credit availability - how much is too much ??

[expatCanuck]

Can anyone speak to whether the Fair, Isaac model takes into account too much credit availability?

Let's say that someone has 4 cards, each with a $10K limit, each typicaly with < 10% utilization.  Might the *availability* of that $40K work against the holder?

Presumably, the model is designed to let lenders assess both risk and potential profitability (and I'd guess it's with emphasis on the former).  But the model specifically excludes salary, and the risk of $40K in debt for someone with a $50K salary is surely greater than that for someone with a $150K salary.

Insight welcome.

[myjourney]

Limits are not counted into Fico scoring 

[vanillabean]

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@expatCanuck wrote:

Can anyone speak to whether the Fair, Isaac model takes into account too much credit availability?

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Sort of, as ~40K accounts are excluded for utilization.

[skigirl916]

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@myjourney wrote:

Limits are not counted into Fico scoring 

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Then why does (I mean, did - past tense) Credit Karma tell me that one of the factors hurting my credit score at the time was that the average limit of my cards was below $2,000?

[Involver]

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@skigirl916 wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

Limits are not counted into Fico scoring 

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Then why does (I mean, did - past tense) Credit Karma tell me that one of the factors hurting my credit score at the time was that the average limit of my cards was below $2,000?

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Because Credit Karma is worthless and you should take nothing they recommend with any seriousness.  Their scores are fake and useless. 

Use them only to monitor activity on your TU report.