Pros and Cons of CL Increases...

[Anonymous]

morning all.  i'm wondering what are the general pros and cons of requesting a credit limit increase? i currently have 4 ccs (one of which is a gas card).  the card i'm thinking of requesting an increase on is BOA, which has a zero balance.

[smallfry]

Maybe nothing maybe a CLD instead. Ya never know these days.

[tralyn05]

Con-- They pull your credit for a CLI --- example--chase

pros--Boa and Citi ...amongst others do not...never hurt to try even tho some say that it might bring attention to your account for a CLD

[CreditAble]

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@Anonymous wrote:
morning all.  i'm wondering what are the general pros and cons of requesting a credit limit increase? i currently have 4 ccs (one of which is a gas card).  the card i'm thinking of requesting an increase on is BOA, which has a zero balance.

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What are the current limits and balances on your other cards? What is your limit on the BoA card? How much was the most you ever borrowed on the card? What is your stated household income?

I (and others) might venture an opinion as to the advisability of "rolling the dice." and risking a CLD. 

[Anonymous]

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@CreditAble wrote:

What are the current limits and balances on your other cards? What is your limit on the BoA card? How much was the most you ever borrowed on the card? What is your stated household income?

I (and others) might venture an opinion as to the advisability of "rolling the dice." and risking a CLD. 

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card 1 -- 0 of 2500

card 2 -- 2700 of 5600

card 3 -- 0 of 4700 (BoA) -- was maxed 2 yrs ago.

card 4 -- 6000 of 6500 -- ouch!

Message Edited by MsDonesha on 03-23-2009 01:56 PM

[Anonymous]

pro, it'll increase your availabe credit thus decreasing your utilization, which affects FICO Score positively.

con, it may be a hard inquiry on your cr, which affects FICO Score negatively.

In the end you never know the overall affect.  I had an increase on one of my credit cards and this resulted in one of my other cc being subject to a CLD, because the access to more credit made me more likely to default on their card, whatever.

IMHO, if you don't need the credit for anything, don't get an increase.  You may be more disciplined than myself but the temptation is there to spend when you have it available. 

If you decide to request the increase, let us know the effect on your Score.

[KingAdrock]

BofA softs for CLI requests and they have a reputation for being generous, even in these bad financial times. Unless your situation has changed for the worse since you opened the card (or since your last CLI) I don't see a downside.

[CreditAble]

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@Anonymous wrote:
morning all.  i'm wondering what are the general pros and cons of requesting a credit limit increase? i currently have 4 ccs (one of which is a gas card).  the card i'm thinking of requesting an increase on is BOA, which has a zero balance.

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BoA might give you a credit limit increase if you can transfer the $6,000 from card #4 to the BoA card. I wouldn't do a BT unless you can get the limit raised to $10,000. Of course the promo rate would have to be worth moving the balance. Your income will  be the deciding factor. I don't think BoA will CLD just because you ask for a CLI. Your Bank of America CL isn't that high. If you have a low income, however, BoA might think you cary too much debt and want to limit its risk. It is hard to be an Egyptian these days.

If you can get the CLI and transfer the whole balance from card #4, definitely don't revolve balances on that card in the future. Your scores will probably go up somewhat.

The biggest "con" that is related to asking for a CLI is it could lead to going deeper into debt. I would not recommend asking for any increases unless you have a game plan to substantially pay down your overall debt by the time all interest rates go sky high next year.  

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Message Edited by CreditAble on 03-23-2009 09:47 PM

[Anonymous]

fyi:  BoA CL increase can be requested every 30 days per CSR i spoke with yesterday...

[Anonymous]

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@CreditAble wrote:

BoA might give you a credit limit increase if you can transfer the $6,000 from card #4 to the BoA card. I wouldn't do a BT unless you can get the limit raised to $10,000. Of course the promo rate would have to be worth moving the balance. Your income will  be the deciding factor. I don't think BoA will CLD just because you ask for a CLI. Your Bank of America CL isn't that high. If you have a low income, however, BoA might think you cary too much debt and want to limit its risk. It is hard to be an Egyptian these days.

If you can get the CLI and transfer the whole balance from card #4, definitely don't revolve balances on that card in the future. Your scores will probably go up somewhat.

The biggest "con" that is related to asking for a CLI is it could lead to going deeper into debt. I would not recommend asking for any increases unless you have a game plan to substantially pay down your overall debt by the time all interest rates go sky high next year.  

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that's what i was thinkin about doing, if i could get that large of an increase......although, i will add that card #4's APR is only 9.9%.....BoA's is 10% so basically even and not an issue when deciding on whether or not to transfer that 6K balance. my income is 65K and one thing i left out (oops) that may be of importance is that this is a joint account with my father....this is his ONLY CC, besides a gas card which has a ZERO balance and his income is close to 80K.  i'm not sure when the last CLI was, because dad was the only one to use the card until 2005 when he paid if off and gave me sole use (I'm only 28).....this account will be 21 yrs old in June.

to add, i will be applying for a mortgage loan in about 2 months -- cc utilization is the only area of my credit i'm worried about having issues with in underwriting....and just looking for a way to minimize the possibility of having an issue.  i'll be purchasing a home solo and in a high cost living area (Northern VA), so trying to make sure i'm a good position....