The real way to get CLI's fast and big??

[MikeyMagic]

I've read lots of threads on here that say to Pay In Full your credit card balance a couple of days before the statement date and do that for all your credit cards except for 1 that you leave a small balance showing. Even if not doing AZEO I was under the impression leave only a couple of your cards with a small balance to keep the utilization under 10%, maybe even under 5%.

BUT BUT BUT now I am hearing and reading that to get a CLI quicker and bigger - let your balance on all the card you want a CLI show lots of spend to the bureaus, don't Pay In Full at all even if the utilization is super high. And then after the statement date Pay In Full by the due date. And this should be applied to the credit card you want to get a CLI on. That way the credit card companies like Chase or Discover for example can see you're using the card a lot and then PIF by the due date. And who cares about what the utilization shows after the statement date because as long as you're not applying for more credit cards or a loan or mortgage, it will go way down anyways once the balance is Paid In Full. And doing this will help get a CLI faster and bigger and a better amount.

So please which is true? Which option gets me a CLI quicker and bigger?

Thanks so much.

[Jnbmom]

There is no quick  or "real" way to get high CLIs. Use your cards responsibly, never pay late. Use your limit and pay it off this shows you can handle your account .the bureaus reporting your balances have nothing to do with getting a CLI, it's your internal record with the particular lender.

You mentioned Discover and Cap One, Disco loves to see spend and will grant increases based on that as well as Cap One . Your score and income play a part as well as your overall credit file .

Building your or rebuilding is not a race and it takes time , responsible use of the cards you have and patience .

[Horseshoez]

In addition to what @Jnbmom says, if you suddenly have high balances on all of your cards report, your scores will take a pretty good whack, maybe 40 points or more, and that will not bode well for a CLI of any sort, much less a high CLI.

FWIW, the two cards I've gotten unrequested CLIs on, my TDBank TDCash card and my CapOne Quicksilver card, have both had heavy usage, and both been paid in full every month, before the statement cut.  In both cases, the unrequested CLIs have resulted in more than doubling the limit of each card.

[Jnbmom]

@Horseshoez   I agree yes if all your cards report maxed out not good on score or when creditors review your reports . Just put heavy spend and pay before statement cuts . Creditors have internal records to see your spend and how you handle and pay that's what they base it off of , not what the bureaus show but yes you don't want all maxed out balances which will lower your scores .

[pizzadude]

You're ignoring other things that factor into a lender's CLI underwriting that are specifc to you:   income, credit history, other credit limits, available credit, recent credit seeking / inquiries, recent use of your credit, etc...   Also items that are not in your control will factor into the decision:  current economic conditions, interest rates / fiscal policies, mercury in retrograde,etc...

There is no real and fast answer, sorry. 

[Thomas_Thumb]

The best way to get "quick" CLIs with Discover is to call and ask, request on-line or do both. I did that back in 2015/2016 at 6 month intervals and received $21k in increases (all SP). The prior 10 years I had $0 CLI. Often times you have to ask.

If you don't like the CLI amount offered thru a SP,  you can ask for a specific higher amount. However, that will trigger a HP. As reference point my spend with Discover is typically $1500/mo +/- $500. I let all charges report on statements and then PIF.

I initiated some SP CLIs on my Citi AT&T Universal Mastercard as well.  A couple other of my cards only offered HP CLIs. In those cases be bold with a CLI request. They can always come back with a lesser amount.

[MikeyMagic]

Thanks to all that replied. 

So bottom line then, is there ANY benefit to showing a maxed out credit card to the bureaus on the statement date and then Paying In Full before the due date? Or is that just stupid to do?

[Horseshoez]

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@MikeyMagic wrote:

Thanks to all that replied. 

So bottom line then, is there ANY benefit to showing a maxed out credit card to the bureaus on the statement date and then Paying In Full before the due date? Or is that just stupid to do?

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I believe it is seriously counter-productive to show high utilizations to the credit bureaus.  Yeah, it will happen every now and again and long term won't hurt you, but on an individual month's basis, the score hit could be significant, and provide zero benefit to the upside.

[MikeyMagic]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@MikeyMagic wrote:

Thanks to all that replied. 

So bottom line then, is there ANY benefit to showing a maxed out credit card to the bureaus on the statement date and then Paying In Full before the due date? Or is that just stupid to do?

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I believe it is seriously counter-productive to show high utilizations to the credit bureaus.  Yeah, it will happen every now and again and long term won't hurt you, but on an individual month's basis, the score hit could be significant, and provide zero benefit to the upside.

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Awesome thanks for this and I'm glad I asked this question on here for the experts. On reddit so many were saying the opposite.

[markbeiser]

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@MikeyMagic wrote:

Thanks to all that replied. 

So bottom line then, is there ANY benefit to showing a maxed out credit card to the bureaus on the statement date and then Paying In Full before the due date? Or is that just stupid to do?

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ZERO upside to it, and actually could trigger the opposite of your goal.
Suddenly popping up with very high utilization % on one or more cards will lower your credit scores significantly, and has the potential to trigger CLDs, balance chasing, and even outright cancelation of credit lines by some lenders.