Why are CU CL's so much higher and do big banks consider those when determining your CL?

[--HighHopes--]

My CU Visa is triple all my other cards which i just did a spree for last month and now my sister is thinking of doing a few apps and as of right now she only has a CU Visa...no other cards.  My question is why are the CU lines so much higher and do the big banks consider their limits when determining what they offer you?  In my situation it doesn't look like they did since my limits are substantially less than my CU limit, but she just wants to have a few more cards.  Shes not really into the points and bonuses so that doesn't concern her she just wants more available credit to show less usuage on her CR's.  Does anyone have any experience in this?

[Anonymous]

My guess is it's mostly to do with the fundamental differences in their organizational structure and who they're in the business of pleasing.

With CUs, the only people they answer to are the members themselves.

With banks and most other companies, there's institutional investors/players on the other end of things breathing down their necks quarter after quarter. There's no room for being nice.

That difference alone creates a whole different set of priorities for their risk/reward models.

Big banks do offer big limits, and in many cases bigger; it's just that their standards for doing so are coming from a very different point of view. CUs are just more likely to spread things around a bit, whereas banks can be extra generous if the risk profile is low and tighter if the risk profile is high.

[navigatethis12]

My credit union cards are lower than other cards I have, so it just depends on many different things? Did you just get the credit union card? I'd imagine a card with a high line that's been open for a few years would look better than one just opened. Credit Unions will often ask for pay stubs and can base a decision off of that, unlike big banks which in my experience rarely do ask. If she has a good history, income, and not too many high balances, she shouldn't have an issue getting a decent limit.

Credit union cards also tend to max out lower than banks do. I don't see any maxmimum for Chase, Citi, and others, but usually credit unions are about 15,000-30,000. There are of course one's that go higher, but that seems to be normal.

[juggalo9er]

because they are financially vested in their own members well being

[--HighHopes--]

My CU card was opened last Dec. I was given $7500 and then 3 months later $10K. My app spree was in June and the highest CL I got was $4.8K She got her card last June which makes it a little over a year old but her limit is lower than mine @ $8K. So my income is slightly higher but not much so I'm unsure why mine increased more unless it's due to me having more accounts on file. She would be happy with $5K starting lit but I didn't get that so I dont know if she would or not.