Hey all! I have been lurking mostly due to busy holiday times that have cut into my credit knowledge seeking endeavors. Now that my shopping is done (Yay!) I have been contemplating my situation and paths to take. I am very proud of myself, I have been saving a amount every month in prep for Christmas. Now it has arrived and I had all the funds ready in my account. I did my shopping and paid with CC's for protection and have the funds saved to pay them off when the bill arrives. It felt so good not to be in a crimp or stressing on how to pay for my kiddo's Christmas this year. I have however been a bit naughty this Christmas season. We went to a new Kohl's that opened near our town and they were having a wonderful sale. I got a few gifts on my list and when I got to the checkout I was asked if I wanted to apply for a Kohl's card and I could get 15% off if I did. There were people behind me and I really debated it for a bit. I knew they pull Exp which is my Satan report and I had heard they were kinda hard to get. Since the CU's I plan to get in good with next April only pull Equifax I succumbed to temptation and said okay. Then I stressed thinking they would tell me No! Go Away! and the people behind me would witness it. She puts the info in, I answer some Q's and then she says theres a issue & she has to call. I'm turning red with embarressment just knowing it was a decline. She turns back to me and says congratulations! Your approved for 300.00 CL. (Ok limit sucks but I love that store!) Thud!! Ok I'm happy for abit, then mad because I told myself no apps till I apply with Penfed and NASA in April. Ok so I will just get back on the wagon and trudge ahead. So this gets me to thinking about my cards and limits. I haven't ask for or received any CLI on any of them. Do they do hard pulls when assessing you for a CLI? I was thinking about asking a few but don't want any inquiries. These are my cards in question: I have 2 that are nearly a year old Orchard, 300CL, 49 dollar AF. I will be calling them and ask for the AF to be waived or else I will close it. Target Redcard 200CL I would like to ask for a CLI will they pull a hard? These are over 6 monthes old now: Old Navy 450CL Walmart 800CL Visa Plat 700CL I have heard higher limits are good for your credit although I don't even use the limits I have. My scores are recovering, Equifax FICO is 664 at present. Hoping to hit 700 even with the old Chapter 7 from 2002. Anyways I am just confused about CLI's and whether it's a soft or hard pull? Any advice is much appreciated, as always! Tegleg
Walmart and Old Navy are underwritten by GE Money Bank thus, there will be no hard inquiry. Register the card online and you can request a CLI every day if you want. Typically, the give CLI per your request every four months. I can't speak to your VISA Platinum because you don't convey who underwrites it. I don't beleive Target does a hard but, they pull EQ. Your scores are a little low there and they're stingy. You can try though. HSBC; i.e., Orchard, won't pull a hard pull but, will only give you 100.00. Still, consider keeping it open "if" it is your oldest, open account. Yes, higher limits are beneficial to your scores insofar as they can act to offset any delinquencies in terms of utilization. Finally, do you know that you can remove inquiries from Equifax and Trans Union? You may want to look more into that subject if it is a problem for you. Also, with you're scores, you can do better than the accounts you currently have. Not saying to close them but, you can apply for better products such as those found advertised by the board.
Thank you Apex! Yes I know about "b" I suscribe to privacymatters and was doing daily pulls until people started getting axed for "attempts to tamper with the credit reporting system" so I have backed off to pulling every couple of days. I do all my card pays online. Except Valero as I don't think they have one lol. Thats good news about WM & ON as they are now 6 monthes old. I will ask for a CLI on both since they don't pull hards. I won't attempt Target since they pull Equifax. I am wanting no Equifax pulls since that is the one the 2 CU's pull that I want to app to next year. My Visa plat is HSBC too. Does that mean they will only give 100 too? Still if they won't pull a hard I may ask on both the Visa and the Orchard. The rest of my accts are less than 6 monthes old. Sams club LOC 1200CL Kohl's 300CL Futuretrust MC 500CL (crazy Juny) Valero 400CL Thanks for the info! It is much appreciated! I am done with apps I should'nt have gotton the Kohl's but I did /blush. At least it was an Exp pull. BTW I have found out Kohl's is backed by Chase? Chase bought my mortgage 6 monthes ago. But I included a Chase acct in BK in 2002. I was surprised they approved me for the Kohl's. Wonder if the Chase Freedom might be a possibility later down the line? Tegleg
I think Apex was referring to the "net" FICO score effect. That any "deliquencies" currently on her report, thus pulling her score down, could be offset by increased utilization, and the positive effect on the score. Since the two categories are weighted very close, a "deliquencies" negative score effect can be offset by utilization improvement. I think this "scoring offset" was what Apex was communicating.
But the phrase used was "delinquencies in terms of utilization." Doesn't make sense. The word deficiencies, in its place, does. What is a delinquency in terms of utilization? An example, please?
I think only the commas are missing: "Yes, higher limits are beneficial to your scores, insofar as they can act to offset any delinquencies, in terms of utilization."
I'm talking about "delinquent" balances and how higher credit limits could bring those into an ideal range overall in terms of utilization.
