@Danique wrote:
Haven't been here much but I still try and take heed to what I have learned. Was feeling a little bored so I decided to see if I could get some CLIs thrown my way. I have 2 Orchard Bank cards, one was increased $100, the other wasnt. Have two FP cards, one was increased to $150, the other wasnt. Credit One increased to $100 after I called to close the account. That account has a $0 balance. All I have been paying is the $7.00 fee so I couldnt see paying $20 for an increase of $100. I decided to pull the 'I want to close my account' card to see if I could get the fee waived. After trying to tell me how valuable the card is to rebuilding my credit, the rep places me on hold. When she returns, she tells me the fee is waived as a one-time courtesy. Yippee!!! I would have tried the same with my FP card, they charged $25, but it has a balance of about $75. I will only try that with a card that has a $0 balance. I will be calling them about the card they declined the CLI for. Just waiting to get my letter indicating why they denied it. My balance on that account is $50.00 and the CL is $300. If they refuse to give me the increase, I will close it. I've gotten about $350 in increases this week and I have paid my balances down so my UTI shouldn't suffer.
Congrats!! Every increase helps you. So for now, what limits do all your cards have?? When were they opened? (all this helps in eventually getting the nice cards you really want!)
The older the accts & the higher you can get your limits...then the nicer cards you can attract.
I remember for the longest time, I had a couple rebuilder cards & was still in the process of getting the baddies either dropped early or waiting for them to age & drop off. Sat in those mid to upper 600's for over three years til my once collection dropped...then I started soaring forward!
Even with the fees, I wouldn't be where I finally am today without the rebuilders. Sometimes you have to pay a bit more to get to where you want to be. I just closed my Credit One card in November after 4.5 years. That card served me well.
Congrats on the CLI's!! I too believe that the rebuilder cards serve a great purpose in our ultimate goals in credit building. What ever the short term costs are, its worth it in the long term. I'm not charging anything unless I absolutely have to. I too just went on a 2 day CLI spree this week and I am very proud to say that I have successfully added $2900 to my credit portfolio! With only one hard pull that I know of and even still, I haven't received an alert telling me that I have a new inquiry so my fingers are crossed that none will appear. Here's what I got:
Childrens Place - $600
New York & Co. $200
Orchard - $100
Macy's - $500
Chase - $200
The Room Place $500
Pottery Barn - $800
These new credit limits along with me paying almost $2000 in credit card debt in the month of January should take me from 68% util to below 50%. Still high but I have until the end of this year to pay the others down.
Starting Score: EQ 729, TU 752, EX ? (1/1/2011)To the OP.....Maybe in a few months (after the cards that didn't get the increase are PIF) call both issuers & ask if the newer card can be combined with the older card. Then you will have one from each with higher limits & only one fee per.
When you can show cards with a limit near 1k, then the next you app for will be more likely to give you a nice limit. High limits beget higher limits.