Yup!!! I have never missed a payment, utilization is low... Now im stuck at increasing those darn limits! No one is budging right now!

The best way to raise your scores are to keep making payments on-time and working on receiving CLI's. A lot of people ask what do they need to do to raise their scores and it's really those 2 simple steps above.

Thanks!!! What you said makes perfect sense! I am not goin to upgrade to this no-preset limit signature card as it will affect my scores... My scores right now average 665 accross all bureaus and hopefully will get higher as I get CLI on all my cards...

RivasGlo, it's better if you downgrade/upgrade your card to a card with a preset limit. Looking at your limits, your limits aren't high enough to support the weight from the no-preset limit cards. It is going to hurt your score. Cards without a preset limit are for people that have anywhere from $20k-$30k or more and the card without a preset limit basically gets "buried" under all that available credit so it doesn't really effect them as much as it effect us.

Good Luck

I received this in the mail today 5/28....

"Effective July 2, 2008 your Chase Freedom Visa card will be upgraded to include Visa Signature benefits!.... your account will have a credit access line instead of a credit limit and will have no pre-set spending limit*... the upgrade to your account occurs automatically on July 2, 2008."

"*No pre-set spending limit does not mean unlimited spending." --> I just thought that was kinda funny.

How will this go into play? I mean, I read somewhere around here that by having a no pre-set limit cc hurts your score bc they do not report a CL.... What should I do? What are the pro's and con's on this upgrade and how will this benefit/hurt me?

BTW, I just got approved for this card in 03/2008 and im STILL on my 0% APR for 6 months which ends 09/2008. NOT TO MENTION that this is my highest CL of $5500 and my lowest APR of 9.9%!!!

Heres a glipse of all my cards so that you guys can help me with a decision....
1) 01/2007 - Chase Flexible Rewards Visa - $1600
2) 04/2007 - Target - $500
3) 06/2007 - Capital One Visa - $1250
4) 08/2007 - Walmart - $200
5) 12/2007 - Washington Mutual Visa - $1500
6) 02/2008 - HSBC Direct Rewards Discover - $900
7) 03/2008 - Chase Freedom Visa - $5500
05/2008 - JCPenney - $300

Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your input is greatly appreciated!

hmm, I would say since January/February. I only have three items left to get removed, but the way the credit bureaus are reporting it, it's really affecting me (probably more so then my bankruptcy five years ago). I just did another dispute with them and this last time I sent in a copy of the police report (yet again) that they state everything is still valid, so I'm hoping it will get their attention. I even sent in paperwork from First Premier that was opened frauduently that they took everything off, but the bureaus still say it's "valid."

How did you try paying the payment? Maybe by phone, online, or mailing a check? If I were I'd try paying them through Bill Pay from your checking account. Basically, you make the payment off of your online banking website and they send the credit card lender the payment. Once they receive that payment, they will withdraw it from your checking account and credit your credit card account. I know that this works with First Premier because I used to have an account with them and I sent my payments with my Online Banking Bill Pay from Bank of America since my checking is with them. It worked like a dream. I have heard that WaMu, Wells Fargo, and Citi have started using the Bill Pay technology on their Online Banking websites.

Good Luck

I know amex does!

Just out of curiousity, do credit cards use geographic demographic data to determine credit limits? When I lived in a more upscale community (a LONG time ago with my parents), I didn't even have a credit score nor did I have a credit card and the banks seemed to issue me higher limits. Strange. Now I am an urbanite (and loving it), but as far as cities go, all walks of life can live in one block- bums, doctors, painters, elderly, college kids...you get the picture.

hmm, I would say since January/February. I only have three items left to get removed, but the way the credit bureaus are reporting it, it's really affecting me (probably more so then my bankruptcy five years ago). I just did another dispute with them and this last time I sent in a copy of the police report (yet again) that they state everything is still valid, so I'm hoping it will get their attention. I even sent in paperwork from First Premier that was opened frauduently that they took everything off, but the bureaus still say it's "valid."

I have another question, I finally got my Tribute Card and they make you pay a 20.00 payment first, well I did that...and just went online and noticed it say it came back for NSF. I had emailed them a few days before because it wasn't going out of my account and now this. But here is the thing, my bank never got any authorization from them to debit that and there was more than enough money to pay for it!! I don't make payments unless I can't pay. What do you think happened? :

EDIT, they just answered my email stating that they can't find my account and if I had an account with them previously that I would get a letter that my account is closed and I was welcome to reapply....so I tested that and used my card for a 10 dollar charge and guess what...the card is still valid! and I sent the email from my account. I don't get it, what is it with Salute and Tribute?? Salute couldn't find my account also and now Tribute...jeez, this is not a good start.

Em, do you have ANY credit cards right now?

Umm

Em, that's great news! How long has it been since you started rebuilding your credit? In a year or year and a half, your scores should hit 700 and that way, you will be able to obtain better cards and close the cards that charge you a monthly fee.

Desihunk, the way that preset limits work is that you are givin a limit technically. It's just that you pay the difference between your the balance you owe and your credit limit before the due date

For example, let's say you credit limit is $5,000 and your balance is $5250. You would not be going over the limit but you would have to pay that $450 before the due date. Even if your balance is $10,000 and your credit limit is $5,000, you would not go over the limit but you have to pay that $5,000 difference before the due date.

However, your card will appear maxed out on your credit report when BofA reports your info after the statement cuts because there will be no limit reporting. This is not just a BofA thing. This is how all VISA SIGNATURE AND WORLD MASTERCARDS work. Anything that doesn't have a preset limit will have no limit being reported.

The thicker your file is, the less it will hurt your score.

When I say thicker, I'm talking about the average age of your cards and how much your available credit is.

BofA does convert their cards into other ones upon consumer's request so it is possible.

Originally Posted by Desihunk17 on May 23, 2008

I reagrds to "Bank of America Visa Signature® WorldPoints™ Rewards Review"

SOO I GOT THIS CARD IN THEMAIL TODAY...VARY FAST...GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE...DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW THEIR CREDIT LIMIT WORKS...AND ALSO DO THEY CONVERT THEIR CARDS IF YOU ASK THEM TO...PLEASE EVERYONE HELP ON THIS ONE.

Here is a great resource for you https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/CreditRepairGuide/

Em, do you have ANY credit cards right now?

Umm : ...yes I do. But I'm on the process fixing my credit because of fraud, I wasn't able to get my transunion report for four years because I had to keep faxing in information proving that I was me. It has been a horrible battle and it's starting to pay off. I have four of them, salute, tribute, credit one and orchard. My scores when I started fixing my credit four months ago were in the 400's and I had gotten up to the lower 600's. That's what I meant by my credit taking a hit by trying to get additional credit.

LuLu, you have good cards. You just have to keep making on time payments on those cards and your score will eventually increase. I know it's hard waiting, but there's no way around it. You don't need to apply for anymore credit cards. The cards you have are just fine.

By the way, if you call Macy's and ask for a CLI, you will most likely get one because they are really good with CLI's.

Good Luck