diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/fix-cli-option-handling-a13652d14507f2d7.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/fix-cli-option-handling-a13652d14507f2d7.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c84efe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/fix-cli-option-handling-a13652d14507f2d7.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Fix an issue with the way command line options and configuration
+    settings interact so that the settings in the configuration file
+    are used properly when command line arguments for those options
+    are not provided.
diff --git a/reno/config.py b/reno/config.py
index 3aa6583..5990e25 100644
--- a/reno/config.py
+++ b/reno/config.py
@@ -275,9 +275,11 @@ class Config(object):
         arg_values = {
             o.name: getattr(parsed_args, o.name)
             for o in _OPTIONS
-            if hasattr(parsed_args, o.name)
+            if getattr(parsed_args, o.name, None) is not None
         }
-        self.override(**arg_values)
+        if arg_values:
+            LOG.info('[config] updating from command line options')
+            self.override(**arg_values)
 
     @property
     def reporoot(self):
diff --git a/reno/main.py b/reno/main.py
index b9837d7..cb27712 100644
--- a/reno/main.py
+++ b/reno/main.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ _query_args = [
           help='the branch to scan, defaults to the current')),
     (('--collapse-pre-releases',),
      dict(action='store_true',
-          default=config.Config.get_default('collapse_pre_releases'),
+          default=None,
           help='combine pre-releases with their final release')),
     (('--no-collapse-pre-releases',),
      dict(action='store_false',
@@ -42,12 +42,12 @@ _query_args = [
      dict(default=None,
           help='stop when this version is reached in the history')),
     (('--ignore-cache',),
-     dict(default=False,
+     dict(default=None,
           action='store_true',
           help='if there is a cache file present, do not use it')),
     (('--stop-at-branch-base',),
      dict(action='store_true',
-          default=True,
+          default=None,
           dest='stop_at_branch_base',
           help='stop scanning when the branch meets master')),
     (('--no-stop-at-branch-base',),
diff --git a/reno/tests/test_config.py b/reno/tests/test_config.py
index 6251aa7..38e9635 100644
--- a/reno/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/reno/tests/test_config.py
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ collapse_pre_releases: false
         }
         self.assertEqual(expected, actual)
 
-    def test_override_from_parsed_args(self):
+    def test_override_from_parsed_args_boolean_false(self):
         c = self._run_override_from_parsed_args([
             '--no-collapse-pre-releases',
         ])
@@ -138,6 +138,30 @@ collapse_pre_releases: false
         expected['collapse_pre_releases'] = False
         self.assertEqual(expected, actual)
 
+    def test_override_from_parsed_args_boolean_true(self):
+        c = self._run_override_from_parsed_args([
+            '--collapse-pre-releases',
+        ])
+        actual = c.options
+        expected = {
+            o.name: o.default
+            for o in config._OPTIONS
+        }
+        expected['collapse_pre_releases'] = True
+        self.assertEqual(expected, actual)
+
+    def test_override_from_parsed_args_string(self):
+        c = self._run_override_from_parsed_args([
+            '--earliest-version', '1.2.3',
+        ])
+        actual = c.options
+        expected = {
+            o.name: o.default
+            for o in config._OPTIONS
+        }
+        expected['earliest_version'] = '1.2.3'
+        self.assertEqual(expected, actual)
+
     def test_override_from_parsed_args_ignore_non_options(self):
         parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
         main._build_query_arg_group(parser)