topic Re: What to do with Discover? in Credit Cards

What to do with Discover?

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 18 May 2016 16:36:40 GMT

Not really sure what to do with my Discover card. Here's the basics:

- account has been open since April 2012.

- started with a $1400 CL, now has a $7500 CL

- interest rate 20.24%

- last CLI was December of 2014 from 6K to current 7.5K (hard pull drops of end of this year)

I have 6 other cards, limits are 34k, 30k, 24.5k, 22.9k, 20k, 20k. The interest rates on those range from 11.24-15.99 with one outlier (Synchrony) @ 24.24%. Current utilization across all cards is about 12%.

I really don''t want to request another CLI, as I expect this particular account is somewhat limited. When I opened this account my score was in the mid to upper 600's and I had a bad account with Discover 10 yrs. prior.

For the last 3+ years I have been in the 700's on all 3 CR's. For 2015 and 2016 I haven't dipped below 750 on any and from time to time find myself in the low 800's.

I am continually tempted to just close it. But then again, it doesn't cost me a thing to keep it open. I don't use it much because $750 dollars and I'm over 10% real fast.

Do y'all think this card is internally limited? If I closed it and applied though Discover again would I get a better rate and CL?

Any thoughs are welcome?

Re: What to do with Discover?

Closingracer99 — Wed, 18 May 2016 16:40:38 GMT

Personally I have had cards post 50% util but overall util is still 1% and my scores still rise so I wouldn't worry about 10% on the card. I have around $1,500 parked on my Discover atm with a 0% APR for a BT I just did and my scores imrpoved.

Re: What to do with Discover?

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 18 May 2016 16:51:14 GMT

@Closingracer99 wrote:
Personally I have had cards post 50% util but overall util is still 1% and my scores still rise so I wouldn't worry about 10% on the card. I have around $1,500 parked on my Discover atm with a 0% APR for a BT I just did and my scores imrpoved.

Thanks, Closingracer99. But I'll be honest, the $7500 CL bother's me because of the deficit between it and the other cards. Also, the rate bugs me. The Synchrony rate bugs me too, but I put up with it because of the 20k limit.

Re: What to do with Discover?

CreditMagic7 — Wed, 18 May 2016 17:17:57 GMT

@hardworkrebuilding wrote:
Not really sure what to do with my Discover card. Here's the basics:

- account has been open since April 2012.
- started with a $1400 CL, now has a $7500 CL
- interest rate 20.24%
- last CLI was December of 2014 from 6K to current 7.5K (hard pull drops of end of this year)

@I have 6 other cards, limits are 34k, 30k, 24.5k, 22.9k, 20k, 20k. The interest rates on those range from 11.24-15.99 with one outlier (Synchrony) @ 24.24%. Current utilization across all cards is about 12%.

I really don''t want to request another CLI, as I expect this particular account is somewhat limited. When I opened this account my score was in the mid to upper 600's and I had a bad account with Discover 10 yrs. prior.

For the last 3+ years I have been in the 700's on all 3 CR's. For 2015 and 2016 I haven't dipped below 750 on any and from time to time find myself in the low 800's.

I am continually tempted to just close it. But then again, it doesn't cost me a thing to keep it open. I don't use it much because $750 dollars and I'm over 10% real fast.

Do y'all think this card is internally limited? If I closed it and applied though Discover again would I get a better rate and CL?

Any thoughts are welcome?

I've often wondered this same thing before.

Some of your card details along with the lack of expected results with them so mirror my own Discover Card with a couple of exceptions.

Mine was obtained at the same EXACT start limit but in August 2013 and your FICO stats are far above mine.

Unfortunately i had to wait an entire 18 months for a first ever SP CLI on it because while buiding up my profile i needed to reserve HP's. Then only just last summer they let me on the train baller4life started and that $1400 SL suddenly turned into an instant $2400 followed up 17 days later with another $1K CLI to $3400 and it kept right on going until at it's end some weeks later the line leveled off at $6400.

Then it went into $500 every 91+ days and that's how it remains so far with a current line sitting at $7900.

You have some history on that card but like you say it's not advancing as expected but if it was me i surely wouldn't close it and start over from scratch again unless there was some bonified hard evidence that a new Discover card would achieve much better results for you then the current one.

Just my opinion and nothing else.

Re: What to do with Discover?

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 18 May 2016 17:33:41 GMT

@CreditMagic7 wrote:
I've often wondered this same thing before.

Some of your card details along with the lack of expected results with them so mirror my own Discover Card with a couple of exceptions.

Mine was obtained at the same EXACT start limit but in August 2013 and your FICO stats are far above mine.

Unfortunately i had to wait an entire 18 months for a first ever SP CLI on it because while buiding up my profile i needed to reserve HP's. Then only just last summer they let me on the train baller4life started and that $1400 SL suddenly turned into an instant $2400 followed up 17 days later with another $1K CLI to $3400 and it kept right on going until at it's end some weeks later the line leveled off at $6400.

Then it went into $500 every 91+ days and that's how it remains so far with a current line sitting at $7900.

You have some history on that card but like you say it's not advancing as expected but if it was me i surely wouldn't close it and start over from scratch again unless there was some bonified hard evidence that a new Discover card would achieve much better results for you then the current one.

Just my opinion and nothing else.

Thanks, CreditMagic7. It's nice to here a similar story, but with some pronounced differences.

I've never had a soft pull CLI with Discover. The road to 7500 from 1400 was paved by 3 hard pulls after account opening. The last being December 2014 as I stated above. The very first bump may have been an auto-increase, but I don't remember to be sure. If its was, it was very small. I have never had the Luv button appear when I sign into my account. If I seek it out, the response is that I must call in to request one.

To make it more aggravating, My wife has had 3 CLI's from Discover this year. One auto-increase from 11.5k to 13.5k. Then the Luv botton appeared and they bumped her to 16.5k. It appeared again, and they bumped her to 20k. That's 3 SP CLI's from Discover in less than 5 months.

You can imagine my humiliation... I was like "what about this guy?"

Re: What to do with Discover?

Themanwhocan — Wed, 18 May 2016 17:38:17 GMT

You can ask if an APR reduction is available on your Discover card every 6 months. So keep track of the date you ask, and do a live chat to ask for a reduction bi-annually. The rate will come down, IF you ask.

Similarly, request a CLI every 31+ days using the online link. Keep track of the dates so you know when to ask. You do need to be using the card. My increases were MUCH higher in quarters where I spent $1500 on the card versis just spending small amounts. Once again, they aren't going to give you increases unless you ask, and you can't expect to get an increase every month. Once you start getting the increases, it is possible to receive them in several consecutive months if you keep asking.

Re: What to do with Discover?

CreditMagic7 — Wed, 18 May 2016 17:46:15 GMT

@hardworkrebuilding wrote:
@CreditMagic7 wrote:
I've often wondered this same thing before.

Some of your card details along with the lack of expected results with them so mirror my own Discover Card with a couple of exceptions.

Mine was obtained at the same EXACT start limit but in August 2013 and your FICO stats are far above mine.

Unfortunately i had to wait an entire 18 months for a first ever SP CLI on it because while buiding up my profile i needed to reserve HP's. Then only just last summer they let me on the train baller4life started and that $1400 SL suddenly turned into an instant $2400 followed up 17 days later with another $1K CLI to $3400 and it kept right on going until at it's end some weeks later the line leveled off at $6400.

Then it went into $500 every 91+ days and that's how it remains so far with a current line sitting at $7900.

You have some history on that card but like you say it's not advancing as expected but if it was me i surely wouldn't close it and start over from scratch again unless there was some bonified hard evidence that a new Discover card would achieve much better results for you then the current one.

Just my opinion and nothing else.
Thanks, CreditMagic7. It's nice to here a similar story, but with some pronounced differences.

I've never had a soft pull CLI with Discover. The road to 7500 from 1400 was paved by 3 hard pulls after account opening. The last being December 2014 as I stated above. The very first bump may have been an auto-increase, but I don't remember to be sure. If its was, it was very small. I have never had the Luv button appear when I sign into my account. If I seek it out, the response is that I must call in to request one.

To make it more aggravating, My wife has had 3 CLI's from Discover this year. One auto-increase from 11.5k to 13.5k. Then the Luv botton appeared and they bumped her to 16.5k. It appeared again, and they bumped her to 20k. That's 3 SP CLI's from Discover in less than 5 months.

You can imagine my humiliation... I was like "what about this guy?"

Exactly.

You definitely have had your card longer so to me it's quite unusual why they haven't turned on the SP CLI page to your account yet.

Mine didn't show up either for nearly 2 years (18+ months to be exact) until that Discover mania last summer.

In fact i had opened a similar topic shortly after Christmas in January last year echoing the same reservations and putting Discover on my list of cards to close out along with a bunch of Comenity catalog cards.

It barely survived only because it was my 2nd longest open card account at the time and i wanted to see if that much talked about 18 month wait period would actually produce something before i finally close it in which it did!

Re: What to do with Discover?

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:12:43 GMT

@Themanwhocan wrote:
You can ask if an APR reduction is available on your Discover card every 6 months. So keep track of the date you ask, and do a live chat to ask for a reduction bi-annually. The rate will come down, IF you ask.

Similarly, request a CLI every 31+ days using the online link. Keep track of the dates so you know when to ask. You do need to be using the card. My increases were MUCH higher in quarters where I spent $1500 on the card versis just spending small amounts. Once again, they aren't going to give you increases unless you ask, and you can't expect to get an increase every month. Once you start getting the increases, it is possible to receive them in several consecutive months if you keep asking.

Thanks, Themanwhocan. I just did the online chat. The rate was reduced from 20.24 to 17.49%. I saved the chat as a reminder and will try again in 6 months.

Re: What to do with Discover?

wasCB14 — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:19:03 GMT

What's not to love about 5%/10% cash back on restaurants and easy reward redemptions? For me, it would justify keeping a comparatively low CL.

Re: What to do with Discover?

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:19:04 GMT

@CreditMagic7 wrote:
Exactly.

You definitely have had your card longer so to me it's quite unusual why they haven't turned on the SP CLI page to your account yet.

Mine didn't show up either for nearly 2 years (18+ months to be exact) until that Discover mania last summer.

In fact i had opened a similar topic shortly after Christmas in January last year echoing the same reservations and putting Discover on my list of cards to close out along with a bunch of Comenity catalog cards.

It barely survived only because it was my 2nd longest open card account at the time and i wanted to see if that much talked about 18 month wait period would actually produce something before i finally close it in which it did!

CreditMagic7,

I just used the online chat for a rate reduction at Themanwhocan's recommendation. It worked. While in there, I probed the CLI possibilities. I got the you can call... line. I'm not real hopeful. I asked about the line under manage account and the rep was like, "sure you can try that". Didn't leave me with a whole lotta confidence. I'll try later and give y'all the results. I refuse to go the hard pull route again.

If they would just give me a limit commensurate of my other cards I would be happy to keep and use the account. That's much better than taking an AAOA hit applying for another Discover card (without any assurance it would accomplish my goal).

Re: What to do with Discover?

CreditMagic7 — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:39:32 GMT

@hardworkrebuilding wrote:
@CreditMagic7 wrote:
Exactly.

You definitely have had your card longer so to me it's quite unusual why they haven't turned on the SP CLI page to your account yet.

Mine didn't show up either for nearly 2 years (18+ months to be exact) until that Discover mania last summer.

In fact i had opened a similar topic shortly after Christmas in January last year echoing the same reservations and putting Discover on my list of cards to close out along with a bunch of Comenity catalog cards.

It barely survived only because it was my 2nd longest open card account at the time and i wanted to see if that much talked about 18 month wait period would actually produce something before i finally close it in which it did!
CreditMagic7,

I just used the online chat for a rate reduction at Themanwhocan's recommendation. It worked. While in there, I probed the CLI possibilities. I got the you can call... line. I'm not real hopeful. I asked about the line under manage account and the rep was like, "sure you can try that". Didn't leave me with a whole lotta confidence. I'll try later and give y'all the results. I refuse to go the hard pull route again.

If they would just give me a limit commensurate of my other cards I would be happy to keep and use the account. That's much better than taking an AAOA hit applying for another Discover card (without any assurance it would accomplish my goal).

Good advice and result on the APR reduction.

You might inquire again another time why the Request Credit Limit Increase page isn't there for you on an account you have had all this time PLUS the fact you were just APPROVED for that lower APR rate.

It would interesting to read their answer on that one and maybe it's just something they take into consideration for your account now..

Re: What to do with Discover?

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:51:54 GMT

Well, I went to the Manage Account section and clicked the Credit Line Increase link. To my surprise, I wasn't routed to the "please call...". So I entered the requested info for the SP increase and ... $500. Yep, $500. Sooo, I guess I will battle with my temptation to close it for some months to come.

Thanks for the tips y'all provided. I will do another APR reduction request in 6 months and try for another SP increase at the same time.

Re: What to do with Discover?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:56:20 GMT

@CreditMagic7 wrote:
@hardworkrebuilding wrote:
Not really sure what to do with my Discover card. Here's the basics:

- account has been open since April 2012.
- started with a $1400 CL, now has a $7500 CL
- interest rate 20.24%
- last CLI was December of 2014 from 6K to current 7.5K (hard pull drops of end of this year)

@I have 6 other cards, limits are 34k, 30k, 24.5k, 22.9k, 20k, 20k. The interest rates on those range from 11.24-15.99 with one outlier (Synchrony) @ 24.24%. Current utilization across all cards is about 12%.

I really don''t want to request another CLI, as I expect this particular account is somewhat limited. When I opened this account my score was in the mid to upper 600's and I had a bad account with Discover 10 yrs. prior.

For the last 3+ years I have been in the 700's on all 3 CR's. For 2015 and 2016 I haven't dipped below 750 on any and from time to time find myself in the low 800's.

I am continually tempted to just close it. But then again, it doesn't cost me a thing to keep it open. I don't use it much because $750 dollars and I'm over 10% real fast.

Do y'all think this card is internally limited? If I closed it and applied though Discover again would I get a better rate and CL?

Any thoughts are welcome?
I've often wondered this same thing before.

Some of your card details along with the lack of expected results with them so mirror my own Discover Card with a couple of exceptions.

Mine was obtained at the same EXACT start limit but in August 2013 and your FICO stats are far above mine.

Unfortunately i had to wait an entire 18 months for a first ever SP CLI on it because while buiding up my profile i needed to reserve HP's. Then only just last summer they let me on the train baller4life started and that $1400 SL suddenly turned into an instant $2400 followed up 17 days later with another $1K CLI to $3400 and it kept right on going until at it's end some weeks later the line leveled off at $6400.

Then it went into $500 every 91+ days and that's how it remains so far with a current line sitting at $7900.

You have some history on that card but like you say it's not advancing as expected but if it was me i surely wouldn't close it and start over from scratch again unless there was some bonified hard evidence that a new Discover card would achieve much better results for you then the current one.

Just my opinion and nothing else.

I have to agree.

Re: What to do with Discover?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:59:43 GMT

@hardworkrebuilding wrote:
Well, I went to the Manage Account section and clicked the Credit Line Increase link. To my surprise, I wasn't routed to the "please call...". So I entered the requested info for the SP increase and ... $500. Yep, $500. Sooo, I guess I will battle with my temptation to close it for some months to come.

Thanks for the tips y'all provided. I will do another APR reduction request in 6 months and try for another SP increase at the same time.

Excellent! I do think some creditors "bucket" us if we have a troubled past with them. That is the case with me and Citi. I am finally making progress with them, but very slowly.

Re: What to do with Discover?

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 18 May 2016 19:19:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Excellent! I do think some creditors "bucket" us if we have a troubled past with them. That is the case with me and Citi. I am finally making progress with them, but very slowly.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Musiclover,

You are absolutely correct. When I started rebuilding my revolving credit in 2012 (strarted repairing in 2009, bought first house in 2010), all I had was a Chase Slate which I was an AU on. They switched to a joint (with my dad). After that I started applying in April 2012. There were 3 banks (Discover, Chase, and Cap One) which I had defaulted on account back in 2003. Cap One wouldn't even process my application (no loss there). Discover gave me the account we've been discussing. But Chase, they started me off on a card with a 5k limit. I now have 2 cards with them for a total of 44.5k. Plus the joint account of 22.9k (I'm the only one who ever used this acct). So a total $67.k available credit through Chase. So, some clearly brand you, others apparently don't.

Edited for break between quote and comment.

Re: What to do with Discover?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:52:18 GMT

I'm only using my Discover for the new member bonus (point match at end of card anniversary).

After that, I'll only use it for the 5% categories and that's it.

Re: What to do with Discover?

Themanwhocan — Wed, 18 May 2016 21:34:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm only using my Discover for the new member bonus (point match at end of card anniversary).

After that, I'll only use it for the 5% categories and that's it.

Yes, thats all i've ever used it for. Well, plus the occasional Discover Deals. Though I do buy a lot of stuff through Amazon every month, so I can spend $1500 reloading my Amazon gift card in the 3rd and 4th quarters when its in Discover's 5% categories. When I did that, my monthly CLI's started getting quite significant, like $6000, $6000, $5000, then nothing for 2 months, then $5000. But even when they were only occasionally giving me $1000 I kept requesting and accepting them every month (or every half month when the gravy train was running). SO I've moved from $2000 to now $36500 limit. Thats over 3.5 years, and during the first year I accepted HP's for a small CLI.

Don't expect SP CLI' for at least the first year, but certainly try for them. And just keep pluging along, when you can do 12 SP CLI chances per year, you can rather quickly advance. Its much better than some credit card companies that require HP's and 6 month waits between requests.

Re: What to do with Discover?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 May 2016 22:20:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm only using my Discover for the new member bonus (point match at end of card anniversary).

After that, I'll only use it for the 5% categories and that's it.

Same here....