I put ~$2k in spend on a $500 CL Cap1 Platinum in the second month of having it on a profile with no revolving history reporting and having burned them in the past and they held my available credit from my payments for 28 days.
They had every right to do that, and I'm glad they did, because now they know I'm okay, my payments are good, my spend is legitimate and I'm a good customer for them again.
You might experience shorter delays in having your available credit restored to your account after you make payments if you are 2-5x+ cycling your $300 limit and if that happens, that's okay, you're new and they're just making sure you're legitimate and your money is good.
I agree completely with @JoeRockhead, don't go out of your way to absolutely maximise how much spend you run through Cap1's cards, but if you have spend, go ahead and put it on the card and then pay it back.
Given your credit profile is new, but not dirty, that gives you a huge added benefit that your first CLI hopefully might be generous and not $100. $300 to $3k would not be unheard of at 6-7 months, whether you do it manually or they auto CLI you.
One thing I would consider is potentially learning to push payments to Cap1 from your bank's bill pay functionality. This will hopefully mitigate any delays in having your available credit restored after you pay your bill off. It would also allow you to more proactively push payments to Cap1 sooner before charges clear, so you can spend more on the card overall without waiting for charges to post and making payments afterwards.
In a few months you try to upgrade to the QS so you can get some cash back. If it doesnt go the first time. Try again each month. Bookmark this:
https://verified.capitalone.com/auth/signin#/esignin?Product=Card&Action=ProductUpgrade
@MikeyMagic wrote:Hello,
So I have a question for all the experts on here. I've had my Capital One Unsecured Platinum Mastercard for a little over a month.
I know I am bucketed but this question can be extrapolated to having any credit card.
I have been using close to the max of $300 then once the charges post within 2 days I make a payment in full for the whole balance or most of it. Then I use the card again to max it out or close to it and then pay it off again. I made sure though a few days before the statement came out to leave a $12 balance so that would be reported to the credit bureaus. Then I paid that off and have once again been maxing the card out and paying most if not all in full soon after.
My question is two-fold - is this bad to do? I want to get a higher credit limit in 6 months and I thought I read somewhere that if I use the card a lot, max it out and pay it off a bunch of times every month - that will help get a bigger CL increase. Obv though making sure the utilization reported by the statement date is low(mine under 5%).
Other question is in general(especially for lower limit cards), does this method help get higher CL's if I request an increase or when I will be automatically offered one? I've read so many threads and posts that people use a new card a little every month, still have low utilization reported to the bureaus but they get denied for CL increases after 6 months and beyond, or they get like $100 or some paltry amount(usually by Capital One).
if anyone could let me know if what I am doing is okay and won't hurt but could help me - I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks so much
Mike
No, there's nothing bad about what you're doing. It's great.
As to whether it will help you get a CLI, probably it will. But no one really knows for sure. It certainly can't hurt.
I won't go so far as to say that what you're doing is absolutely no problem, @MikeyMagic. In this situation, with Capital One and a low likely bucketed limit, it's probably fine. However, what you're doing is known as "Credit Cycling." You can look it up online. Some lenders can get quite sensitive to this practice, but it depends on the lender and the circumstances. See >this article< from thepointsguy website that discusses credit cycling and the potential downsides. During underwriting, lenders will estimate how much you can afford to repay. They assume you'll be using the card up to that limit and then paying off the statement balance or at least the minimum due. Since credit cycling artificially raises your credit limit based on your monthly spending, you're essentially "borrowing" more every month than they anticipated. They may become concerned about your ability or intent to pay off the balance the last time you run it up. Or with some cards, there may be concern about rewards abuses. Some lenders will not release the credit limit (as @GZG mentioned) or they may even freeze your account or close it if they become concerned. Bottom line is that there is sometimes risk with credit cycling. It appears it's more accepted at lower credit limits.
I'd suggest using the card normally. If that entails cycling once or twice in a month, so-be-it. I wouldn't go out of my way to do it, and don't believe it will accelerate credit limit increases more than just using it up to the limit and paying-in-full.
As for what reports to the credit bureau, for purposes of getting a higher credit limit from Capital One, you don't have to let ANY report. They know what you're spending and repaying on the account. Allowing a balance to post just signals usage to other creditors about your behavior. Capital One likes to see moderate to heavy utilization to approve increases, but you can do that without posting any balances or carrying charges (paying interest.) I do suggest you pay down your balance BEFORE you request a CLI.
If the card is truly bucketed, it may not matter WHAT you do with the spend-and-pay patterns on the card. Those often will just not grow very well if at all.
In general terms, beyond just Capital One-specific, lenders often like to see at least some usage of a credit limit to approve a higher limit. And they will also take into account your payment history with them. But they will also consider your overall credit profile, FICO, aggregate utilization, new credit seeking behavior, and other factors. For example, CITI gives easy CLIs every six months but they are known for denying those when they see too much credit seeking.
You might get an auto-CLI, but I would just plan to ask for it. I'm not sure I've ever gotten an auto-CLI from them. They normally will give one once every six months. It's a soft pull, automatic results, and easy to do via the mobile app or website.
You're never going to get a high limit on a Capital One account that started with $300 limit because the account is bucketed forever.
If you cycle through the balance several times a month this may spook the lender. Just spend $5-10 on the accoun a month, set it to autopay the full balance, and once you've had it 7-8 months apply for a 2nd card from a better bank.
