@galahad15 wrote:
@NRB525 wrote:Is your siggy accurate with $85k limit at FNBO? That one alone might raise some eyebrows
Has your overall strategy changed, regarding low APR to now emphasize rewards? If that's the case then lowering CL, and even closing cards with no rewards could be considered.
Congrats on getting to $500k
Now to try for a higher overall rewards?
Thank you for the kind comments!
In response to your questions: yes the $85k CL for my FNBO Amex card is accurate - I ended up transferring or moving the CL of $25k from my former FNBO Travelite Amex when they ended the Travelite card program, and so what was once a $60k CL on my FNBO Amex then became $85k
On APRs vs. rewards, I think that I may have (hopefully?) hit the sweet spot on that, for the most part, between 3% AOD card on all purchases, plus the various other low-APR cards with rewards. The high-APR cards with excellent rewards such as the Cash+ cards, the Citi Custom Cash, and the WF Propel are PIF monthly, allowing me to mazimize the rewards with no interest charges.
The cards I was actually interested in apping for are fixed-rate, low-APR cards, such as the 6.90% F, 7.90% F, and 8.90% F cards from DCECU, as well as the 8.00% F card from Garden Savings FCU. All of the above turned me down when I apped for them 1 - 1.5 years ago, for the reasons mentioned of high revolving debt plus excessively-high total CL across all cards. My primary interest in apping for them is to lock down as many fixed-APR cards below 10% F as possible, especially since inflation will most likely drive up interest rates for new customers, even on fixed-rate cards, up soon in the near-future. I already have 6 fixed-rate cards below 10% F, so I would ideally love to add more to the collection lol, before inflation starts roaring its ugly head and the existing rates no longer become viable
I'm also potentially interested in asking my existing BEFCU and Dover FCU cards if (once my revolving debt is paid off) if they could possibly consider giving me the lowest-available, fixed-rate APRs on the cards, assuming that I can hopefully qualify (i.e., 4.99% F and 5.99% F, respectively), and maybe see if they might be willing to throw in a few CLIs to those cards as well. My #1 favorite card is my currently my BEFCU VISA, but for it to be more usable, I need to be able to get it above the present $4k CL, etc.
Thanks again for all of the generous compliments, again I greatly appreciate it!
If we end up with true inflation that the Fed can't contain, then CC "fixed" APR will become variable or raised, and will be allowed to rise to keep the CU profitable. Having said that, I don't think the Fed will lose control of interest rates, will be able to manage them up slightly to meet inflation targets.
I agree with others that actual apps are going to be necessary to prove this out, but I still think you will need to decide which cards you can close, and which high limits you can reduce.
If there is actual inflation in the future your best strategy is to be buying a house you can afford now, that you want to live in for a long time, with a fixed, low, APR. That sort of application I am certain would require cutting back on the CL Chasing Hobby, but that house would keep you up with inflation to an extent that might shock you as to how badly CC borrowing will not benefit you during inflation 
Just curious: once my revolving debt is paid off, what do you guys think about this hypothetical strategy, to reducing my total credit limit exposure, so as to be better-able to qualify for the smaller-footprint CU cards that I'm interested in apping for?
(1) Ask for a Discover CLD reduction to $10k.
(2) Ask for a Citi CLD on my DC and Rewards+ cards to $10k each.
(3) Ask for an FNBO CLD on the 2% cashback card to $10k.
(4) Keep or maintain the FNBO CL on the 6.25% V card at $85k.
(5) Ask for a BoA CLD on my BBR and TR cards to $10k each, but also keep or maintain the $50k CL on my BoA CCR.
(6) Ask for an Amex Cash Magnet card CLD to $10k.
OTOH, maybe it might be possibly worthwhile for me to consider just keeping the status quo with my exisiting cards and total credit limits, and forget about the DCECU and Garden Savings FCU cards? Possibly considering I've already reached some nice milestones on my existing cards of 4.99% V on my Unify FCU Variable-Rate card, 5.49% F on my BEFCU card, and 6.99% F on my Dover FCU card, and I also have 4 additional low fixed-rate cards, including but not limited to the AOD FCU card at 7.49% F with uncapped 3% rewards and the BoA CCR card at 9.99% F with capped 3.3% category rewards? And so while certainly nice to have, the DCECU cards at 6.90% F, 7.90% F, and 8.90% F and the Garden Savings FCU card at 8.00% F really wouldn't really be adding anything new or particularly trailblazing to my existing collection? Any thoughts please?
@galahad15 wrote:
OTOH, maybe it might be possibly worthwhile for me to consider just keeping the status quo with my exisiting cards and total credit limits, and forget about the DCECU and Garden Savings FCU cards? Possibly considering I've already reached some nice milestones on my existing cards of 4.99% V on my Unify FCU Variable-Rate card, 5.49% F on my BEFCU card, and 6.99% F on my Dover FCU card, and I also have 4 additional low fixed-rate cards, including but not limited to the AOD FCU card at 7.49% F with uncapped 3% rewards and the BoA CCR card at 9.99% F with capped 3.3% category rewards? And so while certainly nice to have, the DCECU cards at 6.90% F, 7.90% F, and 8.90% F and the Garden Savings FCU card at 8.00% F really wouldn't really be adding anything new or particuarly trailblazing to my existing collection? Any thoughts please?
This is really just the low APR version of "How many cards do I need?" question, coming down to a personal choice. From the outside, it seems that the gain is small, especially if a set of CLDs is needed (with it being unknown if any particular amount of cut would in fact succeed) but if you really really want them.....
@Anonymous wrote:
@galahad15 wrote: OTOH, maybe it might be possibly worthwhile for me to consider just keeping the status quo with my exisiting cards and total credit limits, and forget about the DCECU and Garden Savings FCU cards? ... And so while certainly nice to have, the DCECU ... and the Garden Savings FCU card ...really wouldn't really be adding anything new or particuarly trailblazing to my existing collection? Any thoughts please?This is really just the low APR version of "How many cards do I need?" question, coming down to a personal choice. From the outside, it seems that the gain is small, especially if a set of CLDs is needed (with it being unknown if any particular amount of cut would in fact succeed) but if you really really want them.....
Over a few decades of credit, and as cards have evolved and my priorities have changed, my vision of what should be in my wallet has also. I don't know how much debt you've been carrying or why, but in my case I went through a period of over a decade carrying some mid-to-high five-figure debts after two major career disruptions while also trying to put kids through college. Our household income was very unstable so it was hard to budget, and we had a family of five. The credit card debts just slowly rose with necessary expenses including moving, medical bills, and other everyday cost-of-living. I had emergency savings and long term savings which were depleted and the bleeding continued as the crisis never seemed to end. Refinancing our home helped but it was only a temporary reprieve. I rolled those debts around on multiple 0% credit card balance transfer offers and while I did earn some card rewards on other cards during those years, my main credit focus was on those BT offers from both my existing and new creditors. Eventually, my career recovered and I was able to pay down those debts. Along with huge income increases and debt changes, my FICO scores soared higher than they had ever been and I turned my focus to better rewards and premium cards that my profile could attain. While at least one low-apr card is still something that I think most consumers should have in their wallet for emergencies, I never want to find myself carrying large card debts again. And fortunately, I don't think I'll really need to either, since my finances are in much better shape than ever.
As @Anonymous said, how many low APR cards (or how much credit limits are low-apr focused instead of rewards focused) do you really need (or think your finances can reasonably afford?) As with the proliferation of too many rewards cards or too much utilization padding, the Law of Diminishing Returns begins to kick in at some point for all of us, depending where our financial situation exists on the continuum. Someone who is extremely affluent may not need a low apr card at all, and may not even value card rewards enough to focus much attention on them. For someone who lives paycheck-to-paycheck and hasn't managed to put away much emergency savings, having a low apr card to short-term finance an unexpected car repair on their older car so they can get to work may be huge.
I added the Navy Federal CU Platinum card at 5.99% and also have the AOD FCU Visa at 7.49% which also pays rewards. In my case, that is probably much more low-apr credit than I'll ever need. I noticed your comment on my "One Card" thread in the Smorgasboard where we discussed rank-ordering our cards. When I did my full list (not just picking one card), the NFCU Platinum wasn't even close to the top five. Low APR was just a secondary consideration for me when I looked at overall value of my cards. Maybe making a full list where you cut one card at a time down the one card would help you differentiate each one's relative value in your version of the apr-age-cl-rewards formula.
As you pay down the debt, it might be a good idea to take a little time, let the dust settle, and then reevaluate the direction you want and need to take your credit. These major changes in strategy take some time. I've been remaking my cards for a few years and still getting additional clarity.
@BearsCubsOtters wrote:I absolutely love your posts. Partially because your emojicon and user name remind me of Prince Charming from Shrek LOL and also because I love how hyper-focused you are on low APRs-almost the exact opposite of most people here (they are mostly interested in high credit lines and rewards).
I agree with everybody else in that you would not want nor need to reduce credit lines proactively. I believe the best chance for approval will be having little debt at the time of application. If, with lower debt, they still come back with the excuse that you hold too much available credit, you could always try contacting them to let them know that you are eventually closing some cards but did not want to do that until you were approved. And if worse comes to worse, the BB&T and Amtrak cards could easily go away.
Keep in mind that even fixed APRs can change. I would imagine that once the Fed raises rates (wondering if that will ever happen) the banks and even credit unions may change in terms to a higher floor rate to help their bottom line.
Also, where is your GM Buypower card? Does it's portrait style affect your signature?
Caffeine has been my friend today if you cannot tell.
Hi there @BearsCubsOtters ! I am so sorry and apologize for the accidental delayed response to your message above, must have unintentionally not seen the post earlier...and thank you so much for all of your very generous compliments, very sweet of you to say! 
Very true and a great point there, you're definitely 100% right that even fixed APRs can change based on market trends, and/or changes to the floor/ceiling of the Fed funds rate, as you had helpfully mentioned. One thing that has provided some encouragement to me over the years though is that as fixed-APR cc rates for some CUs have slowly crept up -- for example, for UnifyFCU and PACU for instance -- they have still been generous enough to continue to honor former or older rates, and kept them grandfathered, even as the rates for new CU customers have gradually gone up. Lol no worries, I know that it's still not a guarantee that rates may still go up across the board, such as during the Great Recession of 2007 - 2009, but at the very least even if they do and an increase is unavoidable, I can take some comfort in the fact that rates on the existing revolving debt prior to any increase will remain at the original rate, and the increased rate will only apply to new purchases, etc.
In response to your other question about the GM BuyPower card, yup I technically still have them lol, the main reason they're not listed in my sig line atm is that I've been considering closing them out for quite a while now, as the interest rates are somewhat astronomical at ~22% V and 25% V or thereabouts. The only thing that's been keeping me on the fence is that the WEMC benefits are quite generous, and so I'm kinda in sorta a state of inertia atm about them, I guess haha. Of course, since as a few posters have mentioned here in other threads, since the GM BuyPower card portfolio will eventually be sold to Goldman Sachs (iirc?), it's anyone's guess if the WEMC benefits may be nerfed at some point?
One thing I can tell you about smaller CU's is that it's easier to access decision makers. Call or walk in and tell them you're interested in one of their cards and ask if they are sensitive to huge existing CL's. They should put you in front of or connect you to someone in their loan dept. with all those answers.
Well, if you want more trophy cards, then you may need to sacrifice some of the existing cards or limits. Nobody can tell you if those CLD will appease any other banks.
If you do get those trophies, then there is the monthly care and feeding of the card population. If the cards don't add any real benefit, and your total CL is comparable, then you've added to your workload for... any gain in functionality? Doesn't seem like it.
So I guess I'm changing my recommendation. If enough time has elapsed since the last apps, and balances are down, HP INQ are down, then maybe the best course is to app selectively in this target group. Enjoy the approvals if they occur, or realize the cards may not be available if declined.
In response to some of the posters who mentioned that I might have to close down some cards, to qualify for the cards for some of the smaller-size CUs that I'm interested in: tbh, the only cards that likely no longer serve a useful purpose or are redundant are my BB&T card, and possibly the Amex Cash Magnet card and my 2 GM BuyPower cards (the BuyPower cards of which are not currently listed in my signature).
All of the other cards serve at least one or multiple valuable purpose(s), such as low-APR, low-APR with rewards, and high-APR with rewards. At this immediate point in time, I also can't close down my BoA Amtrak card, since I still have 20k+ in free Amtrak Guest Rewards point through the card, that I can still redeem for free trips and which I plan on doing in the future, once COVID has hopefully become significantly less of a threat.
Just mho, but own personal thoughts on the matter of "how many low-interest cards are enough?" is that a person can never have enough low-APR cards, and especially ones that are low-APR combined with fixed interest rates, and/or rewards. The main reason being that if you only have 1-2 cards with low interest rates, the cc issuer can always potentially decide to increase rates or even close down your cards. Additionally, some issuers, such as Unify FCU and PACU, will increase their ceiling lowest-APR interest rates as time progresses, so if you "early bird" app before the gradual increases in the lowest-available rate (i.e., like I did on my 2 Unify cards and my PACU card), you can still come out ahead, since my 2 Unify cards and PACU are grandfathered at the original rates when I apped, of 4.99% V, 8.99% F, and 7.50% F, respectively. Present-day, lowest-available and go-rates are higher, so I'm thankful and glad that I apped when I did, instead of waiting out the app process longer, etc.