To App or To Wait and Amex 3x CLI

[John02]

Hi All,

I have been looking through this forum for a while and have found a lot of good info. I'm now in the process of planning my next credit steps and am looking for some advice.

Here is my situation:

Up until a few months ago (late May/early June) I had 3 major CC's (Chase Freedom Visa, Capital One Platinum MC, and WalMart Discover) as well as a few store cards, couple credit union lines of credit, a couple car loans, a couple student loans and a mortgage. Also I used to have an Amex Blue (may have been a student version but I can't remember for sure), but it was cancelled a few years ago.

Then in late May I applied for and was approved for 4 new CC's:

Amex BCE - $5,700

Discover IT - $8,500

Paypal Extras MC - $3,000

Citi Divident Platinum Select Visa - $5,100

3 of the 4 of those reported as opening in June of this year.

However, the Amex open date took on the same open date as my original Amex (June of '05..and actually that's a month earlier than my old one which was July of '05)

So I have 3 new accounts that are about 3 months old now.

I also recently learned about the Amex 3x CLI possibility and tried that recently (after the 61 days) and got a 45.6% increase to $8,300.

Now what I'm trying to decide is if I should apply for a new card now or wait until my accounts are at least 6 months old (or would it need to be 7 months old?) to apply for a new card. Or should I wait until its been 6 months since my Amex CLI (other accounts will be about 9 months old). I want to make Amex happy and build a relationship with them so my next attempt will hopefully be closer to the 3x. So part of my question is about the best strategy to do that (I do have some ideas) and the other part is if/when I should apply for a new card(s)? Another thing I am trying to keep in mind through all this is I want to try to get CLI's on my other cards and not raise any red flags with too many new accounts or inquiries.

Some cards I am interested in are:

Amex SPG

Seems like it has awesome hotel deals that you can get with the points and I saw a pretty good intro bonus point offer (think it was for 25k points). Not sure how long that offer will be good or if I would qualify. Also not sure how it works when you have multiple Amex cards for the 3x limit increase. I've been reading threads including the definitive guide but am wondering, If I did get this card would I have to wait for 6 months from my last CLI to request the first CLI (normally at day 61)? And then is it 6 months after that for either card, but only one at a time? What happens if I don't apply for this card until after I request another CLI on my old card? Then do I have to wait just 61 days for the new card, or the whole 6 months?

U.S. Bank Cash+

5%/2% rewards program sounds pretty interesting, but after looking at some of the categories think I might just have it set to Restaurants/Fast Food at 5% all the time which is cool, but I am trying to eat out less so may not rack up too much this way. There could be some exceptions where I have a special purchase in another 5% category, but probably not normally. For 2% I could put gas but I can get that at Amex or higher with Paypal Extras. So it may be good..but not sure. I'm basing the categories off of the sample ones I see on their website assuming that is all-inclusive. One big question I have is it does say Bookstores is a choice...If Amazon.com purchases qualify then that would be a big plus.

Sallie Mae World MasterCard 5%

The 5% rewards on gas and books really appeal to me (not so much on the groceries b/c I don't shop at standalone grocery stores, usually Wal-Mart or Sams). Also, I've heard the 5% on books here can count for Amazon.com. The rewards caps are a little lower, but not terrible and gas is a big expenditure for me (and Amazon sometimes, too).

Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature

I was really excited about the rewards before however now it looks like they are scaling back the normal rewards to 3/2/1 instead of 5/3/1 for Gas/Supermarkets/Other, so while it's nice to have an all the time 3% gas backup it may not be as attractive anymore.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on what I should apply for and the timing? Also how it plays in with getting CLI's including for the Amex 3x CLI try? For example, if I apply for a new card now will that lessen my chances of any CLI's? Will the extra new account be a red flag to creditors? Does it make a difference is an account is 3 months old vs 5-6 months old? Any other advice?

Some info about my credit Utilization: Overall at 29% (so under my 30% goal)...which I'm trying to stay under despite the upcoming holiday season. Amex Utilization is currently at about 14.5%. Should I try to pay this off entirely? Or would getting it down to the 5-9% range and trying to use it a decent amount pay off? All other CC's/LOC have Utilization < 50% but some over 30%.

I appreciate any feedback and let me know if more information on my credit situation or goals would be helpful.

Thanks,

John

[09Lexie]

The 3x CLI for Amex is limited to 1 every 6 mos

From the 3xcli Sticky'
Minimum 6 month since last CLI rule applies across ALL accounts held by an individual and includes both personal & business accounts for the same person. So if CLI was successful on a personal account, no CLI can be approved on all other personal and business accounts for the same person for a period of 6 more months. (Posts 5 and 6 of the AmEx 61 day CLI result: 7-10 day written response thread)

You might want to wait until Jan to add the SPG for max backdating. If you are successful with the BCE CLI in 61 days and app for the SPG in a Jan , you would be eligible for your 3x on the SPG around March.

However, I'd suggest getting your util down across the board before applying for any cc's.

[John02]

Thanks for the clarification Lexie. That's what I was thining about the 6 months no matter what (after the very first 60 day), but wasn't sure if a new account was an exception..sounds like it's not.

As for getting util down across the board, do you mean on the individual accounts that are between 30 and 50 or the overall even < 29? For what it's worth my util was even worse when I applied for the cards in May and so if I apped for more now it could help overall util..but I'm afraid it might hurt getting CLI's on some other cards, including those new cards (hoping for some auto-CLI's at month 4 or 6 depending on the card).

[09Lexie]

If you have added CL's and your util hasn't decreased it sounds like you are charging more than you are paying off each month. Carrying a balance from time to time is ok but you might want to budget your mo expenses.

If you were to add new CL's are you going to be able to pay those bal in full? Or add more debt?

[youngandcreditwrthy]

I'd wait until you can request a 3xcli, see if you get it, THEN app for the second Amex. That way you get max credit lines.

[John02]

My Util went down following the new CC's. What I was saying is I got approved for the other cards when my util was higher (and above the 30% "threshold").

That being said, I maybe shouldn't app again yet for other reasons, such as the other new accounts, but was curious what others thought. I was wondering what the effects of my current new accounts would have on any future apps (ie. when should I apply again), on future CLI's (will the new accounts affect any CLI's or their possibilities). Also the number of new accounts (3 currently) and time of the new accounts (for example, is a 2 month account worse than a 5 month account or are they all equal if < 6months?) And also if I apply for one new account now, should I wait until it is x number of months old to try for another Amex CLI?

OR should I just not do any apping until all my accounts are 6 months or older? Or should I wait until after the next Amex CLI (this seems like the safest way....but if I got another new account that could help lower my overall util, so trying to weigh that)

Thanks again for your perspective. I know there are a lot of variables, just looking for any insight, tips, advice, rules of thumb, etc.

[John02]

youngandcreditwrthy, Thanks for the insight!

Is the reason it would give me max credit lines because I've had more time to build my credit and increase the other Amex, or is there some kind of trick with timing on Amex to get the best results? If I do that, should I wait until the new CLI posts to my credit report, or as soon as I've got the increase?

Thanks

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Yw! I learned all the tricks here! Lol
It is the max credit lines ... If a new lender sees a big ole $20,000 Amex on your report, they're going to want to jump on board too.
You would want to app for the second Amex right after the next Amex cli, then after the new Amex limit reports- it'll be on there for future credit line precedent with other lenders and for when your other creditors SP your reports.
After 8 months and 2 clis, I got my Amex BCE from $3500 to $24,500, then opened Delta Gold with a $5500 cl. Recently, I got an instant approval for $10k w BOA. Just don't overapp obviously.. Lol
Also... If you go that route, you'd have to wait another 6 months for a cli on any Amex card. I'd focus on getting that BCE up to the 3xcli of $24,900.
What reason did they give you for not granting a bigger cli?

[John02]

Thanks again!

I don't believe they gave me a reason for not giving me a bigger CLI. However, I have done some CLI requests where they did a SP on other CL's and recently got stuff like:

Too many new accounts (I have 3)

and Too many accounts carrying balances

That being said...I also have been successful with some CLI requests recently (just the other day went from 5k to 6k on Wal-Mart Discover, also went from $1k to $7.5k on a LOC a couple months ago. The LOC was HP).

So my first Amex CLI was early this month, so if I apped for say one card now, I could wait until it was 6 months old to try another Amex CLI since it wouldn't be that much longer to wait...but it's sounding like I should just wait to app anyway?

[youngandcreditwrthy]

No prob and congrats on those clis!
Well, if they gave you the reason of "too many new accounts" I would wait til you're due for a cli on Blue- another 5 mos. Ask for full 3xcli, not to exceed $25,000.
I think they'll deny you if you app, and don't app for anything else in the meantime. You will sacrifice that big credit line if you do... Just my .02... They didn't grant you a full 3xcli, doesn't seem likely they'd open a new account w/ more credit for ya.
If you have small balances on ccs, pay those off if you can too