@Anonymous wrote:SJ, what's the longest period of time you've gone without giving Discover a single swipe? What the largest spend you've given them in a cycle? What's your reported high balance and what percentage is that of your CL?
I have no idea, BBS, it's been almost 3 years and I've tried every method. Believe me.
The only method I haven't tried is putting it in the sock drawer. I use the card every month.
@arkane wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Remedios wrote:I think maybe they also consider usage outside the 5% (w/wo) cashback match. Maybe those who use it outside those categories see higher CLIs as it indicates higher future usage (daily driver) and not just for the bonus.
Like BBS said, they might be trying to entice those who do not have a lot of cards to choose from.
@Anonymous of the brief 'gravy train' period, which lasted a year or less, Discover CLI's became a big subject on the MyFICO Forum. The Discover CLI thread started by @baller4life was huge fun. It was strictly because of that thread that I got a Discover card. But the gravy train ended right around the time I got my card, and since then I have seen countless theories as to how to optimize one's chances of getting a CLI from Discover, and countless examples of CLI's which defied every theory. Some people got huge CLI's from sock-drawering the card, some by using it heavily for purchases, some by using it regularly but lightly. Some people got good CLI's from using the balance transfer offers. Sometimes it seemed like a TU FICO 8 of 740 or so was the magic door, regardless of usage.
Others got nothing good, like myself, despite trying out everything.
It's my lowest credit limit credit card.
I've come to the conclusion, after reading countless posts and data points, and trying out pretty much every tactic... that there simply is no tactic, because there is no 'policy'. There's just the monkeys.
In your case, I'd just use the card for the 5% and not swipe one penny extra on anything that doesn't earn 5%. Quid pro quo I say.
Good idea.
@CA4Closure wrote:Capital One $4,500 Currently Zero balance (This is the card that has a $5.00 a month membership fee)
Capital One Quick Silver $10,000 Currently Zero balance.
Discover Card $7,400 Zero Balance
Chevron Visa $2,500 Zero Balance
Citi Costco $8,000 $300 balanceChase Freedom Visa $2,500 Zero Balance
Shell Oil $1,000 Zero Balance
Unocal 76 $2,000 $145 balance.
I would say your revolving utilization is totally optimized.
@Anonymous wrote:Thanks bud. How much do you spend typically on your credit cards?
Even if you spend 3k each month (I spend a lot less and my income is over 100k) your current total credit limit is enough so that your utilization should be < 9% at all times. That may indicate that your anxiety over CLIs is misplaced. Just relax, stop pinging your issuers for CLIs for the next 18 months, and do other things: go to the gym, make good food, watch good movies, read good books, hang out with friends, etc. At some point your bad stuff will all fall off and you can return to asking a few issuers for a CLI.
PS. Have you explored seeing if you can get a product change from the card that involves a fee to one which does not?
Does hanging out around here count as "other things"? 
@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:I have no idea, BBS, it's been almost 3 years and I've tried every method. Believe me.
The only method I haven't tried is putting it in the sock drawer. I use the card every month.
It seems you haven't tried everything if you've been using the card every month. People have reported a CLI from Discover that weren't getting anything after not using the card for several months. The "tough love" method definitely resulted in a CLI for me once. I'd suggest throwing it in the SD for a quarter, perhaps whichever quarter the rotating categories don't align well with your spend. Then, request a CLI before you take it out of the SD and see what happens. If nothing, take it out for a swipe, let you statement cut with that swipe on it and request a CLI again right after Discover reports and your FICO score gets updated on the account.
Yes I will try that one of these days.