jleung said:Citi AT&T Universal Rewards Card
- 8/23: Got a call and CSR told me the CL of this card is $6,800. Can't request CLI, but I can re-allocate CL from other 3 cards:
1. Citi Universal: $9,600 -> $500 (I don't even know I still have this card)
2. Citi AA Advantage: $20,400 -> $2,000
3. Citi Dividend: $6,800 -> $500
- the total CL will be $6,800 + $ 9,100 + $18,400 + $6,300 = $40,600

The CSR did suggest me to consolidate and cancel some of the old cards, e.g. 1 & 2. Is it the concensus that it is better to keep the old cards with the minimum CL? Or should I consolidate and cancel 1, 2, and/or 3?

Definitely keep the old cards open with the minimum CLs. You'll need some old cards open to counterbalance all the new ones, so your average age is a little older.

Please confirm that Citi actually reallocates your CLs. Some are complaining that Citi has become stingy with reallocations lately.

jleung said:markkundinger and DasBoot had different opinions on Citi card consolidation. What do the others say?
The average age of accounts is a factor in your credit score. The longer the better.

Until recently, most of the FWF community thought that closing old accounts would negatively impact one's credit score because the average age of accounts would decrease. Recently there has been mounting evidence that even closed accounts are counted in the average age while they stay on the report for 7 years. There's a thread somewhere in FWF that explains how the FICO score is (allegedly) calculated. I think the average age of accounts constitutes 150 of the total 850 score.

To be safe, I keep accounts open unless there's a good reason not to. The only benefit to closing account without cause is to reduce clutter. The upside of keeping them open is that they can stay on your credit report more than 7 years and they might get a tasty 0% promo offer at some point in the future that you would miss if you closed them.

gordita, 'we will notify you within 30 days' does not mean denial. A lot of my CC applications in this AOR are still pending. If you read others' AORs, most people do not get instant approval on most of the cards.

You just have to wait and hear the final verdict.

welphd said:Maybe I should do an AOR too. But several cards on the list I have have them. Can I close and then do AOR?For most of the cards, it is OK to own more than one. But for some (e.g. Advanta business), you can only have 1.

AMEX:
- 8/24: Got a call and CSR told me that all the cards are approved.
- They were all instantly approved during application, but don't know CL at that time.
- AMEX IN: NYC CL: $10,000
- AMEX BUSINESS GOLD REWARDS CARD CL: NPSL
- American Express SimplyCashSM Business Card CL: $39,500 (actually $14,500 is from AMEX Business Blue, see below)

Re-allocate all the available CL (existing cards and new cards) to AMEX IN: NYC.
- AMEX Hilton HHonors Platinum: $24,900 -> $1,000
- American Express SimplyCashSM Business Card: $39,500 -> $1,000
- AMEX IN: NYC: $10,000 -> $72,400

In the last few days, this AMEX CSR had been investigating why my AMEX Business Blue CL went from $15,000 to $500 after I requested a CLI. She updated me every day. She checked with the credit department and finally confirmed that it is because they allocate the CL from the Business Blue to SimplyCash.

jleung said:- AMEX IN: NYC: $10,000 -> $72,400
Please make sure to let us know when you get hit with the Financial Review.

What is the criterion of getting hit with FR here? Should I lower the CL to < $50,000?

Check out the summary of this thread

Quote from the summary: "Why do so many people ask for 24,900 credit lines? Well, some who requested more have been reporting getting approvals to $25k, but further approval was contingent on supplying tax return and other asset information (and perhaps resulting in FR and closure of accounts if requested documents are not provided)."

But your CLI went through and AMEX didn't ask you to supply any income verification, so I think you're ok.

Edit: Oops, sorry, I just realize you re-allocated CL from your existing cards. So the above may not applicable....

jleung said:markkundinger said:Please make sure to let us know when you get hit with the Financial Review. What is the criterion of getting hit with FR here? Should I lower the CL to < $50,000?

With a creating a new 72K line I think you've gone way beyond risking a financial review. At this level you're almost guaranteed a full AM3X anal probing. If you wake up one morning with a sore abdomen, you'll know why.

jleung said:HSBC Platinum Mastercard w/ Cash Back
- Approved by checking here. CL = $600.

Can I call to ask for CLI? Has anyone got any success (or failed) story with HSBC?

Typical HSBC. Who knows why these guys are so stingy with credit lines? One thread suggested this had to do with HSBC's U.S. credit card division originally being geared towards those with poor credit. Who can say for sure? But your experience is certainly a common one.

gorenbeinx said:With a creating a new 72K line I think you've gone way beyond risking a financial review. At this level you're almost guaranteed a full AM3X anal probing. If you wake up one morning with a sore abdomen, you'll know why.During the Pre-AOR, I have requested CLI to the existing AMEX Hilton Hhonors and AMEX Business Blue. The Hhonors CL was increased to $24,000 immediately, but the Business Blue CL did not get increased. I called AMEX 3 times. One of the 3 CSRs said that my Business Blue CL is approved for $25,000. In order to increase the CL to $34,900, I would need to fax the first 2 pages of the last 2 years tax form 1040 to AMEX Media at 1-801-945-7977. She gave me the Ref # as well. I faxed them the 1040 the next day.

Am I considered going through a financial review already?