@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:The problem with a bunch of low limit cards is it drags down your average credit limit and some people believe that UW can use that to give you more lower limit cards. Also low limit cards tend to be harder to grow either because of policies like a maximum 3X CLI or because the lower limit is indicative of a borderline approval and thus there is need for the relationship to grow first. Most of us don't have a problem with $5K limits because they're still usable and don't drag down the average too much, not to mention not all of us are six figure earners here.
@Anonymous not a lot of people talk about average CL. I do believe it can influence future CLs.
Oh I am a believer of that too which is why I'm dropping most of my low limit cards ahead of my Chase app in November.
I realize I'm a sample size of 1 but I didn't start getting limits greater than 2k until Navy saw fit to bestow a 6900 SL on me. Then NCSECU followed suit with a 5k limit. My Sony visa had been stuck at 2000 since the Cap1 days and now it is up to 4900.
I think most of us would prefer to have 3 5k cards rather than 15 1k card. But until you can find someone willing to take a chance on you for that sort of limit, you tend to get stuck in toy-limit heck!
I know many people complain about Navy's "Covid 4K" CLIs. it is all relative. I look at getting a 4K CLI like winning the lottery when I still can't get Citibank to graduate and USBank limits are stuck at their secured levels of 300 and 500 respectively.
I think it boils down to how much of a "buffer" do you need if you need to replace a major appliance or your car craps out. We probably all would like a 10-15k buffer. Whether we can get that on 1 card at 15k or 7.5 cards at 2k... well, you do what you've got to do while you climb the ladder.
I'm in the fewer cards with medium sized limits camp as well. Last year after my discharge I got a CapOne secured card with a $1,000 limit, and that proved unworkable for me as I typically charge anywhere between two and four grand per month, sometimes higher. I closed the card after only six weeks and opened a secured card with my new bank with a $5,000 limit; ahhh, much better, room to breathe. Since then that card has graduated to unsecured and I've obtained two additional unsecured cards giving me a total of 3 cards and a total limit of $14,300.
Regarding high limits, unless and until I start traveling on a regular basis on my own dime (i.e. without the benefit of a Corporate Credit Card), I doubt I'll ever come even close to hitting my limit, so I could honestly care less about adding cards and getting CLIs. But of course, there is always a "but" in this type of story. In my case, I do fly on Delta a lot, and while I typically fly enough per year to maintain my medallion status, having a Delta Sky Miles card might come in handy to help push me over the line to the next tier if I'm near one by the end of a calendar year. Do I have a Sky Miles card? No. Why? I burned AMEX in my Chapter 13 for some pretty big money, so they've summarily denied any attempts to give me a Sky Miles card, even with a "toy limit". I might make the effort once per year for a while, just for kicks and giggles.
Well I hate to say it, but somebody has to: apping for too many cards too quickly or apping regularly and racking up too many new accounts or inquiries can also lead to lower starting CLs for many profiles.
Of course the debate on what "too many" or "too quickly" is rages, but I definitely believe a little patience can assist. 
@Anonymous wrote:Well I hate to say it, but somebody has to: apping for too many cards too quickly or apping regularly and racking up too many new accounts or inquiries can also lead to lower starting CLs for many profiles.
Of course the debate on what "too many" or "too quickly" is rages, but I definitely believe a little patience can assist.
This is true... however, while patience is a virtue... it is also often a luxury which many may not be able to afford... if you're a single parent with zero savings and you need to pay some bills after an unexpected expense, you may go into full on aggressive credit seeking mode and take whatever the sub-primes offer because even a 300 dollar CL will keep the lights on for another month.
Sadly and humbly, I've been there and lived to tell the tale!
