Never ask for a CLI? If you don't ask, you'll probably not get one. The only lender who has ever given me an auto-CLI is...well, Discover, but let's ignore that for a moment.
To me, inquiries are just like a credit card. I have a certain amount I can spend, and I don't go over that. Basically, I will not take more than two hard Inq's per CRA every six months. I also try to use them at the same time, so every six months I can use two more. Nice little schedule, not hard to remember when I can apply for new credit or CLI's. And I've yet to find a creditor who has balked at a couple of Inq's that are over six months old. If my AAoA can take it, I get new cards...if not, I ask for CLI's.
Having said that, Discover does do auto-CLI's. They've given me two since Jan 08...one in 2010 from $1000 to $1500, and one last month from $1500 to $7500. I don't really use the card that much. Less than $4k in the last two years. About $400 this year so far...not really my favorite card. I think they get jealous to be perfectly honest. Both CLI's have come after brand new credit cards start reporting to the CRA's, and I'd not been using the Discover card heavily.
For what it's worth, if you call the # on the back of your card, one option is CLI. It is automated, and I was told it is a soft (but could always be a hard). If it tries to transfer you to a live rep, that would definitely be a hard. I have tried this, and hung up when it tried to transfer me. There was no hard pull. A couple weeks later is when they gave me the CLI to $7500, which is about twice what I had asked for through the automated system.
