One of the AmEx credit cards would be a good place to start.
With you already having a relationship with AmEx, your income, and credit profile, they would likely be pretty generous with the limit on either of their no AF points rewards or cash back credit cards.
@800Hopeful wrote:What would be the best card to increase my overall credit?
I don’t need another card. I have an Amex Plat that I put almost everything on, then a BofA Unlimited Cash (14k), Discover IT (19k), Apple Card (17k), and US Bank Cash+ (25k). All 4 of those cards have refused the last 3 or 4 CLI requests I’ve made over the last 9 months or so. Not sure why as income is over 400k and FICO is over 800. Could be because on 3 of the 4, I added my spouse as joint and her FICO is only about 710 and she has 1 missed payment on her credit. Alas, I’m looking for the best strategy here to increase my overall credit at least another 20k. But I don’t intend to use the card so wouldn’t want one with an annual fee. But it seems the higher the annual fee, the higher the starting CL they usually give you. So given my purpose, I got to thinking:Is there a card out there that would likely give me a high starting CL, I can just pay the annual fee for the first year, then downgrade it before the annual fee hits for the second year?Would it be good to do this with the United Explorer card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred?Anyone have any recommendations for which card I should apply for that has the highest chance of the highest starting CL, that I can then just downgrade to a zero annual fee card after the first year? I’m assuming the CL would transfer with it and wouldn’t be reduced when downgrading to the zero annual fee product?Thanks in advance!
any amex revolver, even if they don't give you a high limit to start, you can CLI your way to as high as your spend will give you and even more if you are willing to provide bank statements proving that income
As the others mentioned, add one of Amex CCs like BCP/BCE and it is possible to increase its CL to ~25k without any financial review. Applying for Amex cards should result also SP (for the existing Amex users).
Another option is getting CC from some CUs. Search around and find the best one that matches your needs. My Affinity Cash Rewards had a CL of 25k, right after approval (it went to SD, after affinity nerfed its Hi5 program). I heard that PenFed gives also large CL right after approval. Its Pathfinding CC might be a useful card to some people.
Fico8: EX~EQ~TU~840 (12 month goal~850).
So, you have at least $75,000+ in credit card limits (that we know) but you want another card with a $20,000 limit that you are willing to pay one year's annual fee for, for a card you don't want or need. Why is this?
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I don't think high limits go hand in hand with high AFs.
Cap One gave me $30k SL with $59 AF Venture with some kind of large sign up bonus.
That is just one example.
GL!
@800Hopeful wrote:I have an Amex Plat that I put almost everything on,Why? Do you value simplicity to that degree, do you get exceptional value from your MRs (many of us don't), or do you just prefer the status of the Platinum? Answering this question is a key part of your "problem." (See below.) If I carried AMEX Platinum (which I don't because it makes absolutely no sense to me relative to the AF-credits equation), I would never put all my spend on it. But that's just me.then a BofA Unlimited Cash (14k), Discover IT (19k), Apple Card (17k), and US Bank Cash+ (25k). All 4 of those cards have refused the last 3 or 4 CLI requests I’ve made over the last 9 months or so. Not sure why ...... You don't know why??? Because you put all the spend on AMEX Platinum! All of those other cards will grow, often quite well and with soft pulls, as long as usage is sufficient. And rewards on all could equal or surpass what you're getting from AMEX MRs, depending on your usage case and lifestyle. Personally, I'd consider diverting some spend, even if just temporarily, to each of those cards. Depending on credit profile, BofA can go up to $99.9K on one card, Discover has been shown to grow over $75K (mine is at $52K), Apple card has been shown to grow to $80K (mine is at $42K.) US Bank is a little trickier but some US Bank cards have been reported to grow well over $50K with good usage. Work with what you have.I don’t intend to use the card so wouldn’t want one with an annual fee. But it seems the higher the annual fee, the higher the starting CL they usually give you. ... Is there a card out there that would likely give me a high starting CL, I can just pay the annual fee for the first year, then downgrade it before the annual fee hits for the second year? ... Would it be good to do this with the United Explorer card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
I agree with the above responses that, with your heavy spend on Platinum, you might likely qualify for a good SL on a new AMEX revolver and with only a soft pull. At 61 days, you could pursue 3x CLI and within 180 days it could grow even more. I started with a $15K CL and grew it to $75K in less than five months on an AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. I love that card. If you travel and stay at either Marriotts or Hiltons, I would highly recommend the Bonvoy Brilliant or the Hilton Aspire. They both have AFs but they also both offer an easy downgrade path. However, if you use the available credits and perks, you would probably find no need to downgrade as they more than pay for themselves, even with light usage.
Also, you could apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 AF). It has much better travel insurances than AMEX Platinum and at a low effective AF of $250 ($550 - $300 automatic travel purchase credits.) If you don't find long-term value, you could downgrade to Sapphire Preferred ($95 AF), the original Sapphire (no AF but otherwise a very weak card), or to one of the no-AF Freedoms (Unlimited or Flex.) The credit limits woulds stay the same. You'd probably get a better SL with CSR than other Chase cards. I got a $35K SL on it and less on some other Chase cards, including some AF hotel cards as well as no-AF card. Chase has been very generous to me and I have over $155K in Chase limits alone. They make consolidating limits on cards easy, so start with c couple of cards, hold for a year or two, and then close one and combine limits. You just need to be under 5 new revolving personal accounts within the past 24 months to get a new Chase card.
If you want an easy high credit limit and qualify for Navy FCU membership, you can get up to an $80K credit limit on the Flagship Rewards for a $49 AF or $50K on any of their other cards. You can qualify for membership through the military service of extended family to include spouses, grandparents, siblings, children, and grandchildren. Their cards grow easily with little/no spend and soft pulls, up to $8K every six months.
Many hotel cards are easy to justify as keepers, even with an AF, as they often include an annual free night that more than reimburses that AF. And if you're paying the AF, that activity alone is probably enough to keep the card open. Just sock-drawer it if you don't care to use it/carry it.
