The norm used to be you would wait six months and then ask your bank for a CLI. Maybe FinanceGlobe can speak to this but with the banks fighting to retain customers as well as lure new customers. if your accounts are in good standing with your lending institution and your salary can support the new limit after your CLI then why not go for it?

If your applying for a loan, all the lender wants to see is that you can responsibly manage your account no matter what your limit is be it $1,000 or $100,000. I would think the goal for all of us is to continue to keep our same spending habits and good management of our cards while trying to push our limits on our CC through the roof!

I tried closing their card for real and they ended up giving me a $200 CLI so I changed my mind and just kept the card. I didn't have to pay for the CLI and there was no hard pull. Good stuff.

Tell me about it!

Meya, Orchard is a whole 'nother story!

Orchard has not given me one in at least 8 months. They want me to pay for it...yeah right!

HSBC likes giving CLI's every 6 months.

4/15/2008

Clifton, how old was your account when you first asked for the CLI?

Clifton, I have the Best Buy Rewardzone Mastercard which is from HSBC. I always paid my balance in full. They started me off with $750 so I charged $500 and paid it ASAP. In 3 months, I asked for a credit line increase online and I asked for $250 and they gave me a $200 increase which brought up my limit to $950. Then, I asked for another $50 increase and the computer approved it. They DO pull a hard inquiry on your report. They mention it right before you submit your "application" online for the credit increase and there's no way around it. If your credit limit is $750, try asking for a small limit increase like $250 since your card is fairly new. Hope this helps.

I did receive a CLI on my HSBC Cash or Fly MasterCard of 600 dollars by pushing the love button awhile back and now the CL is 1350 dollars with a current balance of about 150 dollars that will be paid off next friday. I have pushed that button a couple of times since receiving the card and been denied. I will not be pushing that button again until this summer.

Clifton, I have the Best Buy Rewardzone Mastercard which is from HSBC. I always paid my balance in full. They started me off with $750 so I charged $500 and paid it ASAP. In 3 months, I asked for a credit line increase online and I asked for $250 and they gave me a $200 increase which brought up my limit to $950. Then, I asked for another $50 increase and the computer approved it. They DO pull a hard inquiry on your report. They mention it right before you submit your "application" online for the credit increase and there's no way around it. If your credit limit is $750, try asking for a small limit increase like $250 since your card is fairly new. Hope this helps.

The best time to ask for a increase in credit limit is when you have an increase in salary or when you do not really need it. Although you mentioned that you paid more than the minimum sum, I would assume that you do not make full payment. This is unwise as the interest rate is going to be quite high - increasing your credit limit will do harm to you with heavier interest burden (not that the bank will care) . However the bank may decline you for fear that you may not able to make the minumum payment with a higher limit. Try to live beneath you means, but you need to borrow, do not turn to credit cards.

I have had cap one for about almost 2 years now. The limit that you currently see ($2,500) took about one year. They will always tell you that they check accounts periodically (cough-cough-bs) and when my account comes up for review they will raise my limit if I am account is elligible. Well after the initial............ok, here is my break down:

$300 initial credt
$200 increase after 90 days

---

= $500 total limit

+ $2,000 increase 9 months- one year (after the $200)

---

=$2,500 total limit as of today


I believe i will be due for another limit increase soon, so I will not call them and ask for one. They showed me justice with the 2k limit.

Meya, the HSBC credit card that I am referring to is my HSBC Cash or Fly Mastercard which in my thinking would not be considered subprime. How long have you had your CapitalOne card? What was their reasoning for denying you increases? You have a decent limit right now with them?

I just asked HSBC to increase my limit from 750 dollars to 1450 dollars. They would not do it probably because of my credit report and the fact that the account is fairly new. When will my account no longer be considered "new". I know that different credit card companies most likely have different time frames. Now mind you, I have not missed a payment and paid way above my minimum. I have had the account since June. When is a good time to ask for an increase. I know they are looking at my payment patterns as well as how much revolving credit that I currently have with respect to what I owe (I have a very nice cushion right now). Also, do credit companies initiate a "hard pull" on your credit reports every time you request an increase?

This may not be what you're wanting to hear but I have never requested a credit line increase - Never needed to. As long as there is no default, the creditors issue credit limit increases on their own volition. When the creditor initiates the credit inquiry on their own, it is a soft inquiry (which will only be visible to you) with no effect on your credit report.

Wow, these are good questions Cliffton. Which HSBC card are you talking about? I have the Orchard and I can tell you right now that Orchard is stingy with cli's. They offer one every 6 months for $200, and they will charge you $25 if you request one yourself. Then that initial limit will be $100. Since you only had the card since June, it is considered a fairly new acount. Wait six months before you ask for an increase. I have never received a hard pull from any of my creditors when asking for cli's. They normally do soft pulls. As far as credit limit goes, I understand the desire of wanting top limit credit cards but there are tricks behind them. I have learned to let them give me whatever they desire and if I decide to ask, it will be six or more months before I do.

The Trick>>>>When you begin to apply for higher cli's, base the limits according to your income. Here is the reason why:

Let's say that your income is $50k per year when you apply for credit (or cli's), this is normally what you tell all your creditor(s). They then put a figure together like this:

$50,000 Income
-$5,000 HSBC
-$10,000 Amex
-$10,000 Discover
-$10,000 Chase
-$20,000 Advanta
-$10,000 Bank of America
________________________
-15,000 Worth of Income

Lord fobid if you have nice balances or became late on one of them because that really take away your chances for cli's. Those figures are what they consider "you have too much debt obligated to other creditors." and "You have more debit than income." A lot of people do not realize this, they assume that since they have high limits on one card, other creditors will try and match. That can be a valid factor, but not necessary a 100% proven senario. Creditors treats american's like a stock market and your credit report is the middle man who blows the whistle when we become active with our spending habbits.

Of course when we are with a creditor, they offer us limit increases and other special offers, but dont think by a long shot that they don't take a peak on the dark side [your credit report] when offering credit on a periodically basis. I have been denied increases from Cap 1 so many times, and just when I let them have it, I recieved a letter in the mail a few days later (after their denial) which stated, "Congratulations, you've worked hard towards keeping your credit in good standards. To show you our appreciation we have increased your limit $2k....blah, blah, blah)" I was so stunded until I could not believe it. Just give it a little more time buddie and I am sure that you will get exactly what you are looking for.