Not at all. Slow and steady wins the race as they say. Lol. In all seriousness though, you don't actually have to run thousands through a card or max it out for a CLI. Responsible usage and good payment history go a long way towards CLIs.
@Anonymous wrote:
@OmarGB9 wrote:
Not at all. Slow and steady wins the race as they say. Lol. In all seriousness though, you don't actually have to run thousands through a card or max it out for a CLI. Responsible usage and good payment history go a long way towards CLIs.Thanks, that's good to know! So why do CC companies give people tens of thousands in credit if they prefer for the cardholder not to use it? I never understood that...
They issue the credit card with the hope that either:
1A) The cardholder will run a lot of spend through the card and / or
1B) The cardholder will run some spend through the card and end up carrying a balance that incurs interest expense
Then the bank hopes that the cardholder will:
2) Pay all that money back.
When the bank gets either 1A or 1B working, and then 2 happens, the bank is very happy. In order to allow big spenders to do more of 1, they offer larger credit lines because they are more confident 2 will happen.
And whoever told you banks prefer you not to use your credit line is telling you stories. People choose not to use their credit lines if they want to manage their FICO scores to be a few points higher. Banks really only care that you do step 2 above, even allowing you to run up to the CL. Everything else besides step 2 is optional.
@Anonymous wrote:
Hmm. I just read so many posts about people who have, for example, a 15k CL on a card and when they spend lile 8000 the issuer drops their limit down to that balance. Then I've read the opposite where companies will slash your limit due to inactivity. How do you win?
Well, you don't win, you just run transactions through the card. If the bank decides they don't like what they see, they can decrease the available credit. It's not personal, it's just business, and there are a ton of other credit card issuers looking for your business.
If you have a Capital One, it's very unlikely you'd see such a CLD.
If you have Barclays, on the other hand, that seems to be the skittish bank. They don't do it to everyone, obviously, but they do seem to have a lot of stories here, and don't like it much if their cardholder is looking for other credit. Barclays is a very jealous bank.
With any of these CLD or Adverse Action stories, however, it is important to get the entire story, and we often don't get the entire story up front, we have to keep asking questions looking for details until the real reason turns up. Or it never seems to answer the question, just something in the bank algorithm took control.
So you don't win, you just don't worry, and diversify your cards that are available. And I think, you let your actual activity report regularly and the CCC soft pulls see that activity, and it becomes less likely for any adverse action.
@Anonymous wrote:Hi myFico fam! I have three "anywhere cards" and two store cards. To best manage these, I decided to set up my smallest visa to autopay my small bills (cell phone and gym membership) and one of my Cap One cards to autopay my larger bills (cable and electricity). The other Cap One card I only use for gas, rentals, things of that nature. And if I make a purchase at one of my two favorite stores, I will use their card. Sounds very simple and manageable (which I believe is best since I obviously had credit problems in the past) but other than those few hundred dollars that I will PIF on each card monthly, I don't intend on pushing thousands through any of my cards. Will that make the banks keep my limit small because they see steady but limited actiivty? My goal is to have a TCL of about $25k, so about $5k per card. Thanks!
PS - right now my limits are each between $300-600. I pay (at least) twice a month to keep UTIL low which is why I want to earn and keep higher limits. I don't plan to switch up my spending habits regardless of how much credit they extend; by no means do I see myself needing 50, 100, 200k in credit lines. Just want to increase to and maintain $25k total without having to worry about it being decreased due to such little use.
Walmart and Amazon are good cards that will grow for you. I've had Walmart since December 2014 and Amazon February 2015. Walmart started out at $150 and has grown to $6k. Amazon started out $600 I think (been a while it seems) and is now $4K. Walmart gave me 1 automatic increase and the rest were through the chat function on the website. All increase from Amazon have come on chat. Can't say about Capital One cause I have a secured card. (hoping at a year my scores will be high enough for Venture card) and don't know about Well Fargo. All I can say is follow the advice of those knowledgeable on the forum and you will reach your goal. When I started out in the forum, I had a few store cards. I'm not where I would like to be, but I'm 1000% better and don't panic if an unexpected expense comes up. Good luck to you. 
Pretty much been summed up by everyone else that replied after me, lol. But yes, banks love those swipe fees. They'll love you even more if you run up a hefty balance and pay them interest! Definitely don't miss payments, pay late, or default though. That's a big no no.