@iced wrote:Those who can afford this easily probably have a NPSL charge card for such things (one virtue of the old charge-style American Express cards) or they're not making the purchase via credit card.
I can also tell you that if you made 8 figures, you probably wouldn't be purchasing that for Valentine's. I sometimes think people really don't understand what the vast majority of the HNW/UHNW population buy. This is the type of thing that celebrities and "ballers" may buy, but they're all about the appearances so it makes sense. I guess in a way it also makes sense that this is what people think all wealthy people are like since the only real glimpses into such lives people get to see are through the wealthy celebrity types.
You may be right about HNW/UHNW populations being misunderstood, but the misunderstanding inevitably goes both ways, @iced . I'm sure there are many wealthy people who don't understand the struggles of the common man. Indeed, it's regularly captured in interviews and commentary on television when the wealthy and powerful make statements that illustrate how their perception of the lives of the everyday American is radically skewed.
Yes, I agree that limits are relative to profile, need, and spending patterns. Having high, but useful limits (relative to profile) helps credit scores by positively affecting utilization. I'd prefer to keep my individual account utilization normally below 10% due to FICO penalties for anything higher, so a $50K limit is effectively in my mind only a $5K limit for monthly purposes. I've run up temporary high utilization on an individual card before a few times and can vouch for what that does to credit scores, even though they rebound immediately after the debt is paid.
No, I don't have that perception of all wealthy people. Like many American's, I stay informed enough to know that some extremely wealthy people live modest lives. It's long been publicized that Warren Buffet lives far below his 100+ Billion-dollar means. Among other lifestyle choices, he still lives in a middle-class five bedroom house he bought in Omaha, Nebraska in 1958. Meanwhile, Elan Musk worth 300+ Billion dollars, is living in a $50K prefab tiny house near his Space-X site in Texas. I've read countless articles over the years about how "the hidden millionaires among us" live everyday lives, working hard, and often living frugally.
I'm not sure how we even went down this rabbit hole, since the original topic was curiosity about high credit limits and being able to leverage our limits higher relative to profile. It wasn't about trying to be the "Big Guy" or 'playing the sad lottery daydream game.' Limits are just a number and they aren't "real money." And they don't mean anything in terms of "status." It seems that you and I are having this same discussion again (from 05-10-2019) because I mistakenly used the word "status" in one of the links referenced in the TPG article link. It was a poor choice of words and I went on to explain that one definition of status is "position in relationship to others", and that my intent for saying "elevated status" was simply the result of an improved FICO score and overall profile in the eyes of a prospective lender. I meant nothing more.
In my case, my curiosity of and seeking of higher limits began with a credit monitoring website remark that my highest credit limit at the time was lagging those with similar overall credit profiles. (I believe that is a Vantage scoring factor; my highest limit at the time was probably $35K.) Like many consumers, I still had things to learn about how to get lenders to increase my credit limits. That encouraged me to learn more about what average and highest limits others might have and how I might increase my limits for improving my credit profile to lenders. That's all my seeking of higher limits is about; it's a personal journey and not a competition with others. Even though it's fun, it's not about ego ... or social status. I've tried to share what I've learned with others on the forum so they can accomplish the same thing if they desire. Like anyone, I enjoy sharing my successes on My Fico, and I would like to think they help encourage others along the way. If a profile won't support a certain limit, the lenders will be the ones to put the brakes on adding more credit.
My Tiffany's necklace was just an extreme example of how at least some very wealthy people might make different choices for something as simple as a shopping trip. And yeah, my wife is not a high-maintenance lady, but if she wanted that necklace and I had 8+ figures in the bank, you'd better believe I'd treat her at least once in a while to an extravagant gift like that. It's only money but she's the love of my life and I enjoy pleasing her. 
@Aim_High I am ALL ABOUT that hidden millionaire lifestyle. Those guys have fascinated me since I was a child!
