frugal1

You write, "they ask for a annual income so now when I request i put double what I actually make and they approve my new credit limit increases because they don't actually verify your true income."

There is a word to describe what you are doing.  That word is "fraud." You might want to curtail that behavior, or at the very least, stop boasting about it on a public website.  Good luck. 

You write "if I don't have the cash I can't afford it..."  yet you lease a car, rather than buying it.  Hmmmm?

If it's any consolation, once your FICO score rises above 750, the credit card offers don't improve any, nor do the interest rates decline any. The only benefit to a higher score is to stroke one's ego, though there is nothing wrong with that :)

No, I would not agree.  In my case, I only buy what I can afford and I the balance is paid off in full every month, unless I get 0% interest, in which case the balance is paid off BEFORE the 0% period expires.  In addition, the credit card I am currently using gives a 5% rebate on ALL purchase for the first six months, with NO upper limit. I have two months remaining on that agreement. Total rebates for 2011 about $1,000.00  

Actually, I have found the opposite to be true.  My Transrisk score is 35 points lower than my FICO score.  However, since Transrisk and FICO don't use identical criteria in assessing scores, some variation should be expected. 

One would not expect the Auto Insurance score or the Vantage score to even be in the same ballpark as the FICO score, since their maximum scores are much higher than FICOs.

In any event, CreditKarma provides a valuable service for those of us who are interested in monitoring our ongoing credit situation, and for that I am grateful.

This is the same thing that would occur if you were in a bar when Bill Gates and Warren Buffett happened to drop in.  The average net worth of the patrons would rise up to over a billion dollars each, but you would not be any richer ;)

1. 12 year olds don't have credit scores.

2. There is no credit score over 1,000.

My Creditkarma credit limit now reflects the correct total.  So, although you nice folks at Creditkarma didn't respond to my query, the problem has been resolved, and I suspect you had something to do with it.  Thanks, as always.

On Creditkarma, my credit limit shows only $22,000.  In reality, I have an $18,000 limit with AmEx, another $18,000 limit with BofA, a $7,000 limit with Citi and a $4,000 limit with Chase.  

Obviously, only one of the $18,000 limits and the $4,000 Chase limit is reflected in my credit limit.  Is there anything I can do in order to get the other two credit limits counted? 

Every month my home mortgage payment is deducted automatically from my checking account. However, creditkarma has not deducted a mortgage for the last four months. What can I do to resolve this?

One other thing I forgot to mention. A credit score above 750 is considered excellent. The only benefit in getting a higher score is to stroke your ego; your credit card offers and rates will not get any better.

Look under the heading, "Credit Report Card" for "credit card utilization.  If you carry no balance, it means your utilization is 0%.  A balance of between 1 to 20% earns an "A," but, as unbelievable as it may sound, a 0% credit card utilization will earn you a "C."  That may be part of the problem

From your response it seems you are under the impression that buying two new cars should raise your credit score.  Is that correct?  If so, why do you think that?

If you financed the two new cars I would think your credit score might drop because you would have less available credit and more debt.  Even if you paid cash for the two new cars, your credit score might go down because you would have less cash on hand.  That's just a guess on my part, as I'm certainly no expert on this.

I would do that but Citi card does not show any balance I have.  They just show my limit; this screws up my utilization. With or without a balance, Citi would show my utilization as 0%, because they don't report any balance; just my credit limit.

Credit scores aren't only used for extending credit.  Often times, employers will check credit scores before offering someone permanent employment.  Also, unless you are planning to pay cash for a house, your lender or your landlord will run your credit score to see if you are a deadbeat.  Finally, renting a car, if you ever choose to do so, if more difficult without a credit card.

You're absolutely correct about not paying interest just to raise your score. I had an AmEx card they offered to me with a 2.99% fixed rate on a balance transfer. I borrowed $20,000 and was initially making over 4% in interest on the funds (Not anymore). I owe about $2,000 now and I cancelled the card long ago 'cause they kept reducing my credit limit. I told them my credit was better than theirs 'cause, unlike them, I didn't need TARP funds to pay my bills :) They took offense :)

My Citi Card on which I charge everything (about $1,000 per month) pays 1% rebates, and is paid off in full every month with no interest, but because they don't show my credit limit, I receive a "C" for credit utilization, dropping my overall score to 753, even though I've never had a late payment.

I don't blame CreditKarma for the problem, because they're performing a valuable service for us folks, but it does tend to be frustating when you do stuff to try to raise the score and it backfires. I can relate.

IN a rational word, one would think so, but who can figure how they make these calculations? I sure don't have a clue on it.

In May, your Credit Simulator said that my score would go up ten points if I lowered my credit card debt by $1,000. Since that time, I have lowered my overall debt by over $4,000.00 and lowered my credit card debt by over $3,000.

My credit card utilization is less than 1%. My open credit card debt, which I pay off in full every month, is now only a miniscule $20, for which I receive a grade of "C." Now, my overall credit score has declined from an "A" to a "B."

I'm not blaming creditkarma, they're just doing their job, but it would be nice if I could figure what I might be able to do to raise my score.

In addition, since there are three different credit card reporting agencies (Trans-Union, Experian, and Equifax), by alternating your request throughout the year, you can receive a new credit card report from a different agency every four months, without paying anything. However, unlike CreditKarma, the three agencies will not provide your credit score without a fee.

It has been my experience that some changes require a few weeks to post. One good thing about Credit Karma (among many), is that you can check daily, if you so desire.

It wouldn't hurt to ask them about it, but if they allow you to re-open the account you will have to live with the higher APR.

I had previously complained about the fact that my credit card company (Citi) showed my debt under "credit card utilization," but they didn't report any limit on that card; that made my credit card utilization abnormally high. I posted this information before and the moderator, who is always very helpful, replied back, stating that you were attempting to address that issue.

It appears that the issue has been addressed; unfortunately, it actually makes my situation worse, rather than better. You can see below how I am negatively affected.

Old system:
credit card debt:$492 credit card util.: 2% letter grade: A

New system:
credit card debt: $0 credit card util.: 0% letter grade: C

I know your intention was to reflect a more accurate picture of someone's true credit score but, in my case, the result has backfired. Any suggestions as to what can be done to resolve this dilemma will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, as always.

You can get the answer to that question by using the credit simulator and plugging in the appropriate numbers.

Do not close your retail cc accounts as that will negatively affect your average length of credit. As for whether you should take advantage of the Citi card offer, it depends on what the rate would be after the temporary offer expires.

It will probably take months to notice any difference, but if you pay all of your bills on time and don't do anything to damage your credit any further, it will eventually improve.