Hey, NewWorldMan, perhaps you have this problem too, that seems rather impossible to solve -- one of the things myFico says is hurting my credit, is credit limits that are too low. TU (Fico) states that I have too few trade lines or the limits are too small, and that I should consider obtaining more credit. Equifax advises against this. Experian was fairly satisfied with my credit limits and utilizations, but they're the one's my bank uses, BOA, that said no. I can't do anything, right now, of course, with this dispute going on and my scores down ... But do you think when they're up that I might be able to call BOA (never been late or maxed out, though I'm using around 60-65 percent) and threaten to cancel in order to get a credit limit increase? I really don't want another card. First Premier didn't approve me for a second increase, but approved me for an additional card. Why do I want two cards from the people? Two interest payments to one place? No way!
So tell me the solution to this, NWM.
Thanks.
MercyMe wrote:I can't do anything, right now, of course, with this dispute going on and my scores down ... But do you think when they're up that I might be able to call BOA (never been late or maxed out, though I'm using around 60-65 percent) and threaten to cancel in order to get a credit limit increase? I really don't want another card. First Premier didn't approve me for a second increase, but approved me for an additional card. Why do I want two cards from the people? Two interest payments to one place? No way!So tell me the solution to this, NWM.Thanks.
The problem you're going to face is your utilization level is too high. In order for your threat to cancel to be credible, you've got to get your utilization down to 0 to 20%. Otherwise, they're going to assume you're bluffing. When your utilization is moderate or high, they assume if you were in a position to jettison the card, you would have paid it off already.
The exception is if you call and tell them you're going to balance-transfer to a new 0% card. But the lower your utilization is, the more credible your cancellation threat becomes. If you've got a CL of $5000 and a balance of $178, they're going to figure that's chump change and you could easily follow through. OTOH if your balance is $3,751 and hasn't dropped below 2 Gs or so for your last four or five billing cycles, they're likely to figure you can't do without the card.
