Q's about requesting two limit increases and applying for credit

[Anonymous]

So my $500 First National Bank of Omaha College Visa and $600 Chase Amazon Visa cards just aren't cutting it. I currently have pretty high balances on each card ($500/$600 on Chase and $460/$500 on FNBO card). I'm going to be paying both of these off in full next week, but after a camcorder, gas, and guitar purchase, I'll again be dancing that credit limit line and I'm sick of worrying how the 30% rule affects my standing.

I've had the Chase one since 12/07 and the FNBO since 4/08 and I've never had a delinquent payment nor have I paid just the minimum. So assuming my credit is adequate, how much will two CLI's each requiring a hard pull and an application for another card hurt me?

Also, while we're on that topic, I know that they note if only a minimum payment is made. But I read from a person on Yahoo answers (a very esteemed person at that, just can't remember her position) that paying even just a dollar over the minimum payment is good enough because what's reported is "Minimum payment" or "More than minimum payment". How true is that? Now, before you get any ideas, I ask this because I plan to have around a $2000 balance a few months down the road on a 0% APR for 12 months card, and while the minimum starts at $80, I was wondering if $100 payments (a mere 1% higher than min.) was good enough.

Message Edited by WTFSEAN on 07-28-2008 05:26 PM

[Anonymous]

Your cards have not been opened very long and you say they are about maxed. Not good.

If you can pay them down and then ask Chase (it will be a hard pull) They *may* give a CLI. FNB I have no experience with them, but the account is fairly new.

I would not apply for more credit while your cards are reporting this high.

As for as the person on yahoo answers, that is what I was told my an analyst at BoA as well. Any amount over the minimum, will report as 'pays as more than minimum' to the bureau's. Keep in mind that creditors ARE able to see exactly what your last payment amount was though.

[Anonymous]

Pay the cards way down, wait until they report to the CRA and then apply for your new card. The high balances will probably kill your chances for getting a decent new card. Also you probably won't get any CLI either. It looks bad to have your cards always maxed (this from personal experience). MY Ex score from myfico was 600 and I have a perfect payment record on all my credit since I first opened cards about 18 months ago. Fico Simulator estimated that my score should jump to 700-750 if I paid off all the accounts in full. So it really does make a huge difference.

Message Edited by siang on 07-28-2008 06:56 PM

[MidnightVoice]

Chase does a hard pull, and will usually go up to near the CL of your highest cards

[Anonymous]

Well, the thing is, I'm completely paying both of those accounts. I'm getting paid around $1900, $900 and change which goes towards wiping off my credit cards completely. That brings up another point, though. Any time I've ever read "keeping below 1/3" the time period is never specified. For example, let's say I have a credit card for 9 months and never have a closing date where my credit is above 1/3. Now, imagine another person who has a credit card for 9 months, the first 8 months he carried a balance around 80% but on the 9th month he paid it off in full. Assuming both of them let an adequate amount of time pass by for the card companies to report to the bureaus, will they both be in the same boat?

[thrasher865]

Yes, FICO scores have no sense of utilization history 100% utilization yesterday and 5% today is the same as 5% for the past 10 years.

BUT you said as soon as you pay them off you're maxing them out again.  STOP living off your credit, sounds like if you just chill for one paycheck, you'll be in the right again.  Buy with money you have, not money you will have.  It's just impatience that you need to learn to ignore.

You don't need a camcorder and guitar right now.  Save for it.

Message Edited by thrasher865 on 07-29-2008 05:39 AM

[Anonymous]

This has been a hard lesson for me to learn as well. I got used to simply using that "extra" $2000 or so every month on a continuous basis. Even though I always paid off my balances in full before the due date, I had to bite the bullet and just STOP buying things with them and let them rest... I was treating them as an opportunity to buy things I had wanted but was unwilling to save up for; too impatient to tolerate the delayed gratification. I learned credit card companies aren't impressed with how much the balances I pay off are; they are impressed with how self-disciplined I am.

I applied for six sub-prime cards in the past 18 months and a couple of them increased credit limit from say, $400 to $500, but my scores have not risen at all because my utilization was so high, and I am sure their unwillingness to CLI was due partly to that. The score simulator said the same thing for me: pay them down and my score would rise 100 points. Am crossing my fingers for next month.

[FretlessMayhem]

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@MidnightVoice wrote:

Chase does a hard pull, and will usually go up to near the CL of your highest cards

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Completely agree with MV. Chase is always a hard, and they are more than happy to match or go in the same ballpark of your highest CL.

[Creditaddict]

I don't agree with this paying $1 over min.  When I look at my reports I see:

Balance

High Balance

Credit Line

Min. payment

Last Payment

well actually just went to myfico. report and it does not show either way being reported, I can't remember which report it was on but it showed a dollar amount I paid not "more than min." so does this vary by the report depending how they order the info to come to them?

[Anonymous]

But going back to the original Q, let's assume here that I'm responsible enough to pay off both of my cards in full and that I get a free trial at freecreditreport.com so I can check my score for 14 days and see when Chase and FNBO report (by the way, how long does it take for them to report, anyway?). When the credit bureaus know that my slate has been wiped clean, how badly will two CLI's and an application for another credit hurt me? I guess I just want to know what happens if I do them on the same day. If I do one CLI, then another 5 minutes thereafter, and an application 5 minutes after that, will my latest hard pull show the two previous already, affecting my chances? Also, is it true that hard pulls within a certain amount of time are treated simply as one hard pull?