Newly approved. What does Amex like to see?

[newnew2015]

Hello,

i recently got approved on my first AMEX card. The Delta Gold with low limit (1k). What kind of spending should I place on the card to be in their favor ? Heavy spend and pay off multiple times a month? Or just low spend and pay off since the limit is so low. Also I have another card with a higher limit (Discover It) I usually put my spending on and pay monthly and do the AZEO method. Should I now make that card a zero usage and move my spending to AMEX ? Both are rewards cards but I like the Delta rewards more (as a healthcare worker I've been swamped BEYOOOOOND BELIEF and haven't traveled since March needless to say I have ALOT of post pandemic travel to do godwilling !) and I'd also like to grow with AMEX. 

Thanks for your advice <3 

[coldfusion]

You may need to make multiple payments per month due to the low limit either to be able to use the card or to keep it from reporting a very high utilization number each month, but in general just use the card every month, don't be afraid to let a balance report, and if a balance reports be sure to pay it in full.   If you're a transactor with regular monthly spend you're AMEX' preferred type of cardholder.   

What they're not particularly fond of is a cardholder who routinely carrys balances - i.e. you make a partial payment each month allowing interest to accrue. 

A $1K credit limit means that you're in a kind of probationary period so it make take you longer than other cardholders to get credit limits, but if you keep doing the right things AMEX wil eventually come around and loosen up the pursestrings.

[Anonymous]

I don't think there's a lender out there that prefers a lower spend to a higher one, so long as it's being paid off monthly.  The heavier you use the card, the more incentive there will be for it to grow. 

That being said, a heavy spend with Amex isn't really necessary to see growth.  I only have one card with them that I took from a $10k SL to $59,900 in a little over 3 years time and for the most part my spend has landed in the $400-$800 range per month.  There were a few cycles in my first year that I had spends in the thousands, but those were exceptions and not the norm.

Using their 3X CLI there's a chance with solid credit behavior that you could grow the card from $1k --> $3k --> $9k -- $27k in 14-15 months from account opening depending on your profile. 

[FalconSteve]

From my experience, AmEx likes to see use and payments. If you are in a 0% APR period, you should be paying more than the minimum payment (in you aren't, you should be a pure transactor and paying everything in full). They didn't give us CLI for almost 11 months when I PiF before statement close. My wife got 3x as soon as I let about 8-10% utilization post.

Good luck!

Also, I just got a new AmEx Cash Magnet and they gave me a CLI after only 36 hours. Since it is a soft pull, it may be worth checking for one now just to see.

EDIT: To clarify, AmEx doubled my limit after those 36 hours

[Remedios]

I haven't seen $1000.00 SL get 3X CLI in a long time.

[Anonymous]

I haven't really been paying attention, although I have heard many people reference 2X CLI counter offers to their 3X CLI attempts lately.

I believe quite a bit of it has to do with your profile and how it changes from the time of your approval going forward.  Someone with a $1k SL is likely to have a weak "on the cusp" type profile, so how that profile changes in the months/year following that approval IMO would play a significant role in how CLI requests play out going forward.  Quite simply, if the profile stays weak, CLI successes will be weaker.  If the profile strengthens, CLIs should follow suit.

[Remedios]

For the past year or so, $1000.00 on revolver has been Amex's version of credit purgatory. 

It hurts right in the feels seeing people spend inordinate amount of money on cards like Delta gold, not because it gives them best return, but because it's an attempt to buy their love.

@newnew2015  use the card to your benefit, not theirs. Of course, they love getting spend, but don't expect them to reciprocate any time soon. There are members who cycled through that limit multiple times per month, and the end result when it comes to CLI is same as if they spent nothing. 

I don't think it's wise to arrange your finances around what a multi billion dollar corporation "likes to see".

Instead, go by what your checking account likes. One you can make happy, the other one, not so much. 

Use the card that makes most sense for any particular purchase. 

[ccquest]

Going to second what Remedios said above, there's a lot of posts I've seen here where people are upset AmEx hasn't granted a CLI after all the work (spend) they've done for the card. Just use it as is and ask for the 3X CLI every 91 days until you get it.

If they deny, okay move on and try again later. Don't let it suck you in.

My BCE was approved at $9k and I didn't get a 3X CLI at 61 days so I moved on. When it came close to the 91 day mark again (and after I was clear on my CSP SUB), I put some occasional spend on the BCE again - $66 PIF this last month, $0 the month before, $44 before that - and when I asked for my limit to be $20k this week it was approved.

[newnew2015]

@Remedios  LOL ! It's not that deep fam. But thank you !

ps. love your avatar 😂

[newnew2015]

@FalconSteve  Thank you! 
I plan on just waiting until I get an offer from them or apping for another card at the 1 year mark, hopefully a better SL ! I'm not in a rush and don't really have bills(thanks to my DH) so I just put my spend on one cc and pay it off monthly. Unfortunately most of my spend is spa, beauty, stuff for our pupper and gas, only occasional groceries and restaurants(before covid -_-) which they give double points for -_-.