Have i reached the end of the credit line with Amex?

[DebtFreeIn04]

No pun intended 🤣! This has probably been discussed at length would like fresh input. 

 

1st for me then for DW.

Me: 

Current Amex'es:

Amex hhonors surpass $22,900

Amex BCP $7500

Amex ED $1000 Txr'd limit from ed to hhonors. 

 

Amex priorities are cashback groceries, gas, restaurants and hotel benefits don't really value (maybe i should?) MR points.  

Question should I continue to periodically request cli's that might put me in danger of financial review? I'm not worried about the review stable (so far) govt. job.  How high should I go with Amex credit limits?

 

Thinking about Amex gold with 90k off but not sure will get use intended after sub. 

 

DW

Almost same she has 24k limit on BCP

No other amex...waiting to see if she gets decent hhonors offer. 

 

Again our priorities our groceries, gas, restaurants and hotel stays we drive to most destinations.  About 5 to 10 hotel stays per year.

 

Thanks 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by DebtFreeIn04
Clarify

[hdporter]

In my own experience, Amex isn't trigger happy with FR's. 

 

I tend to keep debt utilization modest, staying under 30% on cards (except with the occasional, temporary exception), and staying under 10% overall.  (It helps to be moderately aggressive in seeking out strong alternate credit lines, so w/ time I've amassed $800K+ in CL ... still doesn't touch that of some here )  I think such management is key to keeping debt balances from triggering some radar at lenders such as Amex.

 

And, of course, I haven't sought an aggregate Amex CL (total cards) exceeding $49.9k, which is a trigger in itself.

 

Stay within these constraints and Amex CLI requests aren't particularly hazardous.  (I think they now limit approval

to something like once every 6 mo.)

 

That said, an Amex FR triggered by going above $50k on your Amex lines doesn't actually resemble anything like a "rectal exam" or "root canal".  It's largely routine and most pass unscathed by a large margin.  (My Amex lines have been more than adequate for my needs, so I've resisted the urge to pad my overall limits further by pushing the $50k cap.)

[DebtFreeIn04]

52 minutes ago, hdporter said:

In my own experience, Amex isn't trigger happy with FR's. 

 

I tend to keep debt utilization modest, staying under 30% on cards (except with the occasional, temporary exception), and staying under 10% overall.  (It helps to be moderately aggressive in seeking out strong alternate credit lines, so w/ time I've amassed $800K+ in CL ... still doesn't touch that of some here )  I think such management is key to keeping debt balances from triggering some radar at lenders such as Amex.

 

And, of course, I haven't sought an aggregate Amex CL (total cards) exceeding $49.9k, which is a trigger in itself.

 

Stay within these constraints and Amex CLI requests aren't particularly hazardous.  (I think they now limit approval

to something like once every 6 mo.)

 

That said, an Amex FR triggered by going above $50k on your Amex lines doesn't actually resemble anything like a "rectal exam" or "root canal".  It's largely routine and most pass unscathed by a large margin.  (My Amex lines have been more than adequate for my needs, so I've resisted the urge to pad my overall limits further by pushing the $50k cap.)

Thank you hd!

[DebtFreeIn04]

Well just submitted for DW +6k to 30k,

Instant approval.

[hdporter]

Awesome! 

[PotO]

I'm not sure why people think $50k is the magic number for AmEx and FRs. That was definitely not the case for me, the wife and now my son & my daughter.

We are all over $50k and I am at about $100k and never had a FR.


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[DebtFreeIn04]

4 hours ago, PotO said:

I'm not sure why people think $50k is the magic number for AmEx and FRs. That was definitely not the case for me, the wife and now my son & my daughter.

We are all over $50k and I am at about $100k and never had a FR.


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Thanks for the feedback will proceed cautiously.  

[PotO]

Thanks for the feedback will proceed cautiously.  

Regarding FRs, since reaching about $100k, I have attempted to get additional CLIs and have been asked for FR. When that happens, my experience is that you can decline the FR and the only result is that AmEx will not give you the CLI.

Also, it is my experience that if you request a CLI that results in an FR, but you subsequently refuse to go through with the FR and the CLI is denied, you can apply for a new card with AmEx and it may be approved. Then you wait a short while and then push that new card's CL over to another card.

More than one way to skin a cat.


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[hegemony]

I've been at ~100k with amex (excluding charge card) for about 10 years. Each CLI request results in a 4506-t request that ends up in an Indian black hole. Remember a 4506-t REQUEST is not a FR. A FR involves a 4506-t requirement to maintain your accounts.

[DebtFreeIn04]

3 hours ago, hegemony said:

I've been at ~100k with amex (excluding charge card) for about 10 years. Each CLI request results in a 4506-t request that ends up in an Indian black hole. Remember a 4506-t REQUEST is not a FR. A FR involves a 4506-t requirement to maintain your accounts.

Ahh!

10 hours ago, PotO said:

I'm not sure why people think $50k is the magic number for AmEx and FRs. That was definitely not the case for me, the wife and now my son & my daughter.

We are all over $50k and I am at about $100k and never had a FR.


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Thanks for the feedback will proceed cautiously.  

[hdporter]

On 5/1/2022 at 12:26 PM, hdporter said:

That said, an Amex FR triggered by going above $50k on your Amex lines doesn't actually resemble anything like a "rectal exam" or "root canal".  It's largely routine and most pass unscathed by a large margin.

 

Yes, I erred in referring the this review as "FR", rather than income verification (4506-t).

 

As far as the trigger for income verification, it's been the experience on both my accounts and DW that income verification was requested after submitting a CLI request that would bring aggregate CL's to $50k+.

 

I can't attest as to what anyone else's experience with that might be.

[hdporter]

7 hours ago, PotO said:

Also, it is my experience that if you request a CLI that results in an FR, but you subsequently refuse to go through with the FR and the CLI is denied, you can apply for a new card with AmEx and it may be approved. Then you wait a short while and then push that new card's CL over to another card.

 

Again, it's my and DW's experience that Amex won't approve a new card with a CL that will take you over $50k, without further review.  Default has been to approve a new account and reallocate part of a lesser used account to the new credit line.

[PotO]

 
Again, it's my and DW's experience that Amex won't approve a new card with a CL that will take you over $50k, without further review.  Default has been to approve a new account and reallocate part of a lesser used account to the new credit line.

Maybe AmEx doesn't like you.

I am at $100k and family members are over $50k and the only FR was when I recently tried for a CLI. Wife tried for a CLI at around $70k and was hit with a FR, which she declined. She then applied for a new card and was approved without FR, but only for a $2k limit.


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[hegemony]

3 hours ago, PotO said:

Maybe AmEx doesn't like you.

I am at $100k and family members are over $50k and the only FR was when I recently tried for a CLI. Wife tried for a CLI at around $70k and was hit with a FR, which she declined. She then applied for a new card and was approved without FR, but only for a $2k limit.


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just to be pedantic I'll note that this does not sound like a FR. With a FR you don't have a choice to decline; it is a binary choice accept the FR and possible keep the accounts or decline the FR and have accounts closed or severely restricted.

 

early on when I got back in with amex the 4506-t requests resulted in CLI but that stopped after a couple years. This even though AGI increased more than 10 fold.

 

I'm at >80k on BCP and I can imagine needing more for groceries.

 

What I wished I had tracked is my charge card spending power. Last time I checked I put in 50k and it said no problem; I haven't checked higher or recently.

 

 

[DebtFreeIn04]

Appreciate all the input. So once one is at around 30k cl. What do y'all think is reasonable cli requests... 2x, 5 to 10k bump at a time?

[PotO]

just to be pedantic I'll note that this does not sound like a FR. With a FR you don't have a choice to decline; it is a binary choice accept the FR and possible keep the accounts or decline the FR and have accounts closed or severely restricted.
 
early on when I got back in with amex the 4506-t requests resulted in CLI but that stopped after a couple years. This even though AGI increased more than 10 fold.
 
I'm at >80k on BCP and I can imagine needing more for groceries.
 
What I wished I had tracked is my charge card spending power. Last time I checked I put in 50k and it said no problem; I haven't checked higher or recently.
 
 

Your call it FR when you have no choice but to cooperate or get nuked.

I call it FR any time they try to strong arm you into a 4506-T.


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[PotO]

Appreciate all the input. So once one is at around 30k cl. What do y'all think is reasonable cli requests... 2x, 5 to 10k bump at a time?

Go for whatever you want. If they don't like your amount, they will give you a counter offer.


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[hdporter]

Ok, I'm amused now ...

 

Just reviewed Bev's Amex Blue Cash Pref to see where we sit against the $6k grocery / 6% cb cap.  I'm more than a little shocked to say that we're racked up $330 cb YTD ($5500 in purchases).

 

Let's just attribute that to Bev's condition and that we're buying a lot of prepared food via Instacart.  I'll leave it there.  (If I find out that we've been covertly feeding Bev's "2nd family", I'll report back.)

 

What I'm amused about is that I'm now prompted to apply for a Blue Cash Pref in my name as backup (not going to leave what is potentially another $565 in cb, plus sub, net of fee, on the table .. or, if you will, $445 net vs use of a 2% card).

 

Now, last time I was approved for an Amex card (5 years ago), they wrestled my existing two cards to the mat and left me with exactly $49900 in credit lines.  (thus my emphasis of $50k as a de facto limit; they've insisted on a 4506-T if I want more ... on several occasions).

 

So, getting to the point of this post:  I get to test the waters with a new app.  I forget what exactly transpired 5 years ago.  So we'll see if they approve w/ something like $1, "approve and theft", or ask me to call to review the limit situation and submit a 4506-T if I want more ... or maybe offer up $15k without touching my other limits. 

 

I'll be back with an update ...

Edited May 11, 2022 by hdporter

[DebtFreeIn04]

28 minutes ago, hdporter said:

Ok, I'm amused now ...

 

Just reviewed Bev's Amex Blue Cash to see where we sit against the $6k grocery / 6% cb cap.  I'm more than a little shocked to say that we're racked up $330 cb YTD ($5500 in purchases).

 

Let's just attribute that to Bev's condition and that we're buying a lot of prepared food via Instacart.  I'll leave it there.  (If I find out that we've been covertly feeding Bev's "2nd family", I'll report back.)

 

What I'm amused about is that I'm now prompted to apply for a Blue Cash in my name as backup (not going to leave what is potentially another $265 in cb, net of fee, on the table .. or, if you will, $145 net vs use of a 2% card).

 

Now, last time I was approved for an Amex card (5 years ago), they wrestled my existing two cards to the mat and left me with exactly $49900 in credit lines.  (thus my emphasis of $50k as a de facto limit; they've insisted on a 4506-T if I want more ... on several occasions).

 

So, getting to the point of this post:  I get to test the waters with a new app.  I forget what exactly transpired 5 years ago.  So we'll see if they approve w/ something like $1, "approve and theft", or ask me to call to review the limit situation and submit a 4506-T if I want more ... or maybe offer up $15k without touching my other limits. 

 

I'll be back with an update ...

Inquiring minds want know! 🤓🤔

[hdporter]

1 hour ago, hdporter said:

 ... So, getting to the point of this post:  I get to test the waters with a new app.  I forget what exactly transpired 5 years ago.  So we'll see if they

 

* approve w/ something like $1,

* "approve and theft",

* or ask me to call to review the limit situation and submit a 4506-T if I want more ...

* or maybe offer up $15k without touching my other limits. 

 

I'll be back with an update ...

 

Well, "Door #2, please".

 

Immediate approval for $15k, with $11700 taken from a relatively dormant no-fee Delta card (that's being maintained for the sake of a 1982 "open" date).

 

I'm very cool.  (btw, we'll see if it floats, but pulled a referral from Bev's account, on which I'm an AU, for a $125 bonus and 90 days of a 5x cb booster on dining.)

 

Interestingly, this takes my total Amex CL from $49900 to $53200.   Likely, Amex was stingy because I'm still very conservative in factoring Bev's income into HHI, reporting only base and no incentive (which is 35% of her total comp).  At the present time, that pushes us to about 55% Debt/Income.

 

 

Oh, and btw, I didn't realize the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.  This has turned out to be a really sweet deal, under the circumstances. 😁

[hegemony]

now I'm curious and might have to try for a CLI...

[hdporter]

1 hour ago, hegemony said:

now I'm curious and might have to try for a CLI...

 

Because you're looking for a CL reallocation the round-about way? 

[hegemony]

8 hours ago, hdporter said:

 

Because you're looking for a CL reallocation the round-about way? 

 

I'd like to have more limit to allocate.

[hdporter]

43 minutes ago, hegemony said:

 

I'd like to have more limit to allocate.

 

And my narrative was inspirational on that count ??