topic Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's? in Credit Cards

So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Dervrak — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 21:37:54 GMT

I see people posting all the time about getting really crazy credit limits, sometimes upwards of $30,000 on a new application. So what am I missing? I seem to have hit some invisible "wall" at $10,000 on all my accounts and they haven't budged in over three years. About once a year I'll go through and do the "increase credit limit" option (on the cards that allow it). But nothing.

My credit score is currently setting at 763. I have a mortgage, two car loans and $91,500 in open credit across 13 cards of which my usage is currently sitting at about 5%. My income (I'm single) is $115,000 Gross ($88,000 net). No late payments, collections, etc whatsover. 100% on time payment history. The only minor "ding" on my credit report is my average credit history is only 8 years old.

When I get the rejection letter for the CL increase the reasons vary, but three seem common (paraphrasing) "Balances on Real Estate Loans too high" "Balances on Automotive Loans too high" and "insufficient history at current credit limit". Now I kind of understand the first one, I just got a 30 year mortgage less than two years ago and have only paid off about 4% of the balance. The car loans though are harder to understand, one started at $22,000 and is now down to $6,100 and the 2nd started at $26,000 and is now down to $14,000. Those balances seem quite reasonable to me. As for the 3rd? Just how long is a sufficient history at current credit limit, it's going on three years now!

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

CH-7-Mission-Accomplished — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:30:47 GMT

Why don't you list the cards you have now and their credit limits. It might just be the particular lenders. We can advise you where to go for bigger limits if we know what you've got now and with whom.

How much is your total mortgage payment? How much are each of the two car loans?

I make a little under 100K and I have about 275K in open revolving credit lines -- and I have a bankruptcy. I think you're just fishing in the wrong part of the stream.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:47:58 GMT

You’ve gotta find a lender who is willing to be the first to break that barrier. NFCU did it for many of us — if you’re eligible, that’s a good place to start looking.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

jamesdwi — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 01:13:06 GMT

In some cases it comes down to lenders, and sometimes even specific cards. Take for example chase, the chase saphire preffered (CSP) has a minimum starting credit limit of 5,000. They don't like giving any one total credit limits of more than 1/2 there annual income, YMMV but most here see evidence of this. While I was approved for the CSP at 10k, shortly after that I applied for and got the Chase South West card, with a $20,000 starting limit as its a co-branded card they tend to give higher limits that just a chase alone card. Chase also allows you move your credit limits around, if you have a chase card you aren't using you can move its credit limit to a chase card you are using in some cases.

Syncrony bank is the place of legendary credit limits with time, and sometimes just a phone call or a chat, people here with decent files and good income go from a $450 starting limit to $10,000 or even more with a single phone call. Sam's Club can get to $10,000 with just the luv button or a call, many here have Lowes cards with $20,000 limits. Internal limit is rumored to be $99,000 total credit limit across all your Syncrony cards

Amex may start you out with a lower starting limit, as long as its more than $2,000 you can grow it quite rapidly, with Soft pull CLI at 91 days of using the card, that can be as much as 3 times your starting limit, and can do the same every six months, so a $5,,000 card becomes $15,000 at 91 days, and possibly $45,000 if your income and moderate spending.

Be warned if you are ever given a $500 or $1000 credit limit with a prime lender (major banks, Amex, Citi, Discover, Chase, Capital One), the card may never grow or very slowly if you are given one of these while rebuilding, use it, build your credit, and then when you have a clean file, and low Utilization and low number of Hard Pulls, you can apply and get a card with a better starting limit, that will grow with you and close the older low limit card if it has an annual fee, or it no longer benefits you.

Discover cards grow with you over time, if you hit the credit limit increases every 90 days or so. Some times fast, some times slow.

as with all things in the credit world YMMV.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Aim_High — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 02:15:17 GMT

There is more info you can give us to help evaluate such as:

- how much is the mortgage and what is your total debt-to-income counting the auto loans?

- how many credit cards do you have and what are their limits?

It sounds like you're doing pretty well with 8 years credit history and the profile you describe. It also sounds like your debt-to-income ratio is at play, so you may not see a lot of movement until you make more money or owe less money; I don't think they are just giving you an excuse. However, as others pointed out, there are some lenders who just give out unusually large credit lines that may not jive with what you see at other banks, so 'fishing in a different stream' may be another tactic. (Thanks, @CH-7-Rebuilding .)

If you google "high credit limit", the industry technically defines that as $10K or above. So you're actually there by definition. Yes, many do give out higher, sometimes crazy high. With scores of over 800, 30+ years of credit history, 1% or less utilization, and very high income into six figures, the highest INITIAL credit lines I've ever been given were $35K. Even with excellent credit and high income, $20K to $25K isn't unusual for starting limits, although they can grow.

One technique that I think helped me grow my credit lines was to leverage the banks off of each other by growing one limit and then trying to get others to follow suit with CL requests. That seemed to help for me. At the same time, I closed my lower-limit store cards. (Not only did I not use them as much, and at the time I was trying to simplify, but it is also my opinion that a bunch of lower-limit cards may hold you back from high limits by lowering your average credit line.) Another technique is applying for new lines of credit and then combining them if the bank will allow. (Some do not.) Time and persistance may get you there.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 04:12:06 GMT

I'd say your debt to income ratio is limiting your credit card limits.
Those car loan sizes, depending on how many years you financed them for...looking at $350-500/each. Already at $700-1000/month. Add in your new mortgage...somewhere around $2k/month I'd venture a guess? Add in all your assumed monthly bills...water, elec, heat, cable/internet, phone(s), bank may assume another $250-300/month.
Already at nearly 40k/year. Without actual living costs (food, gas, car insurance, memberships, etc).

Banks 'probably' know if you're married/have children. If you are/do, they know you have more expenses to add on.

Yea, it is very manageable debt with your income, but if you tossed 15-20k on a card...the bank would be concerned about it.

Also, a few years of good payments on your car loans are great for scoring, but you still owe a good chunk on them. You getting hit by a car, falling into depression, getting fired, quitting/taking on a lower wage job for better work/life balance, going to jail for a long time for that hidden meth lab you've been secretly sponsoring (lol, mostly kidding...but some risk-management person at a bank likely has a statistical number on all of us for that one), and so on could instantly change your financial situation.
Going from one high income job to another to cover a 45% debt-to-income ratio is more difficult than a 45% debt-to-income ratio of a low income.

For reference: my income is a little lower than yours, have a smaller & shorter credit history (but all good), similar credit scores...but own both my cars & don't have a mortgage (housing market is a joke in the few zip codes I want to buy in...*sigh*). Getting a 34.9k card from amex was no issue (35k is when they start requesting tax returns). Checked my Gold card's "spending power" for laughs and typed in a 20k purchase and it was insta-approved.

Tl;dr: your debt to income ratio is high. And you are signed up to that debt for some years.
I'd wait until at least one car is paid off.
After the second, you should be golden to request a 30k+ card, if not able to after the first car is done.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Dervrak — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 11:48:31 GMT

@CH-7-Mission-Accomplished wrote:
Why don't you list the cards you have now and their credit limits. It might just be the particular lenders. We can advise you where to go for bigger limits if we know what you've got now and with whom.

How much is your total mortgage payment? How much are each of the two car loans?

I make a little under 100K and I have about 275K in open revolving credit lines -- and I have a bankruptcy. I think you're just fishing in the wrong part of the stream.

Ok, here's the breakdown

Mortgage-

BB&T Mortgage Services - $54,000 - $414 Month (I sold a property I inherited and paid about 85% down)

Auto-

BB&T Auto Loans - 2012 Ford Escape - $22,000 Loan (currently owe $6,100) $253 monthly payment

Bridgecrest Auto - 2014 Mercedes C-350 - $26,000 Loan (currently owe $14,000) $298 monthly payment

Credit Cards-

USAA - $10,000

BBVA Compass - $10,000

BB&T - $10,000

Usbank - $10,000

Paypal (Syncrony) - $10,000

Lowes (Syncrony) - $10,000

Mercury - $7,500

Amazon (Syncrony) - $7,500

Barclaycard - $5,000

Wal-mart (Syncrony) - $5,000

Discover - $3,500

Citibank - $3,000

Amazon (Chase) - $2,000

The only card that curently has a balance is the BBVA Compass card with a balance of $4,800 (have a no interest for 12 month deal)....

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 11:54:03 GMT

That Lowes card should easily go past $10K. Have you tried calling Credit Solutions and asking for $25K?

A rough check of your DTI seems to be well below 30%, more like 15%, so I think it’s just a matter of getting one of your current accounts to be the first.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

chfenton — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 12:14:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You’ve gotta find a lender who is willing to be the first to break that barrier. NFCU did it for many of us — if you’re eligible, that’s a good place to start looking.

I agree with this...even with good scores (740 ish across and no derog) and 20 year history once Citi gave me a $35K line every card after that has been at least 25k. Before the Citi Breakthrough, I never got more than $10-15k.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 12:22:50 GMT

There's no secret to large credit limits; they are a function of (1) the entirety of your credit profile, (2) income, (3) debt-to-income ratio, (4) credit useage, and (5) credit score.

Do you regularly request credit limit increases? Much of your tradelines seem to be with mid-tier lenders but you should certainly be able to grow your Discover and Citibank cards through regular soft pull CLIs. You should be able to get a CLI from Citi every 180 days, and Discover you can ask as frequently as you want(but will be denied most of the time). I'm not familiar with all the other lenders but they might require hard pulls for CLIs. U.S. Bank for example, will give auto-CLIs on their Cash+ card but an increase on their Platinum card is usually a hard pull.

But importantly too, you have to use your cards to at least generate swipe fees for the lenders. Banks are usually reluctant to increase credit limits if they don't see use. My BoA Cash Rewards is $85,000 but you can bet that I use it often.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 12:46:33 GMT

@Dervrak wrote:
Mortgage-
BB&T Mortgage Services - $54,000 - $414 Month (I sold a property I inherited and paid about 85% down)

Auto-
BB&T Auto Loans - 2012 Ford Escape - $22,000 Loan (currently owe $6,100) $253 monthly payment
Bridgecrest Auto - 2014 Mercedes C-350 - $26,000 Loan (currently owe $14,000) $298 monthly payment

Credit Cards-
USAA - $10,000
BBVA Compass - $10,000
BB&T - $10,000
Usbank - $10,000
Paypal (Syncrony) - $10,000
Lowes (Syncrony) - $10,000
Mercury - $7,500
Amazon (Syncrony) - $7,500
Barclaycard - $5,000
Wal-mart (Syncrony) - $5,000
Discover - $3,500
Citibank - $3,000
Amazon (Chase) - $2,000

The only card that curently has a balance is the BBVA Compass card with a balance of $4,800 (have a no interest for 12 month deal)....

So, the loan references are just the reason codes FICO spits out for why you don't have an 850. They don't matter much when it comes to CC's. DTI does play some role though with some creditors.

Synch cards typically top out at 10K when you ask for more online. If you call 877-379-8175 and ask for 25K on PP/WM/Amazon and 35K on Lowe's you will either get it or get a counter for their highest limit for right now. Sync has a Per Person limit of 100K.

Most of your cards will require a HP for a CLI BBVA/BBT/USB/C-Amazon.

Barclay's sometimes can get a SP CLI (866-205-5973) if you call them and check for offers on your account and then circle back to see if there's a SP CLI available.

Disco/Citi both offer SP CLI's and CIti will let you take a HP if the SP isn't enough...sometimes it pans out for more and sometimes it doesn't.

The thing though that might hold you back in the short term is the balance on BBVA using 48% of your CL currently.

Now, to the Starting Limit issue.... as long as you're getting opening limits of 10K I wouldn't worry about it. Competing for a high limit at opening isn't the goal, approvals are. Once you're in you can work on things and grow them over time. e.g BOA approved me for 10K and within ~18 months I had worked it up to 65K through 3-6 month CLI's. So, targeting the right lenders is part of the process to getting to those insane limits. Chase is currently at an aggregate of 71K+ between 3 cards and 2 approvals were for 25.9K while a CLI on an existing card was only 5K 3 weeks prior to the 2nd 25K+ approval. Amex works the same way... start 10K within 2 years 50K. It's a matter of quality over quantity when it comes to ultra limits. In comparison I have 1 Sync card and no other "store" cards in my profile of now 22 cards. Most recently I added 5 cards to the tune of ~80K in CL's within 30 days. BBT/BBVA were 3 of them and I consider them to be low CL's but they were worth $ in the bonuses. Will I keep them long term? That's yet to be seen depending on how they grow in the next 6 months or so... There's nothing special about either bank as to rewards for daily use or extended use for that matter.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

CH-7-Mission-Accomplished — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 21:06:33 GMT

You should be able to get that Lowes up to 35K pretty quickly without a hard pull by calling their credit solutions number. They ask questions about income, etc., put you on hold and come back and give you what you want, decline you, or give you a counter offer. Take whatever they give you. I would ask for 15K on Amazon (Synchrony). If you look at my sig I got my big limits at credit unions. Navy is notorious for doling out 25K starting limits to people with good profiles like yours. You can also get a 15K checking line of credit from them. I think their max exposure on credit cards, lines of credit combined is like 80K. Others can correct me. For Navy you basically need to have a vet somewhere in your family -- even a grandparent will do. It used to be much harder to get in with them. Penfed, Alliant, DCU do not require military affiliation at all. You have to donate something like $20 to one of their charities and you are in. I forget now and they are each slightly different.

I think my Discover card started out at like $3500 and now it's over 30K. You should keep hitting that credit limit inrease button (no hard pull) every month or so. Sometimes you get a $500 offer, sometimes $3000 and sometimes crickets. I took every offer and grew it in like two years.

Also go for soft pull CLI's on Citibank.

An eight year average age of accounts is something very few of us on this board ever reach. That is stellar. Don't believe the thing about low age of accounts. Same with installment/mortgage loan balances too high. They are required to give you reasons for a denial in ranked order, but sometimes it's a big stretch.

My partner and I both applied for the Capital One Savor card to get the $500 bonus (each) -- it's now down to like $300 I think -- and we each got 30K limits. I bet you would too -- but beware, Capital One does a hard pull from all three credit bureaus which kind of smarts. Still that's probably a shoe-in for you. There is no annual fee the first year so you can earn your bonus and close at year end before annual fee hits if you have other cards you like better. It pays 4% cash back on dining out and entertainment, which is staggering.

Good luck. You are golden. But don't go crazy trying to satisfy your ego. Apply for maybe two at most every six months and if high limits are what you want go for some of these suggestions.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 03:08:56 GMT

It is hard to tell sometime. All I know is sometimes they are looking at what is your montly expenses based on current balances on all accross your credit accounts. I made a mistake just now by applying USAA Amex invitational offer thinking that it is like NFCU (Real pre-approved offers). I got 25K for both cards at the time even with lower credit score than yours but my obligation to pay is lower. However, for whatever reason right now I got the message from USAA saying that I have too much obligation and I am being rejected. My income is currently around 82k reduced from last year since I am not doing my other side income. Another thing is I am not sure if Amex branding hurting my chances since Amex have rejected my account applications and CLI several times in a roll since last year. I should have read the message here again before applying. That was my mistake and now I am getting another credit hit while the older hits are being erased. My credit history average was high before but recently drop to I think 7 years because of several new credit accounts. Maybe wait for a while and reduced and pay off several accounts and apply again.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 03:14:38 GMT

Hi, so you only have one card with a balance and the rest is 0. That could be also an issue with credit card companies. They like you to have balance but not excessive balance or too many balances. In their mind they would be asking why you need more credit cards while you are not spending them and it also depends on whoever issue that credit card/CLI.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 03:15:49 GMT

That's a very good response.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 03:32:03 GMT

@benreily, there isn’t enough info to call that - OP currently has zero balances but may be using the cards all the same. Having a balance and reporting a balance are different and OP may elect to pay those cards to zero before closing in order to report zero, while running spend through them regularly.

OP, I agree with the excellent insight given here. I think it’s just a matter of time to crack open the vault on a lender and then more will follow.

Re: So what's the secret (if there is one) to getting one of those really big CL's?

800who — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 18:01:55 GMT

I've been rejected before due to not enough use of card or not enough use of current limit... I mean what's the purpose of having a $30k CL if you're getting >$1000 each month and PIF.. I'm just assuming that's roughly the case... that's what I do and I have a very similar credit profile to you.. no mortgage or auto loan tho but AAoA is only like 1.5 years

Do you actually make use of your large CL's (for those that have them)?

Dervrak — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:27:49 GMT

I often see comments where folks have multiple credit cards with limits of $30,000, $50,000 or even $100,000 on a single card or over $300,000+ across multiple accounts.

For those that do, I'm just curious as to why. Are you in some sort of profession, such as independent contracting work or a home business, where you actually take advantage of those limits? Or is it more that you get them because you can, but you never really take advantage of more than a small fraction of your limits? (which is certainly fine if that's the reason).

I have roughly $90,000 in open credit across 10 cards and I'll be the first to admit even that relatively low amount (compared to many others) is overkill for my needs. I make a pretty decent living (six figure salary), I'm no spendthrift and yet I don't think between vacations, household expenses etc. that I have $20k in activity across all my cards throughout the year and I usually pay off my balances monthly, or perhaps with holiday shopping or dropping $5k on a vacation I might carry a balance for 2 or 3 months. Now admittedly, I'm single so I don't have nearly as much in household or vacation expenses as, say, a family of 5 would have...

But I can't think of any scenario where I would ever need to put more than $10k on a credit card in a short period of time and even that would be really pushing the upper limit. If I'm going to make a major purchase such as a home, I'm going to get a mortgage. If I purchase a car I'll get an auto loan. If I'm remodeling or making major home repairs, I'll use my HELOC. The largest purchases I would ever make on my credit cards would be vacations, home furnishings and the like. But unless I suddenly got the urge to take a world cruise on a luxury liner or furnish my house in 18th century antiques, I would still never make use of $100k credit line.

Re: Do you actually make use of your large CL's (for those that have them)?

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:36:45 GMT

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

Re: Do you actually make use of your large CL's (for those that have them)?

wasCB14 — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:38:07 GMT

A lot of my income is from investments. Every now and then I'll make a large estimated tax payment.

I was actually able to spend ~$40k in one statement on a $13k CL Amex BBP. Most of it ($27k) was due a few weeks after the statement closed, but some of it I was able to carry for a few months more at 0%.

So in that case I took advantage of my CL - and more!