@Anonymous wrote:
Hi all, I have a question about utilization, and I'm warning you, it's stupid question but I'm really new to the credit world and am not sure how it all works. Anyway, I recently got a Capital One Platinum card with a $300 limit. I would eventually like a CLI, and I've heard that Capital One likes you to use your card often and pay it off on time. But my scores will presumably suffer with so much utilization. So, my question is, if I used the card a lot but paid off what I used right away, like, purchase by purchase several times a month, will that make it so my utilization is lower? Thanks so much.
My first card was BoA and 500 limit, so what I do is charge and pay twice per month making sure I'm at zero balance before the statement cut. It's a pain, but you do get the hang of it. From what I've read at least Capital One will increase after five months provided you've done a good job at handling your card, where as with. BoA it looks like they wait a year, sometimes longer and they do a hard inquiry. Thankfully I now have a much higher limit with Chase Freedom, so now BoA is used just for gas. With your scores you should to Chase prequalification site and see if you get in. They are pretty accurate.
