Can you Convert a Best Buy CC to the Best Buy VISA CC?

[JNesbit89]

I've had the BBY CC for years and it's not the VISA version, just the in-store version. I briefly saw someone in a post from 2018 mention they were able to have theirs converted. Is this a thing and/or still possible? And does it require another hard inquiry?

Last question - does Best Buy (through Citi) do Soft Pulls OR Hard Pulls for Credit Limit Increases as of 2021?

If it's a soft pull, I for sure would wanna request one.

Thanks

[FinStar]

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@JNesbit89 wrote:

I've had the BBY CC for years and it's not the VISA version, just the in-store version. I briefly saw someone in a post from 2018 mention they were able to have theirs converted. Is this a thing and/or still possible? And does it require another hard inquiry?

Last question - does Best Buy (through Citi) do Soft Pulls OR Hard Pulls for Credit Limit Increases as of 2021?

If it's a soft pull, I for sure would wanna request one.

Thanks

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It is possible, but it is not something that is customer-initiated.  The process is automatic and Citi Retail/BBY decides which accounts are selected or targeted for the Visa upgrade.  The agents do not process any conversion/upgrade requests.  Any upgrades do not trigger HP inquiries and the account history is preserved.

As far as BBY CLIs in 2021, a variety of approval threads seem to indicate these are still processed via HP.  There are rare instances in which a SP CLI is possible, but the great majority of Citi Retail CLI requests (excluding Citi/DSNB) are HP.

[JNesbit89]

@FinStar Ah I see, so nothing I can do, like contact them and be like "Hey I'm totally down with an upgrade to Visa, IFFF you wanna do that yourself". All seems automated.

And yeah, I did more snooping and seems to be a hard pull. Guess my only account that does Soft Pull CLI, is Synchrony.

Thanks again

[FinStar]

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@JNesbit89 wrote:

@FinStar Ah I see, so nothing I can do, like contact them and be like "Hey I'm totally down with an upgrade to Visa, IFFF you wanna do that yourself". All seems automated.

And yeah, I did more snooping and seems to be a hard pull. Guess my only account that does Soft Pull CLI, is Synchrony.

Thanks again

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Yes, nothing that can be done on the consumer side of the curtain. Unfortunately, there isn't a known pattern of how/who they select for the upgrades.  Just keep using your card as usual and maybe your account could be selected for the next wave of upgrades.

[JNesbit89]

@FinStar Okay thank you.

Also, have you heard anything concerning "you wanna use only 1 of your credit cards, and ignore the others, if you wish for your FICO score to be increased faster". I always figured as long as the Total Utilization was below 10% then you were good. I typically have mine between 1-3%

[FinStar]

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@JNesbit89 wrote:

@FinStar Okay thank you.

Also, have you heard anything concerning "you wanna use only 1 of your credit cards, and ignore the others, if you wish for your FICO score to be increased faster". I always figured as long as the Total Utilization was below 10% then you were good. I typically have mine between 1-3%

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If you're referring to the reporting aspect to optimize scoring (1 card reporting <10%), then this sounds like the AZEO method (All Zero Except One). Hopefully that's what you were asking.  If so, you can search in the General Credit subforum for "AZEO" and it can provide some insightful results.  There are also other topics available in the Understanding FICO Scoring of the forums as well.

[JNesbit89]

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@FinStar wrote:

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@JNesbit89 wrote:

@FinStar Okay thank you.

Also, have you heard anything concerning "you wanna use only 1 of your credit cards, and ignore the others, if you wish for your FICO score to be increased faster". I always figured as long as the Total Utilization was below 10% then you were good. I typically have mine between 1-3%

---

If you're referring to the reporting aspect to optimize scoring (1 card reporting <10%), then this sounds like the AZEO method (All Zero Except One). Hopefully that's what you were asking.  If so, you can search in the General Credit subforum for "AZEO" and it can provide some insightful results.  There are also other topics available in the Understanding FICO Scoring of the forums as well.

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Yes! I meant this AZEO! I'll research!