Increasing credit limits to help score?

[Anonymous]

Hi, just joined this site today under the 30 day free trial.  Dunno if I will keep the account for the yearly subscription.

Anyway, just got my EQ FICO score and it was 791.  A little disappointing cause in 2005 it was 811 (I had 1 late payment on a BOA credit card since then).

My question is - I really wanna get it above 800 again.  Don't ask me why - it's just because I'm freakin "a"-retentive!  I was wondering if increasing the credit limit on 1 or more of my credit cards would help my score?  Or will it be detrimental?  I don't carry a balance on any of my cards even though I use them almost exclusively for paying for almost everything.  I generally submit about 4-5 online payments/mo for each card.  Again, remember, I'm "a"-retentive.

Thanks for any help!  Feel free to tell me I'm crazy - i already know it!  

Message Edited by buster71 on 07-20-2009 02:18 PM

[pattycake]

You're already in the most desirable credit score bucket, but if your UTIL is down to 1% or less, it's not likely that increasing your CL's will help you.

Ask your creditor to GW the one late payment, which will likely take you back over 800.  Again, at 791, it won't make any difference if you applying for a loan or another CC.   

[Anonymous]

In general, the banks are aggressively reducing customers credit limits, so the odds are against getting a CLI, depending on the bank involved. Some will request a reasonwhy you are requesting the CLI, and improving your score is not an answer they are looking for.

Worse, some banks will use a CLI request or other communication as an opportunity to review your accounts, which may result in adverse action. One person recently asked BOA for a CLI (same reason, trying to bump up his score), and BOA ended up closing his account instead, and also balance-chased his HELOC ...

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.  I figured it wouldn't be good to call for an increase in credit limit without a good reason.  Since I usually pay for any charges a few days after making them, I wouldn't even be able to give them a reasonable explanation why I was requesting an increase.

I was wondering - would it be better to pay my credit cards only once a month, before the due date, or am I better off paying on a weekly basis, as I am doing now?  

I bought my TU FICO score.  It was 766, compared to 791 with EQ.  Big disparity?

The reason why I'm more concerned about my FICO now is that I anticipate applying for a mortgage in the next few months and want to get my score as high as possible.  Also want to avoid any behavior that may send my score downward.

Thanks for the help! 

[JoeBJay20]

No, it's not uncommon to see score variance of up to 100 points or more between two reports.  Your reports probably don't have identical information, and each bureau has its own unique FICO scoring algorithm.  Chances are low that the scores will ever be identical.  That being said, once you get to 760, any score increase beyond that is meaningless.  That's the top scoring bracket, in terms of credit, there is no difference between a 761 score and an 849 score.  If you continue to pay on time and keep your utilization low your scores should remain high.