BofA secured Card...

[PlasticOrPlastic]

I got my BofA secured card back in August/September, excellent card except...its secured.  This is my only secured card, and its becoming a real pain with the $500 dollar limit.  I guess my question is will it hurt my chances of graduating if I stop using the card as heavily as I have been?  Last month I maxed it and paid it off like 7 times, and its just a hassle with everything else going on right now.  Any thoughts on paying it off and leaving it at 0?  I know they probably love the spending but honestly its driving me nuts making a payment sometimes a couple times a week.  How was your usage?  Early graduation?  CLI? 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't stop usin. It completely. If you have other cards, maybe just close it completely? I've heard of people graduating as early as 9 months but typically its a year and usually comes with a light CLI.

[Anonymous]

But to answer your question, don't stop completely as it will hurt your chances. Maybe put a recurring bill on it or but lunch with it just to have activity

[PlasticOrPlastic]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
But to answer your question, don't stop completely as it will hurt your chances. Maybe put a recurring bill on it or but lunch with it just to have activity

---

Might have to do that.  Definitely dont want to close it, I was happy to get a foot in the door with BoA just hard to do xmas shopping and stuff on a card with a $500 dollar limit . 

[newhis]

Why going from multiple payments to stop using it? Just use it as a low limit card, pay in full each month a few days before due date and it will unsecure at 9-12 months.

I got mine with $1,000, just asked for early graduation at 8th month and got my deposit back, no CLI. My DW got her card automatically graduated at 9 months, no CLI, she just put more money into it 40 days before auto graduation (that was a good surprise that we didn't expect).

Any money you add to increase the limit will be an HP, asking for early graduation is HP also. If you request early graduation you can use the same HP for CLI up to 30 days. I plan to call next week for a CLI with same pull.

[bigblue7722]

im sure i am in the minority here but the boa card is not worth two HP to ask them to unsecure it. I would wait it out and see if they would unsecure automaticly. Even then most people have reported BOA will not remove the AF which is nuts. Sallie mae beats the 123 rewards card every which way. 

[wmweeza]

---

@bigblue7722 wrote:

im sure i am in the minority here but the boa card is not worth two HP to ask them to unsecure it. I would wait it out and see if they would unsecure automaticly. Even then most people have reported BOA will not remove the AF which is nuts. Sallie mae beats the 123 rewards card every which way. 

---

That's not my experience at all.

Mine unsecured at the 1 year mark, then every 4 months like clockwork they gave me $300 (if I remember correctly it was $300) CLI every 4 months. Then at the two year mark they permanently waived the annual fee.  I didn't get any hard pulls with any of that UNTIL this year when I finally asked for a CLI.

Oh and I think the most I ever put through that card was $100 a month, I usually charge $30-40 a month

[Anonymous]

---

@PlasticOrPlastic wrote:

I got my BofA secured card back in August/September, excellent card except...its secured.  This is my only secured card, and its becoming a real pain with the $500 dollar limit.  I guess my question is will it hurt my chances of graduating if I stop using the card as heavily as I have been?  Last month I maxed it and paid it off like 7 times, and its just a hassle with everything else going on right now.  Any thoughts on paying it off and leaving it at 0?  I know they probably love the spending but honestly its driving me nuts making a payment sometimes a couple times a week.  How was your usage?  Early graduation?  CLI? 

---

Don't understand the complaint.  The only reason your card has a $500 limit is because YOU didn't put more money on the account.  When I had BofA secured card, the best of its kind BTW, nobody stopped me from having a very nice limit on it.  So, you could complain to the mirror, but that's about it.

[Anonymous]

---

@bigblue7722 wrote:

im sure i am in the minority here but the boa card is not worth two HP to ask them to unsecure it. I would wait it out and see if they would unsecure automaticly. Even then most people have reported BOA will not remove the AF which is nuts. Sallie mae beats the 123 rewards card every which way. 

---

I agree with wmweeza. they do a HP for CLI, or if you expressly ask them to unsecure. If you're happy with you're initial CL, and wait for them to unsecure automatially (9-2 mo), there will be no HPs. I LOVE mine.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@PlasticOrPlastic wrote:

I got my BofA secured card back in August/September, excellent card except...its secured.  This is my only secured card, and its becoming a real pain with the $500 dollar limit.  I guess my question is will it hurt my chances of graduating if I stop using the card as heavily as I have been?  Last month I maxed it and paid it off like 7 times, and its just a hassle with everything else going on right now.  Any thoughts on paying it off and leaving it at 0?  I know they probably love the spending but honestly its driving me nuts making a payment sometimes a couple times a week.  How was your usage?  Early graduation?  CLI? 

---

Don't understand the complaint.  The only reason your card has a $500 limit is because YOU didn't put more money on the account.  When I had BofA secured card, the best of its kind BTW, nobody stopped me from having a very nice limit on it.  So, you could complain to the mirror, but that's about it.

---

+1

I upped mine from $300 to $1000 then to $2500. It will grow as much as you want it to, and when it graduates, they match or increase your CL.