can i get advice as to what im doing wrong please?

[ginger1477]

Its been three years since my bankruptcy was completed.  I know will still be on record for another four to seven years (i forget how long chapter 7 stays).  I have since applied for used and cancelled acfew cards until i ended up with nine that i have open.  I only use my capital one and target cards.  I also do a teeny tiny itsy bitsy purchase my barclay nfl card to prevent it from closing.  I make sure i never charge what i cant afford and i pay in full every month with partial payments to my capital one whenever the balance exceeds 400, so i usually end up with no more than 400 reporting for capital one and 150 for target.  Im just getting disappointed that im not getting cli on a lot of cards.  The reasons usually list my bankruptcy as a reason.  How long is that gonna go on?  shouldnt my history after bankruptcy count for something?

My credit card limits are as follows: capitalone 1250, target 1400, merrick 1400, pottery barn 1500, bestbuy mastercard 500, walmart 500, barclay 500, usbank secured 300, and marathon 250.  

I have not apped for anything since june 2013 but before that i was like addicted to apping.  According to credit karma i have about 35 inquries, with around twenty falling off this year and ten next year.  I am no longer interested in applying for new credit, infact i might close a couple of what already have.  I just wanna know if anyone who had a similar history was able to get increases.  So far the only ones that have increased have been capital one 500 to 1250, target 200 to 1400, and merrick, 700 to 1400.  

My oldest card is capital one at two years and eleven months.  The newest is marathon at six months.

[john398]

I am confused you say you no longer are apping but say the reason for decline list your bankruptcy as a reason

Anyway some companies will not give any cards to someone who has a bankruptcy showing

[coldnmn]

It takes time patience is the key now. Bankruptcy is a huge red flag. You are fortunate to have the cards you do so close to your bankruptcy. Not applying and looking desperate for credit is the thing to do now for your current creditors to be willing to give you CLI. It's going to be a journey not a race.

[ginger1477]

So sorry everyone who got confused, but the thing with recent bankruptcy being an issue isnt for new apps, its been given as a reason for denial of credit line increase.

[indiolatino61]

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@ginger1477 wrote:

Its been three years since my bankruptcy was completed.  I know will still be on record for another four to seven years (i forget how long chapter 7 stays).  I have since applied for used and cancelled acfew cards until i ended up with nine that i have open.  I only use my capital one and target cards.  I also do a teeny tiny itsy bitsy purchase my barclay nfl card to prevent it from closing.  I make sure i never charge what i cant afford and i pay in full every month with partial payments to my capital one whenever the balance exceeds 400, so i usually end up with no more than 400 reporting for capital one and 150 for target.  Im just getting disappointed that im not getting cli on a lot of cards.  The reasons usually list my bankruptcy as a reason.  How long is that gonna go on?  shouldnt my history after bankruptcy count for something?

My credit card limits are as follows: capitalone 1250, target 1400, merrick 1400, pottery barn 1500, bestbuy mastercard 500, walmart 500, barclay 500, usbank secured 300, and marathon 250.  

I have not apped for anything since june 2013 but before that i was like addicted to apping.  According to credit karma i have about 35 inquries, with around twenty falling off this year and ten next year.  I am no longer interested in applying for new credit, infact i might close a couple of what already have.  I just wanna know if anyone who had a similar history was able to get increases.  So far the only ones that have increased have been capital one 500 to 1250, target 200 to 1400, and merrick, 700 to 1400.  

My oldest card is capital one at two years and eleven months.  The newest is marathon at six months.

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Just do what you're already doing and bide your time. Once your BK ages, you will see results. Lenders hate BK's, so it's just a matter of time and patience. IMO, just the fact that Cap1 gave you a CLI, and Target even more so, shows you are going in the right direction. What I'd LOVE to know is how you got a CLI from stingy Target...lol? I am sitting at the same $200 for over a year now...!

[FinStar]

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@indiolatino61 wrote:

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@ginger1477 wrote:

Its been three years since my bankruptcy was completed.  I know will still be on record for another four to seven years (i forget how long chapter 7 stays).  I have since applied for used and cancelled acfew cards until i ended up with nine that i have open.  I only use my capital one and target cards.  I also do a teeny tiny itsy bitsy purchase my barclay nfl card to prevent it from closing.  I make sure i never charge what i cant afford and i pay in full every month with partial payments to my capital one whenever the balance exceeds 400, so i usually end up with no more than 400 reporting for capital one and 150 for target.  Im just getting disappointed that im not getting cli on a lot of cards.  The reasons usually list my bankruptcy as a reason.  How long is that gonna go on?  shouldnt my history after bankruptcy count for something?

My credit card limits are as follows: capitalone 1250, target 1400, merrick 1400, pottery barn 1500, bestbuy mastercard 500, walmart 500, barclay 500, usbank secured 300, and marathon 250.  

I have not apped for anything since june 2013 but before that i was like addicted to apping.  According to credit karma i have about 35 inquries, with around twenty falling off this year and ten next year.  I am no longer interested in applying for new credit, infact i might close a couple of what already have.  I just wanna know if anyone who had a similar history was able to get increases.  So far the only ones that have increased have been capital one 500 to 1250, target 200 to 1400, and merrick, 700 to 1400.  

My oldest card is capital one at two years and eleven months.  The newest is marathon at six months.

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Just do what you're already doing and bide your time. Once your BK ages, you will see results. Lenders hate BK's, so it's just a matter of time and patience. IMO, just the fact that Cap1 gave you a CLI, and Target even more so, shows you are going in the right direction. What I'd LOVE to know is how you got a CLI from stingy Target...lol? I am sitting at the same $200 for over a year now...!

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+1

You are already doing the right things by using your cards responsibly and paying on time.  Additionally, some have exhibited some growth since you got approved.  3 years out of BK is still relatively fresh.  The bottom line, while lenders may have let you in the door, the BK (which is still a heavy weight on your file) can hinder some growth on your cards.  Ch 7 will stay on your CRs for 10 years, so it will be a while before you start seeing some decent growth on some of those cards due to the overall presence of that derogatory mark on your file.  As your BK ages and doesn't present much of a risk for some lenders then those CLIs can eventually happen at some point.  With BK, you're just going to have to exercise patience.  Time is going to be your best friend.

[Luscher]

Don't apply for any new credit, including increases, let inquiries fall off and accounts age. Also pay in full and on time. Thats about all you can do. That BK is hurting your score the most, when that falls off you will have a huge bump in your score.

[martinkk]

I went though the same thing for several years and I think what you are doing wrong is letting the balances report and paying the bill off each month after the statements post to the credit bureaus. You see..since you charge about the same amount every month, those balances post and then you pay them off. Cap1 and Target know what is going on, but to all the other lenders it looks as if you keep that balance on a day-to-day basis. This is what I would do....this month pay both cards (and any others that have a balance on them) to zero BEFORE the statements cut. This way your utility will report as zero. You may even get a little score jump from paying them off. Then, every month after that, pay off all but one card before the statements cut and leave a small balance (less than 10% of credit limit) on ONE CARD ONLY. This usually helps your score climb a little higher than it is now and outside lenders can see both that you use your cards AND you pay them off every month. Especially if you rotate the card that you leave the small balance on somewhat. Good luck. It is frustrating, Iknow. I've been there and this is how I turned it around quickly after doing what you've been doing for over 5  years. In the last 3 years, I've gone from 1500 to 94,400 in available credit and I started the upward spiral like this.

[john398]

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@ginger1477 wrote:

So sorry everyone who got confused, but the thing with recent bankruptcy being an issue isnt for new apps, its been given as a reason for denial of credit line increase.

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oh ok I understyand better now

[takeshi74]

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@ginger1477 wrote:

The reasons usually list my bankruptcy as a reason. 

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Seems pretty straightforward to me.  Nothing to do until that falls off.  Been there myself so be prepared to hang in for the long run.  Keep things in order and you'll be in good shape when it does fall off.  Some creditors may ease up over time before it falls off.

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@ginger1477 wrote:

I just wanna know if anyone who had a similar history was able to get increases.

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Sure but they were small and further apart.  You're doing well considering your situation.

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@ginger1477 wrote:

So sorry everyone who got confused, but the thing with recent bankruptcy being an issue isnt for new apps, its been given as a reason for denial of credit line increase.

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Doesn't matter.  Either way you're asking a creditor to extend you credit that you did not previously have.  BK will matter for both new apps and CLI's.

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@martinkk wrote:

I went though the same thing for several years and I think what you are doing wrong is letting the balances report and paying the bill off each month after the statements post to the credit bureaus. You see..since you charge about the same amount every month, those balances post and then you pay them off. Cap1 and Target know what is going on, but to all the other lenders it looks as if you keep that balance on a day-to-day basis.

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Doesn't seem like an issue unless a creditor states that balances are an issue.  OP is indicating otherwise as far as I can tell.  Micromanagement of utilization probably won't matter much until the BK ages/falls off.