Looking to improve my credit score.

Ive a older credit card Id like to up the limit on, but am afraid if I request this, they will pull my credit (which is bad).

Any one know if they will pull credit or if its even really worth it?

8/14/2012 1:08:20 PM

if you've had the card a while, you can count on them pulling your credit.

getting your credit pulled every now and then won't hurt you that much, if at all. doing it frequently is what you want to avoid.

8/14/2012 1:22:55 PM

I would think this would play out 1 of 2 ways:

1. Your credit card company ups your credit limit because you pay your bills on time
2. Your credit card company does not up your credit limit because you don't pay your bills on time, in which case you really don't have any business upping your credit limit until you can handle the one you have.

8/14/2012 1:28:10 PM

Yes your credit will be pulled when you request a limit increase. Yes, it will slightly lower your score, but only temporarily. Inquires are normal and you can't go through life without them, you just try to limit them (don't go stupid applying for cards/services constantly).

I'm not sure how it works for credit limit increases/new cards, but the way I understand some inquires to work, is that some inquires, within a certain time frame, only count as 1 inquiry against you (mortgages or car loans, for example).

8/14/2012 1:33:29 PM

Some credit pulls for limit increases are hard, some are soft. Soft pulls won't affect your score.

8/14/2012 1:41:58 PM

^Do you know how/why that varies? According to what Citi and Chase reps told me, any pull from them per your request is a hard pull (of course, the reps could just be idiots).

I guess if the bank decides to pre-approve you or increase your limit with no request, then those would be soft pulls?

[Edited on August 14, 2012 at 1:48 PM. Reason : .]

8/14/2012 1:47:46 PM

http://www.creditkarma.com

I've read that the credit scores are on the conservative side but I've never paid for a real credit score to know any better. There is a simulator that will let you do exactly what you want to though (increase limit; add 1 inquiry) and give you a estimate of how much your score changes.

8/14/2012 1:56:08 PM

Are you looking to improve your credit for the sole purpose of upping the limit of your existing card, because if you already have good credit then I'd just get a new card. Capital One was being a bitch and even after I graduated they refused to raise the limit past $1500. However if your credit sucks, you'll just need to keep paying your bills on time, not taking out any crazy loans, and not using >30% of your available credit.

8/14/2012 2:07:23 PM

Quote :

"^Do you know how/why that varies? According to what Citi and Chase reps told me, any pull from them per your request is a hard pull (of course, the reps could just be idiots)."

I know with my citi card, you can request an increase online. Sometimes it's instant with no hard pull and other times, it will require a hard pull if they need to verify info and/or you request an increase over a certain amount but it will tell you if it's needed. Assuming you're not having hard pulls ever month from multiple cards, it shouldn't matter as the drop is relatively minor since it makes up a very small piece of your score compared to payment history, overall debt percentage and length of credit history. Think mine decreased maybe 5pts or so and it only showed up for about a year eventhough they claim hard inquiries remain for 2 years.

8/14/2012 2:08:14 PM

i would go read up on myfico forums. i've bumped up about 80 points in 8 mons by just writing a couple letters, getting a credit card etc. btw all 3 of my scores are within 5 point of the credit karma score.

[Edited on August 14, 2012 at 2:39 PM. Reason : credit karma is cool]

8/14/2012 2:21:30 PM

inquiries last 2 years on record. Trust me ive been doing the research.

8/14/2012 4:19:27 PM

Inquiries remain in your credit report for 2 years (24 months). The good news is that they can only hurt your credit scores for the first 12 months. After 12 months, they don't impact your credit scores at all.

8/14/2012 4:56:00 PM

If the card is thru Bank of America and homeskillet has had a late payment or two, they'll close the card. That shit happened to me.

8/14/2012 6:27:28 PM

I recently asked American Express to up my credit limit from $1000 to $3500. They did it without running my credit.

8/14/2012 6:38:32 PM

Quote :

"Looking to improve my credit score."

Precisely WHY?

8/14/2012 6:40:16 PM

Quote :

"Precisely WHY?"

Why NOT?

8/14/2012 8:16:18 PM

Oh this will be good. Go ahead GxB, I'm eagerly waiting to read your next few posts

8/14/2012 9:34:22 PM

I like credit karma but they don't include any loans I've had with SECU. This currently includes an auto loan and my mortgage. I expect that because of this they overestimate my score.

8/14/2012 10:03:37 PM

Do not use credit cards. They in conjunction with the consumer culture you are forced to live in by accident of birth are carefully designed to exploit your psychological weaknesses (greed, need for acceptance) for the purpose of stealing your money.

Save your money and use it sparingly and wisely. Each dollar you spend is a little vote for what you think is important in life and how you think people should treat each other.

Anything worth going into debt for (house, education, sex) can either be had for free or at a very much lower interest rate from specialized government secured lenders.

Oh and consumerism is an addiction, you can't wean yourself from it with some Americunt hanging off of you.

Don't go too far and be a dirty hippie either, let me give you some guidelines:

Don't have a car if you can honestly get by with a bicycle (yes, this means rent close to work next time you move to a new place)

Eat good quality food produced sustainably (yes it costs you more and it's less satisfying until you get used to it)

You don't need fancy new stuff (good people don't think any more of you for it)

For vacations, go to state parks instead of commercial destinations.

In general try not to buy anything that depreciates in value.

8/14/2012 10:44:03 PM

Pay your debt you must

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

8/14/2012 10:51:03 PM

David0603 Where areyou basing your info off of?

Im doing this for looking to buy a house.

8/14/2012 11:03:01 PM

Quote :

"Oh this will be good. Go ahead GxB, I'm eagerly waiting to read your next few posts"

Did you really just write this when there is nothing to write about?

8/14/2012 11:08:48 PM

Credit.com. I can get you a direct link when not on my phone. Only booting up the laptop if GxB responds.

8/14/2012 11:10:27 PM

Quote :

"Im doing this for looking to buy a house."

Are you going to financially collapse yourself by buying a house?
Is all of your monthly paycheck going to go into your mortgage payment?
What percentage of your monthly paycheck are you planning on spending on your mortgage.

How stable is your job?
How long have you had your job?
How important are you to your job that they won't fire you in the next 30 years on your 30 year mortgage.

Remember, buying a house is like going into slavery for 30 years for your bank and then you still don't own your property because the government charges property tax which is pretty much a rent payment to the government.

8/14/2012 11:41:09 PM

Quote :

"David0603 Where areyou basing your info off of? Im doing this for looking to buy a house."

How soon? Assuming you have a low credit utilization, you likely won't see much of an improvement by just increasing a credit limit here or there over a year or two. Good payment history over that same time would have a greater impact as David said above. If you're using 30%+, you could see an increase in score depending on how much the limit was actually increased but that's pretty much kicking the can down the road.

8/15/2012 7:37:01 AM

^^ Wow, it's impressive that you can't fit that much stupid into one post.

If you can get a mortgage payment that is equivalent to rent paid and you intend to stay in a place long enough to build any equity at all you should do it.

30 year mortgages are for suckers, IMO, but it varies by financial situation. My personal feeling is that you should go no longer than a 20 year mortgage, less if possible. I don't own a home at this point, but when I do I will get a 15 year mortgage.

If you have any sense you won't pay more than 30-40% of your take home pay for housing, either mortgage or rent.

What's impressive is that jcgolden actually managed to post stuff nearly as dumb. This is a real gem:

Quote :

"In general try not to buy anything that depreciates in value. "

So.... don't buy anything really? Outside of legitimate investment vehicles like real estate (ahem), precious metals, or highly valuable collectibles almost everything depreciates in value.

While I agree that you should look for high utility in the things you purchase, it is virtually impossible not to be a net loser on most items. I mean, I feel great about my $300 hiking boots that I've gotten a lot of use from and are the best footwear I've ever had, but they are definitely worth less now than when I bought them. Same thing for my bike, my couch, my dishes, etc.

Money in and of itself is simply another tool. You can use it to make your life more enjoyable, and you should.

8/15/2012 9:19:08 AM

http://www.credit.com/answers/questions/39/How-long-does-an-inquiry-stay-on-my-credit-report

I honestly think jc is just trying to one up gb. The stupidity of their posts makes my head hurt.

8/15/2012 9:29:33 AM

:embed renaissance fair vid:

8/15/2012 3:20:49 PM

Does anyone else have a large number of student loans on your credit report due to loans being sold/transferred, etc resulting in a ton of installment loans on your report?

This seems to have a very adverse effect on overall credit score. I ran my wife's credit and there wasn't a single ding, but noticed 13 installment loans from her 4 actual loans being sold and transferred over time.

8/15/2012 5:14:24 PM

Quote :

"http://www.credit.com/answers/questions/39/How-long-does-an-inquiry-stay-on-my-credit-report I honestly think jc is just trying to one up gb. The stupidity of their posts makes my head hurt."

Your entire logic is encapsulated (I shouldn't use that word because it's too big for you) within the realm of what credit card companies tell you.

Why the hell do you troll this thread so hard? I don't see you trolling any other thread except for this one. It's like the only reason you're here is to help the credit card company's agendas without getting paid for it.

Seriously, you're not profiting off the advice you give - - so shut. the. fuck. up. Unlike you, I'm actually helping him avoid credit cards because they are not god's gift to man for buying a house.

[Edited on August 15, 2012 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

8/15/2012 6:44:38 PM

fwiw: http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/help/5-parts-components-fico-credit-score-6000.php

Upping the credit limit should you receive it outweighs the costs of a hard inquiry...

As an aside: This also means that if you are by any chance getting the pre-approval letters from someone like chase with their freedom card for a good sized credit limit, taking on new credit will have minimal affect on your score -- it would probably stay roughly the same by the time your average credit history length shortens and you receive a new hard inquiry, yet your utilization decreases and overall credit limit increase.

If you want a quick boost to your credit cards, pay them off in full such that you drop your utilization below 10%. This means if your limit is $1000 (of all your cards) current payment in full is $300 (assuming of all your cards), yet your balance is $700 (of all your cards)... Pay a payment of $600 so your next statement comes in at $100. Yes it is a pain and defies the time value of money logic that tells you to pay $300 now and $400 next payment.

DO NOT pay your cards down to $0. They then get ~"excluded" from credit score calculations. It is better to have a couple 7/11 items on all your cards than to have a card that sits and is never used.

8/15/2012 7:22:07 PM

^what's your credit score?

8/15/2012 7:54:14 PM

my credit score is pretty goddamn good and i have a bunch of rewards cards i always pay in full.

the only other debt i have is student loans, car, and a house i recently bought.

score = 830 as of last month.

*shrug*

8/15/2012 8:04:53 PM

I don't even know my credit card score.

I used to get it free with Providian but they got bought out by WaMu and WaMu stopped it. At the time, it was 790 out of 850 without even trying.

I don't fuck with sites that claim to show you your credit score because they are all scams to me. If freecreditreport.com can afford commercials, it means they are making profit off me wanting to see my credit report. I haven't found a free site that's trustworthy.

8/15/2012 8:14:50 PM

Quote :

"Your entire logic is encapsulated (I shouldn't use that word because it's too big for you) within the realm of what credit card companies tell you. Why the hell do you troll this thread so hard? I don't see you trolling any other thread except for this one. It's like the only reason you're here is to help the credit card company's agendas without getting paid for it. Seriously, you're not profiting off the advice you give - - so shut. the. fuck. up. Unlike you, I'm actually helping him avoid credit cards because they are not god's gift to man for buying a house."

Yeah, because heaven forbid I give advice or help someone when I'm not profiting from it in any way. I've made thousands in cash and free airline miles thanks to credit cards. You realize some people pay 29.99% on their balance? The cc companies also make a ton off merchants. The cc companies can easily afford to give me a free flight or cash back every now and then because they are making money hand over fist and if you're smart about it, you can cash in on this as well.

8/15/2012 10:01:26 PM

If I offered you a 3% discount for using cash at the register, would you pay with cash?

8/15/2012 11:10:37 PM

Sure, unless I'm at a restaurant or getting gas, since I get 5% on that.

8/15/2012 11:28:18 PM

Good to know. I'll just raise my prices by 5.5% come January and offer a 5.5% discount for using cash.

8/16/2012 3:17:02 AM

not that anyone who cares would come into your sleepy little place, but if Visa finds out, they aint gonna be happy.

8/16/2012 3:44:41 AM

They shouldn't be happy. I'm taking their money from them.

Or am I keeping my own money?

[Edited on August 16, 2012 at 3:47 AM. Reason : .]

8/16/2012 3:47:07 AM

8/16/2012 4:47:11 AM

Gas stations in New York have a cash price per gallon and a credit price per gallon.

The credit price is normally 15 to 20 cents higher.

8/16/2012 8:12:55 AM

We need a GxB and JcG free thread. Or TWW.

8/16/2012 8:23:55 AM

^^There are gas stations in NC that advertise 2 different prices (there's one near my house that advertises this way). You will also find some gas stations offer the discount if you go inside and ask and don't even advertise it. I think the rule is they can't charge more than advertised if you use a credit card, but they can pass on savings to cash customers but I could be wrong.

[Edited on August 16, 2012 at 8:41 AM. Reason : ]

8/16/2012 8:39:31 AM

I don't know if recent legislation changed all of the rules, but it used to be that stores could advertise a cash discount; I don't think that's changed. (There couldn't be a minimum for CCs, a fee, surcharge, or any type of penalty; it had to be advertised as a cash discount).

8/16/2012 8:45:53 AM

Quote :

"cash price per gallon and a credit price per gallon. The credit price is normally 15 to 20 cents higher."

and using debit gives you the cash price. at least it does for me in SC

8/16/2012 10:35:00 AM

Debit cards are pretty dangerous. I do not suggest using them to pay for any sketchy transactions like gas on a roadtrip. Card Skimmers are out there.
Debit cards transfer money directly out of your bank account, and unless you buy special fraud insurance, once your money is spent by the thief, it's gone forever.
Someone can wipe out your entire account in less time than it takes for you to get home.


Credit cards are safer because when you use them, you are using someone else's money. When the credit card companies money is involved, the credit card companies have a right to "charge back" their money at the expense of the business. A business has 45 days to dispute the claim but it's a pain in the butt and business almost always loses.

8/16/2012 2:13:28 PM

That's the most coherent and intelligent post you've ever had. On top of that it's pretty much factually correct, too! The incorrect part is saying that your money is certainly lost and one is SOL. That is NOT the case; it can be, but is not always. You can still dispute the charge; in fact (anecdotal evidence warning) I've always "won" disputes on my debit card.

I applaud you and award 15 internet points.

[Edited on August 16, 2012 at 2:17 PM. Reason : .]

8/16/2012 2:16:42 PM

Quote :

"Debit cards are pretty dangerous. I do not suggest using them to pay for any sketchy transactions like gas on a roadtrip. Card Skimmers are out there. Debit cards transfer money directly out of your bank account, and unless you buy special fraud insurance, once your money is spent by the thief, it's gone forever."

not all true...i work with debit/credit card fraud on a daily basis.

there are a million ways fraudsters can get your card info. gas pumps are just a drop in the bucket. card numbers can be stolen literally by the thousands by breaking into merchant databases.

in this day and age, if you use a debit card, it's all but inevitible you will see fraud at some point (or at least get your card reissued to pre-emptively avoid it).

if your bank is worth a damn, they will refund fraudulent charges for you without hassle. it's true the money is already spent if someone uses your card, but it shouldn't be the victim that takes the hit for that.

in the end, i say the convenience of debit cards outweighs the risks involved.

8/16/2012 2:25:51 PM

Quote :

"I don't know if recent legislation changed all of the rules, but it used to be that stores could advertise a cash discount; I don't think that's changed. (There couldn't be a minimum for CCs, a fee, surcharge, or any type of penalty; it had to be advertised as a cash discount)."

I don't think there's any legislation about this. It's the merchant agreements that stores sign with credit card companies that say they can't do shit like this. I get livid at shitheads that have minimums for card purchases.

8/16/2012 2:38:43 PM