topic I am unsure how to proceed. in Credit Cards

I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 04:28:52 GMT

I have been building my credit for about a year now and my tu has gone from 489 in August 2014 to fico tu of 656. I have the qs1 with a cl of 750 and a qs with a 500 cl( just upgraded from platinum today)

I am actually waiting for my scores to go up because my util is a lot lower now because I paid down my balances. I make sure to pay frequently and always more than the min. Anyway I'm needing advice about how best to go about getting larger cls. I'm really new to this but I've been really diligent about it. I currently have a total limit across all cards of $2050 (I also have a care credit with an $800 cl). The only other accounts on my cr are my car loan and student loans. They are both current with 100% on time payments. My student loans are still deferred because I am going to school. I also work full-time. Should I be using my cc's more? I usually just use my debit but I am really thinking that I'm going about this all wrong. I really only have 2 cards because I do not use the care credit should I try for another one? If so any suggestions?

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

thummel — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 04:33:35 GMT

I think your doing fine to be honest. Just use your cards every now and again and pay them off and just repeat. If you want some rewards with your purchases you can always try to pick up another card too. 😀

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

ddemari — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 04:34:27 GMT

Congrats on making the decesion to build and stick with it. It took me a good 2 years to go from the 300-800 approvals to the 3000-5000 and then 10,000+ approvals. Income also has to support larger credit limits. But yes, u should use your cards more and still spend what u can afford. I never use a debit card and I know lots of people that do and they can't switch over to using credit, something in them doesn't trust themselves lol. Get your scores up in to low 700s and continue to keep balances low and u will find yourself with higher limits down the road.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 04:56:08 GMT

Thank you. I guess that I just need to be patient lol. I kind of got spoiled in the beginning because my score went up rather fast. I guess that had more to do with my choice to work on my credit and really old collections falling off my report. Anyway I can be patient I am not in the market for insane credit limits but it would be nice to have $10-15k at some point in the future. I make decent money now but will be making more when I finish school soon. Thank you guys for the suggestions. When my score gets better what credit cards would you suggest (not now but maybe in a year or so). I really only think I need maybe 1-2 more total and only when my score improves. Man I wonder if it is possible for me to even get close to an 800 or 850. Oh well hopefully one day....lol

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 04:58:17 GMT

Oh and how do I find out when cap1 cuts the statement so I can always make sure to pay my balance down before that?

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

degs138 — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 05:07:07 GMT

Only spend what you can PIF before statement cuts. You can let a small amount report but only report <10%. I did that and went from 300 limit to 5000 limit in 7 months. 2 years later I have mid 700 scores and 52000 in credit lines

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 05:18:04 GMT

I'm currious, are you building credit for the first time or is this disaster recovery? Being in deferred student loans I'm going to go out on a limb and assume building.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 05:31:50 GMT

Well I guess that it is a bit of both. I have have only had a cc one other time when I was 18 and that was a disaster. I have never had any installment of any kind except for student loans until now. Now what I have had are some small medical bills in collections from before I had insurance. Most of the collections have aged off my report I think tu is only showing 1 and squid ax is showing 3 but I am in the process of having at least one of those removed. I took my son to urgent care and they forgot to bill insurance. I thought I had taken care of it before it hit my cr but after they fixed the mix up the ca still reported it but at a $0 balance. But I talked to them the other day so it should be removed by now. I can't check because none of the sites I use has updated yet.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 06:36:29 GMT

You also menetioned a car loan. Credit diversity is a good thing but only if you are paying it down way more the the minimums due. Medical bills on credit reports are weighted way lower than all other types because they we'rent optional purchases. Medical is understood to be "incure the debt or die", not optional. Most lendors get that but it will still drag you down for a few years (decreasing scale - up to seven years) if you didn't pay up in a timely fashion. Student loans are installment debts (with slightly less weight). Deffered student loans are installment loans that you will be paying on soon that will also probably increase in principal before you start paying. These are also understood as a fact of life (for most of us who go to college) but still weigh on your ability to pay other debts. Simply put, you're high risk right now if you carry a ballance on the starter cards you have now and have other looming debts. Reducing that risk ONLY takes money. Easier said than done but take if from a guy who messed up in his 20's and is just now back in good graces in his 40's... Pay-pay-pay NOW. It will show the creditors that you are worthy of their risk.

If I'm wrong about ANYTHING I'm sure others here will point it out rapidly.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

ddemari — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 06:29:55 GMT

If your cap 1
Card is due on say the 28th, the statement usually by the 2 or 3rd. U will be able to tell by looking at the statement

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

lg8302ch — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 06:49:48 GMT

Welcome to my Fico forum

Glad you found this place because here you can find a ton of information What I would do in your case is use your Cap1 cards instead of your debit cards. Cap1 likes usage! Try to look up when your statement cut date is and make sure you know your due date as well. What you want to do is use the cards as much as you can (instead of debit card) but then let 1 card report 0 balance and the other <9. Once you know your statement cut date just pay the current balance on the account you want to report 0 balance and don't use it until the statement is cut. The other card you keep using the same way and instead of current balance you pay everything and leave like 9% or less until the statement is cut. Since Cap1 CLIs are only SP you can try to request a CLI after each statement cut date. Don't get frustrated if it does not work the first time...eventually it will come with success one day. I can't remember how many time I hit that luv-button until the first reaction came back. Credit takes time to build but you are one step further than me... I never had an installment loan or mortgage and only have revolving accounts.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

lg8302ch — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 06:53:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Oh and how do I find out when cap1 cuts the statement so I can always make sure to pay my balance down before that?

You should be able to see this online and if not you simply look at the past statements and it will give you the date. Example: statement of Dec, Jan or so shows 07th then your next statement will also be the 7th and the due date should be approx the 4th of the next month or something like that.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 10:09:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have been building my credit for about a year now and my tu has gone from 489 in August 2014 to fico tu of 656. I have the qs1 with a cl of 750 and a qs with a 500 cl( just upgraded from platinum today)

I am actually waiting for my scores to go up because my util is a lot lower now because I paid down my balances. I make sure to pay frequently and always more than the min. Anyway I'm needing advice about how best to go about getting larger cls. I'm really new to this but I've been really diligent about it. I currently have a total limit across all cards of $2050 (I also have a care credit with an $800 cl). The only other accounts on my cr are my car loan and student loans. They are both current with 100% on time payments. My student loans are still deferred because I am going to school. I also work full-time. Should I be using my cc's more? I usually just use my debit but I am really thinking that I'm going about this all wrong. I really only have 2 cards because I do not use the care credit should I try for another one? If so any suggestions?

Have you tried hitting the luv button on the cap1 website yet? I believe you can do it on your QS1, but since you just changed your platinum over to a QS, you have to wait 6 months on that one now, credit steps should increase it automatically for you though.

Youre on the right track. Be diligent with paying your balances of in full. Let one card report a 1-9% utilization. That's where your best scores are. Utilization is rounded up too, FYI.

If it was me, I would be very careful with your low CLs. But I would try to run everything I purchased through the CCs. For the rewards and for usage. They usually love heavy usage and multiple payments per month

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

driftless — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 14:17:16 GMT

Yes, to what others have said, use the cards and pay a couple times a month if you need to. Use your debit card only to take cash from an ATM.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 04:13:29 GMT

I actually didn't see your reply until now. I actually hit the luv button earlier today on my card that was upgraded to a regular qs. The third statement just cut and I received a cli of 1000. So it now has a 1500 cl. I was surprised but excited at the same time. I think that they liked the fact that I make multiple payments per month for more than the minimum. My utilization was high right after Christmas but I paid them way down after getting my taxes back. I'm trying to find a way right now to finance some much needed dental work without having to max out my cards. I have 6000 cash and need about 9000. Care credit only gave me a line of 800 and Wells Fargo health advantage gave me 2400. The automated care credit cli denied me. Maybe I will call customer service whilst I'm at the dentist and actually talk to a real person. I would really like to get a personal loan but that is not going to happen right now.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

SouthJamaica — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 04:30:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I actually didn't see your reply until now. I actually hit the luv button earlier today on my card that was upgraded to a regular qs. The third statement just cut and I received a cli of 1000. So it now has a 1500 cl. I was surprised but excited at the same time. I think that they liked the fact that I make multiple payments per month for more than the minimum. My utilization was high right after Christmas but I paid them way down after getting my taxes back. I'm trying to find a way right now to finance some much needed dental work without having to max out my cards. I have 6000 cash and need about 9000. Care credit only gave me a line of 800 and Wells Fargo health advantage gave me 2400. The automated care credit cli denied me. Maybe I will call customer service whilst I'm at the dentist and actually talk to a real person. I would really like to get a personal loan but that is not going to happen right now.

Care Credit is good about phone applications for credit limit increase... they gave me a great CLI, even more than I asked for. But there's one problem: it's always a hard pull.

In view of the dental work, I guess you need to give it a shot. Ask for a large CLI... think big... if it's too big they'll give you a counteroffer.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 04:36:59 GMT

At this point I'm not really sure how much an hp would really hurt. I have quite a few since I bought my car last year. They ran my credit through like 10 places it was crazy. If I can get this dental work financed I do not plan on applying for anything else for at least 18 months or so. Hopefully that will help my score improve too. But as for right now it really can't hurt I don't think.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Cookie2120987 — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 04:58:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
At this point I'm not really sure how much an hp would really hurt. I have quite a few since I bought my car last year. They ran my credit through like 10 places it was crazy. If I can get this dental work financed I do not plan on applying for anything else for at least 18 months or so. Hopefully that will help my score improve too. But as for right now it really can't hurt I don't think.

Don't take the Hard Pulls!!! NO!!!!

it's tempting yes but you don't need the pulls while rebuilding, cap one will grow with you or get left behind, it's tempting to just keep applying when you have a lot of inquiries espcially from auto, (I got overy 50 across the board when I got my first car in 2013)

I'd wait a bit longer and keep using the prequel sites from chase or Amex of even Citi (may still be good BUT it has been a while) or just wait until you get mail offers and MAYBE bite on a good card like Freedom to add. You don't want $35,000 in credit lines with half being between 2 of your 15 cards.

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 05:40:51 GMT

Whoa I think you might have misunderstood me. I didn't mean I was going to apply for more cards like crazy. I just know I cli for care credit is an hp. I was going to call and talk to a real person to see if I can get an increase enough to cover what I don't have in cash. Or at least most of it. The only other thing I was going to look into was talking to a credit union about a personal loan. Hell I would put the 6000 cash in a cd if they would finance the whole thing. I absolutely do not want or need a lot of ccs

Re: I am unsure how to proceed.

takeshi74 — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 14:25:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Anyway I'm needing advice about how best to go about getting larger cls. I'm really new to this but I've been really diligent about it. I currently have a total limit across all cards of $2050 (I also have a care credit with an $800 cl). The only other accounts on my cr are my car loan and student loans. They are both current with 100% on time payments. My student loans are still deferred because I am going to school. I also work full-time. Should I be using my cc's more? I usually just use my debit but I am really thinking that I'm going about this all wrong. I really only have 2 cards because I do not use the care credit should I try for another one? If so any suggestions?

CLI's all depend on what your credit profile and income qualify for. The CL's you've stated are low and indicate that there are significant concerns with your credit just as your scores do.

Don't rely on usage. It's not just about the one account. Your entire credit profile matters.

So from what you're saying you have 3 cards (lack of usage doesn't matter), an auto loan and a student loan. Something is holding your scores down. Cosnider the stanadrd factors and start with the biggest first.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Is your Payment History 100% positive? Derogs (not just lates but collections, BK, etc) tend to have the biggest impact and hold one down as long as they are reporting. If you have any then hit the Rebuilding subforum and see what you can do to address them.

Amounts Owed is the next biggest factor. You said you have reduced your revovling utilization which has a significant impact and falls under this. What is at on your reports? Keep in mind that 30% is a suggested max. You don't need to optimize (only 1 balance reporting at 10% or less) all the time but may want to do so when applying to eke out points.

New Credit is typically small but it may have a bigger impact for your credit profile. How old are your youngest accounts and how many are there? Recent credit seeking activity can have an impact.

I'd suggest using your credit cards versus debit. Not for scoring purposes but for the protections and benefits that credit cards provide. Debit cards do generally provide protections but the funds in your deposit account can still get tied up if something happens whereas you'd just dispute a charge with a credit card company. However, you have to be able to treat your credit cards as cash and not spend what you don't have.

@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you. I guess that I just need to be patient lol. I kind of got spoiled in the beginning because my score went up rather fast. I guess that had more to do with my choice to work on my credit and really old collections falling off my report.

Big gains come from addressing issues with a big impact. You definitely can't assume that you'll progress at the same rate as you did when removing derogs. Building and rebuilding is a long, slow process so get yourself in the proper mindset.

@Anonymous wrote:
Oh and how do I find out when cap1 cuts the statement so I can always make sure to pay my balance down before that?

Statement date is on your statements. It's probably also on the web site on your list of statements. You can also look at your reports. Unless there was a midcycle update the last report date will also tell you that. You can also call in to verify.

Again, you don't need to constalty keep your reovlving utilization extremely low. Some choose to do this all the time but generally just keep it under 30%. You can reduce it when applying. Revolving utilization is determined based on the balances and limits as currently indicated on your reports. Prior utilization is not considered.

@Anonymous wrote:
You also menetioned a car loan. Credit diversity is a good thing but only if you are paying it down way more the the minimums due.

Installment debt isn't assessed the same as reovlving debt. They both factor into Amounts Owed but revolving utilization has a much bigger impact. That said, it's not just scores that matter but one's overall fiancial health.

@Anonymous wrote:
I think that they liked the fact that I make multiple payments per month for more than the minimum.

The minimum doesn't matter. Don't consider it aside from being the least you have to pay to keep your account current. It's your revolving utilization that matters in this context

@Anonymous wrote:
At this point I'm not really sure how much an hp would really hurt. I have quite a few since I bought my car last year. They ran my credit through like 10 places it was crazy. If I can get this dental work financed I do not plan on applying for anything else for at least 18 months or so. Hopefully that will help my score improve too. But as for right now it really can't hurt I don't think.

Impact depends on your credit profile. With your you don't just want to accumulate hard pulls.

As for the auto pulls, if they were properly coded and within a given timeframe they'll be scores as one even though they report separately. If you want to avoid all those pulls in future when car shopping then sort out your financing first and don't let the dealer do it for you.

Whether or not the dental financing helps all depends on the details. If you run up your revolving utilization it will not help. If you have to add a new account it will drop your AAoA and you'll probably incur another hard pull. Work on understanding how credit is assessed. Don't just assume that it can't hurt that much.