CLI with discover card advice

[Micheebebe]

Hi everyone! This will be a bit long so bare with me. I'll make a timeline to make this easier to follow : 

January 2019: opened discover it secure card 200$ limit, 6 months later they graduated my card and gave me a limit of 1800$.

August 2022: at this point I had used a lot of my limit, but paid the minimum or a bit more prior to this month, but this month particularly I missed my payment, and also missed September, October and November. 

November 2022: discover card officially suspended until I make on time payments and satisfy any other debts on my credit report. Balance at this point was 1929$ and I had one collection on my credit report. 

January 2023: paid the whole discover card off to 0$, ( was still suspended) settled debt with the one collection agency on my credit and they reported it to 0$. At this point my account would be in monthly reviews to see if I can come out of suspension. 

March 2023: literally tonight they unsuspended my card. 1800/1800 limit. I'm over the moon. I don't want to mess this up again.. they gave me the biggest break and I want to satisfy this opportunity.. 

Now to my question, I know I'm in hot waters right now with them, but I want to know when and if/how could I apply for a credit line increase at some point in the future. I'm a lot smarter with my money now. I feel like I learned a huge lesson here. And I know I messed up. But at some point in the future I'd like to try and apply for an increase. If you were in my shoes, how long would you wait? Would you build your payment history back up with them? Would you give it a year then try? I'd like to be on there good side again! Thanks for reading and please don't judge me.. I'm really trying and learning. I want to get my credit on a great path. 

Some reference on my scores

Transunion: 629 

Equifax : 632 

Discover card: no balance 1800$ limit

Chase card: (auth user) no balance 1000$ limit

Student loans: 7,000 (in good standing) no late payments. 
Merrick Bank: Settled and paid 0$ 

1 hard inquiry 

[DONZI]

Perhaps limit your disco and AU use to very small things (lunch?) once or twice a month which you expect will always be payable when due.

..then focus on paying Merrick Bank and the student loan(s) in an affordable way.

IMO you would benefit most by not distracting yourself thinking about future CLI or cards. The future will arrive, later.

[Micheebebe]

Thanks for you response! Yeah your probably right.. I was just curious what it would eventually look like for me. but yes I will definitely make a small purchase monthly that's easily payable. As for Merrick bank they are settled and paid. I don't think they will delete though so that'll be there for a bit, but at least it's paid. The student loans are a work in progress. 

[SUPERSQUID]

I agree with the advise given. In my former credit life before bk and subsequent rebuild I paid my cards sometimes like you did, minimum payment or 5 bucks more.

This time around my rule of thumb if i cant pay in full is to pay at least twice the minumum, it has worked well for me.

Discover is sort of a mystery as far as cli's go but if I were in your shoes I would just lay low and make timely payments for at least a year before thinking of requesting a cli, just my opinion.

EDIT - PS - Try to pay your cards a week or two ahead of the due date, not last minute.

Sometimes I pay as soon as the statement appears online before it comes in the mail, again just my opinion.

[805orbust]

Wow... that statement about the future arriving was deep @DONZI ... good stuff.   @Micheebebe at this point you need time to pass. Let the stove cool off for a minute.  It'll happen. This is a marathon after all. Do you have any idea where your scores stand at present?  

Also, I second @SUPERSQUID ... keep 2 weeks ahead of everyone and never less than twice the minimum. 

[Jordan23ww]

Mishaps happen sometimes, the important thing is you've made great progress at turning things around!  Congratulations to you on that! I think you should wait 1 year before asking them for your increase.  For now continue to use it each month and then pay off the full statement balance each month.  

After a year of good usage and on time payments for 12 months you will be in a better position to get an increase! Discover loves for their cards to see great usage so in months 9, 10, 11 and 12 I would use it like a debit card and try to put as many charges on it as you can, as you prepare to ask for a limit increase soon, but only what you can pay off when the statement comes out.  

I actually pay my card balances off weekly just to stay on top of things.  I went through a credit rebuild in 2019. I had 4 cards and they were all maxed out and I had defaulted on my student loan.  When I began my rebuild one of my scores was a 583. So you are already ahead of where I was. Keep doing what you're doing! Best wishes to you with your Discover card and your credit journey!

[Lou-natic]

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@Jordan23ww wrote:

I actually pay my card balances off weekly just to stay on top of things. 

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THIS! I get paid on Friday, I then go back and pay off all the charges from the previous week. My credit cards feel more like debit cards and it keeps me from falling into bad habits. It has worked wonders for me.

[805orbust]

Dang!!!   I wanna be like y'all @Jordan23ww and @Lou-natic ...   Those are some credit goals right there!   

[Jordan23ww]

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@Lou-natic wrote:

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@Jordan23ww wrote:

I actually pay my card balances off weekly just to stay on top of things. 

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THIS! I get paid on Friday, I then go back and pay off all the charges from the previous week. My credit cards feel more like debit cards and it keeps me from falling into bad habits. It has worked wonders for me.

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@Lou-natic  yes, I feel the same way! Great job!  I like the feeling of seeing those balances at $0 or very low!