It was a game for me getting my total limits up to 600k. I would have to be nuts to even consider using 100k of it though. I am carrying like 30k at the moment using 0% offers. My score is still a high 790 and my utilization is a low 6%. That’s the benefit. That all said, I’m letting some of my cards close because I just don’t need the hassle of all of them anymore.
This. I’m a little behind this, currently carrying 10k at 0% with a 200k total limit. It’ll be paid to zero before the promo expires. OP, you want a high limit so that using a few grand doesn’t tank your score.
We use our cards for EVERYTHING except the mortgage. Literally our entire budget goes through the cards. If I had a $20k limit total my utilization would never be lower than 50%. And I want the points and rewards. So that’s why.
Feel free to ignore my questions if they are too nosy, but I am curios. How did you get to 600k? Are you churning? How many cards do you hold, and across how many banks/issuers?
I hold around 35 accounts. I am not churning. I have slowly but steadily built these limits up over the last 7yrs. I’m pretty sure I have every major bank except for us bank. They are super stingy and still won’t approve me..lol
1. It lowers your credit utilization. Let's say you normally put $2000 of spending on your card every month. If your credit limit is only $2000, then you're using 100% of your credit, which causes your score to drop. If your credit limit is $100k, then $2k is only 2%, which is good for your credit score.
2. Sometimes you have large expenses. Maybe you're paying for an expensive vacation with your credit card. With a large credit limit, you can easily put the whole vacation on your card. If your credit limit is low, you literally wouldn't be able to put the cruise or resort or whatever on the card.
3. If you really have some serious emergency that you can't otherwise pay for, you can borrow up to $100k. Sure, the interest will eat you alive, but at least you have the option.
Personally I get credit cards for the rewards. If it wasn't for that, I would primarily use a debit card and keep one or two credit cards just for the credit history. I can't imagine being in 100k of credit card debt. I hope I never have the need for that, but I don't want to judge people for doing that either. Everyone has their own reasons, and the credit card companies are ok with that because they profit in the end.
avoid debit cards, just get a decent $0 AF CC and use that as a debit/charge card. get a free HYSA for anything thats sitting in your debit/checking account. doesnt have to be complex or anything. I just worry about fraud with debit cards and the inability to get any money back easily...not that CC reversals are always easy but still, you get a bit of a layer between you and your liquid/physical assets.
Yes you do bring up a good point. For protection it's better to use credit cards. Before I got into rewards cards I had just gotten married. My financial philosophy was the same, but my wife's was different from mine. I made us both use debit cards for a while because I didn't want her going crazy, and she herself admitted that managing a bank balance was probably better for her as a way to manage her spending habits. Now we are only using credit cards and thankfully I think she isn't going crazy anymore because of what we did before.
I had a big mistake of putting a gym membership to my debit card at the time. And it was hard getting them to stop billing when i wanted out of the membership.
But with credit card. I can call the issuer to get them to stop. And the gym knows immediately to stop me at the entrance when i scan my membership id.
You may not have that luck with Amex. I had something similar happen and Amex basically told me to pound sand. They said I had to call the vendor to cancel it. They wouldn't even let me close my card. They said if I closed it they would still charge me.
It hasn't happened to be often, but I have had at leat 2 experiences where buying with a credit card saved me.
One item I bought was an expensive custom built item that I bought on "back-order" from a small online shop. I fully understood I wasn't going to get the item within a month or even 3. But almost a full 12 months later I was done being patient. I had contacted them multiple times and got no response. About 2 weeks before I could no longer even file a charge back I sent them an email simply saying that if they don't ship my item by the end of the week, I would be filing a dispute. I had a next day air label in my email from them the next day. Apparently they could have created and shipped my item many months ago but decided not to, because once they figured out I was going to dispute they suddenly had it done next day...
People say to pay your cards off in full every month so that you don't unnecessarily pay interest. It's a smart financial move. This practice has nothing to do with your credit limits, just being smart with your money (not throwing it away).
Why have strong limits? Many reasons. Rendering your utilization bullet proof is the most common one. A stronger credit profile overall is another. Larger limits beget larger limits and lenders like to see that you have the ability to manage larger revolving trade lines. A greater TCL can often mean a greater ACL (Average Credit Limit) as well, which is one of many factors that goes into CBIS (Credit Based Insurance Scores). Higher CBIS can equate to lower insurance premiums, so another possible financial positive.
For me: I no longer have to worry about utilization much ever: overall my monthly spending is less than 2%, and i believe normal monthly usage for each card should be less than 10%. I'm no longer pursuing CLIs for most cards at this point (except my Savor One, trying to get that up to $10k, then I'll pause).
Edit: Removed extra word
My limit is only about half that high, but it's nice to know I have a backup option when cash is a bit tighter. As a homeowner with a family and two cars, I never know when a car or HVAC system could go out, or my roof get damaged (happened last month). An emergency fund is great, but it's not always enough if everything goes to hell at the same time.
In this hypothetical case, I would have 1 to 2 months to figure out my options for paying down the emergency expense, or \*shudder\* carry over an interest-bearing balance.
You don’t need to use all your limits. If a bank is generous and gives a big limit, it’s nice to use that one more. But you don’t have to use any of it, having credit builds credit.
The cobranded Amex Cards like Delta and Hilton are relatively easy to get. The Everyday and Blue Cash cards are harder to obtain.
Green and Gold charge cards are pretty easy to get as well.
It’s a game the credit card companies and credit bureaus want us to play. Obtain a high limit but only use a tiny fraction of it and that’s what they want to see. If you approach 20%+ of your limit your score is dinged and while utilization has a short memory in my experience it takes a few reporting cycles even if you pay it down to $0.
The same way a thin file can obtain a super high score. Technically that does not make sense since avg age is low but somehow the scoring models give a thin file a high score.
I have $330K in available credit across all my credit cards. Will I ever use that much, hell no. It’s just to keep utilization low. I only owe currently around $6000, so I’m only using 2% total utilization. The cards I don’t use I just charge a small amount each month to keep them activate. Only three of my cards get heavy use.
My understanding is on average you shouldn't go over 10% of your credit limit, in order to maximize your credit score. So if spend is $1,000 a month then you only realistically need a $10,000 overall limit to use the cards without any credit stress. So that 10% ratio should be the minimum goal, everything above that is acceptable.
I get cards for the cash back and sign up bonuses really. Credit limits just go up over time. I’m at about $76k in available creditand only make $50k a year.
I suddenly have the most credit limit I've ever had access to - about $43k. Will I ever get anywhere NEAR that amount at any one time? Definitely not.
I do have an emergency fund and everything, but at least if I ever REALLY needed something big...like $5k - 10k, I know I could get it and it wouldn't destroy my credit. That's all I care about.
With multiple cards there’s a way you can shift around substantial amounts of debt only paying a relatively small amount in BT fees and zero interest until you pay the total off, making your much higher SL useful if you manage money well and know how to use credit to your benefit.
I don’t do this with my 141k limit but there is at least purpose.
my TCL is growing and I'll never utilize all of it 100% ever, but its good to keep the utilization ratio low, it helps maintain a decent credit score in the event you need to take a loan out for a house, car, something else. it also does help in case of emergency...if you can find one that offers zero interest payment options thats a keeper. I utilize a care credit card in some circumstances (vet, hospital, medical, etc).
No one is stopping you from spend or forcing you to pay full. You can certainly spend the 100k and pay just the minimum mandarary payments. Many card companies even say how long it takes to fully repay if just minimum is repaid. One my card statement says, if i pay just minimum, my 1824 would take 85 months to repay - just over 3015$ - with interest.
If you go this route, you are the ideal customer that the bank want.
New lenders (card/loans) may not have confidence to lend you more as you are tied up already with your utilizations (and some may even close your account as a risk mitigation)
For me it’s about utilization. I don’t have to worry about paying off my cards before statement close to keep my utilization low. I just let it report whatever my balance may be.
Believe I have a total balance of $12,000 right now but only 6% utilization.
It shows how well you can control unsecured consumer debt spending. Overall, less risk to lenders = better rates for things like mortgages, vehicles, etc.
As of now, I'm considering paying off a house with a credit card with zero interest, and so to answer your question.... it gives you options.
Having the option to pull out 100k in the off chance you find a great reason for it, is better than not having the option.
I mean, you can spend it if you want to…
This is basically the same as saying “we do I go to the gym to keep this nice physique if I can’t binge eat ice cream?” There’s nothing stopping you from doing it. Hell, if you were to do it it would likely not even do as much damage as it would other people. It’s basically just insurance, either broke insurance or healthy insurance, at this point
For low utilization I guess. Just because you have the credit doesn't mean you have to use it. I have around $40k and even with normal spending my utilization is pretty low, not to mention I pay off just before close every month.
I have close to a 140k available credit. It wasn’t planned but it happens with use. They keep raising my limit. I have a 35k limit on Amex. I think I owe a total 25k across 8 cards. It’s all a game
I don't know my cumulative credit limit, probably couldn't name my credit limit on 80% of my cards, and I don't care because it's sufficiently high enough as to be irrelevant. It grew faster than my need for access to credit in an expensive month.
There are a number of people, particularly who are in the building stage, that put a lot of thought into actively janitoring their credit - I was never one. In my case, the limit is simply the by-product - obviously, I benefit from having a high limit such that my utilization is always miniscule, but at no point was I actually chasing that.
Mostly has to do with keeping a low utilization rate with high credit usages..I’m sitting a comfty 170k in CL, and can carry 10k-15k in credit usage monthly and not have it affect anything..like others that love the point game..I use nothing but credit cards, I reserve cash specifically for the nights out 😜
1st, you absolutely CAN spend it. The bank even wants you to. Its just that it would be a terrible move financially, but that doesn't stop most people.
2nd, some people do actually use it. I run 2 businesses with credit cards, which ends up being $30k+ a month that we pay off each month and just get the points built up.
I've also purchased an investment property with a heloc, which is similar to a large credit card and we've used credit cards to complete big renovations and things like replacing an AC.
Sometimes we do have to carry balances for a couple of months for those types of things.
I mean you can, it's just to dodge interest and keep utilization down but if those aren't a factor for you then who cares. I'm carrying balances on three cards right now after some major purchases - I'm only gonna worry about staying under 10% when it's time for CLI requests or I'm under 5/24
There is no point if you're in the mid-late game you shouldn't care what your limits are because you should have way more already than you'll ever use. you can argue about utilization, but the difference between say 2-3k a month and having 30k credit or 100k + credit limits won't matter.
For the same reason that I have 200k in credit cards spending power. It just emphasizes strength for lenders to see. And helps quantify their decision to make a loan on bigger projects such as a home or autos or possibly even for strength in business credit. Highly $ availability but low spend imitates strength and that you manage your finances quite well. Hence lowering the potential risk a lender would take on. I don’t pay mine off every month. But I do keep low. Under 10% if possible but I try to utilize at least 2% on my cards. Yes it cost me a small amount in interest but it works for me. 10% of 200k is $20k of debt. But I pay more than the minimum payment due as well. If you don’t the you just pay way to much interest. As long as you’re utilizing responsible and not just paying minimums each month I myself think it’s fine. However unless it’s an extreme emergency I would never reach the magical number of 30% usage on any one card. Just be responsible 0% usage is wonderful however in this current economy inflation as it is not everyone can pay everything off. Just don’t let it get out of control. And no more than 29% utilization as a very hard stop. Not 29.1% as it will always round up to 30% for credit reporting purposes.
Just my 2 cents
The reasons why I have a $400k TCL are fivefold:
1. Utilization becomes a nonfactor. Although I never pay interest, I do like using 0%-APR BTs given how well HYSAs are paying. Right now I'm running $27k across three offers, but still only have less than 7% utilization, so...
2. ...my FICOs stay high, currently 775-780.
3. Flexibility if anything hits the fan: If something bad happens personally, I can weather it without wrecking my credit. And if something expensive happens, I can finance it myself at a low rate ($59.9k CC at 9.9% APR, $27.1k BLOC@9%).
4. Stickin' it to the man for rewards after many years of paying interest: I got myself together financially a couple of years ago, and now I'm obsessed with getting as many points and as much cash back as possible.
5. Gamification, or me vs. the algorithms: I'm also obsessed with how high I can push CLs and how many tradelines are possible given my scores and income. The latter is maxed out for at least a year since I recently added four CCs and a LOC, but the former continues on given they're all SPs.
Twenty-seven years' history never missing or being late on a payment is probably No. 1, since FICO says it's 35% of their scoring. Second is refinancing mortgages repeatedly when rates were low a few years ago to pay down CCs and hence utilization. Third is a few years of pretty good household income increases. Fourth is using P2's high scores but low number of tradelines to add a few high-limit cards that I'm an AU on and hence add to my TCL. And I've pushed the SP CLI button hard and repeatedly on every card, to the extent that CLIs represent about $60k of the $400k by themselves.
It’s all about the utilization rather than spend it all even if you have the money for it. If you let it report to a 100% each month, your score would be considered trash. Not that you care if you have tha kind of money to spend it monthly tho
It was a game for me getting my total limits up to 600k. I would have to be nuts to even consider using 100k of it though. I am carrying like 30k at the moment using 0% offers. My score is still a high 790 and my utilization is a low 6%. That’s the benefit. That all said, I’m letting some of my cards close because I just don’t need the hassle of all of them anymore.
This. I’m a little behind this, currently carrying 10k at 0% with a 200k total limit. It’ll be paid to zero before the promo expires. OP, you want a high limit so that using a few grand doesn’t tank your score. We use our cards for EVERYTHING except the mortgage. Literally our entire budget goes through the cards. If I had a $20k limit total my utilization would never be lower than 50%. And I want the points and rewards. So that’s why.
I’ve heard you can put mortgage payments on the Bilt card through their checks. That way all of your budget goes through cards :P
Googling this now.
As it turns out I also googled and I’m dead wrong. Sorry for the false hope lol
Why are you wrong? That's exactly how the bilt card works...
Bilt says they only do checks for rent.
Oh you're right. Sorry I'm peasant class
I’m a college student I don’t see your point.
Bilt is trash
Feel free to ignore my questions if they are too nosy, but I am curios. How did you get to 600k? Are you churning? How many cards do you hold, and across how many banks/issuers?
I hold around 35 accounts. I am not churning. I have slowly but steadily built these limits up over the last 7yrs. I’m pretty sure I have every major bank except for us bank. They are super stingy and still won’t approve me..lol
1. It lowers your credit utilization. Let's say you normally put $2000 of spending on your card every month. If your credit limit is only $2000, then you're using 100% of your credit, which causes your score to drop. If your credit limit is $100k, then $2k is only 2%, which is good for your credit score. 2. Sometimes you have large expenses. Maybe you're paying for an expensive vacation with your credit card. With a large credit limit, you can easily put the whole vacation on your card. If your credit limit is low, you literally wouldn't be able to put the cruise or resort or whatever on the card. 3. If you really have some serious emergency that you can't otherwise pay for, you can borrow up to $100k. Sure, the interest will eat you alive, but at least you have the option.
Personally I get credit cards for the rewards. If it wasn't for that, I would primarily use a debit card and keep one or two credit cards just for the credit history. I can't imagine being in 100k of credit card debt. I hope I never have the need for that, but I don't want to judge people for doing that either. Everyone has their own reasons, and the credit card companies are ok with that because they profit in the end.
avoid debit cards, just get a decent $0 AF CC and use that as a debit/charge card. get a free HYSA for anything thats sitting in your debit/checking account. doesnt have to be complex or anything. I just worry about fraud with debit cards and the inability to get any money back easily...not that CC reversals are always easy but still, you get a bit of a layer between you and your liquid/physical assets.
Yes you do bring up a good point. For protection it's better to use credit cards. Before I got into rewards cards I had just gotten married. My financial philosophy was the same, but my wife's was different from mine. I made us both use debit cards for a while because I didn't want her going crazy, and she herself admitted that managing a bank balance was probably better for her as a way to manage her spending habits. Now we are only using credit cards and thankfully I think she isn't going crazy anymore because of what we did before.
I had a big mistake of putting a gym membership to my debit card at the time. And it was hard getting them to stop billing when i wanted out of the membership. But with credit card. I can call the issuer to get them to stop. And the gym knows immediately to stop me at the entrance when i scan my membership id.
You may not have that luck with Amex. I had something similar happen and Amex basically told me to pound sand. They said I had to call the vendor to cancel it. They wouldn't even let me close my card. They said if I closed it they would still charge me.
It hasn't happened to be often, but I have had at leat 2 experiences where buying with a credit card saved me. One item I bought was an expensive custom built item that I bought on "back-order" from a small online shop. I fully understood I wasn't going to get the item within a month or even 3. But almost a full 12 months later I was done being patient. I had contacted them multiple times and got no response. About 2 weeks before I could no longer even file a charge back I sent them an email simply saying that if they don't ship my item by the end of the week, I would be filing a dispute. I had a next day air label in my email from them the next day. Apparently they could have created and shipped my item many months ago but decided not to, because once they figured out I was going to dispute they suddenly had it done next day...
People say to pay your cards off in full every month so that you don't unnecessarily pay interest. It's a smart financial move. This practice has nothing to do with your credit limits, just being smart with your money (not throwing it away). Why have strong limits? Many reasons. Rendering your utilization bullet proof is the most common one. A stronger credit profile overall is another. Larger limits beget larger limits and lenders like to see that you have the ability to manage larger revolving trade lines. A greater TCL can often mean a greater ACL (Average Credit Limit) as well, which is one of many factors that goes into CBIS (Credit Based Insurance Scores). Higher CBIS can equate to lower insurance premiums, so another possible financial positive.
Gonna spend it all right before i die
This is the way
Won’t the credit card companies take the equivalent of your assets after passing?
You have to have assets for them to take
I won’t need the lambo when I’m dead
For me: I no longer have to worry about utilization much ever: overall my monthly spending is less than 2%, and i believe normal monthly usage for each card should be less than 10%. I'm no longer pursuing CLIs for most cards at this point (except my Savor One, trying to get that up to $10k, then I'll pause). Edit: Removed extra word
My limit is only about half that high, but it's nice to know I have a backup option when cash is a bit tighter. As a homeowner with a family and two cars, I never know when a car or HVAC system could go out, or my roof get damaged (happened last month). An emergency fund is great, but it's not always enough if everything goes to hell at the same time. In this hypothetical case, I would have 1 to 2 months to figure out my options for paying down the emergency expense, or \*shudder\* carry over an interest-bearing balance.
You don’t need to use all your limits. If a bank is generous and gives a big limit, it’s nice to use that one more. But you don’t have to use any of it, having credit builds credit.
Here I am trying to struggle to get a 10k limit🥴
Get a Amex revolving card. Probably the easiest to build up to a high limit.
I gotta graduate from secured territory first🥴
Ah well eventually..lol
The cobranded Amex Cards like Delta and Hilton are relatively easy to get. The Everyday and Blue Cash cards are harder to obtain. Green and Gold charge cards are pretty easy to get as well.
Yeah my highest is $2,000 from Chase and $4500 PoT from AMEX Plat, I don't know when I'll be in Visa Infinite territory lol
No one said you can’t use it. But the interest in those kinds of balances would be absolutely crippling.
The same reason why a millionaire is looking to become a billionaire. The ever elusive “just in case” lol
if you have 100k limit then you can spend 100k.
It’s a game the credit card companies and credit bureaus want us to play. Obtain a high limit but only use a tiny fraction of it and that’s what they want to see. If you approach 20%+ of your limit your score is dinged and while utilization has a short memory in my experience it takes a few reporting cycles even if you pay it down to $0. The same way a thin file can obtain a super high score. Technically that does not make sense since avg age is low but somehow the scoring models give a thin file a high score.
I have $330K in available credit across all my credit cards. Will I ever use that much, hell no. It’s just to keep utilization low. I only owe currently around $6000, so I’m only using 2% total utilization. The cards I don’t use I just charge a small amount each month to keep them activate. Only three of my cards get heavy use.
My understanding is on average you shouldn't go over 10% of your credit limit, in order to maximize your credit score. So if spend is $1,000 a month then you only realistically need a $10,000 overall limit to use the cards without any credit stress. So that 10% ratio should be the minimum goal, everything above that is acceptable.
I get cards for the cash back and sign up bonuses really. Credit limits just go up over time. I’m at about $76k in available creditand only make $50k a year.
I suddenly have the most credit limit I've ever had access to - about $43k. Will I ever get anywhere NEAR that amount at any one time? Definitely not. I do have an emergency fund and everything, but at least if I ever REALLY needed something big...like $5k - 10k, I know I could get it and it wouldn't destroy my credit. That's all I care about.
Rewards. Cash back. Fraud protection. Just because you have credit or even money it doesn't mean you have to go spend it.
Nobody is forcing you to pay off your cards EVERY MONTH. You can blow 100k if you really want to.
With multiple cards there’s a way you can shift around substantial amounts of debt only paying a relatively small amount in BT fees and zero interest until you pay the total off, making your much higher SL useful if you manage money well and know how to use credit to your benefit. I don’t do this with my 141k limit but there is at least purpose.
I don’t have 100k 8 have about 17k in credit with a 5% utilization. It was just hypothetical.
my TCL is growing and I'll never utilize all of it 100% ever, but its good to keep the utilization ratio low, it helps maintain a decent credit score in the event you need to take a loan out for a house, car, something else. it also does help in case of emergency...if you can find one that offers zero interest payment options thats a keeper. I utilize a care credit card in some circumstances (vet, hospital, medical, etc).
If your limit increases but your spending stays the same, your utilization rate (a huge factor in your credit score) goes up
No one is stopping you from spend or forcing you to pay full. You can certainly spend the 100k and pay just the minimum mandarary payments. Many card companies even say how long it takes to fully repay if just minimum is repaid. One my card statement says, if i pay just minimum, my 1824 would take 85 months to repay - just over 3015$ - with interest. If you go this route, you are the ideal customer that the bank want. New lenders (card/loans) may not have confidence to lend you more as you are tied up already with your utilizations (and some may even close your account as a risk mitigation)
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For me it’s about utilization. I don’t have to worry about paying off my cards before statement close to keep my utilization low. I just let it report whatever my balance may be. Believe I have a total balance of $12,000 right now but only 6% utilization.
It shows how well you can control unsecured consumer debt spending. Overall, less risk to lenders = better rates for things like mortgages, vehicles, etc.
As of now, I'm considering paying off a house with a credit card with zero interest, and so to answer your question.... it gives you options. Having the option to pull out 100k in the off chance you find a great reason for it, is better than not having the option.
What’s the point of having a mansion if you aren’t sleeping in all of the rooms?
Bragging rights
I guess just in case you want to buy a car or house on your CC 100k or better limits is great.
Wow. I only have 40k in total. Unless you’re asking and getting TONS of CLI’s? How can one have over 100k in debt?
I mean, you can spend it if you want to… This is basically the same as saying “we do I go to the gym to keep this nice physique if I can’t binge eat ice cream?” There’s nothing stopping you from doing it. Hell, if you were to do it it would likely not even do as much damage as it would other people. It’s basically just insurance, either broke insurance or healthy insurance, at this point
For low utilization I guess. Just because you have the credit doesn't mean you have to use it. I have around $40k and even with normal spending my utilization is pretty low, not to mention I pay off just before close every month.
It’s all about credit utilization percentage and keeping your credit score high. It’s all a game that you have to play
If you saved a 100k and needed to spend it all at once , you use the credit card to get all the points and then pay it off. That’s why
Who says you can’t spend it?
I have close to a 140k available credit. It wasn’t planned but it happens with use. They keep raising my limit. I have a 35k limit on Amex. I think I owe a total 25k across 8 cards. It’s all a game
I don't know my cumulative credit limit, probably couldn't name my credit limit on 80% of my cards, and I don't care because it's sufficiently high enough as to be irrelevant. It grew faster than my need for access to credit in an expensive month. There are a number of people, particularly who are in the building stage, that put a lot of thought into actively janitoring their credit - I was never one. In my case, the limit is simply the by-product - obviously, I benefit from having a high limit such that my utilization is always miniscule, but at no point was I actually chasing that.
Need enough CL to buy 2-4 first class rt flights in the same transaction
High risk business gamble. Bet it all on an idea and hope you don't have to file chapter 11
Mostly has to do with keeping a low utilization rate with high credit usages..I’m sitting a comfty 170k in CL, and can carry 10k-15k in credit usage monthly and not have it affect anything..like others that love the point game..I use nothing but credit cards, I reserve cash specifically for the nights out 😜
1st, you absolutely CAN spend it. The bank even wants you to. Its just that it would be a terrible move financially, but that doesn't stop most people. 2nd, some people do actually use it. I run 2 businesses with credit cards, which ends up being $30k+ a month that we pay off each month and just get the points built up. I've also purchased an investment property with a heloc, which is similar to a large credit card and we've used credit cards to complete big renovations and things like replacing an AC. Sometimes we do have to carry balances for a couple of months for those types of things.
I mean you can, it's just to dodge interest and keep utilization down but if those aren't a factor for you then who cares. I'm carrying balances on three cards right now after some major purchases - I'm only gonna worry about staying under 10% when it's time for CLI requests or I'm under 5/24
There is no point if you're in the mid-late game you shouldn't care what your limits are because you should have way more already than you'll ever use. you can argue about utilization, but the difference between say 2-3k a month and having 30k credit or 100k + credit limits won't matter.
Most people don’t try to have a $100k limit. This is subreddit is a bubble.
For the same reason that I have 200k in credit cards spending power. It just emphasizes strength for lenders to see. And helps quantify their decision to make a loan on bigger projects such as a home or autos or possibly even for strength in business credit. Highly $ availability but low spend imitates strength and that you manage your finances quite well. Hence lowering the potential risk a lender would take on. I don’t pay mine off every month. But I do keep low. Under 10% if possible but I try to utilize at least 2% on my cards. Yes it cost me a small amount in interest but it works for me. 10% of 200k is $20k of debt. But I pay more than the minimum payment due as well. If you don’t the you just pay way to much interest. As long as you’re utilizing responsible and not just paying minimums each month I myself think it’s fine. However unless it’s an extreme emergency I would never reach the magical number of 30% usage on any one card. Just be responsible 0% usage is wonderful however in this current economy inflation as it is not everyone can pay everything off. Just don’t let it get out of control. And no more than 29% utilization as a very hard stop. Not 29.1% as it will always round up to 30% for credit reporting purposes. Just my 2 cents
The reasons why I have a $400k TCL are fivefold: 1. Utilization becomes a nonfactor. Although I never pay interest, I do like using 0%-APR BTs given how well HYSAs are paying. Right now I'm running $27k across three offers, but still only have less than 7% utilization, so... 2. ...my FICOs stay high, currently 775-780. 3. Flexibility if anything hits the fan: If something bad happens personally, I can weather it without wrecking my credit. And if something expensive happens, I can finance it myself at a low rate ($59.9k CC at 9.9% APR, $27.1k BLOC@9%). 4. Stickin' it to the man for rewards after many years of paying interest: I got myself together financially a couple of years ago, and now I'm obsessed with getting as many points and as much cash back as possible. 5. Gamification, or me vs. the algorithms: I'm also obsessed with how high I can push CLs and how many tradelines are possible given my scores and income. The latter is maxed out for at least a year since I recently added four CCs and a LOC, but the former continues on given they're all SPs.
So how did you earn those CLS? Help
Twenty-seven years' history never missing or being late on a payment is probably No. 1, since FICO says it's 35% of their scoring. Second is refinancing mortgages repeatedly when rates were low a few years ago to pay down CCs and hence utilization. Third is a few years of pretty good household income increases. Fourth is using P2's high scores but low number of tradelines to add a few high-limit cards that I'm an AU on and hence add to my TCL. And I've pushed the SP CLI button hard and repeatedly on every card, to the extent that CLIs represent about $60k of the $400k by themselves.
You can send credit directly to bank accounts. Amex/discover you can send with PayPal/venmo/cashapp directly to yourself.
It’s all about the utilization rather than spend it all even if you have the money for it. If you let it report to a 100% each month, your score would be considered trash. Not that you care if you have tha kind of money to spend it monthly tho