Why do you love your high CL cards....

Superman85 · ‎08-01-2014

Curious, what is it about having high credit card limits that sucks people in?

Not that I am not striving for higher limits myself, but today I got curious as to why else other than maybe helping my credit score would I really want them. My whole journey in rebuilding my credit is to qualify for a mortgage, but after that happens then what? If I have an emergency do I really want to dip into my 5k CL (If I have one at that point) or would I rather force myself to rely on actual cash savings and not get myself into debt. It just seems that having high credit limits would be a huge temptation to use it on things that I would otherwise not even think about getting if I didn’t have the high CL. I hear so many people on the Dave Ramsey show trying to crawl out of credit card debt and I’m wondering if I need to be cautious as to how many credit cards and how high of CL I allow myself to get. Any thoughts?

daybreakgonesXe · ‎08-01-2014

@Superman85 wrote:
Curios, what is it about having high credit card limits that sucks people in?

Not that I am not striving for higher limits myself, but today I got curious as to why else other than maybe helping my credit score would I really want them. My whole journey in rebuilding my credit is to qualify for a mortgage, but after that happens then what? If I have an emergency do I really want to dip into my 5k CL (If I have one at that point) or would I rather force myself to rely on actual cash savings and not get myself into debt. It just seems that having high credit limits would be a huge temptation to use it on things that I would otherwise not even think about getting if I didn’t have the high CL. I hear so many people on the Dave Ramsey show trying to crawl out of credit card debt and I’m wondering if I need to be cautious as to how many credit cards and how high of CL I allow myself to get. Any thoughts?

I like them for utilization padding. So just in case an unexpected car repair comes up that I have the savings cash for, but would like the extra month float on (yay for grace periods!), it won't jack my utilization up!

Kennie02 · ‎08-01-2014

Before I learned about credit and how to use it wisely, I saw high CLs as more money to spend. Now that I've learned so much from these boards I want high CL's so that my util stays low when I make purchases. Now that I earn rewards I use my CC's for everyday purchases. One trip to the grocery store can be $300+ and if my CL is low there goes my util. Not to mention having to make two trips in a month or something.

Credit Age:

New Accounts:

Inq (6/12/24M):

longtimelurker · ‎08-01-2014

In some cases, people want high CLs for utilization purposes, which keeps there score high as they are trying to get CLIs and/or new cards.

For others, it is a "mine is bigger than yours" sort of thing, or if I am pretending to be respectful "It provides validation of progress in their credit journey"

Sort of doesn't matter except that many people here seem to go for cards with high CLs in preference to cards that offer better rewards.

Revelate · ‎08-01-2014

Utilization buffer primarily.

Large purchase / arbitrage plays on 2% or better cards.

If the proverbial fecal matter hits the air circulation device, credit cards are a buffer between having a home and being on the street, and as such limits can be useful if one's financial life starts falling apart to buy time while trying to straighten out other things like arranging alternate income sources.

Anonymous · ‎08-01-2014

It makes me feel like a grown up. Obviously.

SunriseEarth · ‎08-01-2014

@Superman85 wrote:
Curious, what is it about having high credit card limits that sucks people in?

Not that I am not striving for higher limits myself, but today I got curious as to why else other than maybe helping my credit score would I really want them. My whole journey in rebuilding my credit is to qualify for a mortgage, but after that happens then what? If I have an emergency do I really want to dip into my 5k CL (If I have one at that point) or would I rather force myself to rely on actual cash savings and not get myself into debt. It just seems that having high credit limits would be a huge temptation to use it on things that I would otherwise not even think about getting if I didn’t have the high CL. I hear so many people on the Dave Ramsey show trying to crawl out of credit card debt and I’m wondering if I need to be cautious as to how many credit cards and how high of CL I allow myself to get. Any thoughts?

I think it helps take effort out of controlling your UTIL. For example, my SO's best friend has the Delta Amex with a $35K CL. His monthly spend is around $1500, which he PIF. So, effortlessly, the card always has UTIL of <5%. If I want to keep my AMEX below <5% with his level of spend, I'd have to make a lot more effort, for sure.

tattooedhusker · ‎08-01-2014

Like another stated, utilization buffer and unexpected large expenses

navajomyst2003 · ‎08-01-2014

@Kennie02 wrote:
Before I learned about credit and how to use it wisely, I saw high CLs as more money to spend. Now that I've learned so much from these boards I want high CL's so that my util stays low when I make purchases. Now that I earn rewards I use my CC's for everyday purchases. One trip to the grocery store can be $300+ and if my CL is low there goes my util. Not to mention having to make two trips in a month or something.

+1

In my wallet: Cap1 Venture ($58k), Amex PRG (NPSL), Amex HH ($4K), Barclays Ring MC ($10K), Chase Sapphire Preferred ($22K), Chase SWA Visa Preferred ($7.5K), Chase United Mileage Explorer VS ($20k), Chase Marriott Rewards VS ($12K), BOA BBR MC ($41K), BOA Visa Sig Cash Rewards ($30K), Chase Ritz VS (9K), NFCU Flagship Visa ($55K), Discover It ($6K), Citi AA ($20K). Everything else in SD.

FICO goal: 800+ (as of 3-6-15: EQ FICO 774,,TU FICO 808, EX FICO 775)

longtimelurker · ‎08-01-2014

@tattooedhusker wrote:
Like another stated, utilization buffer and unexpected large expenses

I still think for many this is what they say, but it is more as I referred to above, that people just want to be able to say "I have a big CL"

For those that claim utilization, how many are anyway PIF on all but one card, so this actually has no real impact on score. And for unexpected large expenses, several small limit cards can work equally well.