Hi, everyone! So I now have my Amex Gold and BofA Platinum Visa. I tried asking for a CLI before activating BofA, but the rep said to try in 9 months (and it would be a soft inquiry). Oh well...I did transfer my rip-off Providian and Crap 1 balances to my new card, and it'll be 0% until May 2004. The rep was very helpful and nice, so hopefully when the balance is paid off in May, I will be eligible in 9 months for an increase! I got rejected for an Ann Taylor charge; they pulled Experian, and the only reason they gave was "too many recent inquiries" (Dell - twice, which I'm disputing; Fleet and Bloomingdale's). I guess I'll try again next year, since a majority of my clothes are Ann Taylor I bought something with my new Bloomie's card to get the 10% off, and a week later I paid it off online. I also bought some upgrades for my computer, and didn't use much of the pre-approved limit Dell gave me (I'd say I only used about 25%). I know some people posted that Dell doesn't report to the CRAs, but hopefully I'll be lucky. Feels good to have credit lines considered "prime", but now my question is when to close Providian and Crap 1? And how do new accounts affect your credit? Providian (opened 1999, 23.99%, $2000 CL) Crap 1 (opened 8/2002, 14.99%, $500 CL) Also, how easy is it to get an Amex revolving credit card (I'm interested in Blue and Costco Rebate) if you are an Amex cardholder? and how easy is to get BofA to increase your CL and lower your APR? Thanks for any input!!
BofA is on my favorites list right now. I started with gold and got moved to Plat + a nice $2500 CLI at the 9 month mark. Cust svc was very nice as you mentioned. Crap 1, I'd close right away... you likely have a fee and they're stingly with CLs. Plus, it's barely a year old. It shouldn't hurt much, if any to close it. Providian, I'd probably hang on to for a little while if you have no other established accts. It'll shorten your history, which will probalby drop your scores some. If you have no other accts(besides your new ones), I'd probably wait a year to close it. Congrats on your new cards!
