@Anonymous wrote:@Anonymous thanks so much! All this info is super helpful! I'm in a similar situation- I'm glad you had recon success with Barclays and Chase! That definitely gives me hope. I applied for the Freedom and was obviously denied- even called recon with no luck. It's good to hear that you got CLI on all of your Cap1 cards at the 3 month mark- did you get them to a high utilization and then pay them off? Or did you keep your util under a certain percentage? I've been using mine a lot then paying off the balances multiple times per month.. not sure if that's the way to go but I've been reading that if you use them a lot and pay them off your more likely to get an increase quicker? Not sure if that's true..
Chase was my hardest to recon...they made me feel so uncomfortable answering all the questions..what about this??? what about that??? why? when? where? I felt like I was applying for a job with the CIA..
I did use the cards a lot. Even with the $500 limit, I would charge up whatever I wanted for my everyday purcahses (redbulls, gas, food, etc.) just like I would use my debit card. So with that being said, I didn't want to use an excessive amount of my credit putting my util high, so I would make several payments a month, 3-4 at times. I would either PIF or pay a good chunk of my charges (80-90%) or so. I figured why not earn 1.5% back on my everyday purchases since I never keep cash on me anyways, this worked out for me. But it is always good practice to keep your cards under 30% if you can. I can't say if using it more frequently and/or more charges will get you a CLI quicker, but I'm sure it'll help them in determining your CLI amount, if and when they do give you one.
But you also have to realize, these are 'starter' cards and won't see HUGE increases or huge lines, as there normal tier cards get. Do what you're doing, use it up, pay it off, wash rinse and repeat, this is the best practice. Give capital One at least 4-6 months and you'll be in a better place for Barclays, since even if you are rebuilding, they still would like to see some 'rebuilding' history, not just 2-3 months worth, my 2 cents..good luck!
@turkey310 Your 2cents has been so helpful! Thanks for all the good info! Yeah Chase was pretty harsh- like c'mon lady, I bet your credit isn't perfect- chill out haha
I've been using my cards like debit cards too, paying them off multiple times. I'm just hoping I don't get caught between paying off the balances and Cap1 reports my utilization as like 80% haha. I'll definitely try again with Barclays once my scores get a little better and some of these collections fall off- 2 should be off within a month or two.
Thanks again for all the info! 
