topic Re: How to get high limits? in Credit Cards

How to get high limits?

ajcredit — Tue, 02 May 2023 14:46:02 GMT

I have several cards with the newest approx 2 years old. I've been trying for several years to get at least one high limit card for large purchases I make from time to time. I have a few cards at $10k, but never seem to be able break past that limit. I regularly rotate and use them up to 5-6k and pay them off within a month or 2. I do have a small >$1k balance on the report but that's just due to purchases close to billing cycle. I am really hoping for something in the $20k range as that serve all my needs. Any suggestions on how to go about requesting that sort of limit or what companies might be more apt to give that sort of limit?

Re: How to get high limits?

M_Smart007 — Tue, 02 May 2023 15:08:05 GMT

Hi @ajcredit and welcome to the forum!

Would you be willing to list your current cards/limits/age of them/income and your current fico scores?

If you could give the forum members better understanding of your profile, we could probably give you better advice.

Re: How to get high limits?

ajcredit — Tue, 02 May 2023 15:29:04 GMT

5y Chase Sapphire Preferred $10k

2y DiscoverIT Chrome $10k

3y AMEX Blue Cash Everyday $10k

8y Citi American Airlines $10k

11y Chase Amazon $10k

7y Local CU $10k

9y Amazon Store $10k

6y Lowes Store $10k

4y Choice Privileges $8.3k

11yCapitalOne QS MC $5k

12y CapitalOne QS Visa $2.25k

1y Mortgage $145k

Income approx $165k

Scores are 780-805

Re: How to get high limits?

Gmood1 — Tue, 02 May 2023 15:41:25 GMT

Have you requested any CLIs?

Also First Tech has a CC that starts at $25k.

They can be rather conservative. Your income should meet their standards easily. The card does have a AF.

https://www.firsttechfed.com/borrow/credit-cards/odyssey-rewards

Re: How to get high limits?

SouthJamaica — Tue, 02 May 2023 15:44:46 GMT

@ajcredit wrote:
5y Chase Sapphire Preferred $10k
2y DiscoverIT Chrome $10k
3y AMEX Blue Cash Everyday $10k
8y Citi American Airlines $10k
11y Chase Amazon $10k
7y Local CU $10k
9y Amazon Store $10k
6y Lowes Store $10k
4y Choice Privileges $8.3k
11yCapitalOne QS MC $5k
12y CapitalOne QS Visa $2.25k
1y Mortgage $145k
Income approx $165k
Scores are 780-805

American Express -- this is the easy one. Soft pull credit limit increases can be requested at 6 month intervals. Go big in your request. If it's too big they won't turn you down, they'll counter.

Discover -- can make soft pull credit limit increase requests as often as you like. Unpredictable outcomes.

Chase -- the best formula seems to be to put a lot of action on the card, and hope for an automatic increase, but now that they have instituted soft pull CLI requests, you can go that route as well. The Amazon Prime has been especially receptive to CLI requests.

Citi -- you can make CLI requests at 6 month intervals; it will tell you before you apply if it's soft pull or hard pull.

Re: How to get high limits?

JoeRockhead — Tue, 02 May 2023 15:54:27 GMT

The first one on your list that I'd take a good look at is Amex, since you're an existing customer. In addition to CLIs, they can also be generous with additional accounts, and there's a strong likelihood (not guaranteed) of a SP approval too, so maybe consider another revolver like the BCP (not one of their charge cards).

Re: How to get high limits?

M_Smart007 — Tue, 02 May 2023 18:26:47 GMT

@ajcredit wrote:
5y Chase Sapphire Preferred $10k
2y DiscoverIT Chrome $10k
3y AMEX Blue Cash Everyday $10k
8y Citi American Airlines $10k
11y Chase Amazon $10k
7y Local CU $10k
9y Amazon Store $10k
6y Lowes Store $10k
4y Choice Privileges $8.3k
11yCapitalOne QS MC $5k
12y CapitalOne QS Visa $2.25k
1y Mortgage $145k
Income approx $165k
Scores are 780-805

@ajcredit, Thanks for posting your profile.

You have already been given some great advice.

My thoughts, go online to your Lowe's acct. and ask for a credit limit increase to $35K it is a soft pull,

don't worry about asking for the full amount of $35K, "if" they are not willing to grant the full limit, they will counter offer. No harm & No foul.

You might look into asking on your Chase cards, call in "SP" on Transunion report.

Also, you might try for a credit union, Patelco has a pre-qualify ..they have been very generous to Me. [you can see here]

Also PenFed credit union can give decent limits (the website is not the greatest, but works ..phone App is not so bad)

I'll mention one more Affinity Federal credit union My 1st card was a $25K limit.

Good Luck!

Re: How to get high limits?

GZG — Tue, 02 May 2023 18:56:30 GMT

@ajcredit wrote:
5y Chase Sapphire Preferred $10k
2y DiscoverIT Chrome $10k
3y AMEX Blue Cash Everyday $10k
8y Citi American Airlines $10k
11y Chase Amazon $10k
9y Amazon Store $10k
6y Lowes Store $10k
Income approx $165k
Scores are 780-805

are you requesting credit line increases?

Re: How to get high limits?

M_Smart007 — Tue, 02 May 2023 19:03:02 GMT

@GZG wrote:
@ajcredit wrote:
5y Chase Sapphire Preferred $10k
2y DiscoverIT Chrome $10k
3y AMEX Blue Cash Everyday $10k
8y Citi American Airlines $10k
11y Chase Amazon $10k
9y Amazon Store $10k
6y Lowes Store $10k
Income approx $165k
Scores are 780-805
are you requesting credit line increases?

@GZG, From OP's post #1 ..I took this as;

"Any suggestions on how to go about requesting that sort of limit or what companies might be more apt to give that sort of limit?"

either / or

Re: How to get high limits?

ajcredit — Tue, 02 May 2023 20:04:46 GMT

I had been requesting CLIs but getting denied. Reasons were vague to me, like high balance on installment loan (the new home loan I'm assuming) and usage of current limit. One even said could not raise due to maximum limit available (I think Amazon. I'll have to look again.)

Funny thing is I just tried the Lowes Store for $35k and got an immediate approval.
Chase says no offers are available when I try.
I might try the local CU and see if they can make an in house decision on one that would hopefully do something to trigger the others.

I see many of you have several cards in the $30-$40k range. What type of income does that take?

During the pandemic in 2020 my income went from $35k to $145k so it's been a bit different for me in even thinking about credit this way. Most of the my cards were issued at around $5k or less except for the CSP and the local that was $10k. The others received automatic CLIs within a year or 2 after opening.

I do have 12 inquiries on my report from a year to 18 months ago when I was shopping around for a mortgage loan. I wonder if that has an effect.

Re: How to get high limits?

coldfusion — Tue, 02 May 2023 20:34:11 GMT

@ajcredit wrote:
I had been requesting CLIs but getting denied. Reasons were vague to me, like high balance on installment loan (the new home loan I'm assuming) and usage of current limit. One even said could not raise due to maximum limit available (I think Amazon. I'll have to look again.)
Funny thing is I just tried the Lowes Store for $35k and got an immediate approval.
Chase says no offers are available when I try.
I might try the local CU and see if they can make an in house decision on one that would hopefully do something to trigger the others.

I see many of you have several cards in the $30-$40k range. What type of income does that take?

During the pandemic in 2020 my income went from $35k to $145k so it's been a bit different for me in even thinking about credit this way. Most of the my cards were issued at around $5k or less except for the CSP and the local that was $10k. The others received automatic CLIs within a year or 2 after opening.

I do have 12 inquiries on my report from a year to 18 months ago when I was shopping around for a mortgage loan. I wonder if that has an effect.

The recent mortgage might be somewhat of a concern but the inquiries themselves really shouldn't be.

Have you updated your income to current level with Chase and tried requesting a CLI on your CSP? Your current income vs current total exposure across all your Chase cards would in many cases allow for some wiggle room and CLI requests are currently only a SP.

Re: How to get high limits?

markbeiser — Tue, 02 May 2023 22:40:28 GMT

If it has been more than 3 months or so since you got a CLI on your AmEx BCE card, you may be able to get an instant 3x CLI through your online account portal.
Their max CLI is 3x your current limit but you can ask for more than $30k and they will counter with a lower limit if you are approved at all.

Re: How to get high limits?

nytokyobred79 — Wed, 03 May 2023 03:43:58 GMT

@ajcredit wrote:
I had been requesting CLIs but getting denied. Reasons were vague to me, like high balance on installment loan (the new home loan I'm assuming) and usage of current limit. One even said could not raise due to maximum limit available (I think Amazon. I'll have to look again.)
Funny thing is I just tried the Lowes Store for $35k and got an immediate approval.
Chase says no offers are available when I try.
I might try the local CU and see if they can make an in house decision on one that would hopefully do something to trigger the others.

I see many of you have several cards in the $30-$40k range. What type of income does that take?

During the pandemic in 2020 my income went from $35k to $145k so it's been a bit different for me in even thinking about credit this way. Most of the my cards were issued at around $5k or less except for the CSP and the local that was $10k. The others received automatic CLIs within a year or 2 after opening.

I do have 12 inquiries on my report from a year to 18 months ago when I was shopping around for a mortgage loan. I wonder if that has an effect.

For Chase, I'd still call in even though the online tool said no offers are available. You may have better luck calling. Or if you're not as comfortable calling, send a secure message via the Chase website.

Re: How to get high limits?

Lou-natic — Wed, 03 May 2023 04:21:14 GMT

My FNBO card started at 10k and grew to 25k, my AMEX BBP (the best AMEX MR card IMHO, don't let the "business" name fool you) started at 25k...X1 card started at 21.5k. You should have no problem achieving those kind of limits.

Re: How to get high limits?

Jeffster1 — Wed, 03 May 2023 05:23:24 GMT

For me, it seemed completely random. After a series of sub-10K approvals, suddenly I got a $35K SL on my Kinecta MC, and a $30K SL on my WF BILT.

This was less than two years post- DC.

Income ~ 190K

Re: How to get high limits?

Aim_High — Wed, 03 May 2023 20:13:57 GMT

@ajcredit wrote:
I had been requesting CLIs but getting denied. Reasons were vague to me, like high balance on installment loan (the new home loan I'm assuming) and usage of current limit. One even said could not raise due to maximum limit available (I think Amazon. I'll have to look again.)
Funny thing is I just tried the Lowes Store for $35k and got an immediate approval.
Chase says no offers are available when I try.
I might try the local CU and see if they can make an in house decision on one that would hopefully do something to trigger the others.

I see many of you have several cards in the $30-$40k range. What type of income does that take?

During the pandemic in 2020 my income went from $35k to $145k so it's been a bit different for me in even thinking about credit this way. Most of the my cards were issued at around $5k or less except for the CSP and the local that was $10k. The others received automatic CLIs within a year or 2 after opening.

I do have 12 inquiries on my report from a year to 18 months ago when I was shopping around for a mortgage loan. I wonder if that has an effect.

@ajcredit wrote:
5y Chase Sapphire Preferred $10k
2y DiscoverIT Chrome $10k
3y AMEX Blue Cash Everyday $10k
8y Citi American Airlines $10k
11y Chase Amazon $10k
7y Local CU $10k
9y Amazon Store $10k
6y Lowes Store $10k
4y Choice Privileges $8.3k
11yCapitalOne QS MC $5k
12y CapitalOne QS Visa $2.25k
1y Mortgage $145k
Income approx $165k
Scores are 780-805

Welcome to My FICO forums, @ajcredit. You've gotten some great advice already from some very knowledgeable community members. Congrats on the immediate approval to $35K on the Lowe's card! That is one part of the equation is that often, when it comes to credit limits, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Being a little pushy with your lenders might take you farther than you expect and many of the ones you have offer no-harm-no-foul Soft Pull request links.

Here are my other observations about your limits:

Income is an important consideration when it comes to credit limits, and your cards haven't caught up to the huge income increases you had in 2020. Your total limits are less than 60% of gross income, so you've got plenty of room to grow before lenders get concerned. Some lenders also restrict credit limits to a percentage of annual income, but you're not anywhere close to that being a factor.

DEBT to income (DTI) is also important for credit limits since overall debt affects ability to repay. So consider not only your income but also your debt obligations to monthly mortgage, car payment, student loans, etc. That's why the income to get a certain CL may be variable to the debts weighed against it. Because of the variables in our personal profiles, it's hard to make comparisons on any single metric such as income.

Yes, that high mortgage loan balance relative to initial balance puts it in a higher category of default risk, which could sway lenders to be more restrictive of credit until that is paid-down father. If you're able to pay ahead on the mortgage, it will help your FICO score, finances with lower overall interest paid, as well as improve chances for higher credit limits.

Yes, if those (12) inquiries were spread out over six months, they are not being fully combined for FICO scoring purposes. And regardless of FICO scoring, that amount of inquiries could give an underwriter pause in approving a higher limit, regardless of the impact on FICO.

When it comes to credit limits, many lenders tend to want to fall in the middle to upper middle end of the "pack." They often don't want to be your lowest card but they may also be reluctant to be your highest. In other words, it may be hard to make a sudden major break out of the limit-range that you already have, and have demonstrated that you can manage successfully. Working your cards against one another by getting regular incremental increases on each will help your overall limits to grow more quickly from my experience. I nicknamed that "leveraging" your limits. For example, now that you have a $35K card with Lowe's (and if others also give you some increases), you may start to see higher average limits across your cards as-a-whole. When circumstances have changed such as yours, it may help to apply for a brand-new card that might be approved at a much higher limit to help break the stalemate.

We have members with cards in the $30K to $40K range or higher with income less than yours, so you already have sufficient income for those limits. Ratcheting limits up to that level can be an element of time with a lender/relationship, regular usage and repayment patterns on cards, taking advantage of CLI opportunities, lowering overall debt over time, keeping credit card utilization between 1% to 8.9%, and at least periodic moderate-to-heavy usage of existing credit lines. (One technique is to to put most/all of household spend through a single card for a few months and Pay-In-Full before asking for a CLI.)

Like the suggestions above, I also concur with SP increases with AMEX, Discover, Chase, and CITI. No one mentioned Capital One but that $5K Quicksilver would probably grow if you're willing to give it some regular spend. Yes, it's a lower rewards rate but it's one of your oldest trade lines. You don't have to put a ton of spend on it, especially since you're starting at the current $5K. I grew my QS from $1K to $30K.

Credit limit variables and growth of limits is a topic I've been interested in and commented on many times on the forums. If you'd like to read some of my older postings, go to >this thread< and then follow the links to some of my other older contributions. Good luck on your CLIs and again, welcome to My FICO.

Re: How to get high limits?

Times — Mon, 08 May 2023 08:20:25 GMT

@Lou-natic wrote:
My FNBO card started at 10k and grew to 25k, my AMEX BBP (the best AMEX MR card IMHO, don't let the "business" name fool you) started at 25k...X1 card started at 21.5k. You should have no problem achieving those kind of limits.

curious how did your FNBO grow to 25k? do they allow credit limit increase request, if so how soon?

I got around a 10k starting offer but declined it as its lower than my main cards, but would love a 25k limit like you got

Congrats on the limits

Re: How to get high limits?

805orbust — Mon, 08 May 2023 10:24:14 GMT

@Times FNBO has been pretty consistent with giving auto increases at about the 6 month mark, and you can request a SP increase every 4 months. Many of us have grown that card to $25k limits... except me of course because they only gave me 24? 🤣

Re: How to get high limits?

Lou-natic — Tue, 09 May 2023 02:01:52 GMT

@Times wrote:
@Lou-natic wrote:
My FNBO card started at 10k and grew to 25k, my AMEX BBP (the best AMEX MR card IMHO, don't let the "business" name fool you) started at 25k...X1 card started at 21.5k. You should have no problem achieving those kind of limits.
curious how did your FNBO grow to 25k? do they allow credit limit increase request, if so how soon?

I got around a 10k starting offer but declined it as its lower than my main cards, but would love a 25k limit like you got

So with FNBO you have to wait 6 months to request your first CLI and then you can request every 4 months thereafter. If you're a big spender then you get auto increases without asking. I'm not a big spender I'm just a squeaky wheel.

Re: How to get high limits?

DaWhole9 — Tue, 09 May 2023 06:32:05 GMT

Maybe get a few high limit cards...Join a credit union like Navy Federal if you can...They issue high credit limit cards...mine started at 25k and grew to 33k which is the max for the rewards card. Also X1 came in at 23.5K. AMEX will give you CLIs or since you have an account, open a new one, It wont be a pull at all since you already have one...my latest AMEX card came in at 23k a year after a 1k card.