Question: Total available credit vs. income?

[nitrov]

Is there any general rule for how much total available revolving credit someone can have relative to their income? I know all banks are different, but at what point does someone say "it's too much?"

I know some banks say "too much available credit" as a decline reason, but is that based on a multiple of income or is that solely based on dollar amount available? I'd love to hear any data points people have on this subject!

[Chris679]

No there is no rule

[degs138]

I see people on this site with 3x my CLs and only half or 1/3 my income.  AAoA and payment history has the most to do with the limits you will get.  High credit limits come with age so don't sweat it out.  If you give it time and are responsible you will get all the credit you need.

I have 56,500 which is just under half of my income.  I would like a little more credit since I charge up to 7k in a month at times.  I'd like to have around 100k so I am never over 10% utilization.  I have never been turned down for to much credit.  I've been denied CLI based on too many new trade lines.

I don't think that having too much credit is the biggest fear for CC companies.  It's more about the risk a user has.  If you don't have any late payments and no collections I'm sure they will keep giving you CLI based on your spend.  If you're only putting $100 a month though a card they are not going to give you an increase to 20k from 10k.  If you have heavy usuage and pay off your card in full each month they are likely to give you a large credit increase.

Here is some experiance I had:

Amex gave me a 3x CLI from 2k to 6k, i've been paying off my credit card every month and put quite a bit of spend though it.  I hear they are income sensitive.  Higher income and good scores will get you 20k+ CL.

Discover is just plain crazy.  I see they have been giving out massive increases.  I just got the card and it reported 70.99 at first cycle close.  I ran 4k though it over the last week and I will pay it down to zero before the cycle closes for statement two.  I hear as long as you PIF they will CLI your card.

Capital one is very stingy when you get to 5k or a little over.  I'm sure I can get a CLI with a HP but their SP system pulls a FICO score I'm not familiar with and my 745 drops down to a 699 according to their Gorrila math.  I'm done with them anyways.

Chase has 2x my limit twice for my freedom, which is fine as I really only use it for catagory spend.  I only need a 5k limit as I plan to run 500 though the card each month on the catagories I spend in.  My Sapphire card is my go to and I hope it goes to 25k in a year.

Barclays is also one I haven't quite figured out.  I think they see my spending on other cards and try to get my business.  They increased me from 5k to 9.5k after 9 months.  I put quite a bit of spend though it but I don't really like the perks of the card other then the no AF.  I'll keep it around, i'd use it a lot more if they gave me the Arrival+ with no AF.

[Anonymous]

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Your-Total-Available-Credit-VS-Income/m-p/4502559

[Themanwhocan]

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@Anonymous wrote:
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Your-Total-Available-Credit-VS-Income/m-p/4502559

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But that thread is already 2 weeks old.

[Anonymous]

^ i am hoping that was sarcastic..

[nitrov]

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@Anonymous wrote:
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Your-Total-Available-Credit-VS-Income/m-p/4502559

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I saw that but because people were speaking in percentages I don't have a good baseline for information. The crux of my inquiry is when you have 6 figure income, what multiple might you be able to get in available credit? If I make $200k per year, hypothetically, I see it unlikely that I'll get $400k in available credit unless I have 20 credit cards with a $20k limit each. Seems implausible. 

[Anonymous]

but it's not... there are many reports i see with a lot of cards $20k+

[Anonymous]

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@nitrov wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Your-Total-Available-Credit-VS-Income/m-p/4502559

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I saw that but because people were speaking in percentages I don't have a good baseline for information. The crux of my inquiry is when you have 6 figure income, what multiple might you be able to get in available credit? If I make $200k per year, hypothetically, I see it unlikely that I'll get $400k in available credit unless I have 20 credit cards with a $20k limit each. Seems implausible. 

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It's not necessarily the best idea to just try to get as much credit as you can, since some lenders can and do view it as having too much credit. Every situation, person, and their needs (and what their profile will support) are different.

[Chris679]

Lots of people have cards with $50k or more I don't understand why people want to compare that to a $500 rebuilder card and talk about % of income.