Hi everyone,
I'd love some advice. I'm trying to figure out the right moves. I'd like to increase utilization for my Care Credit Care with a CLI but not sure if that's the best thing for me, at the moment.
Goals: increase CL so I can carry a balance (0%) and pay off dental work and my pup's chemo treatment. I"m still planning to pay within 6 months but a higher CLI will give me more wiggle room with utilization.
Separately, I need to get another card but not sure if I do that now or later. I've got PreQual approvals for Discover IT CashBAsk and Cap1 Cash Back.
For reference, I'm rebuilding. My current Fico8 w/ Experian is 724 and Fico8 w/ EQuifax is 707. TU Fico8 from a few weeks ago is 685 (maybe a little higher b/c I paid down card and had a collection mistake removed). Account is thin (mortgage + 2 CC) but i have 3 CO (2 paid CC and 1 student loan that was sold to another lender). NO late payments on open cards. Late payments only on COs. Other closed accounts in good standing. I the CO are killing me...I have 3.5-4 yrs before they fall off.
1 HP on EQ and 1 on TU
I have a Care Credit card (opened March 2022) and I'm AU on a Chase card (15+years old - 2% utilization - 11,200$ CL).
Care Credit history:
March 2022: SL $4900. (resulted in HP on TU).
Since then, I've improved my score by about 100 points since then by removing collections and paying off CO
June 2022: Noticed a HP on EQ. It says: Syncrony Account Reivew
July (end) 2022: Requested CLI to #$12,000 approved
Charged up to 25% utilization but not above for my dog's survey. No interest for 6/12 months promotion. Paid down to 9% ($1000)
Since then, have charged up and paid it down so the next month's bill continues to be 9% or less
Currently have $2000 on the account and I'm about to pay down to $500 before the bill is due in 3 days. $2000 is ~16%.
I am able to make regular payments and keep utilization under 9%.
I have additional vet bills (doggie chemo 
) and some potential upcoming dental work. Having the extra buffer room for utilization would really help.
This is a really long winded way to ask...
Should I request another CLI? If so, how much? 20k would be great but not sure they will give me that w/ my scores (725/707 and CO paid in 2022)
also...Why didn't I get a HP on my account when I requested in July? Are CLI requests only softpulls when approved?
It's all so confusing...I want to request a CLI when my utilization is high so they see the need, right?
Thanks in advance...I'm worried about a HP on the account if I'm going to get another card soon (and potentially a HELOC for our roof...oof).
@chuckwood Thank you for taking the time to read my long post and proviing a thoughtful response. I appreciate it!
To answer your question: I thought it was a hard pull b/c on both derogatories (March for initial app o nTU and June for EQ for a "review") are on my reports through paid Experian and show under "inquiries" (not where the soft pulls are located). To confirm, I will pull all 3 CRs from myannualcreditreport.com as you suggested. Thank you for the suggestion!
Thanks for the suggestion to wait on CLI till November. I think we can do that. I had read a few experiences in the forums wehre people did them every 3 months. I don't absolutely need the CLI, it would have just made my life a bit easier, so I can wait. A big bill for treatment every 3 weeks adds up. I'm paying it down but care credit takes a day or so to show up. That, in combo w/ pay day and the statement close date, this month we will be cutting it close. I've heard CareCredit can be weird so we are trying to utilize it so they know we utilize the credit!
Again, not a need. I charged $4000 in June and due to the timing, we had a 25% utilization b/c the payment didn't hit the account quick enough. It's like credit jenga 
i"ll pull the reports and see what they say. I read that myFico often uses Vantage4 scores for pull (although some use Fico8). That would explain how I was able to get $4900 CL b/c I was shocked I was approved. I applied in desparation b/c my dog was hospitalized (wasn't even on the credit repair journey yet). The CL opened doors and allowed us to get him treatment, find these boards and start repairing.
@JM761 wrote:A quick upate:
the account review in June 2022 was definitely a hard pull. It's in the "inquiries" section on my EQ report when I pulled all 3 CRs just now. They never told me they were doing it. So strange!
The original application was a hard pull in March on TU.
You should dispute that, as account reviews are supposed to be SPs only.
@JM761 as stated above, I'd wait until the end of November to request a CLI.
I hope the doggo is feeling alright
@JM761 wrote:Igore my last comment about disputing all 3...I had a senior moment there. I forgot the HP for the Account Review is nly on my Equifax, not TU or EX.
So, the recommendation is to dispute it w/ the one reporting agency. I can do that!
I'd try going through Synchrony first, as the bureaus typically don't really take care of disputes on HPs. They just usually assume they're legit.
@Cashbackjunky wrote:@JM761 as stated above, I'd wait until the end of November to request a CLI.
I hope the doggo is feeling alright
Thanks, @Cashbackjunky ! I can wait till the end of November...I understand that waiting is probably better. I'd rather not request and end up poking the Syncrony bear. I hear they can be wonky and lower limits if you aren't using enough, etc. I paid the bill down to $850 last night (7%). In a week or so, we will charge his next treatment for $800 or so, that brings us back up to 14-15%. I'm trying to keep under 9% but, at the same time, keep as much money in my pocket as possible in case something pops up with the pup that we can't use CareCredit for. It's not ideal and I wish it wasn't like this but I want to give my boy a fighting chance.
Thanks for the kind message - I hate that money is even a factor right n now. He tolerated one treatment well and hope the next will go well also.
Appreciate the feedback!