Does using a card a lot increase chances of a CLI?

[dddewdrop]

     I  got credit cards to rebuild my credit and all things being equal I would prefer to just leave them in my sock drawer or in the atticy of my grandma's house or somewhere far far away from me while they age  and hopefully increase in credit limit. Is this ok to do or do I need to be making some sort of minimal charges on them to maximize my chances for CLIs? I have a bad track record with credit card and I would prefer to pay cash for stuff. But if I need to say make one charge a month with each or 5 or whatever the number may be I will do it. I just would rather leave them in my sock drawer than risk ringing up a bunch of credit card debt. Thats what got me in trouble in the first place. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of how to maximize CLIs? My cards are listed in my sig. 

    It is my understanding that I should pursue a new CLI with my Walmart card like every 4 months and with my Capital one I can try EO at 6 months. But will running a bunch of charges through them help? Every time I use my cards I am risking going into credit card debt because I have been undisciplined and impulsive in the past and if I bring my wife along to the store with me and she sees I have new credit then forget it. She has ways of convincing me and I don't stand a chance.

[boomhower]

If you don't trust yourself with them then leave them alone.  Geting CLI's isn't worth racking up needless debt.  Just make one small purchase every three months or so to keep them active.  Some issuers will continue to give CLI's with minimal uses and others won't.  Still isn't worth racking up debt over. 

[snowkitty]

Maybe you can just put a small recurring charge through one or both of the cards? Like a subscription to netflix, magazine, etc. That way the charge would be minimal and would not require you to carry the cards with you if you don't trust yourself.

[lg8302ch]

I would imagine that the use of your card coud benefit auto CLI or when you ask for the CLI. But it is important that you use your cards the same way as you would treat cash payments. Purchase only what you can PIF!  In your case I would try to use the card as much as I could and make sure I would report 1 account with 0 balance and the other with 1-9% only. This means that your balance  needs to be paid before statement cuts. 0 balance reporting on both cards is not a good idea if you try to get your Fico scores up.. best result is 1 account with less than 9% - rest with 0 balance. Has worked for me but I am still testing around various combinations for me.

If you think you could end up buying stuff that you cannot immediately PIF, do NOT ask for CLI and use the cards as suggested above. But if you can handle the CL and make sure not to use as "CREDIT" but as debit then use the cards to demonstrate that you can responsibly use it and pay and stay within your limits. Would assume that when looking at account for auto CLI it matters if you use the card of if you have no need for an increase..but this is only a guess on my side..new to this forum as well.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

yes sure it does,imo

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Train yourself....

charge something small and pif every month.

high usage matters mostly for Amex or high end cards..

but every creditor appreciates low util that is paid in full.

I even revolve balances from time to time to toss my creditors a bone.

:-) just be careful!!! To have great cred, you're going to have to train yourself.... If you can't trust yourself now, you'll never get to those prime cards w high limits.

good luck!:-)

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Might also remind your wifey that your ability to provide for her and a family partially

hinges on ability to obtain credit...

in other words,

if you have too much debt and cant pay a cc bill, you won't be able to obtain a mortgage or auto loan in the future... Imo, that's a pretty good motivation LOL..

in reality, you'd prob just have to pay a much larger interest rate with bad credit than not be able to obtain it at all.

[SnackTrader]

I disagree with the idea of heavy spending is the only way to get CLI.

Responsible usage is the primary indicator of a CLI in my opinion.

I put less than $1,000 through my Amex over the first 60 days and received a $9,000 CLI. So...there you go. Charge only what you can and pay in full. That's my secret to success.

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Agree with snack!

[nicholasyud]

as you mention you don't want to get into credit debt and having problem to.make payment then I suggest :

bring your card out one per month. One small charge. Let them report.

Sign up for auto paid. 

you all set