Help me understand the buzz behind CLI's

[Anonymous]

Im kind of neutral about CLI's. Utilization padding isn't a priority, mainly bc I think if I convince myself that apping for X card with 15k+ limit for this purpose alone might encourage me to overspend. Thats not to say this is how it works for others but Id rather lower util with payments than padding.

The couple times I've pursued a CLI was bc my spending habits with those particular cards made it difficult to use at their current limits without making multiple payments which IS a PITA to me. Wait for payment to post, wait for available credit to show up aaaaaand repeat. Especially annoying with Barclay. No thank you, once a month is fine. But since majority of my cards are over 5k and thats really all I need Im not too worried about it. Kind of a game to see if I can get them all to at least 10k this year but you wont see me posting about closing cards if it doesnt happen.

[kdm31091]

Yes, the whole "Give me a CLI or I'm closing the card now!" is kind of humorous sometimes. We aren't entitled to any certain limit, APR, reward program, or otherwise. Just because Amex extends you 5k doesn't mean Chase has to. Every lender has their own risk models and bases limits on different criteria.

Luckily, this forum helps us learn which lenders anecdotally are more lenient with CLIs compared to others -- for example, Chase is across the board fairly stingy most of the time. But if you get approved with a decent limit, it's not of much concern.

[Anonymous]

I just recently made a post in some other thread about this lol. I too think it's fascinating.

I mean, my current CLs are good enough for my every day spend. In my other post, I was wondering if I should ask for SP CLIs "just cause". Like I said, my limits are fine for my spend, as well as my utilization (any CLIs really are marginal for my credit utilization at this point). So it'd be "just cause".

But now I actually will NOT be using CLIs "just cause" because I prefer to churn than increase my CLI and increasing my exposure (both for certain banks and across the board) may make new cards harder to get.

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

Yes, the whole "Give me a CLI or I'm closing the card now!" is kind of humorous sometimes. We aren't entitled to any certain limit, APR, reward program, or otherwise. Just because Amex extends you 5k doesn't mean Chase has to. Every lender has their own risk models and bases limits on different criteria.

Luckily, this forum helps us learn which lenders anecdotally are more lenient with CLIs compared to others -- for example, Chase is across the board fairly stingy most of the time. But if you get approved with a decent limit, it's not of much concern.

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Some of it (and this is just speculating) may be based around the potential advantages for companies in increasing credit limits.  Freedom was my first card and I started out with a 1500 limit.  It increased to 3000 (I have never asked for a CLI) within a year.  When I applied for the Chase AARP they gave me a 5000 limit and I never have recieved an increase on Freedom.  In fairness I have never been close to using it either as if I get close I just pay down. 

Contrast that with Discover and Capital One who both gave me over 10,000 initial credit limits.  Chase definitely seems stingy although for my situation it is not a big deal. 

[Anonymous]

Not sure I'd need anything over 5-10k on a few cards. Sure as hell don't need anything like that on a Walmart card since I do very little spending at Walmart anyway.

I personally think the bonus seekers, card collectors and CLI enthusiasts have some sort of gambling addiction. But that's just me. 3-5 cards at 5-10k would work nicely on my end.

[Anonymous]

Plain, simple, and right to the chase. (Please excuse me for not reading all the posts.)

You're on a credit card forum. It's not hard to guess that everyone wants to advance their standing in the credit world. One way by doing that is to show you have sufficient credit and ability in order to achieve a higher CLI than others.

[kdm31091]

Lol ability to achieve a higher CLI than others? Standing in the credit world?

This isnt a contest. You want to use your cards responsibly and show you can manage credit. I dont really care about one upping anyone because this isnt a game. If you're basing worth on who gets a better CLI, thats honestly sad

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was wanting to figure out the reasoning and especially behind the "if Discover/Cap one/chase whoever doesn't give me luv soon I'm shutting it down." 

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Who says there's reasoning behind it?  That's just the nature of some people.  Some take the credit extended to them very personally and are offended when they don't get what they want or expect and in many cases the expectations are unreasonable.  For the creditors it's all business and the assign credit based on an assessment of the risk of one's credit profile.  For many consumers emotions take over.  Maybe some think they'll show the creditors by closing out an account.  Maybe it's just a retaliatory reaction for some.  Maybe some they have other issues they they're trying to compendate for.  Maybe some are addicated.  You'd really have to do specific case studies if you really want to understand versus trying to create some sort of broad, sweeping generalization that covers every possiblity IMO.  That is, unless that sweeping generalization is just "makes no sense to me". 

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@kdm31091 wrote:
Lol ability to achieve a higher CLI than others? Standing in the credit world?

This isnt a contest. You want to use your cards responsibly and show you can manage credit. I dont really care about one upping anyone because this isnt a game. If you're basing worth on who gets a better CLI, thats honestly sad

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Unfortuantely that's how many think.  It's not just limits either.  A lot of people derive their sense of self worth from things whether it's credit cards or other things in their lives that they have acquired.

[Open123]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
Lol ability to achieve a higher CLI than others? Standing in the credit world?

This isnt a contest. You want to use your cards responsibly and show you can manage credit. I dont really care about one upping anyone because this isnt a game. If you're basing worth on who gets a better CLI, thats honestly sad

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We’re in a CC enthusiast’s forum.

As such, from this micro perspective, we all here have one thing in common—credit. Naturally, we all differ on how to best utilize, maintain, and on the “best practices” to reach a certain goal. However, with all these differences, everyone shares a common pursuit. It is either one or all of the following: (1) maximize Fico score; (2) maximize (or keep level) CLs; (3) maximize rewards; (4) minimize the cost for borrowing money; and, (5) share and benefit from other’s ideas and strategies.

While I can’t speak for Monoglot, I don’t think he believes having higher CLs improves one’s standing in the “game” of life or “game” of self-respect, but rather it does in the credit world, one that this entire forum has been dedicated to. You assert it’s not a game (this cliché reminds me of the “don’t apply for credit until you need it” generality), but that’s just debating semantics. Of course, it’s a game. Finance is a game, or whatever word (environment, arena, sector) you prefer to use. The only difference between this game and others (Wow or Monopoly) is that we use “real” money to keep score.

In my view, the ONLY things in life that aren’t a game are our family and close friends.

From purely a credit perspective, so long as it’s well thought out, I see nothing wrong with a person who wishes to maximize CLs just for the heck of it. Is this really that different form a person who just wants an 800 score for posterity’s sake; or a person wears a badge of honor on not having applied since the Dinosaurs roamed the Earth; or, one who simply wants to app and churn for free stuff; or, for someone like yourself, a minimalist who feels his current card portfolio/lineup is perfectly in set and inplace until we land the first man on the Sun?

While I understand the OP’s question, the answer is there is “NOTHING” to understand. The underlying aspiration of improving one’s credit is to use it for whatever reason an individual deems fitting. If that reason is because a person simply likes to see big numbers (not unlike those who like to see 800, no HPs on CRAs, or big numbers in a bank/investment account, etc…) when logging in, then that’s reason enough, in my view.

While it’s interesting and makes for a better forum to share the different reasons and perspectives on why we make certain credit decisions, I hope everyone here will remember that whatever you choose to do, you don’t need to justify or explain yourself to anyone, least of all anyone on the net.

[lhcole77]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
 You want to use your cards responsibly and show you can manage credit. 

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And having multiple 25K+ lines with low UTL and perfect payment history achieves this