SCrails
Train Attendant
I see what you mean now - that makes sense.
I'LL STAY IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES
- Thread starter ThayerATM
- Start date
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Ryan
Court Jester
Business is business - my credit is very similar to yours, and I was offered a similar limit. Times have changed, and credit isn't as forthcoming. Rather than take my ball and go home, I'll take whatever they're willing to give.
I was given a credit limit of $3500, though my credit score stands in at 778. I didn't and don't care as I never spend anywhere near that much. I have other credit cards that total to almost $20,000 and that's way, way more than I care to have, really, but I guess it's nice to have it in case of dire emergencies. Funny thing, I have always heard that if you have too many accounts you don't necessarily use they rate your score down. I was rated down because I don't have ENOUGH accounts. Since my credit rating is excellent even with a poor rating for number of open accounts I don't think I'll be opening any more any time soon. 
What I've basically learned about credit scores is, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.
Have several credit accounts open? Bad.
Have very few credit accounts open? Bad.
Have high credit lines? Bad.
Have low credit lines? Bad.
Carry high balances? Bad.
Carry low balances? Bad.
Have absolutely nothing change with your financial situation from one month to the next? Bad.
Have several changes to your credit in a short period of time? Bad.
I'm subscribed to a service where I can check on my credit rating pretty much whenever I want. Every few months, they'll revise my credit rating with each agency. There are months where my rating will go up at one agency, and down at another agency. And I'm sure they'll find some way to make that fact bad for my credit, as well. Hell, I'm sure my credit rating will drop a couple of points just for me making this post.
Have several credit accounts open? Bad.
Have very few credit accounts open? Bad.
Have high credit lines? Bad.
Have low credit lines? Bad.
Carry high balances? Bad.
Carry low balances? Bad.
Have absolutely nothing change with your financial situation from one month to the next? Bad.
Have several changes to your credit in a short period of time? Bad.
I'm subscribed to a service where I can check on my credit rating pretty much whenever I want. Every few months, they'll revise my credit rating with each agency. There are months where my rating will go up at one agency, and down at another agency. And I'm sure they'll find some way to make that fact bad for my credit, as well. Hell, I'm sure my credit rating will drop a couple of points just for me making this post.
I'm pretty sure that it's just you. My card came with a respectable $14k limit when I opened it.
To be honest, if you have $25k in credit from Chase and don't use it, why should they give you heaploads more? Credit that they give to you cannot be given to someone else, who might use it in a more profitable way.
Furthurmore, you have to consider that they already have risk exposure to you. By their analysis (right or wrong), a total of $28.5k is what they can safely risk on you; that's nothing to sneeze at. But you've already got most of that on another card. Simple subtraction leaves you with how much they can give you on your new application. If you'd canceled your existing Chase card and then applied, you'd probably have received a larger limit.
I'll also point out that AmEx charge (not credit) cards do have limits; American Express just won't know what it is until you get there. Also, the AGR World Mastercard has a set credit line, but no preset spending limit; Chase won't know what your real limit is until you get there.
Ispolkom
Engineer
I've had Chase cards for several years, and have churned through a few, as rewards programs and my interests changed. A couple of years ago a Chase clerk told me that I was allowed $50k in total credit, however divided on the 3 or four cards I had then. At that time I moved credit limits around as DivMiler described.
I look at the total credit limits on the cards my wife and I now have, and for each of us they total between $25k and $30k, not the $50k I was told back before the beginning of the great recession. Maybe $28k is the new $50k. It's Chase's choice, after all.
In any case, each of us has our limits to what we'll put up with. I won't rebook my loophole trips to get the new 10% off because in each case I don't want to risk losing my bedroom on the sold-out Portland sleeper. Heck, 20 years ago I wouldn't have paid for a sleeper on Amtrak. If ThayerATM doesn't want to bother with a card that has irritated him, more power to him, even though I personally would try a different solution. Give Chase business? No way, I give them the business instead.
One thing though. As a big baseball fan, why all the hate for the minor leagues? Dollar for dollar, going to a minor league game gives me much better enjoyment, watching players who actually seem to want to be there.
I look at the total credit limits on the cards my wife and I now have, and for each of us they total between $25k and $30k, not the $50k I was told back before the beginning of the great recession. Maybe $28k is the new $50k. It's Chase's choice, after all.
In any case, each of us has our limits to what we'll put up with. I won't rebook my loophole trips to get the new 10% off because in each case I don't want to risk losing my bedroom on the sold-out Portland sleeper. Heck, 20 years ago I wouldn't have paid for a sleeper on Amtrak. If ThayerATM doesn't want to bother with a card that has irritated him, more power to him, even though I personally would try a different solution. Give Chase business? No way, I give them the business instead.
One thing though. As a big baseball fan, why all the hate for the minor leagues? Dollar for dollar, going to a minor league game gives me much better enjoyment, watching players who actually seem to want to be there.
ThayerATM
OBS Chief
I didn't mean to belittle the minor leagues. It's an expression I started using while training pharmacy technicians. After a few months of training, when I thought they were ready, I'd tell them that they were now ready to be a "major league starter." That meant they were able to keep up the pace in a store that filled 3,000-5,000 prescriptions a week. It was a significant accomplishment for them, and they seemed to like the appelation.
My analogous use of the term with the CHASE card, and my other cards just reflected the same thinking. A $3,500 v/$25,000 credit limit really did strike me as Minor League. The CHASE Guest Rewards Card credit limit told me that I was still Minor League.
ThayerATM
OBS Chief
That is exactly what I meant whey I used the term "Phase Of The Moon." There doesn't seem to be any logic (that I can figure out) as to what will affect a credit rating on a monthly basis.
ThayerATM
OBS Chief
Now, you might have just provided some insight into this discussion.I was given a credit limit of $3500, though my credit score stands in at 778. I didn't and don't care as I never spend anywhere near that much. I have other credit cards that total to almost $20,000 and that's way, way more than I care to have, really, but I guess it's nice to have it in case of dire emergencies. Funny thing, I have always heard that if you have too many accounts you don't necessarily use they rate your score down. I was rated down because I don't have ENOUGH accounts. Since my credit rating is excellent even with a poor rating for number of open accounts I don't think I'll be opening any more any time soon.
I can pop a charge of $5,000 on a card that has a $25,000 credit limit. That card will be paid off by the end of the billing period, but let's suppose that CHASE looked in my credit report while that $5,000 charge was outstanding. That might have spooked them. Maybe that's what happened.
Ryan
Court Jester
I don't think that it's the $5,000 charge spooked them, but probably the fact that you had the ability to go out and drop another $20k on it, plus whatever you can get on your Amex. Too much available credit is a greater hinderance to getting more credit than people think. Say that Chase were to give you another $25k on the AGR card - suddenly, you've got the ability to go out and run up $50,000 in credit card bills (plus the Amex) in a month. Now it's obviously an assumption that could be wrong, but I'm willing to bet that you wouldn't be able to pay that off at the end of the month! It's all about limiting their exposure to people that will (and have) done it to them.
PetalumaLoco
Conductor
But the CC company doesn't want you to pay it off in a month!
Ryan
Court Jester
No, but they want you to be able to pay it off sometime.
ThayerATM
OBS Chief
Ryan,
The way you've just together the logic makes sense to me. I think you might have just hit a bullseye as to what happened.
In light of the current economy I agree that the credit card companies have gotten burned many times.
While I COULD pay off the 50K at the end of the month (it wouldn't be easy, but I could pull it off), CHASE has no way of knowing that. CHASE has no idea what my intentions were, or are.
My philosophy has always been that if I can't pay it off by the end of the month, I can't afford it. But CHASE has no way of knowing that.
But back to my original point...
A CHASE Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card with a $3,500 limit on it is not really of any particular use to me. I used it for the first time to buy the tickets from ROC to CHI to FMD, and back, which ran $1,700. That charge is already paid off. Our next trip will be from ROC to CHI to LAX to SEA to CHI to ROC. That'll probably run close to $6,000. Obviously I won't be able to use my CHASE AGR card. And I'm not about to pick hotels because of their rewards partnership. I pick hotels for convenience of location, so the card won't give me points that way.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when the chips fell, and the smoke cleared, it just wasn't working the way I work.
The Metropolitan
OBS Chief
It's understandable Thayer regarding the limit's usefulness to you in booking Amtrak travel, but seriously, have you considered the seemingly rational suggestions I've seen peppered through this thread to CALL CHASE and see if you can re-allot your CHASE credit limits so that you have more available under your AGR card?
It makes sense to me that if I could have 12,000 AGR points in my account after purchasing a $6000 ticket purchase through the AGR card, and such an point award could be possible by making one phone call, I'd make that call.
It makes sense to me that if I could have 12,000 AGR points in my account after purchasing a $6000 ticket purchase through the AGR card, and such an point award could be possible by making one phone call, I'd make that call.
ThayerATM
OBS Chief
I've already made that call, and received an answer in writing. They aren't willing to budge on the CHASE Amtrak Guest Rewards card's $3,500 credit limit. I'm reluctant to really press the issue, and end up screwing up the 25K limit on the other CHASE card by turning ugly on them.
And just for the record, while speaking with the young woman, obviously in India, an attempt was made to sell me identity theft insurance, trip insurance, and a dozen other promotions. I had to get rather unpleasant with her in order to get her to shut up. <_< Much as I'd like the AGR points, I'm going to live with the way things are. As you can tell, I'm not really pleased with the CHASE AGR Mastercard people.
There is one other thing I might try in order to same some money. I'm going to call to AAA and see if they can book me a trip on Amtrak on the very first day 11 months out. If any travel agency can snag a bunch of reservations on that very first day (or maybe a few days before as has been suggested) I'm sure that AAA is one of them. It only costs me $25 to have AAA make all the reservations, and if they've snagged low bucket prices I'll be golden. There's no additional charge from that point on, including the time they got me a full refund for a trip I had to cancel on the day before I was supposed to start.
the_traveler
Engineer
Back a few years ago, my sister and her fiance were away in Asia around tax time. I filed an extension for them, but you need to pay the expected amount owed by April 15.
I paid via my United Airlines Visa - which also happened to be Chase - but I had a "low" credit line (I think like $5,000). Because I didn't have all their information, I wanted to pay too much than not enough. So I wanted to pay like $20,000 just to be sure.
I called up Chase to ask for a "temporary" increase to $26,000 (to cover my other charging). After some review (and within a few days), they increased my limit to $26,000!
BTW - This "temporary" increase lasted as long as the "temporary" suspension of the SL-East! :lol: I ended it when I closed the account (because I didn't fly as much, and didn't want to pay the IIRC $85 fee).
So all you may have to do, as suggested, is to transfer some of your limit from your other Chase cards. Or ask that it be "temporarily" increased to like $10,000 - so you can use it on this trip!
amtrakwolverine
Engineer
The OP said chase wasn't even going to transfer a balance from another card to the AGR card their response was $3500 take it or leave it.
Aloha
There is another way to charge more than the credit limit. Send in a payment before so that yoyr balance is negative the account credit plus the limit is more than the charge.
I think that ThayerATM has limits on the hoops he is willing jump thru. If chase won't be reasonable, why should he kill himseSounds right to me!lf?
ThayerATM
OBS Chief
Thanks. You're exactly right. I needed that.
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