CLI with soft pull?

thrasher865 · ‎03-06-2011

Let me start off by saying that I know this information is out there, and I did a quick search but wasn't able to find anything quickly. So, I hope you all will forgive me, but I don't want to research all these cards individually.

Anyway, I just paid off all my CC debt (woot), and I'm excited to see what the impact on my credit score is when my reports update. But, I do have a $3000 balance on my BoA card that's on there as a 0% loan to my fiance to finish up school, as she exhausted all the student loan resources available to her. (The government and these schools just don't understand that what's available is terribly insufficient for those with zero support from their parents, and private school is expensive) So I was thinking to get a CLI to lower my util even further than the ~15% it will be.

I have:

AMEX Blue Cash: 0 / 2500

Discover More: 0 / 5300

Chase Freedom: 0 / 3000

Bank Of America: 3200 / 3500

Home Depot: 0 / 2500

HHGregg: 0 / 1850

First Tennessee: 0 / 2000

American Eagle: 0 / 800

Does anybody know if any of these cards grant CLIs with a soft pull? It would be especially helpful if BoA did, but I doubt that they would grant me a CLI with my report the way it looks right now (just paid off $2000 on Discover and $1100 on HHGregg and it hasn't updated).

Starting Score: EQ: 665 - TU: 687
Current Score: EQ: 749 - TU: ---
Goal Score: EQ: 760 - TU: 760

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andre181 · ‎03-06-2011

Amex and BoA will do CLI's with soft pulls

Walt_K · ‎03-06-2011

According to this thread Discover does soft pulls, but depending on what they see may require a hard pull.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Discover-CLI/m-p/669133/highlight/true#M213819

Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)
Current Score: EQ 681 (04/05/13); TU 98 728 (01/06/12), TU 08? 760 (provided by Barclay 1/2/14), TU 04 728 (lender pull 01/12/12); EX 742 (lender pull 01/12/12)
Goal Score: 720

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thrasher865 · ‎03-06-2011

I searched a bit and I think BoA may be soft pull only if you have the luv button. Is this the way it is? I don't have the luv button, and deservedly so, as my BoA account is at 90% util.

It's not worth it to BT to me. I'll probably just put off my app for the PenFed rewards Visa for another 3 months, until she can pay off the balance. I've been a member of PenFed for just over 2 years now anticipating an app for the Visa, lol! You can't say I'm not patient.

Does anybody have any experience to speculate how a 90% util rate on one card will affect your score if all your other cards are paid, and your overall util is less than 15%?

Also, I just remembered I got an Auto CLI from Discover 4 months ago. So that may be out of the question. I got a CLI from BoA a little over 6 months ago before the BT, and I used the luv button to do that. So, I should have remembered about BoA, they are definitely soft if you have the luv button and it doesn't warn you that they have to pull your credit.

Starting Score: EQ: 665 - TU: 687
Current Score: EQ: 749 - TU: ---
Goal Score: EQ: 760 - TU: 760

Take the FICO Fitness Challenge

haulingthescoreup · ‎03-06-2011

@thrasher865 wrote:
I searched a bit and I think BoA may be soft pull only if you have the luv button. Is this the way it is? I don't have the luv button, and deservedly so, as my BoA account is at 90% util.

It's not worth it to BT to me. I'll probably just put off my app for the PenFed rewards Visa for another 3 months, until she can pay off the balance. I've been a member of PenFed for just over 2 years now anticipating an app for the Visa, lol! You can't say I'm not patient.

Does anybody have any experience to speculate how a 90% util rate on one card will affect your score if all your other cards are paid, and your overall util is less than 15%?

Also, I just remembered I got an Auto CLI from Discover 4 months ago. So that may be out of the question. I got a CLI from BoA a little over 6 months ago before the BT, and I used the luv button to do that. So, I should have remembered about BoA, they are definitely soft if you have the luv button and it doesn't warn you that they have to pull your credit.

When I first did a BT with BofA, it put me at 84% individual util on the card, but overall, everything else showed $0 or nearly so, and total util was <7%, I think. No change in score, and I've read similar reports from others. One member saw no change for one card, but a drop for two cards. Doesn't mean it happens for everyone, of course, and I don't know if there's a big difference between 84% and 90%.

btw, this is how i got a CLI from BofA from $10K to $18K. I told them that the BT put me at way too high util, and I wanted to get it under 50%, so up it went. This was 4 years ago, before the meltdown, and I'd just gone on my app spree, and scores were in the low 700's. So a different climate back then, plus they might regard high util resulting from usage (= shopping) differently from high util resulting from a BT.

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007

andre181 · ‎03-06-2011

@thrasher865 wrote:
I searched a bit and I think BoA may be soft pull only if you have the luv button. Is this the way it is? I don't have the luv button, and deservedly so, as my BoA account is at 90% util.

It's not worth it to BT to me. I'll probably just put off my app for the PenFed rewards Visa for another 3 months, until she can pay off the balance. I've been a member of PenFed for just over 2 years now anticipating an app for the Visa, lol! You can't say I'm not patient.

Does anybody have any experience to speculate how a 90% util rate on one card will affect your score if all your other cards are paid, and your overall util is less than 15%?

Also, I just remembered I got an Auto CLI from Discover 4 months ago. So that may be out of the question. I got a CLI from BoA a little over 6 months ago before the BT, and I used the luv button to do that. So, I should have remembered about BoA, they are definitely soft if you have the luv button and it doesn't warn you that they have to pull your credit.

Even if you call, its still a soft pull

jefftca925 · ‎03-06-2011

@Walt_K wrote:
According to this thread Discover does soft pulls, but depending on what they see may require a hard pull.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Discover-CLI/m-p/669133/highlight/true#M213819

that's an old post and around that time Discover changed their policy to doing hard pulls for ANY customer initiated CLI requests.

CCs: Chase Freedom VS 12.9k, CSP VISA Sg 13k, BofA Amex 24.5k, Discover 12.5k, US Bank Cash+ Visa Sg 17k, Macy's Amex 8k/1.5k, Gap Visa 10k, Best Buy 11.1k, Citi TY MC 10.8k, Citi AA Amex 6k, Nordstrom VS 10k, Costco Amex 12k, BofA CR VS 5k, Amex BCP 13.5k, Amex ED 5k, Sears MC 9k, HD 7k, Target 600, Amazon 7k, US Bank MC 15k, US Airways MC 8k, NFL Visa 4k, Patelco Visa 10k, Penfed PR VS 44.6k, Chase Hyatt VS 8k, Citi Simplicity 13.3k, PayPal MC 7.5k, BBVA Visa 4k, WF VS 14k, FNBO Amex 14.1k, OCCU VISA 15k, TR Visa Sg 16.3k, C1 QS Visa 11k, FRN MC 15k, HSN 4k, Saks WEMC 10k/4k, Chase Ink 18k, Arrival WEMC 10k, Ebates VS 8k, Orbitz VS 12k, NASA V 30k, USBk FP VS 21.5k, DC 30k, VirgAm 15k, Sams MC 15k, Amex Bz Gold, Amex SC 10k, BofW Bz MC 18k

thrasher865 · ‎03-07-2011

@jefftca925 wrote:

@Walt_K wrote:
According to this thread Discover does soft pulls, but depending on what they see may require a hard pull.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Discover-CLI/m-p/669133/highlight/true#M213819
that's an old post and around that time Discover changed their policy to doing hard pulls for ANY customer initiated CLI requests.

Gotcha, well they've been excellent to me about auto CLIs, so I guess I won't push it. They're my highest limit right now anyway.

Starting Score: EQ: 665 - TU: 687
Current Score: EQ: 749 - TU: ---
Goal Score: EQ: 760 - TU: 760

Take the FICO Fitness Challenge