Need some clarification on the terms you are all using in here

[Diamondsforme08]

Can someone please help me here...I am still getting used to th credit lingo and have been reading various post and some of this lingo I did not know. 

1. ) what does hitting the luv button mean? - someone talked about it when requesting a credit limit increase

2.) How does gardening help? I have never been the planting (nor green thumb) type. Not sure why this could help credit. Not unless this is just a hobby so we don't think about credit cards

3.) when people ask for data points what are the asking for?

Thanks Everyone

I will get there soon and understand eventually. 

[thornback]

Hello, welcome to the forums!

1. Luv button is what we call CLI (credit limit increase) requests. Most creditors offer the option of requesting a CLI through their websites.

2. (This is so cute..) Gardening refers to taking a time out from opening new accounts so to allow your young accounts to age, inquiries to become unscorable or fall off, and any negatives to age, so your scores may rise. You garden to allow the seeds you've planted grow. Most people garden for at least 6 months, some a full year, others much longer. It depends on your profile.

3. Data points are your credit stats: FICO scores, number of cards, utilization, AAoA, etc. The more info you are able to provide, the better. It allows folks to determine if a pattern exists for approval chances, score changes, what one may need to do to improve their scores, etc.

Enjoy your credit journey!

[blindambition]

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@Diamondsforme08 wrote:

Can someone please help me here...I am still getting used to th credit lingo and have been reading various post and some of this lingo I did not know. 

1. ) what does hitting the luv button mean? - someone talked about it when requesting a credit limit increase

2.) How does gardening help? I have never been the planting (nor green thumb) type. Not sure why this could help credit. Not unless this is just a hobby so we don't think about credit cards

3.) when people ask for data points what are the asking for?

Thanks Everyone

I will get there soon and understand eventually. 

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Welcome to the forum. I’m attaching a thread with most common abbreviations and acronyms.   

[Anonymous]

Hello & welcome. In order:

1) The luv button is the online request "credit line increase" link at any lender's website. One inputs some small amount of information, pushes a button, and hopes for some "luv" backl from the lender via more spending power and, thus, validation as a consumer of lending products.

2) Credit "gardening", much like its natural counterpart, makes use of fallow time. Constant credit seeking has an adverse affect on one's credit scores. Allowing the existing accounts to mature has a positive affect on one's credit-worthiness. There is much written here on this topic and in great detail.

3) Data points are relevent information affecting a credit decision. For instance Joe Smithe starts a thread staing he applied for a Discover IT card and was approved for 14.5K. Good for Joe. But what useful information can a reader pull from his post? Nothing. Now, had Joe Smithe included some DPs such as Fico scores, the credit bureau hard pulled for his approval, prior relationship with Disco (or other lenders), income, bankruptcy history, etc -- any detail he feels was relative to underwriting his approval, and feels comfortable sharing -- now his post becomes quite valuable to those studying Discover and considering their own approval odds. 

[blindambition]

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

[UpperNwGuy]

The expression "luv button" is one of the worst characteristics of this forum.  People here get emotionally involved with banks and think that banks actually "luv" them if they grant a credit line increase.  I hate this expression because the idea that a bank "luvs" a cardholder is pure fantasy.  Getting credit should be a coldly rational process without any emotion -- because, guess what, that's how the banks view it.  Talking about "luv buttons" is like a nerdy kid feeling all good inside because he thought the homecoming queen might have smiled at him in a crowded high school hallway.

[kilroy8]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

The expression "luv button" is one of the worst characteristics of this forum.  People here get emotionally involved with banks and think that banks actually "luv" them if they grant a credit line increase.  I hate this expression because the idea that a bank "luvs" a cardholder is pure fantasy.  Getting credit should be a coldly rational process without any emotion -- because, guess what, that's how the banks view it.  Talking about "luv buttons" is like a nerdy kid feeling all good inside because he thought the homecoming queen might have smiled at him in a crowded high school hallway.

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Oh, ease up. There's a whole category of jargon built around this:

"Citi showed me some SP luv ..."

"Disco don't luv me any more ..."

"Need some Lowe's luv for my new fridge .."

And she didn't smile at you ... she smiled at me. 

[UncleB]

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@Diamondsforme08 wrote:

Can someone please help me here...I am still getting used to th credit lingo and have been reading various post and some of this lingo I did not know. 

1. ) what does hitting the luv button mean? - someone talked about it when requesting a credit limit increase

2.) How does gardening help? I have never been the planting (nor green thumb) type. Not sure why this could help credit. Not unless this is just a hobby so we don't think about credit cards

3.) when people ask for data points what are the asking for?

Thanks Everyone

I will get there soon and understand eventually. 

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Hi @Diamondsforme08, and welcome to myFICO!

It looks like your questions have been well-addressed, but I'll provide a link to this month's Garden Club thread for good measure.  The very first post further explains how we use the term 'gardening' around here. 

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Personal-Finance/Garden-Club-November-2018/td-p/5397147

[Diamondsforme08]

Wow. Who would of thought there was so much to credit. Thanks everyone who shared. I am going to read those links and maybe one day I will have it all down.

[Jen-Jen]

The way I think of it is like pulling a slot machine and saying "come on gimme some luv!". U pull the lever hoping to win some money, similar to pushing the cli button and hoping some $ comes out, its just in the form of credit...