topic Re: CLIs seem scarce these days… in Credit Cards

CLIs seem scarce these days…

EGMF — Thu, 26 May 2022 17:29:58 GMT

Maybe twice a year, I look into easy (SP/No Pull) CLIs from my existing accounts. Besides Capital One, I can't remember the last time I wasn't approved for a CLI.

Discover IT- Approved $1800 incresse
Citi Costco Anywhere- Approved $1200
BofA Unlimited Cash- Approved $1500
BofA Customized Cash- Limit increase not available at this time
American Express Everyday- We aren't able to increase your limit at this time
American Express Preferred- We aren't able to increase your limit at this time
Citi Simplicity- Increase not available at this time
I don't even check Capital One anymore.

My overall scores are in the 770s with a 12% utilization (0% balance transfers). Maybe a sign of the times, but I don't think I've ever not gotten a requested AE increase. Still in pursuit of my first $30k card- I kind of thought this was going to be the year for AE.

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 26 May 2022 17:45:55 GMT

@EGMF wrote:
Maybe twice a year, I look into easy (SP/No Pull) CLIs from my existing accounts. Besides Capital One, I can't remember the last time I wasn't approved for a CLI.
Discover IT- Approved $1800 incresse
Citi Costco Anywhere- Approved $1200
BofA Unlimited Cash- Approved $1500
BofA Customized Cash- Limit increase not available at this time
American Express Everyday- We aren't able to increase your limit at this time
American Express Preferred- We aren't able to increase your limit at this time
Citi Simplicity- Increase not available at this time
I don't even check Capital One anymore.
My overall scores are in the 770s with a 12% utilization (0% balance transfers). Maybe a sign of the times, but I don't think I've ever not gotten a requested AE increase. Still in pursuit of my first $30k card- I kind of thought this was going to be the year for AE.

I don't think cli are ever easy, it just depends on one's profile, usage, and lender. For every person who says they always get cli you will find another who can't catch a break. As for Amex,,they gotta like what they see. With very minimall usage, and low income Amex has stopped everything for me, no cli, no pl offers, not even to check, and though I don't chase subs, no sub language lol. Everyone will have different experiences this is mine. Good luck on your Pursuit of Happiness, er pursuit of 30k

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

jcooks — Thu, 26 May 2022 17:59:41 GMT

Did you receive a CLI from any Amex cards within the last 180 days or got denied a CLI within the last 90 days?

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

SoCalGardener — Thu, 26 May 2022 18:03:31 GMT

@EGMF wrote:
Maybe twice a year, I look into easy (SP/No Pull) CLIs from my existing accounts. Besides Capital One, I can't remember the last time I wasn't approved for a CLI.
Discover IT- Approved $1800 incresse
Citi Costco Anywhere- Approved $1200
BofA Unlimited Cash- Approved $1500
BofA Customized Cash- Limit increase not available at this time
American Express Everyday- We aren't able to increase your limit at this time
American Express Preferred- We aren't able to increase your limit at this time
Citi Simplicity- Increase not available at this time
I don't even check Capital One anymore.
My overall scores are in the 770s with a 12% utilization (0% balance transfers). Maybe a sign of the times, but I don't think I've ever not gotten a requested AE increase. Still in pursuit of my first $30k card- I kind of thought this was going to be the year for AE.

Interesting. I've found the opposite this year--every CLI I've requested has been granted. (Like you, I don't bother trying Cap1 any more.) They've ranged from $2,000 (BofA CC) to $5,000 (Amex BCP) increases. Ironically, my scores are lower now than they've been in years! My utilization is hovering at 30%--much, much higher than normal--but the CLIs keep coming.

As we all know on this board, we're all unique individuals with unique financial/credit profiles, so it's not surprising (to me) that you're not having much luck with CLIs yet I am. Next month, it could easily be reversed.

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

EGMF — Thu, 26 May 2022 18:17:51 GMT

No, but you got me wondering- I did open a new Amex Business (Amazon Prime) card. Should have been separate from my personal credit but, Maybe that's tracking???

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

GatorGuy — Thu, 26 May 2022 18:39:50 GMT

You mention nothing about the most important factor is in my opinion, income.

Think of credit scores as getting you in the door. They help determine that you are credit worthy. However income and balances determine how much credit you can handle. Many lenders will limit the credit they extend as a proportion of your income.

The second important factor is usage. Some lenders want to see their current credit limits being used before giving you additional credit. This limits their risk unnecessarily. This will likely become more important as the economy slows down further.

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

EGMF — Thu, 26 May 2022 18:51:43 GMT

Fair- I don't promote it on the boards. But I think my income falls in an acceptable range for the limits I'm looking for. And I did self-report and year over year increase. And you're 100% on usage I try to spread it out and until very recently these two Amex cards have been my go-tos. Currently, I'm after a Chase sign-on bonus so, everything is going to that card right now.

THANK YOU for the insight!

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

SoCalGardener — Thu, 26 May 2022 23:28:04 GMT

@GatorGuy wrote:
You mention nothing about the most important factor is in my opinion, income.

Think of credit scores as getting you in the door. They help determine that you are credit worthy. However income and balances determine how much credit you can handle. Many lenders will limit the credit they extend as a proportion of your income.

The second important factor is usage. Some lenders want to see their current credit limits being used before giving you additional credit. This limits their risk unnecessarily. This will likely become more important as the economy slows down further.

I'm not sure I agree--or disagree--with your statement about the importance of income. Mostly I'm just confused on the whole topic!

My income nosedived after I was forced to retire early due to illness. I had planned on working AT LEAST another 20 years, if not more, but that went out the window. So I was stuck with just the SS I'd accrued up until then. My income now is embarrassing....certainly a far cry from the very healthy 6-figure income I used to make. But with all that said, here's the thing: even with my paltry income, I have high CLs (five figures) on almost all of my cards. All of them were acquired *after* retiring, so my previous big salary is not/has not been a factor.

Some of my biggest CLs are from banks that not only know my income, but also my assets/net worth, housing situation, etc. I believe those questions are optional, but I'm happy to answer them because they *definitely* improve my financial profile!

I do agree that usage is important, but even with that there's wiggle room. My utilization is much higher than normal right now, hovering around 30% overall, and as high as 81% on one card, yet that hasn't stopped any of the CLIs I've requested recently from being granted. So I don't know! Each of the banks that recently granted a CLI had my usage history--and payment history--to factor in to the decision, but still...

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

GatorGuy — Thu, 26 May 2022 23:54:41 GMT

@SoCalGardener wrote:
@GatorGuy wrote:
You mention nothing about the most important factor is in my opinion, income.

Think of credit scores as getting you in the door. They help determine that you are credit worthy. However income and balances determine how much credit you can handle. Many lenders will limit the credit they extend as a proportion of your income.

The second important factor is usage. Some lenders want to see their current credit limits being used before giving you additional credit. This limits their risk unnecessarily. This will likely become more important as the economy slows down further.
I'm not sure I agree--or disagree--with your statement about the importance of income. Mostly I'm just confused on the whole topic!

My income nosedived after I was forced to retire early due to illness. I had planned on working AT LEAST another 20 years, if not more, but that went out the window. So I was stuck with just the SS I'd accrued up until then. My income now is embarrassing....certainly a far cry from the very healthy 6-figure income I used to make. But with all that said, here's the thing: even with my paltry income, I have high CLs (five figures) on almost all of my cards. All of them were acquired *after* retiring, so my previous big salary is not/has not been a factor.

Some of my biggest CLs are from banks that not only know my income, but also my assets/net worth, housing situation, etc. I believe those questions are optional, but I'm happy to answer them because they *definitely* improve my financial profile!

I do agree that usage is important, but even with that there's wiggle room. My utilization is much higher than normal right now, hovering around 30% overall, and as high as 81% on one card, yet that hasn't stopped any of the CLIs I've requested recently from being granted. So I don't know! Each of the banks that recently granted a CLI had my usage history--and payment history--to factor in to the decision, but still...

@SoCalGardener Of course I did not mean to imply that income is the only factor, or the end all be all. I just believe that it is the most important factor based off all my own experience as well as the many many data points I've seen here and as well as talking to people in finance.

I believe it also makes sense logically if you think about it. If you have two people with identical scores of 800 with identical credit profiles. One has an income of $100,000 and the other and income of $50,000, then the person with the higher income will likely receive a much higher credit limit. The higher your income the more likely you are to spend more, and also greater ability to repay higher amounts. If someone had an income of $50,000 do they need a credit limit of $100,000? They might be responsible since they have a high credit score and thus might not use it but then why even give them that limit in the first place?

Of course every credit profile and every institution is different. Income isn't the only factor that matters but just what I feel and have observed to be the most heavily weighted when related to CLs. But of course they still care about your balances, recent new accounts, relationship with the lender among other factors. And of course each institution weights all these things differently. Like in your case you mentioned being retired and on disability. Someone in that situation, their assets become much more important because you're likely living off part of your assets where someone younger and fully employed is building their assets and thus only living off part of their income. However at the end of the day we can never know for sure since we're not the ones making the decision.

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

OmarGB9 — Fri, 27 May 2022 00:05:21 GMT

@SoCalGardener wrote:
@GatorGuy wrote:
You mention nothing about the most important factor is in my opinion, income.

Think of credit scores as getting you in the door. They help determine that you are credit worthy. However income and balances determine how much credit you can handle. Many lenders will limit the credit they extend as a proportion of your income.

The second important factor is usage. Some lenders want to see their current credit limits being used before giving you additional credit. This limits their risk unnecessarily. This will likely become more important as the economy slows down further.
I'm not sure I agree--or disagree--with your statement about the importance of income. Mostly I'm just confused on the whole topic!

My income nosedived after I was forced to retire early due to illness. I had planned on working AT LEAST another 20 years, if not more, but that went out the window. So I was stuck with just the SS I'd accrued up until then. My income now is embarrassing....certainly a far cry from the very healthy 6-figure income I used to make. But with all that said, here's the thing: even with my paltry income, I have high CLs (five figures) on almost all of my cards. All of them were acquired *after* retiring, so my previous big salary is not/has not been a factor.

Some of my biggest CLs are from banks that not only know my income, but also my assets/net worth, housing situation, etc. I believe those questions are optional, but I'm happy to answer them because they *definitely* improve my financial profile!

I do agree that usage is important, but even with that there's wiggle room. My utilization is much higher than normal right now, hovering around 30% overall, and as high as 81% on one card, yet that hasn't stopped any of the CLIs I've requested recently from being granted. So I don't know! Each of the banks that recently granted a CLI had my usage history--and payment history--to factor in to the decision, but still...

I think in your situation it's your assets that are helping you, namely your seven (maybe even eight?) figure home. This is just my opinion, though.

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

SoCalGardener — Fri, 27 May 2022 00:07:34 GMT

@GatorGuy wrote:
@SoCalGardener wrote:
@GatorGuy wrote:
You mention nothing about the most important factor is in my opinion, income.

Think of credit scores as getting you in the door. They help determine that you are credit worthy. However income and balances determine how much credit you can handle. Many lenders will limit the credit they extend as a proportion of your income.

The second important factor is usage. Some lenders want to see their current credit limits being used before giving you additional credit. This limits their risk unnecessarily. This will likely become more important as the economy slows down further.
I'm not sure I agree--or disagree--with your statement about the importance of income. Mostly I'm just confused on the whole topic!

My income nosedived after I was forced to retire early due to illness. I had planned on working AT LEAST another 20 years, if not more, but that went out the window. So I was stuck with just the SS I'd accrued up until then. My income now is embarrassing....certainly a far cry from the very healthy 6-figure income I used to make. But with all that said, here's the thing: even with my paltry income, I have high CLs (five figures) on almost all of my cards. All of them were acquired *after* retiring, so my previous big salary is not/has not been a factor.

Some of my biggest CLs are from banks that not only know my income, but also my assets/net worth, housing situation, etc. I believe those questions are optional, but I'm happy to answer them because they *definitely* improve my financial profile!

I do agree that usage is important, but even with that there's wiggle room. My utilization is much higher than normal right now, hovering around 30% overall, and as high as 81% on one card, yet that hasn't stopped any of the CLIs I've requested recently from being granted. So I don't know! Each of the banks that recently granted a CLI had my usage history--and payment history--to factor in to the decision, but still...
@SoCalGardener Of course I did not mean to imply that income is the only factor, or the end all be all. I just believe that it is the most important factor based off all my own experience as well as the many many data points I've seen here and as well as talking to people in finance.

I believe it also makes sense logically if you think about it. If you have two people with identical scores of 800 with identical credit profiles. One has an income of $100,000 and the other and income of $50,000, then the person with the higher income will likely receive a much higher credit limit. The higher your income the more likely you are to spend more, and also greater ability to repay higher amounts. If someone had an income of $50,000 do they need a credit limit of $100,000? They might be responsible since they have a high credit score and thus might not use it but then why even give them that limit in the first place?

Of course every credit profile and every institution is different. Income isn't the only factor that matters but just what I feel and have observed to be the most heavily weighted when related to CLs. But of course they still care about your balances, recent new accounts, relationship with the lender among other factors. And of course each institution weights all these things differently. Like in your case you mentioned being retired and on disability. Someone in that situation, their assets become much more important because you're likely living off part of your assets where someone younger and fully employed is building their assets and thus only living off part of their income. However at the end of the day we can never know for sure since we're not the ones making the decision.

Excellent points. And I knew you didn't mean income was the *only* factor, just one of them.

Luckily, I was absolutely driven when it came to socking away money for the future while I was working, so I'm now very comfortable, despite my involuntary early retirement. In a typical month, I don't need anything but my SS to cover everything--but when something big comes up, like my $100,000+ medical bills five years ago, I have money to tap into. I feel blessed to own my 7-figure home outright and be comfortable financially, all things considered.

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

SoCalGardener — Fri, 27 May 2022 00:09:48 GMT

@OmarGB9 wrote:
@SoCalGardener wrote:
@GatorGuy wrote:
You mention nothing about the most important factor is in my opinion, income.

Think of credit scores as getting you in the door. They help determine that you are credit worthy. However income and balances determine how much credit you can handle. Many lenders will limit the credit they extend as a proportion of your income.

The second important factor is usage. Some lenders want to see their current credit limits being used before giving you additional credit. This limits their risk unnecessarily. This will likely become more important as the economy slows down further.
I'm not sure I agree--or disagree--with your statement about the importance of income. Mostly I'm just confused on the whole topic!

My income nosedived after I was forced to retire early due to illness. I had planned on working AT LEAST another 20 years, if not more, but that went out the window. So I was stuck with just the SS I'd accrued up until then. My income now is embarrassing....certainly a far cry from the very healthy 6-figure income I used to make. But with all that said, here's the thing: even with my paltry income, I have high CLs (five figures) on almost all of my cards. All of them were acquired *after* retiring, so my previous big salary is not/has not been a factor.

Some of my biggest CLs are from banks that not only know my income, but also my assets/net worth, housing situation, etc. I believe those questions are optional, but I'm happy to answer them because they *definitely* improve my financial profile!

I do agree that usage is important, but even with that there's wiggle room. My utilization is much higher than normal right now, hovering around 30% overall, and as high as 81% on one card, yet that hasn't stopped any of the CLIs I've requested recently from being granted. So I don't know! Each of the banks that recently granted a CLI had my usage history--and payment history--to factor in to the decision, but still...
I think in your situation it's your assets that are helping you, namely your seven (maybe even eight?) figure home. This is just my opinion, though.

Just seven.

Yes, I agree; I can't imagine banks giving me as high a CL as they have based solely on my paltry income. That's why I'm happy to answer those optional questions! They bolster my odds, big time.

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

AverageJoesCredit — Fri, 27 May 2022 02:52:10 GMT

@GatorGuy wrote:
@SoCalGardener wrote:
@GatorGuy wrote:
You mention nothing about the most important factor is in my opinion, income.

Think of credit scores as getting you in the door. They help determine that you are credit worthy. However income and balances determine how much credit you can handle. Many lenders will limit the credit they extend as a proportion of your income.

The second important factor is usage. Some lenders want to see their current credit limits being used before giving you additional credit. This limits their risk unnecessarily. This will likely become more important as the economy slows down further.
I'm not sure I agree--or disagree--with your statement about the importance of income. Mostly I'm just confused on the whole topic!

My income nosedived after I was forced to retire early due to illness. I had planned on working AT LEAST another 20 years, if not more, but that went out the window. So I was stuck with just the SS I'd accrued up until then. My income now is embarrassing....certainly a far cry from the very healthy 6-figure income I used to make. But with all that said, here's the thing: even with my paltry income, I have high CLs (five figures) on almost all of my cards. All of them were acquired *after* retiring, so my previous big salary is not/has not been a factor.

Some of my biggest CLs are from banks that not only know my income, but also my assets/net worth, housing situation, etc. I believe those questions are optional, but I'm happy to answer them because they *definitely* improve my financial profile!

I do agree that usage is important, but even with that there's wiggle room. My utilization is much higher than normal right now, hovering around 30% overall, and as high as 81% on one card, yet that hasn't stopped any of the CLIs I've requested recently from being granted. So I don't know! Each of the banks that recently granted a CLI had my usage history--and payment history--to factor in to the decision, but still...
@SoCalGardener Of course I did not mean to imply that income is the only factor, or the end all be all. I just believe that it is the most important factor based off all my own experience as well as the many many data points I've seen here and as well as talking to people in finance.

I believe it also makes sense logically if you think about it. If you have two people with identical scores of 800 with identical credit profiles. One has an income of $100,000 and the other and income of $50,000, then the person with the higher income will likely receive a much higher credit limit. The higher your income the more likely you are to spend more, and also greater ability to repay higher amounts. If someone had an income of $50,000 do they need a credit limit of $100,000? They might be responsible since they have a high credit score and thus might not use it but then why even give them that limit in the first place?

Of course every credit profile and every institution is different. Income isn't the only factor that matters but just what I feel and have observed to be the most heavily weighted when related to CLs. But of course they still care about your balances, recent new accounts, relationship with the lender among other factors. And of course each institution weights all these things differently. Like in your case you mentioned being retired and on disability. Someone in that situation, their assets become much more important because you're likely living off part of your assets where someone younger and fully employed is building their assets and thus only living off part of their income. However at the end of the day we can never know for sure since we're not the ones making the decision.

I think the same can be said for lower income. In fact those with higher income and bigger limits are just as easily to spend more and default more by the very nature of having more limits so maybe higher risk. There are those with lower income who obtain larger limits than normal by managing their credit very responsibly. As said every profile is unique and different but anyone can default despite their income. Just look at all the high income earners here who've had to declare bk or have cards that can't even reach $1k. Life happens, people will be people ,etc. Getting cli if able isn't so bad an endeavor as it may come in handy when one least expects;

Re: CLIs seem scarce these days…

GatorGuy — Fri, 27 May 2022 04:44:43 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
I think the same can be said for lower income. In fact those with higher income and bigger limits are just as easily to spend more and default more by the very nature of having more limits so maybe higher risk. There are those with lower income who obtain larger limits than normal by managing their credit very responsibly. As said every profile is unique and different but anyone can default despite their income. Just look at all the high income earners here who've had to declare bk or have cards that can't even reach $1k. Life happens, people will be people ,etc. Getting cli if able isn't so bad an endeavor as it may come in handy when one least expects;

@AverageJoesCredit Higher limits regardless of income bring about higher risk. And anyone can default on debts even with high incomes. However, in general , someone with higher income will have a greater need for a higher limit (due to higher spending) and also will have a greater ability to repay it (due to higher income). Of course there are many examples counter to that.

My main point was simply responding to the post referring to their credit score and not getting a CLI. An idea that I see very often on here. However it overlooks how income plays into that decision.