Available credit vs. used credit is 30% of your credit score.

1. Your FICO score is partly based on your percentage of used credit on revolving credit accounts. 0-9% is the value that will keep your score the highest. Therefore if you turned down a $13,000 limit in favor of $4000 and have only $361 dollars in credit card debt you have a lower credit score because your are above 9%. When they pull your credit report they look at your current balance and not whether you pay your balance in full each month. Having a credit line will give you some breathing room to keep you below that 9% value. This is extremely important for me as I travel for work frequently and have to put hotel stays and flights on my card while I wait for reimbursement which comes before my credit card bill is due each cycle. I can keep my score high and still access the amount of credit needed to travel for work.

2. If you have a rewards card, having a high credit line can really allow you to build up your rewards quickly. One example is when I plan to purchase my next car I plan to purchase it for cash. I will put the car on my credit card to earn the miles which will equal a full flight then pay off the value of the car the next day by check to the credit card company and not pay additional interest. In effect I will have
earned a free flight by utilizing that credit for a total of one day at no cost to myself.

The key is using your credit intelligently and know the limits of what you can afford. If you do not have the will power to control your spending turning down your increases is a smart thing to do, however; if you are responsible you should take your increases and think about how to maximize your financial situation using that value. Having a larger line of credit is a tool you can use to your advantage.

First of all, Chase is offering you a higher credit limit. That doesn’t mean you have to use it. If you cannot control yourself to not max out your credit line, that is not their fault. You obviously have an issue with spending.

Second, if you don’t want the extra credit line, you can simply call them and ask to have it reduced and ask for them to no longer offer automatic credit line increases.

Third, all banks do this. This is a typical practice of banks. If they see you are paying your bills on time, they extend you more credit.

In conclusion, if you can’t control your spending, don’t blame it on a bank giving you a credit line increase. Blame it on your own faults

Second, an increased limit means that your credit score will increase given that you have equal utilization. If you do not have the self control to spend within your means, there is no way you should have a credit card in the first place.

Automatic credit increases are actually a smart way to build your credit score and reduce interest rates on large mortgage loans.

Now if we’re talking about decreasing the limit to curb your own temptation for using it, that I understand.

Do they really think it could possibly be healthy for someone to run up over $10K on a credit card?

My heart goes out to people when I hear they have $10K of cc debt … these companies are practically begging people to do it.

I guess if you made six figures several times over, then having that much on a card wouldn’t cost you a fortune.

They may not be making money off of you ( interest, fees) therefore, they increased your limit. Hoping you will lose discipline