Capital One CLI Denied, Thoughts?

[Gill7O2]

I have 2 Capital One cards (Platinum & Quicksilver One).

Cards status:

• Both cards are maxed.
• On the Platinum, I've been making minimum payments for some time.
• On the QS, I've been making about $300-$400 payments and equal charges each month.

I recently cleaned a few items from my credit report and applied for CLI. They both were declined.

Reasons:

• Platinum - Average monthly payment too is low & Recent use of this account's existing credit line has been too high.
• QS1 - Recent use of this account's existing credit line has been too high.

Assuming the monthly payment size isn't an issue. With Cap1, is it better to reduce my utilization rate each month until I reach a low percentage or is better to pay a lump sum, reduce utilization and then maintain? One way will show monthly progress, the other lower average utilization.

[K-in-Boston]

Welcome to the forums!  Most (all?) creditors are unlikely to give a CLI when a card is truly maxed out.  Making minimum or near-minimum payments is often a sign of financial difficulty, so lenders can be afraid to extend additional credit.  Particularly if you are paying high interest rates on the cards, I would just work on paying them off as fast as possible.  If you do have balance transfer options available on other cards, certainly pursue that.  Lower utilization is always better than showing that you can maintain high balances for extended periods of time (I have a LOT of experience with the latter, unfortunately).  The good news is that utilization has no memory, so once it's lower it's like it never happened and your scores should reflect that.  Try to shoot for getting the balances below 30%.  Also if you're continuing to make the $300-400 charges on the QS each month, you're likely earning negative rewards since those purchases will begin to accrue interest immediately as there's no grace period when you have not paid the previous statement balance in full.  If you have other cards that you can pay off each month, use those for new purchases.

[Anonymous]

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@Gill7O2 wrote:Assuming the monthly payment size isn't an issue. With Cap1, is it better to reduce my utilization rate each month until I reach a low percentage or is better to pay a lump sum, reduce utilization and then maintain? One way will show monthly progress, the other lower average utilization.

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I don't think it's going to matter either way. I'd recommend paying it down below 30% ASAP, keeping it there or lower, and then waiting 3 months before trying a CLI.

[pinkandgrey]

Capital One refusing to CLI. Hmmm. Welcome to the club that almost everyone is in LOL. But either way, with ANY lender, it is always good to keep balances low and pay as much as you can every month. Use the card a lot and pay the card a lot. 

Good luck!

[Shooting-For-800]

I would figure out a way to get those cards pay off WHILE continuing to use them.

Capital One likes usage and payments.

Make payments every week if possible.

CL can grow, but they need increasing scores, usage, and great payment history.

GL!

[RonM21]

Op it is okay to use the cards...they like that. However, you also have to show that you are responsible and having the cards maxed out is certainly no help to that cause. Get you utilization down with their cards...way down. Show that you can spend, but also not look like a risk at the same time. Until you get that far, I honestly wouldn't bother with asking them for another CLI because it may be a waste of your time.