@BrutalBodyShots wrote:@NoHardLimits, can I ask why you micromanage in that manner? I'm unclear as to what you believe you're accomplishing by doing that. You say you feel compelled to play the cards dealt. What cards are those? I'm not getting it.
Also EX8 is completely bulletproof to AWB%. It doesn't matter if you're at 100% AWB or 10% AWB - your EX8 will not move a single FICO point based on that metric the way TU8 and EQ8 will.
I micromanage to eke out maximum points for the sport of it. It's a game, hence the reference to dealt cards. If banks won't report actual payments, how else can I prove that I am a transactor? Now, will a few points here and there affect lending decisions for my profile? It's highly unlikely.
By paying off your cards before statement cut it shows 1 or 2 things
1) you pay your bills in full every month and you are a transactor
2) it looks like you never really use your cards to everyone except the company you are dealing with. For example if you spend $5000 with capital one and pay off $5000 before statement cut. Capital one knows you are a profitable pay in full transactor. Everyone else thinks you don't use your cards.
now, if a company looks at your profile and sees constant $0 balances being reported, will they automatically assume you never use any of your cards? Probably not. Especially because they can see that's how you do business.
Using the same capital one example. Capital one knows you pay off $5000 with them each month before statement cut. They can probably assume you do the same method with your other cards.
Just thinking out loud. Not knocking how you do things. I've often done the same thing. Paying before cut
A lot of people say not to do this because it hurts your profile growth. I have not found this to be true in the least. I've gone from $2000 in total limits to $25000 in 1 year. And I'm on schedule to obtain another 12-20,000 in the coming month.
So if all goes to plan, I will have gone from 2,000 to about 40,000 or so in 13/14 months. it hasn't affected my growth at all.
@SRT4kid93 wrote:By paying off your cards before statement cut it shows 1 or 2 things
1) you pay your bills in full every month and you are a transactor
2) it looks like you never really use your cards to everyone except the company you are dealing with. For example if you spend $5000 with capital one and pay off $5000 before statement cut. Capital one knows you are a profitable pay in full transactor. Everyone else thinks you don't use your cards.
now, if a company looks at your profile and sees constant $0 balances being reported, will they automatically assume you never use any of your cards? Probably not. Especially because they can see that's how you do business.
Using the same capital one example. Capital one knows you pay off $5000 with them each month before statement cut. They can probably assume you do the same method with your other cards.
Just thinking out loud. Not knocking how you do things. I've often done the same thing. Paying before cut
A lot of people say not to do this because it hurts your profile growth. I have not found this to be true in the least. I've gone from $2000 in total limits to $25000 in 1 year. And I'm on schedule to obtain another 12-20,000 in the coming month.
So if all goes to plan, I will have gone from 2,000 to about 40,000 or so in 13/14 months. it hasn't affected my growth at all.
I let all of my cards report a balance sometimes. I designate one which always reports an organic small balance to avoid an accidental "all zero" penalty. I also designate one AU card in the same manner. All of my other cards report a balance every 3-5 months. The balance reported is kept below 29% utilization on any card, though usually it's less than 9%. So, all of my issuers should recognize how I sometimes pay before a statement cut and sometimes after.
I have an extremely strong credit profile, so obviously my methods work for me. I'm not suggesting that others should follow my lead. I'm just explaining how I manipulate the reported data to compensate for the lack of actual payment information.
To answer your original question, I think the amount of utilization affects your current creditors' perception of you as a customer. If they like what they see, they will reward you with higher limits. Once higher limits are reported, new creditors can use that as a gauge. The saying "higher limits begets higher limits" often seems valid. So, work on your overall profile to achieve higher starting limits.
Yes you are right. Technically speaking, I have no idea where my profile could potentially be if I hadn't micromanaged.
I just meant it's hard to imagine my profile having better growth. I came back from a 7 year hiatus with almost no history, started from scratch and I'm on pace to 20x my total limit within about a year. So of my Individual improvements were
10x'ed chase in 6 months and 15 x'ed in 1 year (including a 5 month period in which I received 6 back to back to back to back to back to back increases all on 1 card)
5x'ed capital one in 6 months
I don't really count the soft limit on my gold card since it's always changing and not set. But my golds soft limit went from $1900 to over 75,000 in 6 months as well. But again, not really sure that counts.
from what I've seen, very few people have the growth I've had when starting from a completely blank profile. In fact I can't remember the last time I've seen someone match my growth. And I was able to do with while paying before statement cut.
thats more what I meant
@BrutalBodyShots wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:I micromanage to eke out maximum points for the sport of it.
@NoHardLimits - Do you recognize the potential downside of doing so? Profile growth can be hindered, along with things like lucrative/targeted offers from lenders. Beyond that, and perhaps most important, you are leaving interest savings on the table by paying giving back money that you could have held on to for up to 7-8 weeks longer, interest free.
My profile doesn't seem hindered to me. I'm also opted-out from junk mail, so I usually only receive targeted offers from companies that I already do business with. I will agree that I am leaving some interest on the table by not maximizing the float.
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:I never PIF before cut date and allow all cards to report balances if used during a given month. However, many here do practice AZE1 or AZE2. I know many perple do make mid month progress payments not relating to AZE-. They just feel better having lower statement balances.
Amex encourages mid-month payments, or at a minimum you can say they facilitate mid-month payments. Here's what my auto pay options page in the app looks like. I presume it's the same for everyone. They even allow daily auto pays!
Not only that, but they literally have the "pay it" option next to every single charge. You can literally pay each charge 1 by 1 if you wanted. Although I suspect if someone actually did this on a regular basis Amex may get slightly annoyed.