cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

How do I ask for an upgrade?

tag
Sk323i
Regular Contributor

How do I ask for an upgrade?

I have a US Bank Platinum - 8K limit/7200 balance. 
it started off at 0% for 20 months - and I'm now on my 21st month - so APR is now 22%

 

Luckily, I have the full 7200 cash to pay it off.

 

Should I pay it off - and just leave the balance at 0 and never use it?

 

how do I go about asking for a card upgrade ? So I can have a card with 3% cash back rewards or something useful that I can use.

i will never want to use a card with 22% APR.

 

i bet they will probably reduce the 8K limit if I stop using the card completely for a few months. 

how do I get this to work to my benefit ?

 

thank you all in advance

525 score as of 9/2015 --- only way to go is up!
Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?


@Sk323i wrote:

I have a US Bank Platinum - 8K limit/7200 balance. 
it started off at 0% for 20 months - and I'm now on my 21st month - so APR is now 22%

 

Luckily, I have the full 7200 cash to pay it off.

 

Should I pay it off - and just leave the balance at 0 and never use it?

 

how do I go about asking for a card upgrade ? So I can have a card with 3% cash back rewards or something useful that I can use.

i will never want to use a card with 22% APR.

 

i bet they will probably reduce the 8K limit if I stop using the card completely for a few months. 

how do I get this to work to my benefit ?

 

thank you all in advance


If you dont have another card to bt to and dont want to pay interest, pay it off. You should understand the card had 20 months to pay off before interest kicked in so no surprise there.  If you want a rewards card  with established history with US Bank, maybe just app a new card  , if you can fulfill their parameters  .  Your choice whether to not use card again.  But 8k might become 13k etc with some sp cli increases. Good luck.

Message 2 of 10
digitek
Established Contributor

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?

It is ultimately up to you about whether to pay it off or not with the cash you have on hand, personally I would just pay it off. As far as asking for an upgrade it really is as simple as calling and asking a CSR what your options are. I am not sure what cards you can product change to from the Platinum, but a CSR should be able to give you the choices. Both the Cash + and Altitude Go are really good cards and I hope those are options for you. Also, not sure if it will make a difference, but I would probably pay the card off and wait until it is reporting a $0 balance before calling to product change. If you are still showing the balance it might effect if/what you can product change to.


Good luck!

Message 3 of 10
Sk323i
Regular Contributor

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?


@digitek wrote:

It is ultimately up to you about whether to pay it off or not with the cash you have on hand, personally I would just pay it off. As far as asking for an upgrade it really is as simple as calling and asking a CSR what your options are. I am not sure what cards you can product change to from the Platinum, but a CSR should be able to give you the choices. Both the Cash + and Altitude Go are really good cards and I hope those are options for you. Also, not sure if it will make a difference, but I would probably pay the card off and wait until it is reporting a $0 balance before calling to product change. If you are still showing the balance it might effect if/what you can product change to.


Good luck!


Do you mean wait until the Credit Agencies are reporting it as 0 before asking for an Upgrade or Product Change? 

i bet I will start receiving Pre-Approval offers in the mail. Should I consider these?

 

i have no loyalty do US bank. I can just keep this credit line open and never use it. There is no annual free. If they reduce the limit so be it. 

525 score as of 9/2015 --- only way to go is up!
Message 4 of 10
Sk323i
Regular Contributor

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?


@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

@Sk323i wrote:

I have a US Bank Platinum - 8K limit/7200 balance. 
it started off at 0% for 20 months - and I'm now on my 21st month - so APR is now 22%

 

Luckily, I have the full 7200 cash to pay it off.

 

Should I pay it off - and just leave the balance at 0 and never use it?

 

how do I go about asking for a card upgrade ? So I can have a card with 3% cash back rewards or something useful that I can use.

i will never want to use a card with 22% APR.

 

i bet they will probably reduce the 8K limit if I stop using the card completely for a few months. 

how do I get this to work to my benefit ?

 

thank you all in advance


If you dont have another card to bt to and dont want to pay interest, pay it off. You should understand the card had 20 months to pay off before interest kicked in so no surprise there.  If you want a rewards card  with established history with US Bank, maybe just app a new card  , if you can fulfill their parameters  .  Your choice whether to not use card again.  But 8k might become 13k etc with some sp cli increases. Good luck.


Is that "soft pull" credit line increases?

 

do we just ask for a CLI ?

 

what would be the point of having 13K line of credit - with 22% interest rate?

 

i don't make 13K a month to pay it off every month - I guess the high limit and low balance helps the credit line - but I'm curious if people out there with such high limits and APRs actually use them? 

 

 

525 score as of 9/2015 --- only way to go is up!
Message 5 of 10
digitek
Established Contributor

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?


@Sk323i wrote:

@digitek wrote:

It is ultimately up to you about whether to pay it off or not with the cash you have on hand, personally I would just pay it off. As far as asking for an upgrade it really is as simple as calling and asking a CSR what your options are. I am not sure what cards you can product change to from the Platinum, but a CSR should be able to give you the choices. Both the Cash + and Altitude Go are really good cards and I hope those are options for you. Also, not sure if it will make a difference, but I would probably pay the card off and wait until it is reporting a $0 balance before calling to product change. If you are still showing the balance it might effect if/what you can product change to.


Good luck!


Do you mean wait until the Credit Agencies are reporting it as 0 before asking for an Upgrade or Product Change? 

i bet I will start receiving Pre-Approval offers in the mail. Should I consider these?

 

i have no loyalty do US bank. I can just keep this credit line open and never use it. There is no annual free. If they reduce the limit so be it. 


Yeah mate I'm saying pay the thing off to $0 then call and see if you are eligible for a product change to either the Cash+ Visa or the Altitude Go Visa, whichever you are feeling. They are both top-tier rewards cards and you should be able to get some use out of them. This way you keep the credit history and get a card you want to use. US Bank is one of the best IMO and a pain in the ass to get a new card with now due to their 1/12 rule (only 1 new account in the last 12 months). You should try to keep this account IMO.

Message 6 of 10
thornback
Senior Contributor

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?


@Sk323i wrote:

what would be the point of having 13K line of credit - with 22% interest rate?


 You're only charged interest if you carry a balance from month to month.  But if you pay your balance in full by the due date, there will be no interest charged.  

 


@Sk323i wrote:

i don't make 13K a month to pay it off every month - I guess the high limit and low balance helps the credit line - but I'm curious if people out there with such high limits and APRs actually use them? 

 


You don't have to spend up to or even close to your credit limit.   The higher limits help keep your both individual and aggregate util in check.  You never know if USBank will offer another apr/balance transfer promo on existing cards -- of which you might take advantage so having the higher limit will be useful in that case.    It also helps maintain a lower aggregate utilization should you carry a high balance on one or more of your other cards. 

 

Some folks with high limits do use them because their income/spend allows for it.   Others may only use 5%-30% of their limits.   Anyone who only spends what they can pay in full by the due date isn't concerned with high APRs because they're not paying interest -- and some lenders offer APR reductions upon request, so the possibility of reducing APR exists (tho i'm not sure of USBank's policy on APR reductions).  It's a good idea to acquire a low-apr card  for the moments you need to carry a balance but a 0% offer is unavailable to you. 

 

Close the card if you don't want it; or,  if you can PC  the card to a rewards card that'll you'll get more use of, then do so; or, you can keep this card and throw a small purchase on it every few months to keep it active; there are valid reasons for all three options but only you can decide which is best for you.

Personal Aphorism:"Forget What You Feel, Remember What You Deserve"
Starting FICO 8s | 09/2017: EX 641 ✦ EQ 634 ✦ TU 647
Current FICO 8s | 04/2022: EX 796 ✦ EQ 793 ✦ TU 790
Current FICO 9s | 04/2022: EX 790 ✦ EQ 788 ✦ TU 782
2022 Goal Score | 800s

My AAoA:
4.6 years not incl. AU / 4.9 years incl. AU
My AoOA: 9.2 years not incl. AU / 11.2 years incl. AU
Inquiries: EX 0/12 ✦ EQ 0/12 ✦ TU 0/12
Report Status: Clean
Garden Status:  


Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.
Message 7 of 10
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?


@Sk323i wrote:

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

@Sk323i wrote:

I have a US Bank Platinum - 8K limit/7200 balance. 
it started off at 0% for 20 months - and I'm now on my 21st month - so APR is now 22%

 

Luckily, I have the full 7200 cash to pay it off.

 

Should I pay it off - and just leave the balance at 0 and never use it?

 

how do I go about asking for a card upgrade ? So I can have a card with 3% cash back rewards or something useful that I can use.

i will never want to use a card with 22% APR.

 

i bet they will probably reduce the 8K limit if I stop using the card completely for a few months. 

how do I get this to work to my benefit ?

 

thank you all in advance


If you dont have another card to bt to and dont want to pay interest, pay it off. You should understand the card had 20 months to pay off before interest kicked in so no surprise there.  If you want a rewards card  with established history with US Bank, maybe just app a new card  , if you can fulfill their parameters  .  Your choice whether to not use card again.  But 8k might become 13k etc with some sp cli increases. Good luck.


Is that "soft pull" credit line increases?

 

do we just ask for a CLI ?

 

what would be the point of having 13K line of credit - with 22% interest rate?

 

i don't make 13K a month to pay it off every month - I guess the high limit and low balance helps the credit line - but I'm curious if people out there with such high limits and APRs actually use them? 

 

 


If we lived in a perfecr credit world no one would ever get a credit card with high interest. Eveb people with great credit get cards with high apr. Lol, they are called reward cardsSmiley Wink. I.e see Chase cards. Just because one has a high apr doesnt mean you have to carry a balance and having a high limit on any credit card helps because it helps your utilzation which in turn helps your score which in turn helps you get thise cards with 0% apr promosSmiley Wink. Ive got plenty of cards with 20% + apr hasnt stopped me from using them or kept me from applyingSmiley Happy

Message 8 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?


@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

In a perfecr credit world no one would ever get a credit card with high interest. Eveb people with great credit get cards with high apr. Lol, they are called reward cardsSmiley Wink. I.e see Chase cards. Just because one has a high apr doesnt mean you have to carry a balance and having a high limit on any credit card helps because it helps your utilzation which in turn helps your score which in turn helps you get thise cards with 0% apr promosSmiley Wink. Ive got plenty of cards with 20% + apr hasnt stopped me from using them or kept me from applyingSmiley Happy

This.  For many here, the mantra is to always pay in full every month, thus avoiding interest charges and gaining rewards.  Of course, that's not always possible for everyone, so it makes sense to have one or two lower interest cards, for the times you just have to carry a balance.

In OPs case, the high APR card doesn't have great rewards, so trying to change it to something more useful, even with the same APR, is worthwhile. (As others suggested, after paying it down and letting it report as paid off)

Message 9 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: How do I ask for an upgrade?

I just changed my US Bank platinum to a Cash+ on Thursday last week. Just call the # on the card and ask if your card is available to change. There was no hard pull, and I get to keep my credit history.

 

FYI, I had my platinum card for 6 years. After the original balance transfer I only put a small charge on it every 6 months to keep it active, so it was at $0 when I called. And I have no idea what my interest rate is because I pay in full every month.

Message 10 of 10
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.