How long did it take you to get into high limit territory?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

There are a few reasons to want high limit cards...such as utilization, more attention from other lenders, etc. There are also a lot of cards that are only Visa Signature/World MasterCard that you may not be approved for if your largest limit is only 1-3k. I'm glad I didn't go the route of getting in with Chase or another lender who would stick me with toy limits until I did a hard pull for a CLI.

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I know there is a general wish for high limits here (and the definition varies from person to person!) but I think it is pretty overblown.    If you aren't carrying balances, and/or aren't apping, utilization is at most a convenience issue (you can change it to whatever by paying before the account reports, and if you aren't apping, it doesn't matter anyway).   "more attention from other lenders" often seems to mean "high limits begat high limits" which is a) not always true, and b) circular as a reason for why you need high limits.     And for whatever VS/WMC/WEMC gives you, you can now generally get these at very low limits.  Maybe infinite will stay at $15K, but I wouldn't bet on it.

IMO, much more value in getting the cards that maximize your rewards for your spending, and in the case of capped rewards, lower limits are fine.

But, as high limits seems to be the OPs goal, congratuations

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

There are a few reasons to want high limit cards...such as utilization, more attention from other lenders, etc. There are also a lot of cards that are only Visa Signature/World MasterCard that you may not be approved for if your largest limit is only 1-3k. I'm glad I didn't go the route of getting in with Chase or another lender who would stick me with toy limits until I did a hard pull for a CLI.

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I know there is a general wish for high limits here (and the definition varies from person to person!) but I think it is pretty overblown.    If you aren't carrying balances, and/or aren't apping, utilization is at most a convenience issue (you can change it to whatever by paying before the account reports, and if you aren't apping, it doesn't matter anyway).   "more attention from other lenders" often seems to mean "high limits begat high limits" which is a) not always true, and b) circular as a reason for why you need high limits.     And for whatever VS/WMC/WEMC gives you, you can now generally get these at very low limits.  Maybe infinite will stay at $15K, but I wouldn't bet on it.

IMO, much more value in getting the cards that maximize your rewards for your spending, and in the case of capped rewards, lower limits are fine.

But, as high limits seems to be the OPs goal, congratuations

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Well in my case, I actually did get the cards I wanted. I would have gotten the Delta AmEx regardless. And most of the other cards I want (such as the JetBlue WMC) just happen to be WMC/Visa Sig...I don't particularly care for the benefits that come with them...the cards I want just happens to have it. But for me, it was very important to have high limits....not so much for utilization/attention from lenders but for other reasons. I wouldn't have been OK being stuck with toy limits, which is why I went the route I did. Just my 2 cents.

[wmweeza]

I got my first card in my current line up in 2011 or 2012 I think, my BofA. It gradually got auto CLI's until it was at 2800 in 2013, I asked for a CLI to $5400 and there it has stayed since.

I applied for my Target card that year, It just now went to $1000...lol.

In 2014 I applied for my Barnes and Noble card, was given a starting limit of $8900, which is where it is now. On the same day I applied for my Amex and was granted a $22k limit.

As you can tell I have zero interest in asking for CLI's, I hate hard pulls.

So to answer your question, it was almost 2 years from my first card to a decent limit I like.I do not seek out bonuses, or even really care too much about how many cards I have, someday I might ask for another CLI but I don't need it, I'd rather save all my HP's for my next mortgage in 9 months

[Anonymous]

My story is much the same as yours after almost 11 months in the US, although I haven't been able to reach such high limits yet.

I arrived in the US in Sept 2015. My goals were:

1) Get a 1.5% cash back card with no annual fee (I didn't want to be the only loser paying with a debit card, thus indirectly funding everyone else's cash back).

2) Have a limit high enough to forget the card and let autopay take care of it. I have yet to achieve this.

 In Nov 2015, upon landing a job, I applied for the Capital One secured credit card. It was backed by $50 and initially had a $200 limit.

Meanwhile, my company made me apply an AmEx Corporate Card. Although it is not backed by my company, only by me personally, it was approved with a $3000 limit. This card unfortunately does not report, so it does me no good credit score-wise.

In Jan of 2016 I applied for a JCPenney store card. I was able to save quite a bit on my purchase by getting it, so I figured why not give it a try. It was approved with a $400 limit.

In February I figured I would try my luck at getting a proper cash back card. I applied for Capital One's Quicksilver Rewards (1.5% cash back) card. I think my score was around 690 at the time. The application was denied.

Immediately after, I applied for USAA's Preferred Cash Rewards Visa card. It was approved with a $500 limit.

A few weeks later I tried applying for the Amazon store card. May as well take their $80 of free money, I figured. That application was denied.

The USAA credit card has been my primary method of payment ever since, and I've been paying it off 1-2 times a week to stay below 30% utilization. 

Around April, the Capital One secured card was auto-increased to a $500 limit. The JCPenney card was auto-increased to $700 around the same time.

Last week I applied for an increase of the USAA Visa card. It was increased to $2000.

To summarize what I have to show for after almost 11 months in the US:

- AmEx Corporate, $3000 limit (I only use it for business trips)

- Capital One secured card, $500 limit

- JCPenney store card, $700 limit

- USAA Preferred Cash Rewards (1.5% cash back), $2000 limit.

- A credit score around 719.

I've heard that airline cards generally have high limits, but

1) I don't care in the slightest about earning miles

2) I certainly don't want a card with an annual fee, such as the Delta AmEx.

I think my next move will be to apply for a 1.5% cash back card with another bank. USAA seems a bit conservative with their credit limits. I just need to figure out where I will get the highest limit. CreditKarma seems to think that my chances are "Very good" of being approved for AmEx Blue Cash Everyday and the Chase Freedom Unlimited. But if I'm approved and get anything less than a $3000 limit, there is no point.

[Anonymous]

It's taken me 10 years to get my first high limit card. Don't make the same mistakes I did. I was recently approved for Navy Federal $17,900, plus an Amex charge card with no preset spending limit, but until last month all my cards since bankruptcy in 2006 were subprime or low-limit cards that never grew.

My biggest mistakes were going on too many app sprees and getting less valuable cards, rather than gardening with a smaller number of better cards. I also kept my utilization way too high and did not PIF.

OP, you are certainly on the right track. I highly recommend joining NFCU if you're not already a member - they'll likely beat your $6K limit.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My story is much the same as yours after almost 11 months in the US, although I haven't been able to reach such high limits yet.

I arrived in the US in Sept 2015. My goals were:

1) Get a 1.5% cash back card with no annual fee (I didn't want to be the only loser paying with a debit card, thus indirectly funding everyone else's cash back).

2) Have a limit high enough to forget the card and let autopay take care of it. I have yet to achieve this.

 In Nov 2015, upon landing a job, I applied for the Capital One secured credit card. It was backed by $50 and initially had a $200 limit.

Meanwhile, my company made me apply an AmEx Corporate Card. Although it is not backed by my company, only by me personally, it was approved with a $3000 limit. This card unfortunately does not report, so it does me no good credit score-wise.

In Jan of 2016 I applied for a JCPenney store card. I was able to save quite a bit on my purchase by getting it, so I figured why not give it a try. It was approved with a $400 limit.

In February I figured I would try my luck at getting a proper cash back card. I applied for Capital One's Quicksilver Rewards (1.5% cash back) card. I think my score was around 690 at the time. The application was denied.

Immediately after, I applied for USAA's Preferred Cash Rewards Visa card. It was approved with a $500 limit.

A few weeks later I tried applying for the Amazon store card. May as well take their $80 of free money, I figured. That application was denied.

The USAA credit card has been my primary method of payment ever since, and I've been paying it off 1-2 times a week to stay below 30% utilization. 

Around April, the Capital One secured card was auto-increased to a $500 limit. The JCPenney card was auto-increased to $700 around the same time.

Last week I applied for an increase of the USAA Visa card. It was increased to $2000.

To summarize what I have to show for after almost 11 months in the US:

- AmEx Corporate, $3000 limit (I only use it for business trips)

- Capital One secured card, $500 limit

- JCPenney store card, $700 limit

- USAA Preferred Cash Rewards (1.5% cash back), $2000 limit.

- A credit score around 719.

I've heard that airline cards generally have high limits, but

1) I don't care in the slightest about earning miles

2) I certainly don't want a card with an annual fee, such as the Delta AmEx.

I think my next move will be to apply for a 1.5% cash back card with another bank. USAA seems a bit conservative with their credit limits. I just need to figure out where I will get the highest limit. CreditKarma seems to think that my chances are "Very good" of being approved for AmEx Blue Cash Everyday and the Chase Freedom Unlimited. But if I'm approved and get anything less than a $3000 limit, there is no point.

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Thanks for sharing your story. My credit history is short because I lived abroad (I'm a US citizen) for the last several years and never bothered to get into the credit game before that. That's interesting you have USAA, that was going to be my next card but they denied me for my credit history being too short, but Barclays had no problem handing me a $6k limit. I'm not sure about airline cards giving higher limits, but I do know that co-branded (airlines/hotels) cards are much easier to get approved for.

It must be frustrating to have to keep paying off the card. If someone has high spending, it's a little difficult to do things on a small limit. I like being able to buy airline tickets and everything else and not worry about having to pay it off right away.

Hopefully you are able to get approved for a 5k+ limit sooner than later.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
It's taken me 10 years to get my first high limit card. Don't make the same mistakes I did. I was recently approved for Navy Federal $17,900, plus an Amex charge card with no preset spending limit, but until last month all my cards since bankruptcy in 2006 were subprime or low-limit cards that never grew.

My biggest mistakes were going on too many app sprees and getting less valuable cards, rather than gardening with a smaller number of better cards. I also kept my utilization way too high and did not PIF.

OP, you are certainly on the right track. I highly recommend joining NFCU if you're not already a member - they'll likely beat your $6K limit.

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Thanks! I guess I did do everything right. I purposely kept my utilization at 1 percent in preparing to get my 3rd card. Unfortunately I have no military affiliation so I can't join NFCU. I do bank with USAA, but they just denied me for my credit history being too short, so thus I went to Barclays.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for sharing your story. My credit history is short because I lived abroad (I'm a US citizen) for the last several years and never bothered to get into the credit game before that. That's interesting you have USAA, that was going to be my next card but they denied me for my credit history being too short, but Barclays had no problem handing me a $6k limit. I'm not sure about airline cards giving higher limits, but I do know that co-branded (airlines/hotels) cards are much easier to get approved for.

It must be frustrating to have to keep paying off the card. If someone has high spending, it's a little difficult to do things on a small limit. I like being able to buy airline tickets and everything else and not worry about having to pay it off right away.

Hopefully you are able to get approved for a 5k+ limit sooner than later.

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Yeah, same. I'm a dual US/Danish citizen who has lived in Denmark for most of my life. My stepgrandfather happens to be a US military veteran, so that's how I was able to get into USAA. Perhaps they approved me for the card because I had 4-5 months of good auto insurance payment history with them.

But generally speaking, this credit game is too much of an unpredictable black box. Imagine if there were a simple product that combined the benefits of a debit card (no limits/utilization to worry about) with the benefits of a credit card (cash back). If such a card existed, I would never bother with anything else.

... Or if I could just get a credit card that could be configured to autopay itself the moment the balance reached x dollars. That would be a nice feature!

[Anonymous]

Good job OP... I'm 34 and My credit history started 16 years ago with Bank of America , who I still use, and when I call them they love to help me with anything because I have a solid bank history. Good income and clean accounts. Last year I got approved for a $27000 Chase Hyatt card, and this year I got a $30,000 AMEX BCE. In my experience, The key is never ever let your accounts get derogatory marks. Always make your payments on time! I have never paid in full. I make more than the minimum and keep utilization low, but PIF Is overrated IMO. Use your cards and pay on time - that's my success story. and as someone else said, app sprees don't help, credit companies want to see responsibility for sure. apply for a few cards here and there though to get a nice mix of accounts. Good luck!

[woodyman100]

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@Anonymous wrote:
lot easier when you make good decision at the start!
great job

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+9,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!