I'd like some opinions based on your personal experiences, and if there are any insiders who know for sure on any particular cc companies I'd love to hear from you. What is the ideal payment amount to make each month if you're carrying a balance in order to maximize internal scoring? 10x minimum is what we've been leaning toward but we really don't have anything solid to base it on. Thanks for any input you guys have. DemPooches
Hey, I think this is a great post/question. It would be even greater if I could answer ;-) But seriously, I had to call Capital One for something about 7 months ago, and spoke to a rep named Veranese (I think that is how it is spelled), and while she was helping me, I casually asked her about my internal score. She laughed, wouldn't answer, but said they like to see at least 3 or 4 times your minimum payment. She also said, that with the way people are defaulting, they are happy with the minimum payment. No joke, I wrote this down!!!!!! Now this was 7 months ago, so things have probably changed. Again, good question, and even if it wasn't helpful, at least I got it moved back up to the top........;-)
we've definitely seen that cc companies want to make money but feel secure with you...and that just makes total sense So how? Internal score: profitablity and stability... say... using 50% of your credit line (profitability) and still paying 3x-5x mins or so at least (ability to pay) and of course... on time payments (Stability)... Put yourself in their shoes... they want to make a profit now and also eventually get their money in the future in full...so what signals that? Also... I know from a Cap1 credit analyst that they really like bts... I've done a LOT of them (I use the other cards... pay large on Cap1... bt the other balances b/f the I lose the grace...) that way Cap1 gets 5x+ min payment... they see a great payment history on all my cards... and they feel like they're stealing my business from the other companies I also like to pay off completely all cards often... I hate paying interest now... but when I was really rebuilding I considered interest a cost of rebuiding.. but I still tried to minimize it. So if you let the statement cycle in a way that lets them have interest... only let them have it for a month or 2... no need to make them rich just so you can get a slightly higher credit line that kind of cycle also lets them know you use credit... but don't get over your head so I'd do it like this Jan Use heavily pay off Feb pay off March pay it off April pay it off May use it a lot...pay half June keep med balance July pay it off Aug Pay it off Sept pay it off Oct pay it off Nov keep balance Dec keep balance
Might just be me, but MBNA loves to increase my B&N Mastercard limit by $500 every 4-6 months--I don't understand it, but I go with it. I use the card every month, but have never once carried a balance. My high balance is $4600-something. I normally put 300-700 per month on the card, but b/c they have a high APR, I've never given them any finance $. They're predictable though. They give me 2 payment holidays back to back, then when I don't use either of those, they up the CL by $500 on the next statement. It is still my favorite line b/c MBNA is my highest limit and oldest card, but I can't give them any of my actual $$ with that 12.99 apr. Then again, I use similar tactics with Chase, and they REFUSE to give me more credit, even if I ask nicely and PFB them. In fact, no one wants to give me more credit except MBNA. Maybe they like deadbeats who pay them off monthly! $.02 dep
Since my full-out assault on my credit card balances started last August, I have three cards which have seen no activity at all for over a year. MY ATnT Univer$al card just sent me a notice that I have a 5.9% APR for purchases available to me (until March 2003). All I have to do is call them to activate it. This is about 5 points less than my normal purchase APR. Makes me worry that maybe I should put some token purchases on there to keep them happy. It's my best card/tradeline. -ingenue
