Discover is an odd duck. Some people use the crap out of their cards and barely get any CLI. Others hardly use their card and get CLI like candy on Halloween. Honestly, it's a YMMV.
So my question is, will waiting for the statement cut and then PIF allow the high balance to report or will it report at zero? If the statement cuts with the higher balance, that is what reports to the CRAs. Don't do this if you can help it, since it drops your FICO score depending on you utilization.
Or, should I not even PIF and leave like a $20 balance? Or should I just PIF now and not let the statement cut with the large balance? You can pay multiple times and leave a small balance, then PIF. Or PIF before the statement cuts. Quite a few people follow the AZEO method to get the maximum FICO score possible. I know you said your goal isn't to maximize your score, but you want to look your FICO best because you never know how they'll make their CLI decision.
@Anonymous wrote:
Also, would it be worth it to try for the CLI after the first month or should I just wait to ask until the 3rd statement (most common time for the 1st Discover CLI).
I noticed in your signature that you have the Students version of the card. You should know that this card only allows the first CLI after the 6th statement rather than the 3rd. But after that, you can request one every month.
All I can say about Discover is that just when we think we somewhat understand how to "game" the Discover system, the rules all change and they appear to give out starting lines and credit line increases seemingly at random. About a year ago, as long as your scores and income supported it, it seemed that you'd either be on their 30 day, 60 day, or 90 day CLI train, and while they may not grant huge increases all the time there would usually be $500 or so at least.
I have high income, a thick and aged squeaky-clean profile, and scores generally in the 730s-740s. I was approved for my card in June 2016 with a $2500 limit (lolwut? I've seen numerous sub-700 approvals for multiples of that lately). Because I originally got the card expecting a large credit line and planned to use it for balance transfers, I started immediately using it and planned to hit the credit limit, pay it, hit the credit limit again, and pay it enough to generate a statement in the 20+% utilization range just before the statement cut. So there I went using it, and that $15,000 balance transfer I had entered when I apped and assumed they just ignored since the SL was so low? Yeah, a partial $1000 or so of it hit the account a few weeks in and they reported my account and balance to the CRAs mid-cycle with like 96% utilization. Ouch!
So anyway, I charged thousands through it the first couple of statements, and then when I asked for a CLI in September (after being denied the first two months), they gave me $3000, bringing it to $5500. Not a bad CLI, but certainly not what I was looking for. I tried every month and I was certainly on the 90 day train since I got $500 in both December and March. I stopped using the card for any purchases that were not in the 5% categories about that time, but did generally max out the 5% categories. No love for me at all for six months, and then in September they finally gave me another $1500, bringing it up to $8000.
That was a little longer than I planned the story to be, but Discover criteria is seemingly random for CLIs. The best advice seems to be to just use it as you would any other card, ideally keeping it under 30% utilization and always paying in full each month. With patience it should grow, but perhaps not as fast as you'd like. And sometimes you get a $7k CLI in one shot like my wife.
@Anonymous wrote:
@mkhan1093 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Also, would it be worth it to try for the CLI after the first month or should I just wait to ask until the 3rd statement (most common time for the 1st Discover CLI).
I noticed in your signature that you have the Students version of the card. You should know that this card only allows the first CLI after the 6th statement rather than the 3rd. But after that, you can request one every month.
Can someone point me to literature for this?
Also, does that mean it will hurt me to request after three or will it just be pointless?
1) I talked about it with a CSR b/c I also have the Students version
2) It would be pointless but you can try, maybe they changed it