@Anonymous wrote: Maxing out the BoA card won't likely increase your chances for a Chase CLI, but having a higher-limit card on your reports may help.
Glad to read this, don't think I was clear. My goals are to 1)increase my sl with Chase and 2) have BoA ready to offer me more in a few months. Maxing out the BoA card is only done to support my case in getting a cli from them in 90 days. Sounds like you're saying that Chase seeing a maxed out/pif card with a hp would have no effect, but seeing the sl itself on my report might help.
@Anonymous wrote:"Highest balance" of each account is reported, but these have no bearing on FICO scores and aren't likely to have a bearing on CLIs, and even if they do for some banks, you don't need to have that high balance post more than once since it's a high watermark.
I did think util had some memory- Ex shows me how much of a balance I've carried, across all my accounts, for the last 12 month or so. That does't affect my score, at all? Maybe only how they view my spending capacity/behavior..
@Anonymous wrote: On the other hand, maxing out and PIFing a your low limit Chase card monthly can increase the chances of an auto CLI with Chase, so I'd try that before blowing a HP to get a CLI.
Yeah, this is what I've been doing since I got the card..unfortunately no auto cli from them. From reading on mf, an auto cli from Chase is rare. Lot of users report going years without one, even with good spend. Yeah, I'd rather not burn a hp on it either..likely to garden for a year though, so I'm not sure it will really hurt that much.
@Anonymous wrote:
Maybe wait until the BoA card has reported, so your scores based on utilization looks better, then put as much spend as you can on the CFU, paying it in full*, and use the CR for overflow as needed, for a few months to see if you can get some auto luv from Chase. If that doesn't work, then get your utilization down, let things report and then call them for a CLI.
I'm currently <5% util, which does help my scores. Must have sounded like I was reporting full balances. I've been using 100% of the card monthly, only posted 60%+ util a few times, pif immediately after. The more I read on Chase auto love, the more pessimistic I get about my chances 
This gave me some clarity- I'm seeing a hp cli from Chase as a foregone conclusion- I'm trying to coordinate my BoA spend (max out in month 1 then pif, or spend the same amount over 2.5 months) and timing of a cli from Chase.
Waiting until BoA reports this card cost me a few more points as the hp exceeds 30 day intervals, but might encourage Chase to do better. Setting that spend watermark then pif with BoA won't encourage Chase, at all?
@lowspender wrote:Glad to read this, don't think I was clear. My goals are to 1)increase my sl with Chase and 2) have BoA ready to offer me more in a few months. Maxing out the BoA card is only done to support my case in getting a cli from them in 90 days. Sounds like you're saying that Chase seeing a maxed out/pif card with a hp would have no effect, but seeing the sl itself on my report might help.
I can't speak for Chase since I don't work for them and I don't know their algorithms, but usually it's a mix of FICO scores, internal scores, and internal history that triggers CLIs/auto CLIs. Some DPs indicate that heavy spend and PIF on Chase cards can trigger CLIs, but as always, YMMV.
@lowspender wrote:I did think util had some memory- Ex shows me how much of a balance I've carried, across all my accounts, for the last 12 month or so. That does't affect my score, at all? Maybe only how they view my spending capacity/behavior..
Utilization is based on your current reported balance vs. your current reported limits, nothing more. When your reported balance(s) or your reported limits change, your utilization changes and your scores will reflect this utilization, and the old utilization will no longer be relevant to your current score. Watermark high balances, even though they appear on your reports, mean nothing to FICO scores.
@lowspender wrote:Yeah, this is what I've been doing since I got the card..unfortunately no auto cli from them. From reading on mf, an auto cli from Chase is rare. Lot of users report going years without one, even with good spend. Yeah, I'd rather not burn a hp on it either..likely to garden for a year though, so I'm not sure it will really hurt that much.
How long have you had the card? Depending on your profile, it could take a few months, or a year or more before you see an auto CLI. Since your SL is small, there was something about your profile at time of application that they didn't "like" well enough to give a more generous limit. Whatever that is, might have to change before a CLI will happen.
@lowspender wrote:I'm currently <5% util, which does help my scores. Must have sounded like I was reporting full balances. I've been using 100% of the card monthly, only posted 60%+ util a few times, pif immediately after. The more I read on Chase auto love, the more pessimistic I get about my chances
This gave me some clarity- I'm seeing a hp cli from Chase as a foregone conclusion- I'm trying to coordinate my BoA spend (max out in month 1 then pif, or spend the same amount over 2.5 months) and timing of a cli from Chase.
Waiting until BoA reports this card cost me a few more points as the hp exceeds 30 day intervals, but might encourage Chase to do better. Setting that spend watermark then pif with BoA won't encourage Chase, at all?
Do you have any other cards besides the CFU and the CR? With <5% utilization, either you have other higher-limit cards or you're paying your CFU before statement cut... or paying it to zero afterward at which point Chase (and only Chase) will report the zero balance immediately.
I don't know if Chase looks at highest balances on other accounts when reviewing reports for CLIs or new accounts, or not. From what I've read they look at other limits, so they tend to be more generous if you already have a higher limit card on your report than if you don't. You could max out your BoA card (and take a temporary utilization hit) or not, your choice. BoA is a bit more lenient on CLIs than Chase is, and you should see that card grow nicely once it's reached a year or so, whether you max it out or not, and their CLI requests are SP. I think BoA requires 1 year before a new account is eligible for a CLI, and 6 months between thereafter.
I *think* (and take this with a grain of salt, since it may not actually be true)... having the $2500 limit card reporting will do more for your CLI chances with Chase than whatever the watermark high balance is. The utilization should be low though when you request the CLI, they don't want to see your accounts maxed out or they may think you're having financial difficulties.
@Anonymous wrote:
I can't speak for Chase since I don't work for them and I don't know their algorithms, but usually it's a mix of FICO scores, internal scores, and internal history that triggers CLIs/auto CLIs. Some DPs indicate that heavy spend and PIF on Chase cards can trigger CLIs, but as always, YMMV.Heavy spend..relative to the card? I had an unexpected final week of February and maxed the card out/pif twice. That's been happening in 2 weeks, not 1, since I got the card. Was quite inconvenient that time, don't want to be in that situation again.
@Anonymous wrote:
Watermark high balances, even though they appear on your reports, mean nothing to FICO scores.My key takeaway from that, thanks. Not meaningless to lenders though, right? Like you said, a maxed out account looks like financial difficulties. Even if you pif a month before apping, not great history, it seems. So no effect on fico scores, but can affect lender choices..
@Anonymous wrote:
How long have you had the card? Depending on your profile, it could take a few months, or a year or more before you see an auto CLI. Since your SL is small, there was something about your profile at time of application that they didn't "like" well enough to give a more generous limit. Whatever that is, might have to change before a CLI will happen.
Do you have any other cards besides the CFU and the CR? With <5% utilization, either you have other higher-limit cards or you're paying your CFU before statement cut... or paying it to zero afterward at which point Chase (and only Chase) will report the zero balance immediately.Yes, had a very thin file at my CFU app. 750..but disliked my lack of installment loan history (fixed with SSL) and history of low limits (1 secure card, also too tiny to use).
I pay cfu multiple times/month or it's toast before the statement cuts and useless to me. Pmt takes a day, doesn't update credit instantly- had me scrambling for my debit card a few times, realizing I couldn't use it..
From what I've read they look at other limits, so they tend to be more generous if you already have a higher limit card on your report than if you don't. I *think* (and take this with a grain of salt, since it may not actually be true)... having the $2500 limit card reporting will do more for your CLI chances with Chase than whatever the watermark high balance is. The utilization should be low though when you request the CLI, they don't want to see your accounts maxed out or they may think you're having financial difficulties.
Yes, from what I'm reading, Chase tends to follow higher limit offers, but isn't usually the first to make them. I do think the larger card will help encourage Chase to be brave and give me more credit!
@Anonymous wrote: You could max out your BoA card (and take a temporary utilization hit) or not, your choice. BoA is a bit more lenient on CLIs than Chase is, and you should see that card grow nicely once it's reached a year or so, whether you max it out or not, and their CLI requests are SP. I think BoA requires 1 year before a new account is eligible for a CLI, and 6 months between thereafterAh, this is the missing piece. From everything I read on mf, BoA allows a cli every 3 months. 91 days is the number on here. If approved, 6 mo's until your next one. There are exceptions to that (2 cli's approved same day, etc), but I'm not counting on that. Disco recently moved to a year before cli's (1 reason I decided against them), maybe you're thinking of them?
In summary, I'm not sure if maxing out the card, letting that post, then pif, vs spreading spend into thirds (which will be ~40% util) will be more impactful to BoA. I assumed the heavy util would make a bigger splash.
@lowspender wrote:Heavy spend..relative to the card? I had an unexpected final week of February and maxed the card out/pif twice. That's been happening in 2 weeks, not 1, since I got the card. Was quite inconvenient that time, don't want to be in that situation again.
Yes, relative to the card. The more often you max out and PIF, the more it looks to them that your spending/payment can support a higher limit and the more it looks like the limit they gave you is too low.
@lowspender wrote:My key takeaway from that, thanks. Not meaningless to lenders though, right? Like you said, a maxed out account looks like financial difficulties. Even if you pif a month before apping, not great history, it seems. So no effect on fico scores, but can affect lender choices..
Maxed-out and making small or minimum payments, especially across multiple cards can look like financial difficulties. Maxing out and PIFing every month looks like you have plenty of money to spend and pay. I have no idea if or how any lender looks at the watermark high balances on reported accounts, or if they do. Perhaps it's more something looked at in a manual review as opposed to automation.
Since the watermark high balance is "forever" (or at least a bunch of years), it doesn't reflect any CL changes that may have occurred over the life of the account. If you were to look at my reports, you'd find that most of my watermarks are higher than my current limits because I've CLDed cards in recent years as my financial situation has changed. There's no date AFAIK on the watermark either, so there's no way to know if that balance was from last month or last decade. 
@lowspender wrote:Yes, had a very thin file at my CFU app. 750..but disliked my lack of installment loan history (fixed with SSL) and history of low limits (1 secure card, also too tiny to use).
I pay cfu multiple times/month or it's toast before the statement cuts and useless to me. Pmt takes a day, doesn't update credit instantly- had me scrambling for my debit card a few times, realizing I couldn't use it..
Chase does take an extra day to post payments for me too, so I have to time my usage accordingly too. I also tend to use the AZEO method, so I wait until after statement cut to start using a card again after paying it off, so I don't "accidentally" report a higher balance than intended.
BoA takes a day too, but they'll show "pending payment" the first day so at least you know the payment is there. More recently I've seen my available CL free up on a pending payment, but that might not occur on a new account. They may hold a payment a little longer on a new account as well.
@lowspender wrote:Yes, from what I'm reading, Chase tends to follow higher limit offers, but isn't usually the first to make them. I do think the larger card will help encourage Chase to be brave and give me more credit!
Read up on BoA, I don't even know how much, or if they use existing limits as a basis for their CLIs. They are a lot easier to get CLIs from than Chase and they're SP so there's nothing to lose by mashing the button once it appears. Chase tends to be more generous with SLs than CLIs if they do like your profile so, if you do end up sock drawering the card (I'd use it and PIF anyway, for 1.5% cash back and the hopes of an eventual auto CLI), you can always, down the road, app for another Chase card when your reports look better, and then move some of the hopefully bigger SL to your CFU to make it more useful.
To me, a toy limit card isn't useless. My BoA CR has a $500 limit (set by me) and I use it in gas pumps, eating out and grocery shopping, and with the small limit I don't worry as much about theft, compromises or overspending as I would with a higher limit card.
@lowspender wrote:Ah, this is the missing piece. From everything I read on mf, BoA allows a cli every 3 months. 91 days is the number on here. If approved, 6 mo's until your next one. There are exceptions to that (2 cli's approved same day, etc), but I'm not counting on that. Disco recently moved to a year before cli's (1 reason I decided against them), maybe you're thinking of them?
In summary, I'm not sure if maxing out the card, letting that post, then pif, vs spreading spend into thirds (which will be ~40% util) will be more impactful to BoA. I assumed the heavy util would make a bigger splash.
I don't remember the exact timeframes for CLI requests with BoA, other than 6 months since the last approved CLI. I think the button appears for most after 3 months, but they rarely if ever approve a CLI that soon. Some DPs have indicated it can take up to a year from account opening before they'll give a CLI, but they are known for making exceptions if they really like you.
@Anonymous wrote:
Yes, relative to the card. The more often you max out and PIF, the more it looks to them that your spending/payment can support a higher limit and the more it looks like the limit they gave you is too low.
Right. I've done that a few times- my biggest mistake was paying after each purchase at times, vs having it actually max out. Was easier to pay after each purchase after a few times getting declined not having enough room left on the card.
@DivorcedAndBroke wrote: I have no idea if or how any lender looks at the watermark high balances on reported accounts, or if they do. Perhaps it's more something looked at in a manual review as opposed to automation. BoA takes a day too, but they'll show "pending payment" the first day so at least you know the payment is there. More recently I've seen my available CL free up on a pending payment, but that might not occur on a new account. There's no date AFAIK on the watermark either, so there's no way to know if that balance was from last month or last decade
If watermark high balances contribute at all to a quicker cli with boa, I'll take it. Don't think it will hurt to have Chase see me max out/pif 3x the limit they extended me, a month prior to requesting a cli. Hmm, well the watermark on my Ex/Eq reports show my highest balance on my card and the balance I carried, monthly.
I won't mind a pmt delay when the card handles my monthly spend, won't have to coordinate pif and purchases, under penalty of decline :/
@Anonymous wrote: Read up on BoA, I don't even know how much, or if they use existing limits as a basis for their CLIs. They are a lot easier to get CLIs from than Chase and they're SP so there's nothing to lose by mashing the button once it appears. Chase tends to be more generous with SLs than CLIs if they do like your profile so, if you do end up sock drawering the card (I'd use it and PIF anyway, for 1.5% cash back and the hopes of an eventual auto CLI), you can always, down the road, app for another Chase card when your reports look better, and then move some of the hopefully bigger SL to your CFU to make it more useful.
Not sure if they account for other lenders cards in how much they'll extend you. They definitely make cli's easier. I'm a ways from the max they'd extend me, from what I've read on here, I suppose it's not much of a concern for now.
Chase is generous; less so with thin profiles, from what I've read. Done apping for awhile for my aaoa.. think Chase will have to give me a good cli before I consider them in the future, at this point.
@Anonymous wrote: To me, a toy limit card isn't useless. My BoA CR has a $500 limit (set by me) and I use it in gas pumps, eating out and grocery shopping, and with the small limit I don't worry as much about theft, compromises or overspending as I would with a higher limit card.
Theft and compromises are always a concern I suppose. The few times I've had that happen, it's been settled promptly. A toy limit card for me has been useless because all the cards have been toys. When I don't hit my head on the ceiling every time I start to stand up, it won't be on my mind. Overspending doesn't factor for me- have always paid cash, still think that way for my purchases. If my CR 10x'd tomorrow, wouldn't change my spending habits.
@Anonymous wrote: I don't remember the exact timeframes for CLI requests with BoA, other than 6 months since the last approved CLI. I think the button appears for most after 3 months, but they rarely if ever approve a CLI that soon. Some DPs have indicated it can take up to a year from account opening before they'll give a CLI, but they are known for making exceptions if they really like you.
I'll have to review the threads I've bookmarked, think I concluded the opposite about the frequency with which they approve cli's Wouldn't consider them the sure thing an Amex 90 day cli of some amount is.. but they're generous, if they like your profile. Thought I'd seen a lot of posts where deserving files get a cli within 6 mo's tops.. I will collect more dp's on that though, before going for the cli. Hopefully my spend and pif will have some impact.
@lowspender wrote:Right. I've done that a few times- my biggest mistake was paying after each purchase at times, vs having it actually max out. Was easier to pay after each purchase after a few times getting declined not having enough room left on the card.
Now that you have the BoA card, you have something else to use when your CFU gets maxed out. Even if you pay multiple times per month and the high balance doesn't hit your reports because of paying it off sooner, Chase will know the pattern which (fingers crossed) will lead to an auto CLI down the road.
@lowspender wrote:If watermark high balances contribute at all to a quicker cli with boa, I'll take it. Don't think it will hurt to have Chase see me max out/pif 3x the limit they extended me, a month prior to requesting a cli. Hmm, well the watermark on my Ex/Eq reports show my highest balance on my card and the balance I carried, monthly.
I won't mind a pmt delay when the card handles my monthly spend, won't have to coordinate pif and purchases, under penalty of decline :/
Sounds like a plan, and now with the BoA card you have quite a bit more cushion for your monthly spend. I would run up the CFU until it either declines or you feel the balance is high enough, then pay it and use the BoA card until the payment posts. Rinse and repeat a couple times a month, to see if that brings on a CLI hopefully "soon".
@lowspender wrote:Not sure if they account for other lenders cards in how much they'll extend you. They definitely make cli's easier. I'm a ways from the max they'd extend me, from what I've read on here, I suppose it's not much of a concern for now.
Chase is generous; less so with thin profiles, from what I've read. Done apping for awhile for my aaoa.. think Chase will have to give me a good cli before I consider them in the future, at this point.
I think Chase likes to give as much as they're willing to give on new accounts so they don't have to hand out CLIs as often. Which is good if you get a good SL, you can actually use it. But if they give you a toy limit, it's harder. I keep hoping they'll get with the times and add an online request CLI button and go to SP CLIs at least for some. Most every other major bank does.
@lowspender wrote:Theft and compromises are always a concern I suppose. The few times I've had that happen, it's been settled promptly. A toy limit card for me has been useless because all the cards have been toys. When I don't hit my head on the ceiling every time I start to stand up, it won't be on my mind. Overspending doesn't factor for me- have always paid cash, still think that way for my purchases. If my CR 10x'd tomorrow, wouldn't change my spending habits.
Now you have a bigger toy with BoA, so you won't hit your head as often, and at least one of those cards is sure to grow in time.
@lowspender wrote:I'll have to review the threads I've bookmarked, think I concluded the opposite about the frequency with which they approve cli's
Gardening helps too. Creditors like history on reports, old accounts in good standing count for more than new accounts, and letting inquiries age and (after 2 years) drop off helps too.
Now that I'm in a better financial situation myself than I was 2-3 years ago, I may do some "growth seeking" myself, though not a lot since even my small limits cover my spend now, but I'm going to wait until all my inquiries drop off end of July. I might bump my $500 limit BoA up to $1k or so, since it's only used for small things anyway, I don't need a huge limit on it, just a little more breathing room.