@Anonymous wrote:
@jtc-137 I have a Bk as well, but then I see others have graduated with a bk. Not sure what disco's hang up is. But, I am just going to keep trucking along and hope I have better luck with nfcu.
Sorry to rain on your parade but you STILL went over the limit... hence why you aren't graduating. The "hang up" is you messed up... And it will take TIME to clear up the internal score for your mistake... Yeah some other card might not have issues with you but your score is just starting to get into unsecure territory for some financial institutions.. Discovers seem to start unsecuring around 630 TU...
Credit is a privledge not a right....
And you still have a BK....
-J
As I pointed out in my graduation post, I went over my limit several times on the Discover and it did not affect my graduation. I did not graduate until 11 months, which coincided with multiple derogatory items being deleted from TransUnion, so it’s not clear that being over one’s credit limit prohibits one from graduating. I was using the card for $1,500 to $2,000 a month in purchases with a $700 limit. Naturally, I did go over the limit occasionally, but Discover didn’t care. I still got the graduation and a CLI to $2k.
I think "not clear" is a safer statement than "Discover didn't care." It took an extra four months, and we don't know the reason.
Has anybody had success calling or chatting with Discover in these situations to get reconsidered, or at least to understand reasons or where they stand better?
congratulations on your Graduation! I opened a discovery it secured card around the same time as you mine also graduate on the 7th statement this months. also got a 2000 dollars credit line increase.
The following post by me is strictly based on my experience. It is not supported by any empirical data. As usual, take with a grain of salt.
Starting score: 480
Oldest account: 15 yrs
Average Age of AC: 8 yrs
Income: 140K
Discover Secured SL: $200
First Four Months
Highest amount charged; $80
Highest amount paid per month: $30
I was intenstionally trying to "earn" Discover some interests (yeah, I know). I quickly realized this approach did not make any sense. How can Discover trust me with a larger credit line if I cannot even pay off a $200 loan.
Next Two months
Highest amount charged: $80
Highest amount paid per month: Paid balance in full.
While this strategy was better, I decided it did not make sense for Discover to give me a higher credit line if I am not even crossing $100 in a $200 limit card.
Following Months
Highest amount Charged: $186
Highest amount paid per month: Paid balance in full
Felt good about this strategy. I felt I had covered all my bases.
Credit score progression:
My score was low because I was old school. I paid everything in cash. This had the unfortunate side effect of making you miss payments if something unexpected ever happens. So, yes, I had a lot of missed payments. After I learned the errors of my ways, I got the secured card. Now, with my payments being on time and my mortgage payments already established, my score went from 480 to 620 in 3 months. However, I got a student loan that decided to reintroduce itself into my life. It cratered my score again. I got into loan rehabilitation.
Seven months in.
I knew I was not going to graduate because my score was 601. But I wanted to know what their internal profile on me was, so I called Discover. This call was to ascertain what my internal CLI was. Anyone can do this. Call and ask for a CLI on your secured card. They will do a SP and tell you how much you are cleared to add. I was told I was approved for $2500. Not unsecured so I had to deposit said amount. Encouraging! This told me that despite my low scores, Discover still had a favorable view of my profile. Factoring account age, DTI, income and their internal scoring system.
NOTE: I knew I was not going to graduate. many folks here conflate two things; Graduating and CLI. CLI and card unsecuring are two different things. You maxing out your card and paying in full helps with CLI. I do not believe it helps with unsecuring it. For that, your fico and internal profile are used.
Once I knew what my real CL was. I settled in to complete my loan rehabilitation. When it completed, my score crossed the 700 number. At this point, I knew I had both things needed to get the Discover green light. I waited until they pulled my credit score. The next day my card graduated. And, no surprise, my credit limit increased to $2500. Like I said, I already knew this was going to be my number. This was 10 months in.
Through this whole process my expectations were grounded in reality. The truth is, you only get a secured card because of one of two reasons; you messed up your credit or you don't have credit. If you don't have credit, Discover is more apt to be careful with you since you could be golden, a bust or even an outright scammer. If you have bad credit but are already established, the worry of fraud is not there. You were just irresponsible. Prove you have learned from your mistakes and you are golden.
Obviously, there are those that have paid on time, in full, every time and are still locked in Discover secured cards purgatory. I believe these are outliers.
My take: Credit score and internal profile determine when your card graduates. Your payment and charge habits, with a qualifying profile (of course), determine what CLI you get upon graduation.
Pardon the long essay. Maybe my experience might help someone in a similar boat. Still, YMMV.
@jbestman007 wrote:
Seven months in.
I knew I was not going to graduate because my score was 601. But I wanted to know what their internal profile on me was, so I called Discover. This call was to ascertain what my internal CLI was. Anyone can do this. Call and ask for a CLI on your secured card. They will do a SP and tell you how much you are cleared to add. I was told I was approved for $2500. Not unsecured so I had to deposit said amount. Encouraging! This told me that despite my low scores, Discover still had a favorable view of my profile. Factoring account age, DTI, income and their internal scoring system.
Not sure I agree.
I believe that the $2500 figure that you and they quoted is the maximum secured value that anyone can deposit when they sign up, or subsequent to a sign up post 30 days. I just got the secured card and couyld have deposited $2500. You likely could have as well.
(Edit to add: I think I agree with your one of your premises however. Discover -or anyone- is not looking for some nuanced behavior, swiping X and paying Y times per month. They are looking at you to manage your overall credit and specific credit line appropriately, as well as missing 0 payments.)
@BallBounces wrote:
@jbestman007 wrote:
Seven months in.
I knew I was not going to graduate because my score was 601. But I wanted to know what their internal profile on me was, so I called Discover. This call was to ascertain what my internal CLI was. Anyone can do this. Call and ask for a CLI on your secured card. They will do a SP and tell you how much you are cleared to add. I was told I was approved for $2500. Not unsecured so I had to deposit said amount. Encouraging! This told me that despite my low scores, Discover still had a favorable view of my profile. Factoring account age, DTI, income and their internal scoring system.
Not sure I agree.
I believe that the $2500 figure that you and they quoted is the maximum secured value that anyone can deposit when they sign up, or subsequent to a sign up post 30 days. I just got the secured card and couyld have deposited $2500. You likely could have as well.
(Edit to add: I think I agree with your one of your premises however. Discover -or anyone- is not looking for some nuanced behavior, swiping X and paying Y times per month. They are looking at you to manage your overall credit and specific credit line appropriately, as well as missing 0 payments.)
I know 2500 is the maximum you can deposit. That is why I said to call and request a CLI on the secured card. They will run a SP and give you a number as opposed to you asking to deposit the maximum. I know someone else that called and was told she was approved for 1500. But who knows, we might have just been lucky(?)
