@BronzeTrader wrote:
@dlm0820 wrote:
@BronzeTrader wrote:
I asked to decrease my credit lines all time. This way I can limit my own exposure to certain bank and keep my credit relationship with them open. Almost no bank wanst to keep a $100,000 or $200,000 credit line open with one single person or family. Over the past year, I've closed or decrease my total credit line $200,000.
I had a Crate & Barrel card from Comenity, which had a credit line of $20,000.
I'll never buy that much dinnerware.
Why would you EVER consider doing this? NEVER ask for a decrease.
A store card with $20K limit helps with utilization and of course no one would buy that much from Crate and Barrell.
And if you can't manage $200K in credit lines than you have a bigger problem that needs to be resolved. Decreasing credit lines isn't going to help that.
I ask for credit descrease all the time. This is financial descipline. It helps to manage the zeal for more credit and unnecessary spending. It shows the bank you are a more financial responsible person and spend within your own means. It also give you some headroom to get some new cards and get better rewards.
The type of cards show a picture of the person's financial situation. If you show a solid portfolio of cards, decend spending, always pay on time, then banks will approve more cards to you and you get better rewards over time.
Closing a tradeline because it no longer meets ones needs and subsequently opening another one that is a better fit is prudent, but if someone who is not in the business of churning is regularly opening and closing them it's a pretty strong indicator of a general inability to follow a diciplined approach to one's financial planning.
My CSR had a 24k limit and I called to lower it to 10k. I have only requested CLI once and it was on my first card from 1k to 3.5k, have never gotten an auto CLI, always PIF. Total revolving credit is around 30k, income a little over 100k in midwest. The main reason I lowered it is because I thought it might help in a future app spree. I'm sure that total available credit is part of their algorithm's. Some might have total available credit from that institution as separate from overall total, or calculate/weigh those values differently. Some banks might not care about those numbers at all.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've always felt lending institutions would like seeing a low total amount of available credit. Unless you are carrying a balance, I see no reason at all to actually want high Credit Limits (unless you spend 24k a month like some people on these boards =D)
I might be wrong, but I think Total Available Credit isn't a factor in FICO scoring, except how it effects Util%. If you are trying for new credit, you can easily manipulate Util% by just paying in full the day before the statement cuts.
I think I'm in agreement with the rest of you all, I'm part of the "less is more" crowd.
I'm apart of the do what you want with your own credit crowd. lol 
OP just pay your bills and use it as you please. Nothing wrong with high limits.
Some credit unions may frown upon it. Though the larger banks could care less.
Very grateful for all of the post's on this topic what a good read got my education for nearly free. 
