starbuk

It's hard to say one is better or worse than the other since they both have tradeoffs which are weighed differently by people. If your intention is to get IAs, then lowering CLs works. That much we do know. Your decision to get a credit review or not are personal and should be made on a case-by-case basis.

Brugge

Sure, there are lots of reasons you want a CSR looking closely into your credit file, searching for a reason to at least deny your app, or possibly closing down all of your accounts with them.

I'm thinking those the are the same personal reasons you would want to ask the IRS to do an audit of your tax returns every year, making you bring in all of your records, and going over them line by line, so you that you can be sure you did your return correctly.

Sorry, bud, most of your posts are spot on, but with this one I just have no idea what you are thinking.

NYCRuss

Yes. It may not be a lot, but will affect your FICO score. Going from $100 reporting to $2 reporting on just one card will usually boost your FICO.

But back you your assertion that "additional credit does NOT increase your FICO score." That is simply false if the utilization rate varies.

starbuk

...and only false if you bring another argument/aspect of the model into it. Credit limit alone does not increase your FICO because it often gets "maxed out". If you start talking about utilization scores then yes, maybe, but not always.

And so you don't take my comment out of context (again) I said it was false to say with CERTITUDE that lowering your credit limit lowers your FICO which IS false. Should we keep going with this or are you finished?

NYCRuss

That other aspect, utilization, is tied to credit limits. They don't exist in isolation. In the real world, lowering credit limits lowers FICO scores.

Let's put it another way. Has anyone here ever reduced credit limits, and then precisely reduced balances so that utilization remained exactly constant? Anyone?

starbuk

You're still taking out of context that I said it was false to assume that lower CL = lower FICO. This is in fact not a true statement because the counterpoint is that getting higher and higher credit limits will always increase your FICO and this is not true.

I lower my CLs all the time and ignore utilization and nothing changes for me whatsoever. The question you should be asking is are there people who would lower CL to gain instant approval that would let their utilization drift to levels that cause them to not get approved.. that answer is no in 99% of cases.

RNE

On the contrary, we don't "know" it works. Nor do we know its risks. All we have are anecdotes and guesswork. Not much is it? And all for what? Instant approval vs. approval tomorrow? Pshaw! I'm not going to structure my credit limits for that.

sethb

Maybe your beliefs about what is good for me are completely irrelevant to anybody except you xxxx

Instant approval is less effort for me, which is a benefit.

sethb

You are the one bringing another aspect into the argument. Credit limit alone increases my FICO because it decreases my utilization. Your belief about "often gets 'maxed out'" is just that, your belief. My spending (hence utilization) has never been affected by my credit limits.

Similarly, lowering my limit would lower my FICO (except in the case where I have utilization at $0).

Brugge

Maybe you two can take this useless argument to PM, and spare the rest of us having to scroll thru it.

valuetactics

I applied for the IHG through the 70k offer link in the wiki. I applied in the early A.M. hours on March 31 (today), the last day of the offer. I assume my total Chase CL is maxed, and as expected, I got "pending." So I called the recon line this afternoon. The CS rep told me everything looks good for my application and he would "recommend their approval of my application with a 10k CL." I told him I didn't need such high CLs on my other cards, and if that's part of the reason I was "pending" I would gladly lower one of those cards' CLs. He told me that they are able to extend additional credit to me at this time, and repeated that he would recommend approval. When I asked how I would be notified he said it would come in the mail, or I could call before end of business on Thursday to get an answer.

So I guess I have two questions:

1) In this type of scenario, is it a matter of some slightly-higher-up rubber stamping the approval (like the CS rep made it seem), or am I not out of the woods yet?

2) Since the 70k promotion ends in 13 minutes, will I lose the bonus offer if my application is still in process tomorrow morning?

nwflyboy

Don't know about #1, but the offer has been extended, so you now have plenty of time.

tnguyen29

Hi everyone, I haven't been able to find the answer to this question either in the wiki or anywhere else, but is it possible and/or a good strategy to apply for a higher card, and if denied, then try to shoot for a lower version during that same recon call? Does it work that way, or do you absolutely have to take 2 different applications/pulls?

For example, try to apply for a Chase Ink Plus, and if rejected, ask for an Ink Cash during the reconsideration call instead?

After recently filing my taxes, I realized that I really need a better way to manage and organize my business expenses, so getting at least one of the Chase business cards is my #1 priority for that reason. The Ink Plus would be nice, but the extra sign up bonus/benefits aren't important enough for me to jeopardize my chances if I'm only allowed to apply for 1 card at a time. Also, limiting the number of hard pulls on my report would be nice as well, so is it possible to apply for a higher card, and then try and "settle" for a lower card in one application?

Thanks!

exarkun

Anyone see Chase pull from 2 bureaus? I'm seeing both equifax and experian pulls from Chase...

JimNC

Yes, for sure. North Carolina data point: CSP last September and IHG earlier this month. Two HPs...Experian and Equifax.