I have Capital 1 and Comenity CLI Questions & need advise :)

[Anonymous]

I have been rebuilding since 6/15 and have made some great strides.

In September I apped and was approved for 2 Cap 1 cards both with $300 SCL. Between Oct-Dec I have apped and was approved for 6 Comenity store cards ( I did take a hit on my credit for too many recent accounts: LESSON LEARNED) and apped for Kohls backed by Cap 1 (I shop here monthly).

I currently carry balances on VS, Ny & Co, and Kohls and have made on time payments leaving a balance. I requested CLI yesterday and was denied by all my Comenity cards EXCEPT J Crew, which was my very first Comenity card, never used, 0 balance. Went from $450 to $650.

I also requested CLI on my 2 Cap 1 cards. I am currently in my 4th statement month, use these cards very heavily, have made several payments on both, and currently hold high balances. I was instantly approved for $500 increases on both bringing my CL to $800 each.

I gained a total of $1200 in CLI yesterday.

My questions are when should I request CLI again for both Cap 1 and Comenity. I am kind of disappointed in the Comenity declines on CLI as I have read those are pretty easy to get and VERY surprised with my Cap 1 CLI approvals considering I have not hit Credit Steps yet. How do they feel with back to back CLI request or how long should I wait? Also, I currently have a 39% UTL combined on all my balances, I plan on paying down my debt to 15% UTL total this month & my CL just increased from $2700 to $3900. IYO how many points should my score increase. I have taken an overal all 40-50 score hit due to opening these accounts and having a high balance report last month ( lessons are learned) I am currently working on paying and keeping my UTL down to under 10% while increasing my CLs & I am currently gardening. At what point should I come out of gardening and can any one predict how my scores should change point wise by doing this?

[Anonymous]

Hi, if your profile is new as of 6/15, and some of the accounts you are referring to are barely a month or two old, it's time to stop now and garden what you have for a year. Your profile is too new and too young to absorb a lot of new account hits at one time, and I don't want to see any of your lenders take AA. I'd also take it easy on hitting the CLI button with Comenity for a while.

Comenity has been behaving a bit weird anyway, but when you open 6-8 new accounts in rapid fire succession, then quickly request CLI on them all, all while having a new and young profile, it can send up a red flag to a lender. It can look as if you are desperate for credit, especially with a young profile. You are learning some difficult lessons as far as keeping utilization down, but there is still some progress to be made.

Just keep along that path, pay in full when possible or make large payments, and also remember to try to keep as few cards with balances as possible, as a greater number of cards with balances with impact your score as well. Right now you have too many cards with balances vs. your total number of cards, so I'd suggest paying those in full. You mentioned that you currently hold high balances on the new Capital One cards, which is not good and should be paid in full ASAP.

You just received $1,200 in CLI's, give it a breather and don't be jumping too quickly for more just yet.  You need time for your scores to recover, and you need to build history on a new profile. Capital One accounts should be good to request additional CLI's 6 months from the prior CLI.  

Credit is not a race, so please don't rush it. It takes time and patience to develop a solid profile. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the sound advise. IT is greatly appreciated. I acutually have a more lengthly history with 2 previous closed auto loans, the oldest going back 7 years. However, I did take a AAoA hit opening these new cards, damage done, lesson learned.

[Anonymous]

You are welcome, hope it helps. You did mention you were rebuilding so I am assuming there are also some negatives factored into that history, and if rebuilding started only 6 months ago, you're fairly new

Rapid changes are not always well received in the credit world, and slow and steady may benefit you more as an approach since creditors are often fairly conservative.

Keep up the good work

[Anonymous]

edit: yeah, failed reading comprehension.  Please disregard