Introduction and a question

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone!

I've been frequenting these forums for a few weeks now, and have finally been convinced to try out the 3B service. A few data points:

30 years old

thin file (first credit card about 5 years ago, a capital one secured card with a $200 limit). I applied for a Chase Freedom card in February and was approved for $4k. AutoCLI a few months later to $5k. In June went on an app spree - approved for $4k AmEx BCE, capital one quicksilver $1k. Denied by Discover and Citi. I've always PIF my CC's before the closing date, so I've never shown a balance. It wasn't until just recently that I've learned through these forums that it is actually beneficial to let 1-9% "cut."

Last month, before I started visiting myFICO, I AP'd for CLI with my 3 non-secured cards- my new limits are 10k for both Freedom and BCE, and QS felt like $100 increase was all I needed. In hindsight, I wish I would not have taken the $100 "luv."

No baddies.

According to 3B - EQ 714, TU 749, EX 723

I wish that I would have gotten on the credit score bandwagon many years ago, but I've been fortunate enough to never need credit. Now that I'm married and have a brand new baby, all the "what if's" run through my mind, and I feel like having a sufficient amount of credit can put some of those thoughts at ease. That being said, I guess my goal going forward will be to increase my lines of credit so that my combined credit limit is close to equal to my income for a year.

I'm sure I've thorougly bored you to death by now, so I will finally ask my question and be done: Is that a silly goal, or is it a common theme among myfico-ers? Question 1A: I'm a giblet head for taking that $100 cli from CO, aren't I?

Thanks for your time and and in advance of any responses! Sorry for the grammar, etc!

Purser

[Anonymous]

You have a goal, which is to increase your total credit limit (all cards together) to be equal to your annual salary.  You then ask if that's a silly goal.

Answer: No.

One of the reasons it's not silly is that it is YOUR goal.  You have a goal, and you are then developing a PLAN to meet that goal.  That's wonderful.  Identifying goals, designing a plan, and executing the plan is incredibly good for you.  It will be immensely helpful in many financial areas of your life: credit, retirement planning, budgeting, etc.

You also ask "I'm a giblet head for taking that $100 cli from CO, aren't I?"

Unsure why that would have been a dumb thing to do... unless it cost you a hard pull?

A final thought.  You write:

I've always PIF my CC's before the closing date, so I've never shown a balance. It wasn't until just recently that I've learned through these forums that it is actually beneficial to let 1-9% "cut."

Just for clarity, you don't need to let every card report a small positive balance.  It's just that when ALL of your cards report $0, then you will take a temporary score hit for doing that.  Allowing one card to report a positive balance is enough to prevent the "all zero" penalty.

That said, many of us don't worry much about utilization or how many $0 balances we have, except in the 1-2 months before we apply for a new card or loan.  The rest of the time we just set our cards on autopay to pay in full whatever balance reports on the statement.  Some folks do like paying all cards to zero except one each month, ehich is ok too of course, though perhaps a bit more work.

[Anonymous]

Hey, thanks for your response! I guess what I was getting at concerning the $100 cli, is that I potentially could have benefited by declining the offer and trying again later, instead of accepting and having to wait 6 months for another. As far as SP and HP, the only provider to hp was Chase.

[Anonymous]

Ah.... I understand now.  You may already know far more about how to go about expanding your total CL than I do!  Maybe some other folks will chime in.  I have done very little to increase my total CL over time.  It has increased by a big amount, but I haven't asked for it.  I asked for a CLI twice I think in the last 15 years.

You have probably hung out already with people who know a lot more about it than myself.  I will tell you that my own experience is that having one major CC that has an especially high CL seems to cause other credit card companies to follow suit.  When I raised my Amex CL to 26k, it seemed to cause new cards to come in at a much higher initial CL than before.

The only point I'd make is to just make sure you know why you are doing it.  In your case I think you said you just wanted to do it in case some terrible unforeseen event (job loss, etc.) happens and you need a lot of credit -- to buy groceries, gas, etc.  Makes sense.

Just don't mistakenly think that a big total CL will in itself improve your score -- as it won't.  Not even by a fraction of a point.