Just got off the phone with Household/Orchard retention. I got a $500 increase on my Household card bringing the limit to $1,700 and a $300 increase on my Orchard card bringing it to $1,250. Now I'm off to call Providian. I'm not really expecting anything but what the heck.
Providian results: $59 annual fee waived on Visa Gold. APR to 16.99 annual fee of $59 waived on Gold MasterCard. An interesting note... the retention rep said I was also going to be upgraded to MasterCard Gold. They did that for me last year and I am LOOKING at a gold colored MasterCard right now. I told the rep this and she said I'd be getting a new Gold card anyway. What gives? Do they have tiers of Gold cards?
I was told that they NEVER do "HARDS" to do limit increases...ONLY payment history checks...perfect payment history for some number of months gets you an increase... I told them that my $2,425 is my lowest by $2,575... He said my $2,425 is the HIGHEST he has seen...OH WELL........
Capital One: Rep said he was really sorry but I am not elegible for a credit line increase until March 1st. He said he knew it was silly that it was only a week away but there was nothing he could do to override the computer. I will call back on the 1st.
DaveLV, don't ya just love those huge limit increases which Shell hands out? I have an $800 initial limit on my account, which is now about 6 months old, paid perfectly, and has a zero balance, and when I call Shell for an increase - stupidly thinking I'll get a minimum 300-$600 bump up), they give me a $100 increase. Wow. Spending spree here I come! But, on the bright side, they said that starting in March, I could apply each and every month for an increase. Cool. By 2025 my limit ought to be at $1,500. I knew this credit repair thing would take me places! -chriscraft
Re:Orchard Hi Dave, I have an Orchard and wondered if you would mind saying how much credit you had open on the Orchard when you requested the increase? I was curious if your balance was paid in full and if you thought it factored in to their decision. How often have you requested a limit increase? Thanks in advance.
Called Citibank: Accounts too new for CL increase (must be open for six months). I already have a BT offer running on one card for 2.9% for 9 months. They offered me a BT option on my second card, 6.9% for 6 months. I have no balance on any credit card higher than 3.9% right now. I asked the rep if I had to decide right away and she said no, I could call back. That seems a little high for a BT, but I do have about 5 or 6 months left on my auto loan and that's at 13+ percent. I may call them back tomorrow and have them pay off my auto loan. On my first Citi BT, they made the check payable to me. That was an offer made to me at the time I applied online. Does anyone know if they will just send me a check made out to me for a telephone offer?
It is a joke, but since the card is reporting now when it didn't before I'd like to have as high a limit as possible. I always pay in full every month so there is never a balance. Thanks for the once-a-month tip. I'll try them again next month.
Re: Re:Orchard John, first I just wanted to give you a heads-up that people in the credit/collections/credit reporting industry read this board and it's not a really good idea to use your real full name here. I started with a $200 or $250 limit (I don't remember which) 22 months ago on the Orchard card. Last May I called retention and was offered a $200 CL increase or an APR reduction to 15.9% fixed. I chose the APR reduction. I have never asked for an increase on the card until now. If you use it every month and make more than the minimum payment you will see a $200 or $300 automatic increase every three or four months. If you skip using the card for a month, this period resets. I didn't use my Orchard, Capital One or Household cards AT ALL for the first year after I got them. I literally locked them in a drawer and never even looked at them. Then I found this board and discovered it was a good idea to use each card at least once a month. After three months of this the increases started like clockwork. My limit was $950 and I had a zero balance when I called this evening.
Re: Re:Orchard I just love the thought of all the CRA folks sitting around wondering "who is john galt?" Don't worry folks, I don't think "john" is using his real name, he's just a good capitalist trying to get some justice.
Re: Re:Orchard You never know if it is real or if it is an Ayn Rand reference. I guess you're solidly on the Rand side.
Re: Re:Orchard Yes Dave, if you request it Citi will send you a check for the amount you want to use with the BT. I have done this a few times, no problem.
Update on Capital One: I thought March 1st was a little too soon to be elegible for an automatic increase because it didn't seem like six months since the last one. I checked my records and my last increase was on 11-1-2001. If I will again be elegible for an increase on the 1st of March that would only be four months. I'd thought they only did auto increases (non-Consumer Advocate) every six months.
