High Credit Limit

[Anonymous]

I was curious, those of you guys that have a pretty high credit limit..for example 20,000 or higher..how do you manage that? What I mean is, are you spending an amount to justify that credit limit? How did you get your credit limit to that amount? In my signature block below are some of the cards I have from largest to smallest. My Chase IHG is my biggest at 13,000, then I have my VirginAmerica at 6,000 and my CitiDouble Cash back at 5,500..and a couple of Capital One's..etc. I am in the process of trying to get my points for my Chase IHG (just got the card) but truth be told I really like my Citi Double Cash back card and most likely that will be my card of choice once I get my points from my IHG. How does one get the card company to raise the limit? 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was curious, those of you guys that have a pretty high credit limit..for example 20,000 or higher..how do you manage that? What I mean is, are you spending an amount to justify that credit limit? How did you get your credit limit to that amount? In my signature block below are some of the cards I have from largest to smallest. My Chase IHG is my biggest at 13,000, then I have my VirginAmerica at 6,000 and my CitiDouble Cash back at 5,500..and a couple of Capital One's..etc. I am in the process of trying to get my points for my Chase IHG (just got the card) but truth be told I really like my Citi Double Cash back card and most likely that will be my card of choice once I get my points from my IHG. How does one get the card company to raise the limit? 

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@Anonymous Credit,

You manage a high credit limit card as you manage other cards.  There are several things CC companies look at when deciding on the limit such as income, credit profile etc.. If you are looking to get high limits, it is not set in stone but use you cards to shows your spending habits and then request big credit line increases..

[lhcole77]

I've been able to get high limits through clean reports, responsible use, perfect payment history, increased income and good ol' CLI requests.

Once I started having cards in the 10-15K range it was easier to get those limits. Now that I have cards in the 20k-25K range I'm curious to see what future limits can get to.

[Themanwhocan]

My American Express card has a $30K limit. 

I did spend $1550 once back in 2013, after my first 3X CLI ($996 of it was a new HDTV). But usually I don't use it much at all, since I have much better grocery store rewards on my 2 Sallie Mae cards . I just request CLI increases periodically, since its a SP. And since I want a high limit card.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was curious, those of you guys that have a pretty high credit limit..for example 20,000 or higher..how do you manage that? What I mean is, are you spending an amount to justify that credit limit? How did you get your credit limit to that amount? In my signature block below are some of the cards I have from largest to smallest. My Chase IHG is my biggest at 13,000, then I have my VirginAmerica at 6,000 and my CitiDouble Cash back at 5,500..and a couple of Capital One's..etc. I am in the process of trying to get my points for my Chase IHG (just got the card) but truth be told I really like my Citi Double Cash back card and most likely that will be my card of choice once I get my points from my IHG. How does one get the card company to raise the limit? 

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My CL is not high at all, but from my own experience and lurking around here, I think the answer is common amongst most people.

"how do you manage that" => just like a normal card. Use it and PIF each month.

"are you spending an amount to justify that credit limit" => My monthly expenditure is <3% of my CL. It seems justifiable to my creditors.

"How did you get your credit limit to that amount" => CLI request to creditor and new card application once in a while. Occasional auto CLI.

"How does one get the card company to raise the limit?" => depends on the creditor. Bust most often, you use the card enough (both length of time and dollar amount), have enough income, and good credit profile to support a CLI then you call them and ask for it.

Regarding the Citi DC, Citi seems to be very conservative in term of CL with this card, so you might want to bet your chance of a CLI elsewhere (not Chase, they're stingy with CLI)

[getrdone1]

I would think that it would be best to keep the number of inquiries low and get in on some cards that are giving out high credit lines....i got diners club when i had no inquiries and a bankruptcy for 30,000...got amex for 7,500 and then 3X,  20 some days later, for a 22,500 limit...and now bbva amex for 20,000...still have only 3 inquiries on two cra's, and two on the other..i might be good for one more app...who really knows?? Before that only 5K limits.. but no inquiries for the last 4 years before recent apps...hope that helps

[bz386]

As others have said, there is nothing special about a high credit limit card. It is convenient, because you can do your normal spend without worrying about high utilization. I got a $24k CL when I opened the United Explorer card, which was my third Chase card. First one was Freedom ($5k), second was CSP ($12k) and third was United. As I wasn't planning on using the United card much, I moved $12k of the credit line over to the CSP, which is my most heavily used card. Highest balance ever on it was around $6k and of course that was payed off immediately before the due date.

[Anonymous]

I hope to have a high credit limit someday..

[lg8302ch]

The question on the high CLs is also the income. A cardholder with an annual income of 35K and CLs in the 100K compared to someone that has 150K income with 200K total CLs.... so the CLs up to a certain point are based on clean file but at a certain stage income will  also play a  role too.  My total CLs are about  3 x my annual income and this is definitely crazy and could even be a problem on a new card application in the future. So the high CLs are not just everything. I might have to reduce a few limits with some lenders if I want to apply for new cards or hope they will split the lines to open a new account.  We will see what happens on a future Chase app

[bch238]

I generally charge around 10% of my CSP and/or Citi Prestige every month depending on whether we travel or have non-usual expenses, so somewhere between $4-$8K per month.  My BCP rarely has more than $1K, mostly because I use it for groceries and gas and a few other non-bonus things.  My Freedom is mostly bonus spend with a recurring utility bill, i.e., typically not more than $700 month.  I have a small recurring bill on my BOA and maybe a grocery (Target, where BCP doesn't give 6%) or gas charge or two.  Basically everything is at or below 10% of the limit, which is paid every month.

Edit:  I should add that I got a notice from The Home Depot to use it or lose it, i.e, have a reduction to $5,100, so we will probably buy some Bahama shutters for the house soon at 18 months 0% APR.  That or buy some lightbulbs.