As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
Building Credit
Mai-Kero
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I've had my first credit card for a few months now, and I've made every payment, and spent a lot of money on it. I don't spend more than I have in my checking (not counting the student loans I've gotten) and I just buy everything with the card, and then make payments on it when I get home from my checking account. I just turned 19 a couple weeks ago. My maximum balance is only 500, which is kind of shitty and low. I'm with National City and it's a Visa card.
When can I expect the maximum balance to go up? Is that something that happens automatically? Is max amount available on a card permanently set, or does the bank usually gradually increase it as your credit score goes up? It's not a big deal right now, since the only reason I have it in the first place is more secure online transactions and to build up my credit score (which I'm not really sure about, I just heard this was the best way to increase it early on.)
So, basically, I was just wondering if card balances usually go up automatically, or if I'll need to open up another card later on to have a larger available credit?
When can I expect the maximum balance to go up? Is that something that happens automatically? Is max amount available on a card permanently set, or does the bank usually gradually increase it as your credit score goes up? It's not a big deal right now, since the only reason I have it in the first place is more secure online transactions and to build up my credit score (which I'm not really sure about, I just heard this was the best way to increase it early on.)
So, basically, I was just wondering if card balances usually go up automatically, or if I'll need to open up another card later on to have a larger available credit?
Mai-Kero on
0
Posts
When the company sees that you're reliable and spending money..they'll boost it. I went from 500 and then 6 months later was at 1grand.
You can always ask if they can up your limit as well. Worst they'll tell you is "no."
You don't need a new card to get a higher limit. With credit already established, your new card MAY come with a higher limit, but yea..your current card will get there anyway.
Congrats on being responsible with it. Not many your age are.
but if it's only a few months you probably shouldn't expect much change yet anyway... it took a couple years before I could get anything over a thousand
One thing I noticed that helps out your credit is if you pay anything over their minimum payment. What I'd recommend doing is paying exactly $1 over the minimum, and waiting a day, then paying off the rest of the card. I know it sounds stupid, but if you pay over the minimum it triggers something in the system. Then yet ANOTHER payment makes it look real good. I did this with my Best Buy and Visa card... And within a few months I jumped from $500 to a $2000 balance.
How many months has it been, Mai-Kero? A lot of credit cards have a mandatory minimum time period (usually 6 months or a year) before they'll even consider bumping your limit, but most of them do it pretty regularly (I get a bump in my limit every 6 months or so).
Touche sir. I suppose my plan really only works if you can't afford to pay off the card. Rather than paying JUST the bare minimum, add $1 to it and it looks good for you.
So yeah, not every bank does it automatically. Then again I didn't use it much until maybe four months ago.
You definitely don't have to change cards to get an increase. My first credit card that I got in college 8 or 9years ago started with a $700 limit and it is now at almost $12000. Most of that increase I didn't even ask for, they just kept bumping it up.
And all those are almost paid off and all of a sudden I'll have 600 more dollars a month and no debt. Oh snap
The first thing you should be doing is not renting appliances or furniture.
Shogun Streams Vidya
Essentially, the credit agencies only take snapshots of your current debts at particular times. If every time they see your debt is zero, then they just think the credit is not being used at all, limiting the growth of your credit. I tend to keep between 20% and 30% of the limit on the card to prevent this. The wisdom is that it should save you more in the long run.
Credit cards are not the only option to begin gaining credit, though. If you have student loans that may be in your parents name, see if you can get your name on them as well. Those alone built up my credit phenomenonally.
What makes you think I rented appliances and furniture? Better thought, you can RENT appliances? I know you can rent furniture but the payment scheme would be completely different from what I'm doing. Thanks for being condescending, at least he was offering valid advice
One of them has no interest as I said, unless I don't pay it off in 12 months but at this rate I will so there's no benefit to doing it faster and a huge penalty for doing it slower. The credit card is lower interest but I want to pay it down faster because I just feel uncomfortable having money on it since it's my emergency thing(about 10 seconds after moving my car broke an axle and I was like 100 bucks below the limit after fixing it), the computer will be done in a couple of payments regardless(I said 200 but it'll be more like 500 I guess)
This isn't always true. I have always had a zero balance on my two credit cards. (well, one exception regarding a billing fuck-up and late payment).
My credit rating, as of when I got my car, was over 800.
Or for you, second.
Rent2Own... what a terrible company.
I have to confirm this.. you always hear this, but I've paid off balances fully every month (with the exception of 1 seldomly-used card that I forgot a couple of $10-20 balances during college), and at 24 my credit score was just under 750 when I got my car 5 months ago