topic Re: BofA Americard CL reporting in Credit Cards

BofA Americard CL reporting

hardworkrebuilding — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 05:19:51 GMT

So I was gonna try a CSR to see if my wife's Sig Visa could report her limit, but the online chat was unavailable. So I started thinking... why don't I just do a balance transfer (or 2) and max out her card, let the statement cut, and pay it off? I would transfer from one or two of my cards which I would be PIF anyhow. Is this acceptable? I've never done a balance transfer before. Can I transfer from my individual acct to her acct (which I'm an AU on)? She's got a 7500 limit, highest reported balance was 3400 a few months ago. Stays paid off most of the time. I figured this could be done easily. I've read that, while the CSR might tell you it could be reported, in fact, it may not. But the highest balance would report (until the next CLI).

edited due to poor sentence structure, will probably edit again when I see the thing I missed this time when I'm checking to see if anyone has any input because my email notification isn't working most likely due to operator error and run-on sentences

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:02:32 GMT

You don't need to let the statement cut with the new high balance. Just make sure you don't pay it off until the day after the transaction that gets you to whatever balance you want posts. then you can still pay it down before the statement and have the new high balance report.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

FutureBillionaire — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:31:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You don't need to let the statement cut with the new high balance. Just make sure you don't pay it off until the day after the transaction that gets you to whatever balance you want posts. then you can still pay it down before the statement and have the new high balance report.

Good info here. Thanks.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

hardworkrebuilding — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 01:54:21 GMT

Thanks for the reply. Had the wife call BofA today. CSR transferred her to what sounds like a knowledgeable "credit specialist". He confirmed to her she could NOT have her limit posted. The way BofA views the Sig Visa (because you can exceed the limit, well beyond the limit as he told my wife) they will not report the suggested limit. He did offer to PC her to a platinum which would report the limit. So, I now have 2 questions:

1) how do cards such as the AMEX charge and Bof A Sig Visa which only report current bal and highest past bal affect utilization? Is the highest past bal used in place of the limit for the calculation?

2) Do other banks report their Sig Visa the same way? I have a Chase Marriot Reward Premier Sig Visa. I've only had it a couple months and haven't check to see how it reports.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

jsucool76 — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:01:13 GMT

1.charge card balances only affect utilization on TU98 and prior, which almost no lenders use. AFAIK if you have a visa sig/world mc that lists no CL and just reports as a flexible spend account, the balance gets factored into utilization, which is why people get upset when limits don't report. However, in a manual review, (such as on a recon) an underwriter may consider your high balance as a limit on cards that don't report limits.

2.some banks report limits on WMC/siggys, others don't. It is up to the lender to decide.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

daybreakgonesXe — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:01:43 GMT

@hardworkrebuilding wrote:
Thanks for the reply. Had the wife call BofA today. CSR transferred her to what sounds like a knowledgeable "credit specialist". He confirmed to her she could NOT have her limit posted. The way BofA views the Sig Visa (because you can exceed the limit, well beyond the limit as he told my wife) they will not report the suggested limit. He did offer to PC her to a platinum which would report the limit. So, I now have 2 questions:

1) how do cards such as the AMEX charge and Bof A Sig Visa which only report current bal and highest past bal affect utilization? Is the highest past bal used in place of the limit for the calculation? Some scoring models use the highest past balance in place of the limit to calculate utilization, other scoring models view it very similar to a AMEX charge card, which leaves it out of the utilization calculations. Which ones use which method, I forgot

2) Do other banks report their Sig Visa the same way? I have a Chase Marriot Reward Premier Sig Visa. I've only had it a couple months and haven't check to see how it reports. All the other banks I know of report the signatures, or will at least post the limit as per request. BofA is the only one who doesn't like to report them.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

HiLine — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:21:48 GMT

http://helpdesk.blogs.money.cnn.com/2011/11/21/what-if-a-credit-card-doesnt-report-my-credit-limit/

This article should be informative.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

hardworkrebuilding — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:51:40 GMT

Nice quick read. I suppose I could pull my yearly free 3 bureau reports and see if Chase is reporting the limit on my MRP Siggy. Thanks for the replies. I am porbably goona do the balance transfer(s) to my wife's BofA Siggy to gget that high balance on there. It's a good card, I don't really see any need to PC to one with less benefit.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

HiLine — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:54:07 GMT

You can perhaps request a PC to the World Mastercard, alternatively. You could also buy gift cards for stores that you frequent.

I went the high balance building route, enhanced by an international flight purchase.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 03:00:31 GMT

I don't get why ppl like their CLs to report soo much.

Not reporting/flex spend accounts/hidden TLs are a benefit. Take the benefit. Be happy with the benefit. IMO. lol!

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

HiLine — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 03:05:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't get why ppl like their CLs to report soo much.

Not reporting/flex spend accounts/hidden TLs are a benefit. Take the benefit. Be happy with the benefit. IMO. lol!

Feels like we've had this conversation before... Sorry if I've mistaken you for someone else.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 03:06:25 GMT

@HiLine wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I don't get why ppl like their CLs to report soo much.

Not reporting/flex spend accounts/hidden TLs are a benefit. Take the benefit. Be happy with the benefit. IMO. lol!
Feels like we've had this conversation before... Sorry if I've mistaken you for someone else.

Nope that was you. I remember you. lol!

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 03:13:02 GMT

of course you do. you may disagree with their reasoning and not personally care, but im sure you understand.

it's not a hidden tradeline, its not a JPM card. If it is reported as a flex spending revolver, it counts as part of utilization like any other non-amex charge card(any other credit card). this is regardless of it being fico 98 04 or 08. a lot of people probably won't end up using the credit limit to its max(or above) and they'd prefer to have all of that limit count as part of their utilization. You may not care about that personally. But you do understand that.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 03:17:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
of course you do. you may disagree with their reasoning and not personally care, but im sure you understand.

it's not a hidden tradeline, its not a JPM card. If it is reported as a flex spending revolver, it counts as part of utilization like any other non-amex charge card. this is regardless of it being fico 98 04 or 08. a lot of people probably won't end up using the credit limit to its max(or above) and they'd prefer to have all of that limit count as part of their utilization. You may not care about that personally. But you do understand that.

Yeah i know its not a hidden TL. I said slash Hidden TL. The above that i listed are all benies. Tbh, I am just as confused as the BoA rep who, in a nutshell, said "well if you don't like that benefit, I guess I can offer you a downgrade to a platinum card."

lol.

My 1st comment was in general and wasn't meant to distract from OPs orginal point.

I understand, but I just don't get it. Take the benefits, IMO.

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 03:04:09 GMT

Good article...it answered some of my questions...thanks

Re: BofA Americard CL reporting

thom02099 — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:26:49 GMT

@hardworkrebuilding wrote:
So I was gonna try a CSR to see if my wife's Sig Visa could report her limit, but the online chat was unavailable. So I started thinking... why don't I just do a balance transfer (or 2) and max out her card, let the statement cut, and pay it off? I would transfer from one or two of my cards which I would be PIF anyhow. Is this acceptable? I've never done a balance transfer before. Can I transfer from my individual acct to her acct (which I'm an AU on)? She's got a 7500 limit, highest reported balance was 3400 a few months ago. Stays paid off most of the time. I figured this could be done easily. I've read that, while the CSR might tell you it could be reported, in fact, it may not. But the highest balance would report (until the next CLI).

edited due to poor sentence structure, will probably edit again when I see the thing I missed this time when I'm checking to see if anyone has any input because my email notification isn't working most likely due to operator error and run-on sentences

I have the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Signature Visa (as well as several other "signature" cards such as CSP) and they all show a credit limit on my report, in addition to the high balance notation and the "flexible spending account" notation. With each one of them ,when I opened the account, the CSR advised that the CL was not a hard and fast limit as others have noted. One can exceed that limit, often 2-3 times the limit "suggested".

With my recently opened Merrill Lynch Plus Signature Visa, I reconfirmed that, even though I'm being given an initial CL of $10K, that's not a hard limit since it's a signature card, but that will be what is reported to the CRA's. And that's actually a fact! Even before I've received the card, it's reporting on my reports as a new BofA account, $10K limit, flexible spending.