topic Re: When should I pull the trigger in Credit Cards

When should I pull the trigger

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:20:50 GMT

I have very little debt, a car payment and one credit card, bofa (99/500).

car is over half way payed off, my credit card will be about 1/5 payed off after my next payment. no lates, nothing bad what so ever on the big three.

my score is about 720. should i push bofa to up my limit before going after other cards Chase,Discover, etc.

Re: When should I pull the trigger

DI — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:29:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have very little debt, a car payment and one credit card, bofa (99/500).
car is over half way payed off, my credit card will be about 1/5 payed off after my next payment. no lates, nothing bad what so ever on the big three.
my score is about 720. should i push bofa to up my limit before going after other cards Chase,Discover, etc.

Pulling the trigger with BOA if it's not a hard inquiry, won't kill your chances of getting approved with Chase, Discover and etc. Good luck!

Re: When should I pull the trigger

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:57:04 GMT

I assume when i call bofa and ask them for a credit increase they will do a hard pull, also.. when I said "pull the trigger"

I was referring to trying another credit card company, so maybe I could actually have TWO cards...

From what i understand, the limit of your current card(s) will influence the limit of the card you are applying for. searching for a 3/5k card.. just to get a better debt to credit ratio, and if I do decide to buy something and pay it off in three months, my credit won't take a big hit...

Re: When should I pull the trigger

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:24:19 GMT

bump

Re: When should I pull the trigger

DI — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:27:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I assume when i call bofa and ask them for a credit increase they will do a hard pull, also.. when I said "pull the trigger"
I was referring to trying another credit card company, so maybe I could actually have TWO cards...
From what i understand, the limit of your current card(s) will influence the limit of the card you are applying for. searching for a 3/5k card.. just to get a better debt to credit ratio, and if I do decide to buy something and pay it off in three months, my credit won't take a big hit...

Have you tried the CLI link when you log into your online account? That is sufficient enough. You may get a 7-10 notice or you may get a notice to call them.

Limits on other cards does have an influence on how much the new bank will approve you for.

Re: When should I pull the trigger

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:11:31 GMT

circuitt wrote:

I have very little debt, a car payment and one credit card, bofa (99/500).
car is over half way payed off, my credit card will be about 1/5 payed off after my next payment. no lates, nothing bad what so ever on the big three.
my score is about 720. should i push bofa to up my limit before going after other cards Chase,Discover, etc.

Just want to make sure what you mean by "push bofa up to my limit" --do you mean run the balance on the card up to nearly $500, or what?

You definitely don't want to do that.

Have your credit profile as squeaky clean as possible before applying for other cards. Don't worry about the car payment other than staying on time, but make sure that your BofA card is at $0 or nearly so AND that this new balance is showing on all three credit reports before going credit shopping.

Re: When should I pull the trigger

MarineVietVet — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:47:22 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I have very little debt, a car payment and one credit card, bofa (99/500).
car is over half way payed off, my credit card will be about 1/5 payed off after my next payment. no lates, nothing bad what so ever on the big three.
my score is about 720. should i push bofa to up my limit before going after other cards Chase,Discover, etc.

Just want to make sure what you mean by "push bofa up to my limit" --do you mean run the balance on the card up to nearly $500, or what?

I think they meant ask for a CLI not max out their card. I think????

Now I'm confused.

Message Edited by marinevietvet on 12-09-2009 09:47 PM

Re: When should I pull the trigger

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:30:29 GMT

"should i push bofa to up my limit"

As in, should I push for a Credit Limit Increase. I am not really pushing bofa, guess I should of picked a better word.

I just want to make sure I am good to go, don't want to get hard pulls untill the odds are more in my favor.

Just looking for a little advice. if you were me , what would you do?

Re: When should I pull the trigger

MarineVietVet — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:50:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
"should i push bofa to up my limit"
As in, should I push for a Credit Limit Increase. I am not really pushing bofa, guess I should of picked a better word.
I just want to make sure I am good to go, don't want to get hard pulls untill the odds are more in my favor.
Just looking for a little advice. if you were me , what would you do?

Just ask for a CLI but also ask if it will be a hard or soft inquiry. People do it all the time. It's nothing unusual. If they say no you might request a reconsideration.

Re: When should I pull the trigger

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:15:13 GMT

Hi circuit!

circuitt wrote:
I have very little debt, a car payment and one credit card, bofa (99/500).
car is over half way payed off, my credit card will be about 1/5 payed off after my next payment. no lates, nothing bad what so ever on the big three.
my score is about 720. should i push bofa to up my limit before going after other cards Chase,Discover, etc.

Has your card unsecured yet (security deposit returned)? And, if it has, has it been at least 4 to 6 months since it unsecured? Maybe someone with more experience with the 99/500 product will chime in, but I don't think (could be mistaken) that their partially secured card is eligible for CLIs until it graduates. And, once it graduates, you may get a CLI upon graduation, if not, they usually want you to wait and demonstrate responsible usage for awhile. PIFing helps.

Even more importantly, you mentioned that the card will be about 1/5 (or 20%) paid off-- that would indicate that you'd still be maxed out at about 80%. If this is your only card, you definitely don't want to go after other cards with 80% uti. You'll need to PIF and let it report, as was previously mentioned.

Re: When should I pull the trigger

Itsmeagain — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:23:41 GMT

I got my BoA Platinum Plus Visa in Jan. 09. I have requested two CLI's and been approved for both with no hard pull. 2,500 - 5,000 - 10,000.

YMMV

Re: When should I pull the trigger

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:23:46 GMT

1/5 payed off after my next payment

wow, more like 4/5 payed off, I must of been tired, some bad confusing english

Re: When should I pull the trigger

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:04:25 GMT

I would consider paying the balance down to 9% or less before app'ing for anything else.

BofA has taken to CLD'ing in the past few months, and some posters have been hit hard (others have been fine) - we won't poke at our BofA account until they seem more uniformly cheerful.

While some accounts are influenced by your current CL's, others are not. DH had one card, an Orchard with a $500 CL, when he app'd at Alliant. Alliant gave him a $10,000 CL - so you never know. And after he had a $10,000 Alliant, $11,500 Care Credit, and a $5,000 Cabelas - BofA gave him a $4,000 CL and then promptly reduced it to $500. After that, Kroger 123 gave him $10,000.

IMO - I wouldn't poke BofA right now (check out some of the BofA posts over the last few months), and I would check out those cards which are notorious for giving higher CL's (i.e. Alliant - PenFed - NFCU - Kroger 123). And then go after the lovely Chase and Discover.

Good luck!!!