Correct way to carry balance / when to pay credit cards?

[Anonymous]

Hey All, 

I only got my first credit card about 18 months ago (29 yo, high income, no dependants, always only ever used cash, didn't see point in going into "debt" when I have the cash to make purchases, silly me) and am really struggling to get any CLI's. The reason I have seen on any CLI denial is current use is too low. I'm wondering if perhaps I am not "carrying the balance" appropriately so it appears I am not using the cards? I currently have a Bank of America cash rewards - $500 , Quicksilver one ($850), and Quicksilver upgraded from a platinum - $500.) I have a few $50 - $100 auto payments I put on all, use the cash rewards for gas and groceries, and make a payments in full usually 2x a month on each card. Am I doing something incorrectly or is it expecting me to use 80% of each card and pay that balance off before agreeing to give me a CLI? I by no means need a CLI or access to more credit , but I am trying to improve credit score and start moving into better rewards cards. 

DTI: 8% 

Fico 8: 614/644/625 - started high 400s 2 years ago. 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Your problem is cap1 requires heavy spend. In my case, it took 3 months of me cycling the limit 3x before they gave me an increase. If you want an increase from them, you have to show them the limit is insufficient.

As for BofA, they're a relationship bank. They want you to keep all your finances with them and run all your spend through their products.

Your score is too low for amex so everyone will recommend you open a discover.

Curious though, why was your score so low if you just got your first card not too long ago?

[Anonymous]

Ah ok I gotcha I'll try putting more on the capital one cards. 

I had defaulted student loans when I was 19 (took 2 semesters off of school to care for an unwell family member and didn't realize my loans had gone into repayment, they are paid off in full now.) 

Platinum preferred rewards member 3 years, 2 CD's, and checking and savings account holder with BoA since 2004. 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately having a negative on such a new thin file is going to hinder you for a while. I don't know anything about student Loans, though I would think that being as you paid them off in full some kind of deletion from your CR is possible? Maybe someone with more knowledge will chime in on that.

You also have about 9 years worth of wasted potential where you could have been building credit, so as far as Lenders are concerend you just showed up on the radar with a dirty file. Having Credit Cards is not getting into debt, some people don't seem to be able to grasp that or they had problems in the past and may just want to avoid temptation.  

As for using cards to gain CLI's I can't say 100% you'll see results that others have by cycling your limit. You can only try that method and see where it get you, so all you can do is keep charging up to your limit and paying it off 2-3 times per statement cycle.

For scoring purposes just makes sure that neither of your cards report over 8% utilization when your statement cuts. Also might want to find a third card so that you can practice AZEO, that will help boost your score.

[cashorcharge]

I would concur all the way around here.

I've had 2 Cap 1 accounts for over 20....they get little usage and the rewards compared to my other options aren't that great.  As a result, I ask for CLI's and get declined.  For me, while the CL's are my lowest across the board, the history and AAoA helps so they see little usage.

I had the same issue with BofA.  CL chased down from $30,000 to $4300 in 2009 and from 2009 to this year, I had only received a CLI to $7300...I was always getting denied and I was cycling about 5% per month on the card.  This year I requested, got denied and asked for reconsideration.  Spoke to their underwriting team, gave my income & DTI details, had an interesting talk about my history with BofA and when I was done, got a PC and $12,700 CLI

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply Janus! I actually have 3 cards currently , boa cash rewards, Quicksilver one and quicksilver. I only recently paid off my student loans and I don't think that has been reflected in my credit file yet, I would love to have the late payments removed but don't think that's an option. I have had 2 car loans ( 26k and 18k ) within the past 7 years and both were completely paid off early with 100% payment history. Have one now that was opened in March (28k ) with a 5.5% APR ( capital one. ) As far as my utilization it's currently at 3% and has never posted anything higher than 5%. 

[Anonymous]

Interesting, maybe I can give that a go! How do I go about contacting the underwriting team with BoA? I don't expect a huge increase but if I could atleast get from $500 to $1000 - $1200 that would allow me to actually use the card more, I've had it for close to 2 years now. 

[cashorcharge]

@Anonymous I had to request online and then it said "under review" so because I lack patience, I called Customer Service the next day and then rep stated it was declined and a letter was coming.  I then asked who I could speak to and was given this number.  They pulled up my app, discussed with me that the system auto-declined me so he manually reviewed and processed.  It's obviously not 100% guaranteed but you'll need to enter the process through the request and if it declines, this team may be able to help

Their number is 800-261-2986

[Anonymous]

I don't know who your preferred bank is, but if you like BoA well enough to store a lot of eggs there I would suggest opening deposit account with them. Sometimes having a large chunk of change with your Creditor can help grow your accounts, because they see your finaces firsthand rather than taking your word for it. Stability and ablity to repay go a long way.

[cashorcharge]

Agreed.  When I got the card initially back in 2000, they had a lot of my eggs.  When they chased me down from $30,000 to $4300 in 2009, I decided to move elsewhere.  Those "elsewhere" banks today take better care of me than BofA and that's perfectly okay.