Factors Affecting Credit Card Limit Increase?
Hello People,
What is the best way to increase the credit line on a credit card without doing a hard pull? When I talk to the customer reps. they always say they can request an increase based only on payment history without pulling credit or do a full application with a hard pull. Of course I always go for the 1st option and never do a hard pull. However, I guess the increases one can get thru this method are system generated and can be very small.
I was wondering what factors affect this soft limit request. Is it just good payment history? Or is it affected by if you have paid off a large balance? Or if you have maintained a certain utilization ratio over the past few months?
If anyone has any idea about this please share.
Thanks in advance.
JS.
Other than system increases they will do a hard pull.
System increases are not aways small. Our business credit cards just had automatic $5K, $5.5K and $10K increases after about 6 months.
Use your EIN instead of social.
I am sure that none of us knows for 100% certainty how it would affect your FICO if a credit card company, with which you already have an account, pulls your credit.
I have written lending software for a top 10 bank in the country and when a customer asks me a "what if" question I usually have to run it through the software to see the results. I wrote the software and can still not tell you with 100% certainty what will be the outcome when the calculations become complicated and include many factors.
This is copied from www.myfico.com
Not all inquiries count toward your FICO score.
When you check your credit report, you may notice that a number of credit inquiries have been made, sometimes from businesses that you don’t know. But the only inquiries that count toward your FICO score are the ones that result from your applications for new credit.
Inquiries that count toward your FICO score.
There is only one type of credit inquiry that counts toward your FICO score. When you apply for a mortgage, auto loan or other credit, you authorize the lender to request a copy of your credit report. These types of inquiries, prompted by your own actions, appear on your credit report and are included in your FICO score.
Inquiries that don’t count toward your FICO score.
Your own credit report requests, credit checks made by businesses to offer you goods or services, or inquiries made by businesses with whom you already have a credit account do not count toward your FICO score. do not count toward your FICO score. Credit checks by prospective employers also do not count. These types of inquiries may appear on your credit report, but they are not included in your FICO score.