Well, after 3 months of heavy negotiations with their corporate offices and having generated about as much paperwork as the RJR-Nabisco leveraged buyout, I managed to secure a Macy's card with a whopping - get this - $200 credit limit. Wow, what a success! Am I good, or what? Wonder what's in store for me next - a Cross Country Bank card with a $50 limit? (No offense CCB cardholders!) This is amazing. And on top of it all, it cost me not one, but rather two, inquiries. Kind of funny considering two months ago I was able to get $19,000 in Citibank cards online in about two minutes' time. And just when I thought I had arrived in "primeville", this happens. But yesterday, I managed to squeeze a $1,500 GM Card out of Household. Not a great limit, but it's a start I guess. I'm not at all complaining about my successes, just utterly amazed by the wild inconsistencies I encounter. This whole credit repair process is simply weird sometimes. I never know what to expect from one day to the next. Keeps it interesting, I suppose. I guess I'll hold off applying for that Platinum American Express card a little bit longer... -chriscraft
Hey....don't trip! Macy's will be good to you. They were one of my first credit cards (since 92) then I hit hard times in late 98 early 99. They closed my account with a $300+ balance because I was like 60+ days past due. I ran down there with a balance transfer check from FUSA and paid it. So my account was closed w/ a zero balance. Then in Oct 2000 I called them and basically threw myself at their mercy. All I had to do was fax them some documents stating that some stuff on my reports were paid, inaccurante, etc. I was requesting a $100 limit! As soon as I sent the paperwork (4 pages) my account was immediately opened w/ a $200 limit! Talk about a joyous occation! As of today (a year later), my limit is $1800! I would occationally call them and give them some song and dance and they would raise my limit with OUT pulling a report. I got a $300 raise, then $1000, then $300. As long as you pay your bill on time (more than the minimum of course) they are pretty laxed about increases. I love my Macy's card! Recently I put in a request to be upgraded to President's Club.....they sent me a Premier card instead! Woopee! :-\
MP$40, I am glad to hear about your experience with Macy's. There is hope for me yet! Actually, the credit supervisor I spoke with told me to give them a call in 4-6 months and I should be able to get a decent limit increase. As long as I can get it raised to the $1500-2000 range in the next year or so, I will be a happy camper. I absolutely love Macy's, so I am very happy I have one of their cards. Unfortunately, though, $200 won't go too far. I can drop that in less than a minute in the Polo section! It just still amazes me that almost effortlessly I can get $19,000 in credit one day, and then barely squeeze out a $200 store card the next. It's a strange world out there! Take care. -chriscraft
I know, it's crazy! How I got my first increase from $200-$500 was like this: I went to the men's Polo section -p) to buy my boyfriend a Valentine's Day gift (some boxers, etc.). I had a $150 balance on my card and I decided to go over the limit to see what would happen. I use to work at Macy's a few years ago and I knew that usually when a person went over the limit, the transaction would suspend and they would have to call CS and give them a ref #. Usually they would just verify some info and they would go ahead and approve the transaction (thus raising the limit) and that's exactly what happened. He just had me verify my DL number and that was it. The last 2 increases I got by just calling. I love that store so much, you just don't even know. I eventually had to quit because it's sad when you're working part-time there and basically paying THEM $50/wk to work there! That's how much shopping I was doing! My paychecks were going straight to my account in addition with $50 of my own money! Sad but true.....I do have a lot of nice outfits though!
Ha! Wanna hear the best? I just called (for the hell of it) and requested an increase. Told them that I'm trying to move up in status to President's Club ($2500 in annual purchases) and that I have an opportunity to do so. The rep did note that I requested an upgrade to President's but was given Premier instead. I stated that I need to purchase some Waterford picture frames for a promotion at my job and wanted to use my card instead of paying w/ company card to get the credit but I told her that I needed more available credit on my account. She asked how many frames I needed to buy and I said 20 at about $80/frame. So $900 additional credit was needed. But then I told her that I just made a $400 payment that probably hasn't posted yet so that would mean that I would only really need $500. She was like, o.k. I went ahead and increased it to $2300 so it looks like you'll have enough to buy the frames! Just trying to raise my balance to limit ratios......hey.....every bit helps, right????
MP$40 - way to go! Congratulations on your limit increase. That's awesome. Think how much damage you now can do in the Polo section. Now you ought to be able to get at least 5 Polo shirts and a couple of pairs of Polo socks before hitting your new limit! I'll be sure to remember your methods once I am ready to increase my Macy's limit. I like your style! Take care, and thanks for the info. -chriscraft
