There have been threads started by a few people, including myself, that have one of these cards that don't report a CL and the high balance gets used instead. If your high balance never gets very high, then a typical month's spending will make it appear maxed out, at least to scoring systems that don't recognize a NPSL card.
I don't usually spend enough in a month to get my balance anywhere near high enough to eliminate this problem, and I suspect there are many more of us in the same boat.
The solution that seems obvious is to buy something real expensive one month and return it the next, after the statement posts. I originally thought this was ethically problematic because I thought a merchant would have to pay interchange fees on the purchase and the return, and making a merchant pay what could be several hundred dollars in fees just so I can get a better score just doesn't seem right. But after some internet research it appears that a merchant actually gets the interchange fee back when they issue a refund so they're not really losing any money. I do realize there might be some shady CC processors that might try to cheat the merchant but I don't know how common that is. If this works out I might just skip on down to my favorite big box store and bring home a piece of electronics or jewelry or something to visit for a few days.
Any business owners out there that can verify if this is true for them?
Starting Score: 690
Understood, I'm not advocating that people run out there and do something ethically questionable, I am just trying to find out if it is a legitimate way to solve the problem before anyone runs out and does this.
@dalebb wrote:
@learnin113 wrote:downgrade?
no the mod squad slaps u around till u understand the rules,, but i may b wrong,, most of the time they r right ontop of this stuff
Alright, I have read the forum's user guidelines and terms of service and cannot see which rule I might violate by asking a question. I am not encouraging anyone to provide untrue or misleading information for the purpose of raising FICO scores, etc.
The only gotcha I see at all is where the ToS says to avoid "Discussion of illegal or unethical activities or providing links to other websites containing such information"
I don't believe that simply asking a question as to whether something is ethical violates this, though.
Just in case, I'll rephrase the original question. Is buying & returning, as described above, an ethical way to boost your high balance?
I think the answer to this question might lie in whether the merchant fees are refunded.
