Another failed attempt, what am I doing wrong?

[tcbofade]

DW and I ran into something similiar late last year...if you're carrying a balance on 11 of 21 cards, that's too many as mentioned above.

Pay ONE of them off without closing anything...then you'll be carrying a balance on 10 of 21 cards, and THAT is less than half...which somehow makes a difference to various lenders...especially Chase...

[takeshi74]

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@Reighn9 wrote:

I read all the success stories, I think its great, but I can't seem to catch a break.

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You can't rely on breaks or what others have or have not done as their credit can vary quite a bit from your own.  You need to look at your own credit and adjust whatever issues creditors have with it.

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@Reighn9 wrote:

The lady started off by saying she couldn't do a product change, and after asking a multitude of questions, refused to raise the CL beause my balances are spread over too many cards.

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...and here's a clue to what you should be doing.  The general recommendation for optimal scoring is to only allow one card to report a balance with 10% or less utilization.  Granted, it's possible to get approvals with more balances reporting and higher utilization but if one isn't getting the desired approvals and terms I'd suggest working on optimizing to improve one's odds.

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@gdale6 wrote:

Do not apply for any more credit until you have corrected the problem, once you do, ask for CLIs on your current cards and then app for a few good ones3. Good luck

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+1  Take it in steps and expect to invest some time in this process.

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@Reighn9 wrote:

Companies want you to use their cards but punish you when you do. 

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That's an oversimplification that only takes into account two possible extremes.  One can certainly use cards and have good credit.  I can understand being frustrated but don't let it get the best of you.

[Reighn9]

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@gdale6 wrote:

 Ultimately you only want 1 reporting a balance to the CRAs. Looks like you have 11 out of 21 reporting with a balance, this is more than half. You need to work on getting these paid off.

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This is where I get confused. I thought lenders were just worried about utilization percentage and if you pay your bills on time, not how many accounts have balances as long as they are low.  I pay much more than the minimum each month, but these are mostly store accounts and I use a lot of them each month too. I get paid once a month and pay my bills the same way.

[JoshuaHolySpirit]

21 success?

How many failed attempt then?, 1-2?

Since it's all about what you want, 21 should've gotten you to where you want by now.......just wondering.

[Kenny]

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@Reighn9 wrote:

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@gdale6 wrote:

 Ultimately you only want 1 reporting a balance to the CRAs. Looks like you have 11 out of 21 reporting with a balance, this is more than half. You need to work on getting these paid off.

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This is where I get confused. I thought lenders were just worried about utilization percentage and if you pay your bills on time, not how many accounts have balances as long as they are low.  I pay much more than the minimum each month, but these are mostly store accounts and I use a lot of them each month too. I get paid once a month and pay my bills the same way.

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You score is better if you have less cards reporting balances...

[YahComb]

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@Reighn9 wrote:

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@gdale6 wrote:

 Ultimately you only want 1 reporting a balance to the CRAs. Looks like you have 11 out of 21 reporting with a balance, this is more than half. You need to work on getting these paid off.

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This is where I get confused. I thought lenders were just worried about utilization percentage and if you pay your bills on time, not how many accounts have balances as long as they are low.  I pay much more than the minimum each month, but these are mostly store accounts and I use a lot of them each month too. I get paid once a month and pay my bills the same way.

From what you listed, you have a ton of balances reporting, and and they're not really "small" either. of the cards reporting balances, every single one is reporting at least 10%, most of them over 20%. a few over 40%. 

Score might look pretty decent right now, but any creditor paying attention is gonna have some questions about your report. You said you pay more than the minimum, but are you still carrying balances for months on end? Certain enhanced reports will show history of payment and credit limits on accounts, not just the current reporting month. if you look at your REAL, FULL transunion report(not from their monitoring services, just the plain old report), they will show you the ehnahced version containing all this information.

[ACsteel]

Clear all your debts first. When you're making demands you should be in a firm position to make them while anticipating objections in advance.

[Reighn9]

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@JoshuaHolySpirit wrote:

21 success?

How many failed attempt then?, 1-2? Over the past 4 years 9 out of 10 times when requesting a CLI, a bankcard, a correction of an error, reinstatement of account closed with no reason given, reinstatement of other features removed, and the list goes on.  I've had reps tell me they are fixing the problem only to find out they didn't have the authority or they lied.

Since it's all about what you want, 21 should've gotten you to where you want by now.......just wondering. Until very recently I only had 3 bankcards, all with very low limits, and low limits on these store cards.  It took Capital One over 4 years to give me a CLI.  What I want is a decent bankcard like MC or Visa that's accepted everywhere.

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Most of these cards I've had a long time, oldest being 17.2 years with AAoA 7.5 years.  I've gotten a few automatic CLI's recently but none by request.

[Reighn9]

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@ACsteel wrote:

Clear all your debts first. When you're making demands you should be in a firm position to make them while anticipating objections in advance.

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So this means it doesn't matter that you have excellent payment history, longevity, no baddies, or other derogatory information I've seen many others post with success in talking to credit managers and customer service reps. Just no balances on any accounts?

[Creditaddict]

Id call back and give it a second go and say "hey to be honest I didn't realize having multiple accounts show balances were bad if they were under 10-20% of my credit line... I PIF most of them, I just didn't do it before the statement cut and now it seems to be hurting me getting the CL I feel my score and income and long profile deserve?!"

I would think they would give you some more!