topic Re: Bank of America in Credit Cards

Bank of America

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:23:21 GMT

Does BofA still pull your CR for a CLI if you have accounts with them? Does it make a difference what your average balance is?

Re: Bank of America

Red1Blue — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:23:54 GMT

I think it depends on the Credit Limit that you are asking for.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:56:17 GMT

You can request no hard pull credit check. They can not do it with out your permission. If you say NO but ask for a CLI they still might give you a 15% increase from what you have now. But if you want a specific increase YES they will pull for sure.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 02:57:25 GMT

Regarding the online CLIs, here's what displays when I click on the "request an increase" link that always appears in the left hand sidebar:

"In factoring our decision for a credit line increase on a personal account, your account performance and credit status will be reviewed. This request will not result in an inquiry to your credit report unless you are notified that it is required, and the decision will not have any impact on your credit history.

To request an increased line of credit, complete the form and click the "Request Credit Line Increase" button. By clicking the "Request Credit Line Increase" button, you authorize Bank of America to review your credit and employment histories and any other information in order to process this application, service your account and manage our relationship with you."

I.e. they do a soft pull.

This form does have a space to request a specific increase.

Last time I used it, they counter-offered (line was 3.6k, requested 10k-ish, got 6.7k; highest reporting cl at the time was 5k). I tried to recon and the credit analyst said she would try a soft first. If she couldn't approve me with that, she could then try with a hard on a different report if I wanted. She was going to look at my TU and I laughed, "Go for it." Nobody has ever harded my TU, still haven't. (She turned me down on an income technicality, but no matter.)

Message Edited by missfrustration on 05-17-2008 10:57 PM

Re: Bank of America

jmbfl — Sun, 18 May 2008 04:37:09 GMT

In a very recent discussion with a credit analyst from BOA I was told that they will only hard you on a CLI request if you are asking every week. If you are not a maniac it will be a soft. In this regard they are the best!

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:42:28 GMT

This is a good question. BOA gave me a credit card out the blue back in August 2006 without me even asking with an $8500 limit. I was in the dump financially and NEEDED the money so it was right on time. Over time, they have increased my limit to 14.5k without me even asking so this means that they give regular cli, so you may not even need to ask.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:03:45 GMT

What is a good timeline estimate for CLI's with BOA assuming no lates, no overlimit, util under 5%?

I hit the luv button on 3/29/08 and received only a $300 CLI. My CL is $1700 and my income over $100k per year.

I don't want to push it with them but do want to increase my CL. Next time I will call for a CLI. Should I wait for the 90 day mark?

Re: Bank of America

jmbfl — Mon, 19 May 2008 03:46:47 GMT

busywoman -

In your case they gave you a 20%+ CLI ($1400 + $300 = $1700). 15% is all one can reasonably expect from a soft pull/non-manual review CLI and that is the problem with an account that is opened with a low CL. If you app for a card and get a low CL you need to ask for a CLI at activation using the same hard pull that they already have. In your case I would wait until 6 months from the last CLI and then call one of the backdoor numbers and speak directly to one of the credit analysts to request a CLI. Ask that they do what they can w/o a hard inquiry. You can relent and allow a hard inquiry if you have to. Part of the decision is going to rest on what your other CL's are. If you have a high income and other higher CL's I would expect a big bump. If you have a high income and moderate other CL's a good bump. This is, of course, assuming you are presenting a CR w/o recent issues like lates/CA's etc.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:40:54 GMT

BOA has been great with CLIs and I just got their card a couple of months ago.

I went from $5000 to $20,000 with no hard inquiry.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:37:11 GMT

Thanks, I called this am and they increased to $3000 (from $1700). Yeah !!

I've seen a lot of bigger increases lately in the forum but I'm happy as it is my highest CL not to mention that the last CLI was on 3/29.

I'll give it another 90 days or so before I call again.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:20:30 GMT

Hi everyone, love the forum, I've learned a lot about the FICO system. I'm new to the US and have only had a CC with BoA for 7 months. Just did an online CLI and went from 3000 to my requested 7500 (only did a soft inquiry). Maybe I should've went for more. I've sure been impressed with BoA. At first I wished I could've transfered my credit history from back home, but building up a credit history here has been easier than I'd thought.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:50:57 GMT

Canuck wrote:
Hi everyone, love the forum, I've learned a lot about the FICO system. I'm new to the US and have only had a CC with BoA for 7 months. Just did an online CLI and went from 3000 to my requested 7500 (only did a soft inquiry). Maybe I should've went for more. I've sure been impressed with BoA. At first I wished I could've transfered my credit history from back home, but building up a credit history here has been easier than I'd thought.

Welcome Canuck!

Sounds like you're on the right track. As you probably know 6 mo. is the magic time for getting your initial FICO score, so if you're keeping your balance low and paying on time all the time - you should be able to build a nice history *very* quickly.

If you don't mind my asking - where are you from originally, and what are the credit 'rules' there?

Re: Bank of America

RobertEG — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:28:36 GMT

Hi Canuck! CLIs seem like the instant way to lower %util, but keep one thing at the center of your FICO forehead Keeping balances low is far better than getting CLs high.

Low balances keep %util high, and also minimize the chance, upon bad times, of late payments, which will destroy you FICO score quicker than anything. CLs are secondary to account balances.

Re: Bank of America

smallfry — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:32:02 GMT

If I were a betting man I would say Mr. Canuck is from North of the Border. Eh?

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:00:47 GMT

No doubt about it! Canada it is. Vancouver to be more specific. We always pay off balances in full. Haven't paid interest on a CC in my life and never a day late. Wife on the other hand.... good thing I pay the bills. The big thing I learned here is that you have to pay off the balance before the statement is printed. We use credit for most purchases for the points and now I pay off the balance a few days before the statement prints, leaving a few dollars to show some utilization. In Canada we don't really use a FICO score. I believe it exists in some form, but isn't as heavily weighted. Credit history is what the banks will look at mostly. One more thing, if anyone reads this that is new to the country. BoA will use your foreign credit history when applying for credit. Just make sure you talk to the credit specialist, not the regular customer service reps. We were able to get 2 cards with an initial $2500 CL. After 6 months up go the CLs. Nice being able to avoid going the secured CC route. No other bank we talked to would touch us. Even capital one, with us having had $30,000 in credit with them in Canada, wouldn't use our Canadian credit history here. Oh well, I always thought most Americans just considered Canada the 51st state. (just kidding)

Re: Bank of America

smallfry — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:03:19 GMT

You couldn't use the Canadian Cap One card down here? That's beat they wouldn't transfer the history.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:41:32 GMT

smallfry wrote: You couldn't use the Canadian Cap One card down here? That's beat they wouldn't transfer the history.

Ya I could use the my Canadian Capital One card here, but that wouldn't help build any credit history here. Anyways, for tax reasons, we had to cancel all our Canadian accounts. If we sever all financial ties with Canada, we don't have to pay any Canadian income tax on income earned in the US. And if anyone doesn't know about the taxes up north, you want to avoid them. Love Canada and will always consider it home, but the taxes and cost of living are very high.

Re: Bank of America

smallfry — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:48:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
smallfry wrote: You couldn't use the Canadian Cap One card down here? That's beat they wouldn't transfer the history.
Ya I could use the my Canadian Capital One card here, but that wouldn't help build any credit history here. Anyways, for tax reasons, we had to cancel all our Canadian accounts. If we sever all financial ties with Canada, we don't have to pay any Canadian income tax on income earned in the US. And if anyone doesn't know about the taxes up north, you want to avoid them. Love Canada and will always consider it home, but the taxes and cost of living are very high.

Amazing what a bull market in natural resources will do huh? Vancouver is real high I understand. Crazy building in the oil sands areas too I hear.

Re: Bank of America

Anonymous — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:59:55 GMT

Amazing what a bull market in natural resources will do huh? Vancouver is real high I understand. Crazy building in the oil sands areas too I hear.

Ya, Vancouver would fall somewhere between San Fran and New York with regards to cost of living. With the US housing bust, the forest industry has really slowed down and that has had some effected on the west, but you're right the oil sands and natural gas have really picked up the slack. The next big boom will be fresh water exports to the southwest US. Although that's probably a few decades away.

Re: Bank of America

rom828 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:30:10 GMT

Fretless,

How did you go about the increases? At activation, all at once, several requests, by phone or on line??!

What number did you call if you asked by phone? Did they do the CLIS w/soft inqs since your card was new?

DH just got approved for $5600 and we want to increase CL, so that's why all the questions! His FICOs are TU 717 EQ 681 EX 682.

Thanks!