Author Topic: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!  (Read 4296 times)

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Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« on: June 12, 2018, 05:34:16 AM »
Ok, so I opened a Sapphire Preferred card a few years ago as a churn, and I have kept it around.   I was paying the bills this morning and happened to notice that my credit limit has increased to $68k on this card. (!)

I will call them and ask, but has anyone else seen their credit limit go up this high over time?  It goes without saying that we use our cards like mustachians (for the points) and pay them in full every month.   Is there any risk or downside to having such a huge credit limit sitting available on a card?  Thanks.

Chris @ Saturday Financial

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2018, 06:37:54 AM »
Having a low credit utilization percentage actually increases your credit score.  So a high credit limit across all cards and a low amount of debt causes your credit score to go up.  Signing up for an account at creditkarma.com really helped me understand the various factors that affect credit scores.

poetdereves

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2018, 06:50:26 AM »
No downsides if you’re keeping it paid off all of the time. DW and I have credit limits in excess of 150% of our income without really even trying. Churning cards for points and having a bunch of cards opened haven’t hurt our scores at all either. I think it’s pretty typical that people that are decent with money have high credit limits. You can always ask them to lower it to something more reasonable if it really makes you nervous.

talltexan

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2018, 08:40:10 AM »
Sounds like it's time to buy a boat!

katsiki

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2018, 09:00:02 AM »
Did you by chance recently update your income with chase?  I noticed that their web site prompts me frequently for this info.

Trifle

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2018, 09:16:06 AM »
Sounds like it's time to buy a boat!

hahahaha!

Trifle

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2018, 09:16:54 AM »
Did you by chance recently update your income with chase?  I noticed that their web site prompts me frequently for this info.

I haven't updated income info, but I have also noticed those prompts every time I log in . . . Hmmm. 

BrightFIRE

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2018, 11:52:20 AM »
If you actually update/confirm your income when it prompts, I think it's only once a year. If you ignore it, it will keep popping up.

I think the only potential downside would be if you wanted to get a new Chase card - the computer might auto-deny you based on already having so much credit with them. You can overcome this by talking to an agent and shifting credit around. If you want auto-approval, you could request a reduced limit on this card (say 50k) via Secure Message before applying for the new card.

Catbert

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #8 on: June 12, 2018, 03:07:32 PM »
If you actually update/confirm your income when it prompts, I think it's only once a year. If you ignore it, it will keep popping up.

I think the only potential downside would be if you wanted to get a new Chase card - the computer might auto-deny you based on already having so much credit with them. You can overcome this by talking to an agent and shifting credit around. If you want auto-approval, you could request a reduced limit on this card (say 50k) via Secure Message before applying for the new card.

I have several Chase cards (slow-ish churner).  when I'm thinking about another one I review limits and reduce those with insane credit limits. I try to do it a week or so before applying since I hate talking to people.

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2018, 06:38:33 AM »
Thank you @BrightFIRE and @Catbert  -- very helpful.  I hadn't thought about the impact on the next card. 

talltexan

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2018, 07:35:49 AM »
I've already got a 0% interest loan with Wells Fargo. Just to get things into whole dollars, I recently overpaid by $.63, and I was rewarded with...an offer for a new credit card. Big data must have told them that overpaying on this loan made me a great credit risk!

WSUCoug1994

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2018, 09:31:29 AM »
I think this is a primary reason (100% plagiarized)

It’s a bit of a reverse mind-trick, but credit card companies like to see a low credit utilization rate. This is the percentage of credit you are using of the total amount you have available from all sources. If you carry $10,000 on a card and have $40,000 in total credit available, your utilization rate is 25%. If total credit is raised to $50,000, your utilization rate is 20%.

The idea is that by giving you more credit, it “relieves the pressure” on the utilization rate. You may become a better risk if you have more credit available, but then do not use it or use just a bit of it.

nick663

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Re: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit limit -- What the hell?!
« Reply #12 on: June 14, 2018, 04:38:11 PM »
If you actually update/confirm your income when it prompts, I think it's only once a year. If you ignore it, it will keep popping up.

I think the only potential downside would be if you wanted to get a new Chase card - the computer might auto-deny you based on already having so much credit with them. You can overcome this by talking to an agent and shifting credit around. If you want auto-approval, you could request a reduced limit on this card (say 50k) via Secure Message before applying for the new card.
I had this happen but it didn't deny me, just said I would get a decision in the next __ days (can't remember the specific time period, want to say 14 days).  They called me the next day to find out which card I wanted to move available credit from to open the new one.

I was really worried I had gone over 5/24 without knowing it until I got that call. :)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!