Tip for getting CLI with Capital One, or any CCC

[unknown_entity]

I never got the letter myself about the promotion.  The only thing I've gotten from Capital One in the mail lately is a 30k auto loan offer   But with Cap One, you may notice on your CR that they do a LOAD of "soft pulls". That's their software compiling info on your history.  The CSR that I spoke with said that the best thing you can do to get CLI's and upgrades is to swipe the card.  What most people don't realize is this:  If you have a 2k limit that shows a 0 balance and you've only ever used 500 of it, you are not going to get the same credit score or consideration for upgrades as the person who has the same 2k card, with a 0 balance and a reporting high balance of 1800.  Bottom line, the CCC's like it when you use all of your CL and repay it, so does your credit score!! 

 

[Anonymous]

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unknown_entity wrote:

I never got the letter myself about the promotion.  The only thing I've gotten from Capital One in the mail lately is a 30k auto loan offer   But with Cap One, you may notice on your CR that they do a LOAD of "soft pulls". That's their software compiling info on your history.  The CSR that I spoke with said that the best thing you can do to get CLI's and upgrades is to swipe the card.  What most people don't realize is this:  If you have a 2k limit that shows a 0 balance and you've only ever used 500 of it, you are not going to get the same credit score or consideration for upgrades as the person who has the same 2k card, with a 0 balance and a reporting high balance of 1800.  Bottom line, the CCC's like it when you use all of your CL and repay it, so does your credit score!! 

 

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I won't speak to what Cap1 may or may not like, but FICO doesn't care one way or another what the high balance is on a card (as long as the CL is reporting properly).  There is no "historical utilization" aspect to FICO scoring.  All else equal, running a card up to 90% and paying it down to 9% will result in the same FICO score as running it up to 10% and paying it down to 9%.

[unknown_entity]

Interersting.  So if two people who have the same score initially get 3 identical credit cards.  Cardholder A:   charges nothing for a year and has a 0 balance.  Cardholder B:  charges all year and pays off the balances to 0.  They are both going to still have the same score? 

[Anonymous]

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unknown_entity wrote:

Interersting.  So if two people who have the same score initially get 3 identical credit cards.  Cardholder A:   charges nothing for a year and has a 0 balance.  Cardholder B:  charges all year and pays off the balances to 0.  They are both going to still have the same score? 

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Yes, as long as Cardholder A's cards continue to report as often as Cardholder B's.

All else equal (which is an important caveat), two cardholders with the same current utilization will have the same FICO score, even if their utilization was different at some point in the past.

[creditninja9000]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@unknown_entity wrote:

I never got the letter myself about the promotion. The only thing I've gotten from Capital One in the mail lately is a 30k auto loan offer But with Cap One, you may notice on your CR that they do a LOAD of "soft pulls". That's their software compiling info on your history. The CSR that I spoke with said that the best thing you can do to get CLI's and upgrades is to swipe the card. What most people don't realize is this: If you have a 2k limit that shows a 0 balance and you've only ever used 500 of it, you are not going to get the same credit score or consideration for upgrades as the person who has the same 2k card, with a 0 balance and a reporting high balance of 1800. Bottom line, the CCC's like it when you use all of your CL and repay it, so does your credit score!!

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I won't speak to what Cap1 may or may not like, but FICO doesn't care one way or another what the high balance is on a card (as long as the CL is reporting properly). There is no "historical utilization" aspect to FICO scoring. All else equal, running a card up to 90% and paying it down to 9% will result in the same FICO score as running it up to 10% and paying it down to 9%.

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I can't say much about the scoring but across all of my cards, the exception probably being my USBank card (took them about a year and a half to do much of anything), my CLI usually came right after charging large sums and paying off in big chunks. Like for instance back when I had my Clout Visa card, I charged about 400/600 paid it off in 200, 75, then 75 and then got a increase from 600 to if I remember right 900. Same happened with Cap1. I didn't get far with them charging small amounts, but even if I didn't max out, charging a large amount and paying about 25%-50% of that off at a time, not even in full, is what got my increases. I'm guessing that's their way of seeing that I can handle charging large amounts and paying it back as soon as I can, not just shifting money around, etc..

Message Edited by ejbeasley on 03-25-2008 09:22 PM

[Anonymous]

I can't see how much you charge has to do with CLI.  My hubby has a BoA card (19,700. limit) we hardly every charge over 1500-1800 before i pay it off, but they give him regular increases that we do not ask for.  Vicki

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I can't see how much you charge has to do with CLI. My hubby has a BoA card (19,700. limit) we hardly every charge over 1500-1800 before i pay it off, but they give him regular increases that we do not ask for. Vicki

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I think that there is a difference between card holders like you and your DH, with high scores and long-established histories with a CCC, and those who are pretty new to a CCC and who are still a bit of an unknown quantity.

I asked Citi what I had to do to get a CLI on my Sears MC's whopping $775 CL. They said that I needed to use the card a lot more than I had. So I did, and they froze part of my credit, saying that I had triggering a money-laundering alert (?), but I kept using it, and they removed the freeze. I never let a balance report, but I probably charged 80% or more of the $775 CL each month, and sure enough, I got the CLI. To $1,212.

The CSR was both laughing and embarrassed when he told me. But heavy use did result in a CLI (if you can call it that.) It's in the sock drawer now.

[creditninja9000]

Yeah, and even I'd say charging anything over 200-300 bucks is still a significant amount of money. And if you're paying it back in one large chunk it's still showing the credit, in my opinion, that you manage debt well and can handle having even more credit without going on spree.

I think haulingthescoreup is right about it mattering how old or young the history is also.

[MidnightVoice]

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unknown_entity wrote:

I never got the letter myself about the promotion.  The only thing I've gotten from Capital One in the mail lately is a 30k auto loan offer   But with Cap One, you may notice on your CR that they do a LOAD of "soft pulls". That's their software compiling info on your history.  The CSR that I spoke with said that the best thing you can do to get CLI's and upgrades is to swipe the card.  What most people don't realize is this:  If you have a 2k limit that shows a 0 balance and you've only ever used 500 of it, you are not going to get the same credit score or consideration for upgrades as the person who has the same 2k card, with a 0 balance and a reporting high balance of 1800.  Bottom line, the CCC's like it when you use all of your CL and repay it, so does your credit score!! 

 

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The other thing to remember is that whatever your score or balance, the CCC knows if you use the card.  They prefer people who use it a lot, so they can get the money for use even if not any interest payments