topic Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t? in Credit Cards

Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:47:14 GMT

Hello! newcomer to the forum and got lots of helpful info by reading past threads, but I do have a question. I applied for Citi Thank You last week and got the 7-10 business day processing time, but got a 4506-T request yesterday to access my tax returns. I thought this was a bit excessive so I applied for a Discover More card today and got approved for 5,500! My dilemma is that I would like a higher limit/prime issuer Visa or Mastercard. My current CC portfolio is:

Chase Freedom: 800 MC

Amex Starwood: 7,000

Cap1(for avg credit): 1,000 visa

Orchard Bank: 1,050

Discover More: 5,500 (opened today)

TOTAL 15,350

I PIF on all these accounts. Ideally, I would like to close Cap1 and Orchard and replace them with a better Visa/MC. I would love to increase my Chase Freedom, but I was young and dumb once and charged off/settled a CC with Bank One (who got bought out by Chase) about 5 years ago for 5K+ and just speculating that a CLI request would be laughed at. So the way I look at it I have these options:

1. Mail back 4506T and wait forever and risk a 2nd HP from Citi

2. Request a CLI with Chase making it possibly my 3rd HP in a week, but approval not likely

3. Wait another year and look at options then

Any advice is appreciated!

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:55:00 GMT

Is there anything that you are looking to purchase in the next year or so that has you worried about INQ's and hard pulls?

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:08:23 GMT

The only reason would be if I were to able to purchase a home later this year or early next. This is a big if as there are so many moving parts, but I just want to try to keep my credit clean. My credit scores consistently hover around 700 and I want to increase that to at least 725+ which is another reason I'm trying to up my CLs so that my utilization numbers go down. I buy lunch on my Freedom card and its 2% already on that card!

Just trying to get the most bang out of my HPs and not come out empty handed. Would going backdoor to Citi help or is it too late since they requested a 4506?

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:12:07 GMT

Personally, I would tell.Citi to pound sand. No card they offer, no benefit they provide is worth a look at my taxes. AMEX, they are not.

My 2¢

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Brian_Trying_700 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:36:09 GMT

Wow. Orchard Bank $1,050 limit. That is the highest I've seen on this forum.

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:41:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
The only reason would be if I were to able to purchase a home later this year or early next. This is a big if as there are so many moving parts, but I just want to try to keep my credit clean. My credit scores consistently hover around 700 and I want to increase that to at least 725+ which is another reason I'm trying to up my CLs so that my utilization numbers go down. I buy lunch on my Freedom card and its 2% already on that card!

Just trying to get the most bang out of my HPs and not come out empty handed. Would going backdoor to Citi help or is it too late since they requested a 4506?

If you pay in full on what you have then more credit will do nothing to change or affect utilization. Dont app for anything for at least 3 months before looking at a mortgage.

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:25:57 GMT

Ok, so I always thought PIF meant paying in full before the grace period, but after some reading on here it appears PIF means paying before the closing date? Is that correct? That might finally be why my scores always seem to drag hahaha

So the correct way to keep util low and optimize score is to payoff the CC before closing so it reports a zero balance, but have one or two report a balance at <10%?

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

MarineVietVet — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:26:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Ok, so I always thought PIF meant paying in full before the grace period, but after some reading on here it appears PIF means paying before the closing date? Is that correct? That might finally be why my scores always seem to drag hahaha

So the correct way to keep util low and optimize score is to payoff the CC before closing so it reports a zero balance, but have one or two report a balance at <10%?

Welcome to myFICO.

Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance.at any one time Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.

Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:48:50 GMT

Thank you for all your help! I went and rolled the dice with Chase asking for a CLI and initially got denied. However, by using your backdoor phone number I was able to get my CL to 3,000! This totally makes my day as now I can finally get rid of Cap1 Platinum and Orchard! In addition, I can say to hell with Citi and their 4506 request!

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

nuggets321 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:52:28 GMT

+1 on the whole tellin em to pound sand !! Theyre not worth it

Re: Discover More Approved! Citi thank you...4506t?

android01 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:57:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Personally, I would tell.Citi to pound sand. No card they offer, no benefit they provide is worth a look at my taxes. AMEX, they are not.

My 2¢

I'd tell AMEX the same thing....