Credit Cards

[gramps1968]

I got a Home Depot store card in July 2007 and I was wondering when I might get a credit line increase. My payments have all been on time and the balance has always been pretty low. I use it regularly too. The limit was $500.00. Thanks!! Mike

[Timothy]

Customer imitated CLI's will cost you a hard INQ-

How are your scores ?

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gramps1968 wrote:

I got a Home Depot store card in July 2007 and I was wondering when I might get a credit line increase. My payments have all been on time and the balance has always been pretty low. I use it regularly too. The limit was $500.00. Thanks!! Mike

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[gramps1968]

I got the card right after I closed on my house. MY scores were low 600's then(620ish) I know they dropped a little after my closing-not sure why tho, but I have a year of timely payments on all my accounts and several inquiries that have dropped off so I'd guess they should be higher. I really need to check them.

[haulingthescoreup]

Try going on your online account account and clicking "Manage My Account" (up at the top in the orange bar) and then Credit Line Increase. Members have reported that on Citi cards if it says you're eligible and do you accept, it's a soft. But if you see boxes that you have to fill in, and a mention at the bottom that says "By submitting this form, you authorize Citibank (South Dakota), N.A. to check your credit history," it's a hard.

This might be helpful:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=creditcard&message.id=77233#M77233

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=creditcard&message.id=72358#M72358

[MsMS]

Home Depot seems to do auto CLI's if you use it for big purchases.  When we opened the card, we maxed it out completely, and they did a CLI from $500 to $2k in the first week.  We recently ran it up to almost $2k (electrical fires will do that, particularly with the price of copper lately), and they gave us a CLI to $3500 after a couple months.

Of course, all these are a 0% interest for 6 or 12 months, and we're making large enough payments to pay it off before all the accumulated interest hits.  The really nice thing is that they'll apply your payment to the promo balance that expires first, so it's even easier to avoid paying interest!  Seems odd, given the tactics most cards use, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth...

-MsMS

[Trilly2]

I recently opened a Home Depot account. My starting credit line was 2K. However, within two weeks of purchasing some appliances for my new home, I applied online for a CLI.  Home Depot granted my request for a credit line increase, doubling my credit limit. I requested the CLI under the my account page online.

[haulingthescoreup]

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MsMS wrote:

Home Depot seems to do auto CLI's if you use it for big purchases.  When we opened the card, we maxed it out completely, and they did a CLI from $500 to $2k in the first week.  We recently ran it up to almost $2k (electrical fires will do that, particularly with the price of copper lately), and they gave us a CLI to $3500 after a couple months. 

-MsMS

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And these were softs, since they were initiated by HD/Citi, right?

[concorduser]

HD is pretty good with CLI's. Ask the CSR if it is a soft inq before you ask them for CLI. I am pretty sure it is. Citi/HD is one of the best combination I have ever seen in a Card.

[haulingthescoreup]

That's the nice thing about CC's from big box stores like Home Depot or Best Buy. You're more apt to get a good-sized CL, since their toys are so very (very, very) expensive, especially when compared to retail clothing stores or something.

[MsMS]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:

And these were softs, since they were initiated by HD/Citi, right?

Yep.  The most recent one was a "stealth CLI"- I didn't realize they'd done it until I saw on my Mint.com weekly summary that my HD credit limit was $3500 instead of $2k.  They did it in between statements, but it was confirmed to be real when I logged into Citi's site. 

Hmm.  Now, come to think of it, I can't be positive that the second one wasn't them trying to be competitive, as I'd requested and gotten a few large CLIs on some of my other cards.

But they probably don't mind maxing/nearly-maxing out the card as much as some other companies.  Along with the 0% interest for 6 or 12 months, there's no payment required for that time period- but I'd imagine they prefer people who pay anyway...

-MsMS