topic Re: Barclaycard / Utilization in Credit Cards

Barclaycard / Utilization

Uncle_Money — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 01:16:05 GMT

Hey guys,

So I'm toying with the idea of apping for the Barclaycard Arrival. I've been wanting to get in with Barclay and the Arrival looks just like the card to do it. However, I want to be in a prime position at the time I apply. My current utilization on TransUnion is 15% and according to FICO, this is considered "heavy use of credit." I'd hate to see what it says if you have a 50% utilization! It says high achievers, the average ratio is less than 6%!

My Credit Stats: Transunion FICO 8 score is 761 / 15% utilization / 3 inquires in the last year.

Question 1: Will lowering my utilization below 10% give me a higher bump or will this not matter?

Question 2: One concern I have is that I've read Barclay is a little stingy with the starting CLs and many have called in upon approval to request a higher line. I'd rather not bother with anything less than $15K - $20K at this point. Will they start at this level based on the info I provided above?

Thanks,

Uncle Money

Re: Barclaycard / Utilization

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 01:38:14 GMT

Barclay does tend to be stingy with SLs but with your stats I would say that you'd get close to the 15 if not 15K

Re: Barclaycard / Utilization

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 15:51:24 GMT

I have 3 barclaycards (Rewards, Arrival +, Aviator Silver) and they are stingy with SLs. But, if you use them heavily and keep card utilization under 30%, they are very genrous with auto CLIs in my experience. I have been heavily using the Arrival + and Aviator Silver the last year since applying, and received an auto CLI at 6 months that doubled by limit on both cards. I also transferred my SL from the Rewards card to my Arrival + to get the CL I wanted. Your scores are slightly higher than mine were when I applied , and you have more CCs accounts so that may be in your favor getting a higher SL with the Arrival +. Ive been very happy with Barclays and love my Arrival +; its my daily driver. I now have the Chase Sapphire Reserve so I may limit use on the Aviator and push some of that limit over to the Arrival + if I dont get another auto CLI soon.

Re: Barclaycard / Utilization

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 19:42:53 GMT

Arrival is no longer open for applications. Every link out there I've found is now dead.

Re: Barclaycard / Utilization

Uncle_Money — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 21:07:59 GMT

I just applied and ws approved...

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/APPROVAL-Barclaycard-Arrival-Plus/td-p/4753771

Re: Barclaycard / Utilization

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Sep 2016 00:13:06 GMT

@Uncle_Money wrote:
I just applied and ws approved...

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/APPROVAL-Barclaycard-Arrival-Plus/td-p/4753771

Congrats. You got the Arrival+. I was talking about the Arrival, the one without the AF. That one's a goner, no more new apps as far as anyone can tell

Re: Barclaycard / Utilization

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Sep 2016 04:16:48 GMT

12 out of your 17 cards have limits below 15k. However you have a few with 10-25k limits, so the odds are in your favor. Also it does offer 0% for 12 months 3% fee on BT's but you will receive recurrent offers for BTs with fees as low as 1%. They can be quirky with increases and CLD. But the $500 in travel for 1 inquiry is nice. Just remember to not redeem the whole 500 at once or you will have a bunch of points held hostage from your dividend. https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/4okzke/barclay_arrival_redemption_frustration/