OK... I have been doing a lot of reading.. but am still...

[Niki9]

OK...

I have been doing a lot of reading.. but am still a little confused. 

Are there certain companies that you are asking for CLI when you are approved or should I be doing this for every credit card that I get approved for?

And does this CLI request at time of approval cause another inquiry to your CR?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Your individual credit will guide you...But generally we have been asking for cli at activation if we think the line is low and we think we have the score, income to suport the request. The reason we have been requesting at activation is so it does not result in a hard pull. There is no way to be sure tho...so be sure you keep up on the current posts.

[Niki9]

What about if you have had the cc awhile...

like a 1 or 2

should you ask for cli?

[Anonymous]

1-2 yrs or mos.?   either way you can ask!  The issue is do you want to (spend) and inq on a cli. or would you be better served using it to expand with a new CL.

[Niki9]

So how would one determine which is better cli or new cl?

[Anonymous]

How many cl's do you have? What are your limits? What are your balances? When were they opened? What are your scores? Are your cards prime or sub-prime? What are the rates? Are there annual fees?  Do you have lates, derogs, charge offs , collections accounts etc.? When you answer those questions It becomes pretty clear.

[Anonymous]

---

Niki9 wrote:

So how would one determine which is better cli or new cl?

---

CLI perhaps won't incur a hard INQ. Not always, but perhaps. I've yet to hear of AMEX doing hard INQ on a CLI. Probably another reason there's an AMEX lovefest on credit forums.

Overall, big picture, if one has good, established CCs, then no question CLI beats new CC.

However, lots of us deadbeats are still trying to climb outta our debt/credit holes. As such, one might have to accept a less than ideal CC today, ride it for a while, then seek a better CC with low or no annual fee, lower APR, higher CL, and better rewards.