Best way to ask for a CL increase ? Phone vs Internet vs In-person ?

[Anonymous]

Does it matter how you ask for a credit limit increase ? Phone vs Internet vs In-person in a branch ?

I want to have the CL for my 8-9 month old Bank Of America credit card increased from $1500 to about $6000, and want to convince them the best way possible. I'm currently a graduate student at an Ivy League school and my local Bank of America branch knows that the students at our university are well enough to pay their dues. It's no wonder that they decided to give me my first ever credit card with an initial CL of $1500, despite having no prior credit history. On the other hand though, they might also think that since I'm a student, I might not be able to pay off $6000 or something, and might decline if I go in a branch.

What do you guys think ?

[Anonymous]

Hi guys. I have a Bank of America Credit Card which I've had for about 8-9 months and I've always paid my bills on time, sometimes within like of week of when a bill came out. This was my first credit card ever (from which I started building my credit history), and from day one I've had a CL of $1500. I would have thought that by now they would have increased my CL, but they haven't. I want to ask for a CL increase, but don't know what to ask for. I was hoping for maybe $5k or $6k, so that it gives me to purchase something like a laptop too (while remaining within 30% utilization). Or is asking for $5 ~ $6k too much ?

Besides this card, I have a Capital One Credit Card which I opened 2 months ago, which has a CL of $500. My current credit score (Vantage via Capital One TransUnion) is 707. It was 728 like a week ago, but I made a purchase using my Capital One card which increased the utilization to 50%. I've paid the charge so I hope my score will increase again in a few days.

[RonM21]

Internet is easy because you don't have to speak to anyone. On the other hand, a lot of times, speaking directly to someone can get you an increase, higher increase, higher SL, etc. because they can gain info from you and make a judgement call that the computer system can't.

[RonM21]

I'd say the range you're asking for with your scores should be obtainable. BoA for a lot of people, tends to not increase by auto often. You can does this online too. Either way, it will likely be a HP.

[gdale6]

2 threads have been merged into 1.

[Anonymous]

I created both questions in separate threads because they were basically asking different questions, but a merge is fine too.

Does anyone else care to share their opinion on either topic ?

[Anonymous]

I have personally had HORRIBLE customer service from Bank of America in their branch locations, so I'd avoid the in-person option like the plague. But that's just my personal experience, and yours may differ.

[amakol]

If you're asking in person (talking to underwriter), they cap student limits at $2500. This is for any type of student, as I was finishing up a graduate degree when I spoke with them. Very courteous, but stressed that it was out of their control.

However, using "student" in the dropdown on the online screen has no such restriction. That's what I would try in your situation. Don't aim low. They counter offer.

[Anonymous]

Feel them out.  All that have soft pull cli's I would stick with just hitting that button.  The others I would call.  I think you would get better results.  I plan on calling myself after I get my hands on the CSP!

[Anonymous]

So is it reasonable to ask for a CL of $6000 knowing that I've had a CL of $1500 with them for the last 8-9 months ? Or should I go lower or higher ? Will asking for a higher CL negatively affect me in any way, knowing that they'll do a pull anyway when I ask for a CL increase, big or small ?

I ask because I read one article about asking for CL increases and it suggested I should ask for a CL that's 10% ~ 25% higher than my current CL. This would be a *very* small increase (e.g. $1500 >> $1800 or something).