Need advice with credit cards, limits, and such.

[sanzz218]

Hey guys. I am working on getting my fico score up past a 740-60. I am currently around a 705. One of my biggest goals is to have high credit limits on my credit cards to reduce my credit to debt ratio like I see some guys on here doing with $15,000 + limits on more than one card. I am going to list the cards and limits I have:

Discover Card -  Had for 2 years. Just yesterday requested a CLI from $2000 to $4500 with no hard pull. No balance. Use regulary for gas.
Bank of America - Tried talking to an agent about a CLI because I had this hard for 5 years as a student with a CL of $700 and never received a CLI. The agent told me it would definitely be a hard pull so I backed away from that for now.
Dell Prefferred Acount - I have had this card for a year and a half with a CL of $2000. There is only $60 left on the balance.

Best Buy (Capital One) - Had this card for 4 years with a CL of $2000 and no balance.

Yamaha Card Financing (Capital One) - Got this card a couple months ago to finance a ATV. Credit limit of $8000 and a balance of $7000. I plan on having a balance on this card for a few years because once I pay the ATV off by the winter, I plan on financing a jet ski.
Care Credit (GE) - Opened this account for a vet emergency before I got bumped to a full time position. They seemed to have increased my limit to $1700 from about $750. I have a $400.00 balance.

There is the list of my credit cards. The discover card I plan on CLI every 3 months to get the limit up there. The yamaha card I pay to the account very well at like $600-700 a month and like I said I plan on one more big purchase on that account once my ATV is paid off. I make a decent income at about $53,000. What should my plan be other than the discover card for increases. Should I take the hard inquiring on Bank of America? Should I use the hard inquiry and apply for a new card that is "soft pull" friendly and generous with CLI's? 

[navigatethis12]

I say pay down some of the Yamaha card first before asking for an increase or applying for a new card. One card being maxed out will most definitely cause hesitation, especially since it's the highest limit you have. That is also most likely what is keeping you from getting to your goal score.

[sanzz218]

Thanks for the quick reply, I will definitely be paying down my yamaha card over the next 8 months. Nothing at this point is keeping me from my goal as I did get my discover limit increased by $2500. I haven't got rejected for anything if I made it seem that way. My question was because BoA does hard pulls, according to most people on the ficoforums and what the agent told me, should I take the HP on my BoA card or apply for a new card that usually uses Soft Pulls for most CLI scenarios? 

[navigatethis12]

I must have gotten confused when reading, so I apologise. I would say you could do both. Bank of America is really  great with giving big increases and since you've had it for five years, you should have no problem. The only other lender that gives soft inquiry increases and may have something you would be interested in is American Express. However, I am not a fan of them, so wouldn't tell anyone to go for them. If you like any cards Barclays has to offer, they usually will give an automated increase after six or seven statements. General Electric cards are soft inquiries, but the rewards on them aren't really that impressive unless you spend massive amounts of money at the stores they finance.

[sanzz218]

Thank you very much for the advice.

Keep the opinions coming in. I am big on considering multiple person's opinions.

[armbenderc]

Take the HP from BofA and ask for 5k siggy card. That is what I would do.

I would get in with Amex also or Chase.

[sanzz218]

Okay thanks. I forgot to say that next month I am refinancing my auto loan for a lower interest rate through a credit union. Do you think I should wait until I refinance my card to take the 2 hard inquiries on the BoA card and an AMEX etc.? Or do you think I will be okay regardless?

[armbenderc]

How many INQs do you have on each report? I would refi the car first since it will lower your monthly payment, then go for the card(s).

[dddewdrop]

     What are the terms of the Yamaha card you got? The reason I am wondering is that you may be able to refinance that debt with an auto type loan from a credit union. If you were successful at converting that particular debt to an instalment loan, even if the terms were exactly the same as for the credit card then you would be in a better spot to raise your FICO score. There reason for this is that credit card tradelines count for  lot more towards a fico score than instalment loan tradelines. In addition to this, a loan from a credit uniion might actually have better terms than the credit card. I know it is a hassle to sign up for a new bank and also to fill out loan applications when you already were successful at financing your ATV but proably a little elbow grease and shuffling around things is what it is going to take to get your score to the next level. I would recommend DCU as an excelent credit union with the added bonus that they provide you with a free monthly EQ FICO score. 

   The good news for you in your situation is that as soon as you pay down that card, your score will move higher. There are no cumulative long term effects of having that high balance on your card. It definately is something that will give potential creditors pause before extending you more credit however. Think of it from their point of view. If you were going to loan money to someone who you had never met before would you rather loan it to someone who already owes someone else 7k or to someone who doesn't owe anyone else anything? That all being said, your credit scores are pretty good to start with. I am not sure what your income level is but at some point you may have to ask yourself which is more important to you,  borrowing money from a credit card company to buy a jetski or having a sounder financial situation. It really comes down to your own priorities. If you want the high score badly enough and it really is your priority then you will forgo getting the jetski for  bit to do so. 

   Everyone has different priorities. I don't know what yours are. For me personally I try to at least step back from my situation and try to determine if the decisions I am making are in line with what my priorities are in life. My priority right now is to try to increase my net worth. What I am doing to accomplish that is trying to maximise my earnings and minimise my expenses. Good luck to you..

[sanzz218]

The terms of my Yamaha card are 6.99 % rate for 3 years. Minimum payment right now is $133.00, but I pay down $500 every month so I can pay it off within a year. My honest perception is that my financial state is very important, but I like to be able to be in the middle and get all the stuff I want to enjoy life. However, I do get what you're saying about the jetski and financing it via a credit union loan rather than re-max out my Yamaha card. I will definitely take a step back and look into that rather than putting it on a revolving credit account. I know a lot of people say you shouldn't finance a toy, I am however not like that. I know how I am with my money. I have no problem financing something for recreational use and paying it off well before it is due buy making 3 or 4 times the minimum payments. That is just me though.