@Anonymous wrote:Hi there,
Another rule of thumb to consider is .. your less likely to be granted a CLI if you routinely show a 0 balance on your card. The Card issuers system will alway register your account as having no usage therefore you will likely be denied a CLI. I learned the hard way doing exactly what you did.
That does not comport with my experience at all. I used to report almost all zero balances and was getting plenty of credit limit increases.
The age old question, how does paying off my bills penalize me? 
Just another FYI I'd like to mention. It's a good idea to place automatic charges on a CC such as Cable bill etc. Then set up auto pay for the min payment on said CC. Just make sure the total balance isn't being paid in full every cycle, statement balances are fine as long as it's not equal or less than. Though this tactic is best for those with several cards and 1-2 in the SD.
Only having one might be easier to just use it and let it report, and then pay all but a small amount.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Hi there,
Another rule of thumb to consider is .. your less likely to be granted a CLI if you routinely show a 0 balance on your card. The Card issuers system will alway register your account as having no usage therefore you will likely be denied a CLI. I learned the hard way doing exactly what you did.
That does not comport with my experience at all. I used to report almost all zero balances and was getting plenty of credit limit increases.
+1
To expand on this, CLI's are almost always dependent on your use of that particular card, and not on what any other lender is doing.
Regardless of what you report to the bureau, the lender who issues the credit card always has full access to the transaction record and that's what CLI's generally are based off of.
The one thing I don't thing I see pointed out here is that you can report a balance which has clearly been stressed to not see the all zero penalty but once reported, pay that balance in full and you will not incur interest charges.
For example your statement cuts on the 24th and reports a balance of $45 as of the 24th or whatever amount to show usage for FICO scoring purposes (just don't exceed any UTL thresholds that could also cause a penalty). This will eliminate the all zero penalty. And after the statement balance or report date balance reports (for FICO scoring purposes) then pay that amount in full after you get your statement. No interest charges to you. You can then subsequently charge items after the 24th (if that's your 'report balance as of' date) and those are considered new charges as long as you paid your previous statement balance in full. Even if that balance account reports a balance sibesquently you paid the previous balance in full, you will not be charged interest/ Rinse and repeat. This is why folks say report something, even a small balance then pay that reported balance in full.
For those of who have more than one card we may use a different card the following month to report a balance (then pay in full) to show usage to the lender of that card.
The lender will see all of your usage, whether reporting zero or paid in full after a small balance reports. That is the component (along with other things) that shows the lender you're using your card and can result in a CLI. FICO scores are a separate factor from your lenders and that's a different game.
As stated for FICO scoring, always report at least a small balance on 1 card to avoid the penalty you received. Your lender doesn't care what you report, only how much you spend on their card.
Lenders - one thing. FICO algorithm for scoring - another thing.
