What reason do you give for CLIs?

[efranklin23]

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@JeffM wrote:

Just curious. What do you guys say when your banks ask you the reason for a CLI? This only occurs to me when I'm on the phone with them.

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To be honest with you, it depends on what kind of card it is:

Like for example, if it's an travel card, I explain to them that I'm planning on making a large trip with family and will need than the required amount on card. Or even if it's an rewards card, I explain to them that the limit is too small for me to capitalize on the card and I need an CLI so I don't have to make a payment every week. These reasons have been pretty successful for me 

NOTE: This is an YMMV thing

[new_earth]

I have the worst luck calling in for CLI's, on older cards and reconning new cards CL's. I have better luck doing it online. Don't know why. On the phone it's a big fat no. I guess they see something the computer doesn't.

[CreditScholar]

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

[efranklin23]

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

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+1 Dont get into asking my CLI unless you feel it's necessary

[red259]

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

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I don't see any amex cards in your signature? Do you have any? If not, would you ask for a CLI on amex if you had one? With my chase cards I don't ask for CLIs because it requires a HP. If I really really needed one then I would take the HP, but in terms of cards where it is SP only I ask for util purposes. 

[CreditScholar]

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@red259 wrote:

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

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I don't see any amex cards in your signature? Do you have any? If not, would you ask for a CLI on amex if you had one? With my chase cards I don't ask for CLIs because it requires a HP. If I really really needed one then I would take the HP, but in terms of cards where it is SP only I ask for util purposes. 

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No, I don't have any Amex cards currently. I'm not interested in getting any either (at least for the moment) for the following reasons:

1. The vast majority of merchants around here don't take Amex.

2. I spend more time outside the U.S. than inside, so forex charges are an absolute deal-breaker. Yes the plat has no forex charges, but as a high spender 1 point per dollar isn't very appealing. The recent removal of key benefits (such as AA & US lounge access) isn't encouraging either.

3. I see Amex as a company in overall decline (with their products & service), and until that changes it'll make me think twice about applying for anything with them. There are other options out there that I see as a better fit for my own needs.

If I did have an Amex, my general policy of asking for credit only when I need it would still hold true.

I rarely apply for new credit, and on average I only have 1 INQ every 1-2 years (across all 3 reports). Also my credit scores are high enough where I don't really care about HPs vs. SPs. If I want something or if my needs change, then I'll ask for what I want. Taking HPs isn't going to deter me since my scores are very high, and because I don't do it enough to really matter.

[red259]

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@CreditScholar wrote:

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@red259 wrote:

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

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I don't see any amex cards in your signature? Do you have any? If not, would you ask for a CLI on amex if you had one? With my chase cards I don't ask for CLIs because it requires a HP. If I really really needed one then I would take the HP, but in terms of cards where it is SP only I ask for util purposes. 

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No, I don't have any Amex cards currently. I'm not interested in getting any either (at least for the moment) for the following reasons:

1. The vast majority of merchants around here don't take Amex.

2. I spend more time outside the U.S. than inside, so forex charges are an absolute deal-breaker. Yes the plat has no forex charges, but as a high spender 1 point per dollar isn't very appealing. The recent removal of key benefits (such as AA & US lounge access) isn't encouraging either.

3. I see Amex as a company in overall decline (with their products & service), and until that changes it'll make me think twice about applying for anything with them. There are other options out there that I see as a better fit for my own needs.

If I did have an Amex, my general policy of asking for credit only when I need it would still hold true.

I rarely apply for new credit, and on average I only have 1 INQ every 1-2 years (across all 3 reports). Also my credit scores are high enough where I don't really care about HPs vs. SPs. If I want something or if my needs change, then I'll ask for what I want. Taking HPs isn't going to deter me since my scores are very high, and because I don't do it enough to really matter.

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Your analysis makes sense, especially if amex isn't taken in your area and I agree the foreign transaction fee makes it lousy for outside US spend. I was just interested in whether or not your applying for new credit had anything to do with the Inqs or if it was your position in general, which you answered quite clearly. Amex isn't the greatest company on earth by any means. Every lender has plus and minuses, but I am not sure I would call it a company in overall decline. Its true that some of the recent changes to services are disconcerting, but Amex has a company is running really strong. In fact they are set to have the highest stock prices in their history and since Amex is a closed system they are much more protected from fraud than Visa/Mastercard. With record profits and consistent growth that is staying in line with the GDP I think we will see an expansion of Amex and where they are accepted. The question is will Amex focus more on adding benefits or will they instead try to offer lower level cards to compete with some of the low level visa/mastercards out there in order to make a profit on quantity over quality of customers. 

[Pat94108]

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@CreditScholar wrote:

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@red259 wrote:

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

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I don't see any amex cards in your signature? Do you have any? If not, would you ask for a CLI on amex if you had one? With my chase cards I don't ask for CLIs because it requires a HP. If I really really needed one then I would take the HP, but in terms of cards where it is SP only I ask for util purposes. 

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No, I don't have any Amex cards currently. I'm not interested in getting any either (at least for the moment) for the following reasons:

1. The vast majority of merchants around here don't take Amex.

2. I spend more time outside the U.S. than inside, so forex charges are an absolute deal-breaker. Yes the plat has no forex charges, but as a high spender 1 point per dollar isn't very appealing. The recent removal of key benefits (such as AA & US lounge access) isn't encouraging either.

3. I see Amex as a company in overall decline (with their products & service), and until that changes it'll make me think twice about applying for anything with them. There are other options out there that I see as a better fit for my own needs.

If I did have an Amex, my general policy of asking for credit only when I need it would still hold true.

I rarely apply for new credit, and on average I only have 1 INQ every 1-2 years (across all 3 reports). Also my credit scores are high enough where I don't really care about HPs vs. SPs. If I want something or if my needs change, then I'll ask for what I want. Taking HPs isn't going to deter me since my scores are very high, and because I don't do it enough to really matter.

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+1 Good analysys. 

[CreditScholar]

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@red259 wrote:

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@CreditScholar wrote:

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@red259 wrote:

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

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I don't see any amex cards in your signature? Do you have any? If not, would you ask for a CLI on amex if you had one? With my chase cards I don't ask for CLIs because it requires a HP. If I really really needed one then I would take the HP, but in terms of cards where it is SP only I ask for util purposes. 

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No, I don't have any Amex cards currently. I'm not interested in getting any either (at least for the moment) for the following reasons:

1. The vast majority of merchants around here don't take Amex.

2. I spend more time outside the U.S. than inside, so forex charges are an absolute deal-breaker. Yes the plat has no forex charges, but as a high spender 1 point per dollar isn't very appealing. The recent removal of key benefits (such as AA & US lounge access) isn't encouraging either.

3. I see Amex as a company in overall decline (with their products & service), and until that changes it'll make me think twice about applying for anything with them. There are other options out there that I see as a better fit for my own needs.

If I did have an Amex, my general policy of asking for credit only when I need it would still hold true.

I rarely apply for new credit, and on average I only have 1 INQ every 1-2 years (across all 3 reports). Also my credit scores are high enough where I don't really care about HPs vs. SPs. If I want something or if my needs change, then I'll ask for what I want. Taking HPs isn't going to deter me since my scores are very high, and because I don't do it enough to really matter.

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Your analysis makes sense, especially if amex isn't taken in your area and I agree the foreign transaction fee makes it lousy for outside US spend. I was just interested in whether or not your applying for new credit had anything to do with the Inqs or if it was your position in general, which you answered quite clearly. Amex isn't the greatest company on earth by any means. Every lender has plus and minuses, but I am not sure I would call it a company in overall decline. Its true that some of the recent changes to services are disconcerting, but Amex has a company is running really strong. In fact they are set to have the highest stock prices in their history and since Amex is a closed system they are much more protected from fraud than Visa/Mastercard. With record profits and consistent growth that is staying in line with the GDP I think we will see an expansion of Amex and where they are accepted. The question is will Amex focus more on adding benefits or will they instead try to offer lower level cards to compete with some of the low level visa/mastercards out there in order to make a profit on quantity over quality of customers. 

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This is the biggest concern for me. Given how the laws are setup here, I highly doubt I'll see a significant increase in Amex acceptance anytime soon. However the gradual erosion of benefits is something which has been occuring for awhile:

* The Amex platinum has had its lounge access slashed multiple times (CO during the UA merger, AA & US, and now DL will charge for additional guests)

* The value of the SPG card has diminished due to category creep and the increased cost of C&P effective 2013. While this isn't Amex's fault, it does affect the total value received by the consumer.

* The personal SPG card no longer provides SPG gold after 30k in  annual spend

* BCP has had yearly limits imposed for groceries

* The loss of drugstores as a 6x category for their Hilton cards

* MR transfer bonuses seem to be less frequent, and when they do occur they are often for smaller bonuses

* Closure of the MR shopping portal

* The Centurion has had a gradual (but ongoing) loss of benefits including SPG plat, Hyatt Diamond, CO Gold, US Plat, etc.

On top of all of these negative changes to various products, we're seeing overseas call centers (and the difficulties that often comes with offshoring) come into play.

Yes there have been some positive additions to a few products (example: automatic Hilton gold for the surpass), but they are far outweighed by the negatives over the past several years. In addition the overall quality of their credit portfolio has decreased as they have reached lower and lower, taking applicants who they would have easily rejected a decade or two ago.

Compare this to Chase who has been releasing new products that are actually decent every year or two, adding new transfer partners such as VS, have a large number of cards with no forex, has a very large and robust UR shopping portal, etc.

I'm concerned that Amex is suffering (or will suffer) an identity crisis. Are they the high-end lender of old, or just another lender who will continually lower their standards to increase profitability? What do their actions say about how they perceive their own identity and survival?

To get back to the original question of will they add more benefits or just increase the number of "low offerings", their actions would indicate the latter and not the previous. If that's the case, then why would I want to get on board a sinking ship? When I say this, I don't mean that they are going bankrupt or anything of the sort. Yes profits and share price may be up, but as for what I receive as a cardholder it points nowhere but down. That's what I mean by a company in decline. It's declining for me as a (potential) cardholder.

[enharu]

+1 to what CS said.

I think Amex's priority in the USA seems to be going more mainstream, rather than to be "exclusive" like they were in the past. While the BCP and BCE have caps implemented, it still works well for the average family. Tie in free amazon prime, and the card certainly seems even more attractive. However, these are not benefits that are going to make well off customers go "wow".

The problem with adding perks to cards is that it can result in overcrowding and loss of exclusivity. For instance, its so easy to get Hilton gold or Marriott silver nowadays that almost everyone can attain those status without even having to step into the hotel chain once. In the US where there is no income / asset requirement to apply for certain credit cards, it will make certain features seem even more insignificant. Anyone with a somewhat decent credit score and is willing to pony up some money for the AF can join in too, even though they obviously do not belong in that group.

On the other hand, Amex in other countries, notably in Asia, is often a lot more exclusive, and certain products have more features than their US counterpart. This is partly because membership enrollment is often much more stringent to the extent that not every single tom, dick or Harry can sign up.