@Walt_K wrote:
@qc-ttns wrote:thanks guys. i was thinking it took a year before i can get a CLI. BTW its unsecured. i want to use it to pay one of my bills every month but 10% utilization of 300 is not going to cover it. so i am glad its only 5-6 months. I only got it to start the garden.
I think you are referring to the 9% or less "rule." It often gets cited as 10%, but it is really less than 10%, and since utilization rounds up, it's better to think of it as 9% or less. Also, it's a general guideline, not a rule. But more importantly, it's about what gets reported to the CRAs. Most cards, including your Cap One card, will report your statement balance. So you can use the card much more than $27 dollars worth during the month, but you want to pay your balance down to $27 or less before your bill is generated. Whatever balance is on your bill, that is what is going to appear on your credit report.
If you have a monthly bill of $100 that you want to use this card for, pay the bill, then pay your card down to $27 or less before your statement closing period.
+1 
@qc-ttns wrote:Okay sounds good! How do I figure out when cap 1 generates the bill?
Hmm. I'm not sure for the first bill. Mine always close on the 23rd of the month. If you can't find the date online, just call them and ask for your statement closing date.
Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)
@bichonmom wrote:
@Student_Loans_Kill wrote:Credit steps program is 5 months then you will get a $500 limit. If you have a card with $500 limit, you will get an increase to $750. They will all increase to $1000 and max out there. However you can get the cash rewards card as well after you pay 5 months of payments. The credit increase should be on your 6th statement
This is not accurate. The max CL depends on the card and the person. I have 2 Cap Ones -- one went from $300 to $500 and that's it. The other went from $500 to $750 and that's it. They then cap out after the steps.
Some step-program cards have 2 steps, but most have one. You can read your letter (either by mail or log in and read it from your account), and it will tell you the details for your specific step program that you qualified for. It will also tell you the number of months before you'll receive your increase and what you need to do to qualify for it.
The step-program cards rarely go beyond the CLI from the step program. Any perks, like "cash rewards" would be part of the card program you applied for. Cap One does not add those after the fact to your credit card.
Actually its very accurate, it came directly from the Capital One rep who figured out the dates my cards will get a credit limit increase and how much. And she even told me both cards will max out at the same $1000 limit and I could apply for another card with a higher limit at that time
@qc-ttns wrote:I got approved for capital one cash back
Congrats!!!
CLI are very rare with Cap1 and your best chance of one is being enrolled in their credit steps program. I would call and see if your enrolled. Also, having those 2 cards and gardening them for a year with good payment history will set you up for prime cards in the future.
The date the statement is generated. If you call Cap 1, ask the agent what the cycle date is. Call it something else and they might get confused (everything has it's own term).
