What reason do you give for CLIs?

[lg8302ch]

Cap1 has been bombarding me with BT offers and more for fun I replied  that their offers could not get accepted with the present CL on my card. Just wanted them to know that I would never max out a card and therefore trash all their BT offers.  I did not expect any reply but to my big surprise got a call from I believe  the EO with the result from a manual review on my account and they doubled my CL

I just suggested Cap1 to consider a temp CLI for the amount of the BT offer if accepted otherwise customers could not take advantage of their offers without the punishment for maxed out cards

[indiolatino61]

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@JeffM wrote:

Just curious. What do you guys say when your banks ask you the reason for a CLI? This only occurs to me when I'm on the phone with them.

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I hate that question...what difference does it make? If I say I need it for a heart transplant or I will die in a couple of months, will that make any difference in their decision at all? How about if I say, "The shipment from Bolivia is due tomorrow"...lol.

[JeffM]

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@indiolatino61 wrote:

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@JeffM wrote:

Just curious. What do you guys say when your banks ask you the reason for a CLI? This only occurs to me when I'm on the phone with them.

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I hate that question...what difference does it make? If I say I need it for a heart transplant or I will die in a couple of months, will that make any difference in their decision at all? How about if I say, "The shipment from Bolivia is due tomorrow"...lol.

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Haha I hate it too! I'm just wondering if it'll have any impact on their decision. If I say "I need it for a large purchase in the future", are they assuming I might struggle to pay it back? Do I need a good reason for get a CLI?

Honestly, I'm just doing it for utilization purposes (I don't wanna bother with paying every week) and to grow my cards. Right now I'm almost at 50% for my BoA and WF cards and that's something I'd like to avoid in the future.

[efranklin23]

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@CreditScholar wrote:

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@red259 wrote:

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I typically don't ask for CLIs unless I need them, so that's exactly what I say. Over time my income (and therefore my spending) has increased, and as such I've needed larger limits on my cards. They've never had an issue with that.

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I don't see any amex cards in your signature? Do you have any? If not, would you ask for a CLI on amex if you had one? With my chase cards I don't ask for CLIs because it requires a HP. If I really really needed one then I would take the HP, but in terms of cards where it is SP only I ask for util purposes. 

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No, I don't have any Amex cards currently. I'm not interested in getting any either (at least for the moment) for the following reasons:

1. The vast majority of merchants around here don't take Amex.

2. I spend more time outside the U.S. than inside, so forex charges are an absolute deal-breaker. Yes the plat has no forex charges, but as a high spender 1 point per dollar isn't very appealing. The recent removal of key benefits (such as AA & US lounge access) isn't encouraging either.

3. I see Amex as a company in overall decline (with their products & service), and until that changes it'll make me think twice about applying for anything with them. There are other options out there that I see as a better fit for my own needs.

If I did have an Amex, my general policy of asking for credit only when I need it would still hold true.

I rarely apply for new credit, and on average I only have 1 INQ every 1-2 years (across all 3 reports). Also my credit scores are high enough where I don't really care about HPs vs. SPs. If I want something or if my needs change, then I'll ask for what I want. Taking HPs isn't going to deter me since my scores are very high, and because I don't do it enough to really matter.

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+1 the reasons why I dont use AMEX outside the US. I see you have the more refined version of the Travel Rewards. how is that card?

[Settemio]

The main and usually the only reason I give is I state that I never use over 50% util on any given credit card because of the negative affect it will have on my score... So if a credit card company wants me to "spend more" then increase the CL so 50% of my CL is significant... So, if I have a CC like my Capital One Venture card that has a 3k CL... it sits in my drawer and never is used... My Chase Marriott Visa with 34k CL however, gets used often... I ill use these lower level cards periodically just to keep them active, but if I don't get a decent CLI, I will never use it for anything significant.

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@JeffM wrote:

Just curious. What do you guys say when your banks ask you the reason for a CLI? This only occurs to me when I'm on the phone with them.

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