Quick question: if I ask a credit line issuer to raise my limit, does that count as an inqury against me? TIA, and apologies if I missed that in the FAQ.
If they do a credit report, YES. I ask for them to increase the credit limit "WITH-OUT" a credit report...because it kills my F.I.C.O. score...if they WON'T, I tell them I am not interested any more...and will take my business elsewhere...(I just DON'T use the card for a while)... I went from $900/WEEK to $0/WEEK on DISCOVERCARD because they REFUSED to increase the credit limit and lower the BT rate...AFTER THEY LOST OVER $7,000 IN TWO MONTHS, THEY LOWERED MY BT RATE FROM 9.90% TO 5.90% AND THEY INCREASED THE CREDIT LIMIT $4,000 ALL WITH-OUT A CREDIT REPORT...
I think it varies by creditor, but I am not an expert! George, Good for you! At least you can get a creditor to work with you even if the cb's on't!
Thanks for the replies Follow up: this AM, I checked out Citibank's web site to see what they'd say under "credit line increase." Immedialy, a dialogue box popped up saying, "Congratulations! We can increase your line by $1,500. No credit report was pulled for this analysis." It also gave the option of asking for a bigger increase using an on-line form (I'm assuming that using that would have required pulling a file,) and calling to decrease your line. Very easy and impressive. Kudos to citibank on this.
I wish I had cards that did that...all I have is cards that you must write, call, or fill out a bunch of questions on-line (application)...
What do you mean by "and calling to decrease your line"...DOES THAT MEAN THEY FIND OUT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU OWE AND FIND SOMETHING BAD ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT, AND THEN THEY CUT YOUR CREDIT LIMIT, AND YOU DON'T GET THE $1,500??? Did you accept the $1,500???
I just tried this on my Citibank card. I got a message saying sorry, we cannot increase your credit at this time based on your TU report which states you have high balances. We will send you a letter and you can get your TU report. I think I just wasted a hard inquiry. I had none for the last 8 months or so. I guess they do pull a report on some people. It was worth a try. I stopped using my cards but it would have helped my ratios a little.
George, Sometimes customers call to decrease their own credit lines. It's not a bad idea for people who don't want to risk getting in over their heads with too much credit available to them, if they have a habitual weakness for buying things without having the cash to pay.
Just F.Y.I. reducing your credit limit HURTS your F.I.C.O. score...(BALANCE TO CREDIT LIMIT RATIO) It would be better to put your card(s) in a safe deposit box in a bank in a city in the next state...
George, no, the call in to decrease was just an option it said you could excercise if you wished. Yes, I did take the extra $1,500. Couldn't see why not. I now have one $10K card and a second $9 card (this one) with them, both Click Citi cards. Tom, I'm sorry that you might have had an inquiry pulled. That would suprise me though...when I checked, I didn't even ask..i just clicked on the menu line for "credit incrase" as if to inqure about what what would invovle, rather than officiall/actually ASK for one.
That is exactly what I did. Clicked the button to see what would happen. It took about 30 seconds, said they pulled TU and I was denied. I'll see if they pulled a TU report. I should have known better. My TU is 728, but my limits are too high.
Was it supposed to be like PRE-APPROVED??? NO SUCH THING AS LIMITS TOO HIGH... THAT IS LIKE A GIRL TOO PRETTY, OR TO RICH...
No, it was not supposed to be preapproved. It is a place on their web site where you can get info on a credit line increase. Based on what I read, I clicked, thinking they would say yes or no without a credit check. Instead, they did an instant credit check and turned me down. I don't know if it is a hard inquiry or soft.
Never fill out the form. If you have an automatic increase, it will just say so, without you filling out any info. You can either accept or reject. If you fill out the form, you get an inquiry.
That makes sense, breeze. What was your source on that? Tom, what's the distinction between a hard and soft inquiry?
Here is the way I understand it. A hard inquiry shows up on your credit report as an inquiry and may lower your FICO score a few points. It makes it look like you are looking for credit. A soft inquiry is not shown to creditors who checks your report so it does not count against you on FICO. If you have too many hard inquiries, you are more likely to be turned down when applying for credit. So, it is a good idea to limit your inquiries by not applying for too much credit.
Thanks Tom. Hmm, my understanding was that "hard" inquiries were just borrower-instigated credit-file pullings. I didn't think a company could do a "soft" pull at your request.
