@red259 wrote:
@Sharingan wrote:The reason they gave you a $500 limit on your Freedom Unlimited is probably because you have hit your maximum internal limit that Chase is willing to extend to you across all accounts. They could have simply denied the application; or took it upon themselves to pull credit from one of your other Chase cards without your input, as they did with my last approval from them. But yes, you can rearrange your credit limits with Chase. I have done it on several occasions.
+1 While I have never heard of chase pulling credit from one card to issue a new card without giving the person applying an option (not that it doesn't happen I have just never heard if it before today) I think the poster is right about you hitting your ceiling. You are not entitled to unlimited credit from Chase and they could easily have just denied you. The problem with large credit lines is it can result in denials later on for too much credit. If you intend to apply for another card with Chase in the future I would suggest reducing the credit line on a card you don't use to free up some credit. Sure you could app and hope they let you move lines around on recon or whatever, but there is always a risk they will refuse.
I wasn't aware Chase did it either prior to my Fairmont Visa Signature approval last fall. Sure enough, they halved one of my lightly used accounts without giving me a choice. I always knew BoA and a few other banks were known for doing this, but I actually just located the letter and it states:
"As part of our review of your application and credit file, we looked at the credit you already have with us. To open your new account and provide the highest possible credit limit, we've adjusted the credit line(s) on your other credit card(s) based on your use of these accounts. Here's a summary of the adjustments:"
I do have a fairly high exposure limit with Chase, so I wasn't really surprised that they took this route. I presume the Fairmont had a $5,000 minimum starting limit (although Chase opened mine much higher than that), so a $500 SL wouldn't have been an option in my case.
Yah, it sucks but just move at least 4.5K from the Freedom to the Unlimited to make it a 5K card. You would still be left with plenty on the freedom.
I guess I'm not really getting why it's a laughable SL? Because you have high scores? It seems like you have some (maybe a lot) exposure with Chase and the ability to move around limits so I would just do that...problem solved 
@Anonymous wrote:Unless I missed it, the OP hasn't disclosed what his income is. That could very well be the constraint here above his already present limits with Chase. Someone with $50k income and a 710 score can have $40k in Chase limits across 3 cards where someone with a 825 score but only $25k for income may not see near $40k from Chase. While credit scores (and profiles) are a huge constraint for credit limits, income is right up there on the list as well.
Income is a factor but I have seen people get limits way above their income and I have seen people get limits that are only a tiny fraction of their income with Chase. Credit profile seems to be a much factor with chase than income. With other lenders I have seen it where they will cap your overall credit at a certain percentage of your income.
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@Corvidae wrote:
I called Chase and the rep wasn't aware of an internal credit limit but I imagine it could have been. When you add up all my limits including the new card it is exactly half my annual income. They left me move from my Freedom to my new card and all is well now.
Half your income is probably a good rule of thumb for a thin to medium file. When I was building up after the first year and a half I hit my credit ceiling with chase and it was about 1/2 my income at the time. I have seen people go well beyond their income so what that suggests to me is with a thicker file and a track record with chase it can make a difference.
@Anonymous wrote:
@red259 wrote:Income is a factor but I have seen people get limits way above their income and I have seen people get limits that are only a tiny fraction of their income with Chase. Credit profile seems to be a much factor with chase than income. With other lenders I have seen it where they will cap your overall credit at a certain percentage of your income.
Of course there are outliers, but you are citing the exceptions not the rule. Of course credit profile is going to be the biggest factor. That said, all other things being equal you are going to see that the higher the income, the higher the credit limit(s). If you have two identical profiles and one has $25k income and the other has $50k income, the one with the higher income is going to be able to realize higher credit limit(s) than the other the vast majority of the time.
That said, again I don't believe the OP disclosed what his income was so we have no way to tell if it could be a constraint to his ability to achieve a higher credit limit on the account he just opened.
If two profiles are identical that would make sense. My response was to your prior statement where the incomes were different and the profiles were wildly different as well. The fact pattern you are giving now is obviously very different from the one I was addressing before.