@CreditInspired wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:Yes, high credit limits are a focus for many of us ... I have several reasons for wanting to increase my limits as high as possible and I'm sure they are similar to many other My Fico members. I'll try to explain some of my thought processes.
First, utilization padding. As I've worked on my credit, I have become increasingly aware of how much utilization is used to evaluate credit profiles, and I think the impact is much too exaggerated from the FICO standpoint. They give you "x" amount of credit to use, because that is what they think you can successfully manage, but then FICO lowers your score (uses it against you) if you run up balances, even though they know very little about your complete financial picture. Very frustrating!! So playing the game, utilization padding helps you to have a credit line of $20,000 meaning you can actually USE only $2,000 (about 10%) of it without sweating what you're doing to your score. I'll never need or use even 1/10th of my credit lines, but it's nice to have them high for that very reason.
Second, one of my credit score services mentioned that even though I had a very high FICO, that one factor holding me back from even higher was that my highest credit limit was lower than other people with similar scores. Hmmmm..... So that got me to investigating and learning how to increase credit limits even higher. I learned that it was true: my limits WERE lower. I hadn't been pushing lenders to give me the higher limits and once I got more pushy, they quickly obliged. In turn, my credit scores did go up somewhat higher. And I've learned that even my relatively high limits are not nearly as high as many other people, thanks to My Fico.
Three, my household disposable income has risen significantly in recent years, and we are able to afford higher spending. Even though we don't do it normally, it's nice to know if we want to splurge on a special vacation or other indulgence, that our credit limits will be there to support it safely. High credit limits are no longer a danger.
Four, I'm at a point in my life where I have high credit scores and high income, so I'm in the driver's seat more than I've ever been in my life regarding my credit accounts. It's fun to see how high I can drive my limits. I'm a few years away from retirement where it may be more difficult to increase my limits once my income drops, so I'd like to push my available credit as high as I can now which will give me more options in the future. Inflation will have a moderating effect on those high limits as I slip further into retirement.
Which brings up Five. I have enough decades of managing my credit that I trust my ability to handle high credit lines without screwing it up. I wouldn't recommend just anyone do what I and others have done. It's very risky for someone who is not disciplined and careful about their credit habits.
Thanks @Aim_High for a detailed summary and sharing this. You brought up a lot of great points that I had not even thought of.
Even though I'm collecting SS (started early), I went back to work. Glad I did too because I would have never gotten my high limits on only my SS income. So having the high limits now, coupled with the ability to get even higher limits before my income is slashed, is quite sobering. So at first my goal was to just get higher limits just to see how hogh I could go. Now there will be a rationale behind it. 😁
Splurging on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. When I turn 70 in 2.5 years, I want to celebrate either on a 14-day cruise in Asia (Singapore, Vietnam, Tokyo highlights) or a 14-day safari in Kenya and Tanzania. And as you say, to be able to splurge like this and throwing it on a high CL card with 0% interest is exactly my plan and the way to go so that UT is not affected in the least--not even a bump in the road. WooHoo!
Thanks again for making me see outside of the box.
Glad that was helpful, @CreditInspired ! I think some may assume members like me chase high credit lines simply due to ego or some unhealthy obsession with 'bigger is better.' Lol 
There are members on My Fico who just naturally get awarded high CLs by default due to high spend-and-pay. Then there are others like myself who don't have such huge recurring spending needs that have good strategic reasons for wanting to raise our limits. Your comments helped to validate my points, especially about the special vacation you have planned! That's exactly what I'm talking about.
I like the idea of having flexibility in my spending and credit needs and getting that all set up as a secondary part of retirement planning. The effects of inflation over a typical 20-year retirement also is important to take into effect. I just ran the numbers on an online inflation calculator and there has been a close to a 50% rate of inflation from 2000 to 2020. So for example, if you retired at age 65 in 2000 with a $10,000 credit line, the buying power of that credit line has been eroded to an equivalent of about $6700 in today's dollars. 
*You can play with the numbers at this link.
It's interesting to see how the economy has changed over time.
