11/26/2008

Cool! See what I mean, they see that you use them often, and that is how they send out the best offers for you. They are watching you HJm331, it is time to show your best work, they may send you a $2k limit increase through the mail.

Since I use them monthly, I receive them monthly along with my statement.

How often do you get those checks? I receive them like every 3 months or so with the lowest being 0%.

I use the no transaction fee purchase checks to pay for my parents car payments so that's how I really utilize my card.

I totally feel you on that one lil bro! Before I got my last increase a couple of months ago, I did not receive anything from them since lst year around May I think and that is when they sent me a letter saying "You deserve a vacation, here is a $2k limit increase" I did not know what to do. When I use the cap 1 card, I make the huge purchases on that one and pay it off in a few months or sometimes just take the cash advance and bank it for a few months. This is not a true statement from cap 1, but I feel like they see I use a nice amount and pay it back so I can handle a higher cli. This is just my theory about cap 1, but who knows, it might be true.

You will get an increase soon, just hold on. They may send you the letter they sent me.

Meya, my 12th statement cut for my oldest credit card which is issued by Capital One and they have not given my a CLI. I called their backdoor number and spoke to a very nice rep but still gave me the answer that I got exhausted from hearing. He said "I see that your account is in very good standing BUT there are no offers right now because we review accounts periodically." I told him, "Well, I've had my card for 1 year with on-time payments and never have gone over the limit so why don't you guys reward me with a CLI?" and he replied," Well like I said, we review accounts periodically and will give you a CLI when the time is right." I was angry but nonetheless, I thanked him for his help and ended the call.

This is very frustrating but I guess I just have to wait it out. I'm not asking for a huge CLI like some who receive $10k CLI's. I'm just asking a CLI for $1k or $1.5k.

Correct HJM331, this is what I was talking about when I was on the phone with a senior account manager for Cap 1. She saw that I "DO" pay down (majority pay off) my debt, and she also mentioned that when I uses the card to make purchases, that is how they are able to determine which one of their cards are best for you. That is why the rep encouraged me to be apply for the everyday rewards card. Even though I did not bite, the feeling was good to be offered.

Everyone has their own way of how they want to utilize their cards, its ok and I love to hear members express their concerns about their credit here. It shows how much they have learned and how focused they are with thier financial background.

I've realized that lenders don't look at if you carry a balance or not. They look at your high balance and current balance. For example, I use my BofA AMEX heavily and my high balance on that card is about $1200 but my current balance is $200 and it has been reported to the bureaus for the month of May. When a lender looks at that, they will see that you are responsible at paying down your balances and it will raise your chances of getting approved for a credit card or loan.

I am coming off the application kick for approvals. Keep the utilization low because it looks bad on your credit score.

Meya, that's a really good breakdown of what needs to be done for all kinds of people. Thanks!

Jimmy, this is a three way situation. Also, I agree with the previous posters:

1. Rebuilders- of course they are going to maitain the discipline to keep the utilization low because of thier (our) past history

2. Good credit- This is where it is going to sound weird. If you have good credit, you already know the cnsequences of utilizing your debt. Furthermore you have more control over it than rebuilders. People who have cards for over 20 years will go and purchase $5k or what ever they feel like when they want to because they are going to pay it off and so does the creditors.

3. Non credit seekers- This is the flip side to "Good Credit" individuals. It does not really make a difference how you pay or charge because you are not looking to apply for new credit, you are just dealing with what you have. For instance, I have been on a credit application halt for about 7 months now, when I was making charges to my card(s), it did not matter how much I was using, I was pre-focusing more on how fast to pay it off due to finance charges. If my scores dropped, who gives a hoot because? My history and on time payment speak for themselves.

The best thing to do is carry balances but keep them low when it's time for the statement to cut. Keep your overall utilization under 35 percent.

What I would do, is keep the utilazation of your card(s) very low and pay them off every month.You don't want to run up a huge amount of credit card debt because you will be in debt for a very long time.

In some places it says you should pay off your account in full each month for max effect on your report. Other places it says you should carry a small balance. What is best to build my credit? This is important to me because all 3 of my accounts are small and just charging a small item can throw my utilization all out of wack.

Honestly, in my experiences in the past (but don't rely on mine because I still wound up with lousy credit), I was happy paying the minimum amount each month and keeping a balance there. If I started to get a little low on what was owed, I was told to go out and charge something else. Then... I lost my job and that was that.