Few questions/clarifications

[Anonymous]

Happy New year to you all..

Hoping to get some insights and leverage the excellent, collective brain power of this community.

2015 was good and I did many things by the book and adhered to the advice/suggestions of this community. Result was a good number of A list cards and closure of one sub-prime card. I've about 12 cards and manage them well. Keep more in 0% APR cards and less in higher APRs, never withdrew cash, requested (demanded) timely CLIs and got a majority of them approved too...

Need advice/suggestions on the following:

1. Broke from gardening and app'ed for Amex BCE. Got approved but with $1000 limit - better than getting denied. Consequently, I'm thinking of closing my oldest card - a secured First Choice Bank card. I could really use the money in repaying other credit cards.

Clarification required - Have read that AAoA is not impacted if I close a card. Want a double confirmation on this one before closing.

2. Want to request CLIs for Chase (Amazon) and Barclay Rewards. Both of them are at $2500 now. It's been 6 months

Question/Clarification - Would 6 months be a good time for CLIs with both?

3. Also have an Amex Delta Platinum. Came in extremely handy in pushing my Delta status to Gold but the limit is a low $1400.

Question/Clarification - My 6th statement cuts on 20th Feb. Would that be a good time to request for a CLI or will it be auto CLI?

Thanks in advance to all for helping.

[kdong1996]

1. The card will remain on your report for 10 years so your AAoA will not be affected
2. For Chase it will be a HP and the CLI will highly likely be low. For Barclay you can call them and ask if there's any APR reduction offer, once you are transferred ask if there's a SP CLI option. 6 months is sufficient for both.
3. You can request one now. Try 3x as it will counter

[Anonymous]

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@kdong1996 wrote:
1. The card will remain on your report for 10 years so your AAoA will not be affected
2. For Chase it will be a HP and the CLI will highly likely be low. For Barclay you can call them and ask if there's any APR reduction offer, once you are transferred ask if there's a SP CLI option. 6 months is sufficient for both.
3. You can request one now. Try 3x as it will counter

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Keep in mind on the two Amex's you have now that requested CLI's work TOGETHER on them. The #3 above is assuming it's been over 180 days that you successfully got one or over 90 days having been denied. If you choose to go for one on your Delta now, you have to wait the 181/91 on the Delta and/or the BCE. With them giving you $1000 (min or almost SL) you may want to wait a couple months if you want a CLI on your BCE and even on your Delta. Of course, if you haven't gotten one you're technically eligible now, but if denied you'll be waiting 91. 

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Clarification required - Have read that AAoA is not impacted if I close a card. Want a double confirmation on this one before closing. 

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Answered above but you can also reference the the Closing Credit Cards thread linked in the Helpful Threads sticky.  Don't overlook the stickies and prior discussions as resources.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Would 6 months be a good time for CLIs with both?

CLI's are not simply handed out in exchange for time.  What you qualify for all depends on your credit profile and income.  If one or both improve in X time then, yes, it's a good time to request.  If you've been getting denied and nothing changes in X time then don't expect different results.

That said, it doesn't hurt to request a CLI based on an SP where applicable.  AmEx is one example.  See also the 3x CLI Guide for AmEx.

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@Anonymous wrote:

My 6th statement cuts on 20th Feb. Would that be a good time to request for a CLI or will it be auto CLI?

Same as above applies here.  It's not just about time.  The scores in your signature and the fairly low limits indicate that there are concerns with your credit profile.  Idenitify those issues and work on addressing them.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Happy New year to you all..

Hoping to get some insights and leverage the excellent, collective brain power of this community.

2015 was good and I did many things by the book and adhered to the advice/suggestions of this community. Result was a good number of A list cards and closure of one sub-prime card. I've about 12 cards and manage them well. Keep more in 0% APR cards and less in higher APRs, never withdrew cash, requested (demanded) timely CLIs and got a majority of them approved too...

Need advice/suggestions on the following:

1. Broke from gardening and app'ed for Amex BCE. Got approved but with $1000 limit - better than getting denied. Consequently, I'm thinking of closing my oldest card - a secured First Choice Bank card. I could really use the money in repaying other credit cards.

Clarification required - Have read that AAoA is not impacted if I close a card. Want a double confirmation on this one before closing.

If it's your oldest card, closing it is a negative, regardless of the AAoA, since oldest account is a separate sub-factor. However, if it's one of those creepy cards with an annual fee, drop it anyway.

2. Want to request CLIs for Chase (Amazon) and Barclay Rewards. Both of them are at $2500 now. It's been 6 months

Question/Clarification - Would 6 months be a good time for CLIs with both?

If you pull the luv button on Barclays it's a hard pull on your TU report, so don't do it. They'll give you an auto CLI when they're ready. If you feel strongly about applying, call up, ask for an interest rate reduction, after they switch you to a credit analyst and the analyst either grants or denies your request, ask if there are any offers available for a soft pull CLI. If so try that.

I don't know how it works with Chase.

3. Also have an Amex Delta Platinum. Came in extremely handy in pushing my Delta status to Gold but the limit is a low $1400.

Question/Clarification - My 6th statement cuts on 20th Feb. Would that be a good time to request for a CLI or will it be auto CLI?

It's a good time, and it's a soft pull, so you might as well, but I never got a CLI from Amex on my Delta Gold.

Thanks in advance to all for helping.

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[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@kdong1996 wrote:
1. The card will remain on your report for 10 years so your AAoA will not be affected
2. For Chase it will be a HP and the CLI will highly likely be low. For Barclay you can call them and ask if there's any APR reduction offer, once you are transferred ask if there's a SP CLI option. 6 months is sufficient for both.
3. You can request one now. Try 3x as it will counter

---

Keep in mind on the two Amex's you have now that requested CLI's work TOGETHER on them. The #3 above is assuming it's been over 180 days that you successfully got one or over 90 days having been denied. If you choose to go for one on your Delta now, you have to wait the 181/91 on the Delta and/or the BCE. With them giving you $1000 (min or almost SL) you may want to wait a couple months if you want a CLI on your BCE and even on your Delta. Of course, if you haven't gotten one you're technically eligible now, but if denied you'll be waiting 91. 

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Thank you for the info. I was not aware that Amex combines the limit. This might also mean that I might not get anything on the Delta when it's 6 months old. Will keep that in mind.

Just after I posted the original message, my Cap One QS1 statement cut and I was given a whopping $4000 CLI (2K to 6K)....didn't expect that to happen but will take any CLI

[Anonymous]

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Posiedon wrote:

My 6th statement cuts on 20th Feb. Would that be a good time to request for a CLI or will it be auto CLI?

Same as above applies here.  It's not just about time.  The scores in your signature and the fairly low limits indicate that there are concerns with your credit profile.  Idenitify those issues and work on addressing them.

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Yes, my scores are low because of my 17 month credit history and the holiday shopping. Plan to pay down balances and wait for another 5 months to reduce the impact of app spree inquiries (12 months for impact and 24 months on CR, right?)