Theoretical Q on Amex for CLIs on different tier cards

[Anonymous]

I was wondering about this today and figured I'd see if anyone can chime in with experiences or ideas.

It's generally recognized that Amex has three tiers of cards. Putting aside profile variations and YMMV for the sake of argument for the moment, cobranded cards are the bottom tier and easiest to obtain, charge cards are the middle tier, and top tier are the core revolvers, with the most stringent requirements.

So with this being the case, does it hold any water to think that a cobranded card would be easier to get a CLI approved than a core revolver, all other factors being the same? Would the card approval standards apply to CLI approvals too? Or is it, once you're in, your cards are on a level playing field for CLIs and it's all profile dependent?

I ask because I have cards from all three tiers, and am eligible now to request an increase. I am waiting longer though since in two days I will be making a big paydown across the board on my cards, reducing my aggregate utilization to about 1/3 of what it is currently, which will have me crossing one aggregate tier and near another. Several cards will go to zero balance as well so my scores should see a significant increase and land in territory that is satisfactory for an Amex increase. Once my new score reflects in my account for a few weeks, I'm thinking of asking for the increase on my Surpass rather than my BCP simply because the Surpass has a lower bar for entry and therefore maybe a lower bar for an increase. 

Am I overthinking this? It really doesn't matter which card I ask on since I can reallocate as desired, but this is a thought I figured I'd run up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it.

Thoughts or opinions?

[M_Smart007]

I think UW for CLI's are the same across the board. IMHO

Still can't get 3x on The Gold "Charge" card though, get shot down every time

I am 100%  sure you will get better advice.

[Anonymous]

Lol I hit the same wall on my Gold charge. They're stingy on that one! 

[KJinNC]

My guess would be that it doesn't matter, since you can transfer CL between cards. And, I can't see the logic behind different standards for CLIs for cards you already have. If you're a risk to run up a balance you can't pay on one, seems like you'd have the same risk on the other. But, I could be wrong - I have never received an Amex CLI, and have only done one CL transfer, which was between two Delta cards, so I might have a blind spot. JMO, good luck!

[Anonymous]

Makes sense @KJinNC - that likely is the right idea.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

I don't see why there would be a difference since you can only have 1 increase every 6 months per account.

[Remedios]

The part you're missing  on cobranded cards is while they will approve, the reigns are put in place afterwards for those whose profiles Amex finds troubling. 

It's not unusual for Delta Gold to stay at $1000.00 SL for a year or longer, or for $500.00 BCE to do the same.

May not be pleasant to hear as you're Amex heavy, whenever the negatives are present, you're not a favorite child.

If you've gotten into their good graces  by now, your CLI will be approved, regardless of which card you ask on. 

If you havent, they will let you know. They ain't shy about rejection.

[Anonymous]

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@Remedios wrote:

The part you're missing  on cobranded cards is while they will approve, the reigns are put in place afterwards for those whose profiles Amex finds troubling. 

It's not unusual for Delta Gold to stay at $1000.00 SL for a year or longer, or for $500.00 BCE to do the same.

May not be pleasant to hear as you're Amex heavy, whenever the negatives are present, you're not a favorite child.

If you've gotten into their good Grace's by now, your CLI will be approved, regardless of which card you ask on. 

If you havent, they will let you know. They ain't shy about rejection.

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Makes sense to me. We'll see what they say sometime in May when the new scores have had ample time to drift into their UW department.

[Remedios]

They better say yes! 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@Remedios wrote:

The part you're missing  on cobranded cards is while they will approve, the reigns are put in place afterwards for those whose profiles Amex finds troubling. 

It's not unusual for Delta Gold to stay at $1000.00 SL for a year or longer, or for $500.00 BCE to do the same.

May not be pleasant to hear as you're Amex heavy, whenever the negatives are present, you're not a favorite child.

If you've gotten into their good graces  by now, your CLI will be approved, regardless of which card you ask on. 

If you havent, they will let you know. They ain't shy about rejection.

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