Originally Posted by
amolkold
Prove to Cap1 that you spend on their card and pay your balance in full, and they should be better about upping that limit. That may mean having a high utilization one month (your score will have a temporary dip), but if you pay it off in full, it'll help prove that you can handle the credit (which is what creditors want to see)
Originally Posted by
aarif1
I'm not sure what the best strategy for you would be, but I would wait at least 3 more months before applying for a lower level card, maybe another one from Capital One (since they have no foreign transaction fees). In the meanwhile, moderately increase your spending on your existing card.
So here's the deal: of course I don't only spend $55/month. As difficult as the card is, they still give me some rewards, vs my corporate card from which I get nothing.
I take advantage of the revolving credit. As I approach a certain threshold towards by meager limit, I pay off a couple hundred bucks, then keep going. Before the end of my billing cycle, I
deliberately pay off a certain amount to keep some nominal amount for billing and the credit reports. That way, I have a much higher spend relative to my limit, and I still get low utilization.
I guess the question then becomes: given my salary and low credit limit, would companies understand that of course I have high utilization?
The problem is at CapOne I don't feel like I've spoken with anyone who actually has any power or actually considers the fact that my limit is disproportionally low and I use the card as much as I can by maximizing the revolving credit.