cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Okay so here is my question..

 

Does your credit limit correspond to your income?!

 

For example.. are you more likely to have a 30k limit if you make 100k+ yearly.. or is it just as likely someone who makes 50-60k yearly could get such a limit? and what about the people who only make 30k or less? do banks limit their exposure bc they see it would take them forever to pay it back or let them have it bc it puts more interest in their pockets when consumers cannot pif monthly?

 

I would like for anyone who doesn't mind taking a moment to post what your CC limits are and your annual income when you were approved for that amount.

 

My mother has a 15k discover limit and she makes maybe 60k before taxes are taken out... what about you guys who have 100k+ in available credit?? 

 

Thanks ahead of time for your input and for growing our knowledge daily. Smiley Happy

Message 1 of 62
61 REPLIES 61
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

From everything I can tell income is one of the least important factors when determining CL. I'm a full time student so my annual income is not very high but I've seen data points on here for people that were approved for lower limits for the same cards with a much higher income.
Message 2 of 62
pinkandgrey
Senior Contributor

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Honestly with most lenders, income isn’t a huge factor. It plays a role of course, but responsible (and frequent) use is probably the most important determining factor. There are people who make 150k and then get new cards with only 4k limits. And then there’s the other side—I just saw an approval thread today where someone got almost 70% of his income as an SL. Lenders look at waaaay more than just what you make. 

Discover It: 21.5k
Amex Cash Magnet: 18k
Fidelity Visa: 13k
Apple Card: 4.25k
Message 3 of 62
ChessChik47
Frequent Contributor

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Hi OP,

Starting limits on credit cards take into consideration more than just income.  Your score and overall profile are very important.  It varies for each lender.  Some lenders seem to care more about overall profile than they do your income and for other lenders having a large income helps, but you still need a good profile to get the cards.  I have almost $190K in trade lines (5 cards) and report $135K in income.  My overall profile is pretty solid though...over 820 score on all bureaus and a have a semi-thick profile (mortgage, installment loan, and credit cards).  

Message 4 of 62
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Income is pretty important, especially for charge cards. Of course other factors are important as well.

I have relatively few cards (CSR, bonvoy brilliant, CF, BOFA CR, AMEX gold, AMEX plat) with >250k on my 4 credit trade lines, income is >600k.
Message 5 of 62
Kforce
Valued Contributor

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

In my opinion:

1st = Issuing Bank or CU

2nd = Profile & History

3rd = Spend

Last = Income

 

When I was young had ok-scores, soso-income (50k), and short history profile I received a $35,000 starting limit on a card from local CU

It had no rewards, so I gave it little use. Few dollars on it every couple of months. A year later they raised the CL to $45,000.

Still have the card but I had them lower the limit to 25k, and lock increases.

20+ years later, scores at 845-850,  income(200k), long perfect history, and I got a US-Bank Cash+ with $7,500 starting.

My real life experiences point to the issuer as most important as far as CL's.

 

I have found all of my cards to grow after a few years.

Cards with low spend grow slower than cards I use a lot.

I now cap and lock at 20k, so have no high CL or long term growth data points.

 

Message 6 of 62
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Why lock at 20k? Potential identity theft?
Message 7 of 62
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Responsible use helps but im against the grain, income is very important. You can only get so far on your profile before the $ really does matter. Each profile is different but ive come to find score is one of the least important for as no matter how good your score is if you dont have the income to back it up might as well be going against the grain.Smiley Wink
Message 8 of 62
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Income can be a factor, but first and foremost is, is the cardholder paying on time? What is the risk the bank has a bad customer who defaults on the debt?

 

For initial limits, that payment history is the most important factor. As limits increase, income can become more of a factor, but only as long as payments continue to be made on time, according to the card agreement terms.

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 9 of 62
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Please give some data points..credit limit/income..

Myself I think income is one of the lesser factors. Here is my reasoning.
Generally banks don't ask for any kind of income verification (if it was so important I think they would).
Many forum members myself included have limits greater than half or more of their total income along with total exposure that is much greater than income.
In addition banks can also refuse transactions, close accounts and cut limits anytime they want. Because of this big limits on their own don't really pose any additional risk.
History and utilization are so much more important.
Message 10 of 62
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.