores and income, you can probably get any of the ones they offer. BlueCashEveryday is a popular one recommended here. It has no annual fee and it is a revolver.

ETA: CLI's on the revolvers are pretty easy to come by too...you can do CLI's with a SP at 62 days after activation (up to 3x the initial limit) and then additional CLI's every six months up to 25K (without triggering a financial review).

[SwiftTone]

If it's not an AMEX issued by the Centurian Bank, then it will not be back dated. So USAA CC that is processed on the AMEX network will not be backdated

[DesertLife]

Thanks Pizza Dude,

I think applying for another AMEX makes sense to help with AAoA. I didn't understand it, but now it makes sense. I have one CC and one line of credit. Those are the only two revolving accounts. I was looking at the AMEX BLue Sky Preferred. Anyone have advice on that card or other options in the AMEX line?

[DesertLife]

Thanks Injustifiliable and SwiftTone for the info on the backdating. Oh well, I guess I'll have missed out on that backdating for now, but I think you're right; better to get the relationship started now to be able to utilize AAoA in the future.

The Blue Cash Everyday or Preferred seems like maybe a better deal than the Blue Sky. I mean, I will be flying more often for a few weeks, but in the long term probably not.

[swpopham]

Blue cash preferred is a great card, the chase sapphire preferred is my favorite card, its a metal cc and not plastic. Navy federal cash rewards is great too.

[DaveSignal]

I would wait till your next statement so your CLI can post to your reports and then apply for another card.  There is good chance the new creditor will give you a higher limit when taking to account your current credit limits.