My credit score is over 800, I have no debt except my mortgage, and my finances are solid. I have had this credit card with USAA for over 20 years. I asked for a credit limit increase, and they only bumped it up by 500 dollars, like I was some teenager with no credit history.
I called to ask why, and they wouldn’t give me a straight answer, just blamed the credit bureaus—except my credit report is completely fine. So I applied for a card with Navy Federal… and they gave me 30K in ten minutes.
Same thing happened to me. Never carry a balance, great credit, only have a mortgage and a car loan. Always pay everything on time. Thought I was doing everything right. But I barely get credit limit increases, and I never get new card offers.
Back when my score was in the 650–700 range and I had some debt, I got offers left and right. Almost seems like they only want customers who pay interest.
I ended up getting the Navy Fed card too. Was trying to keep everything in one place for convenience, but I think I’m done with USAA after I pay off my car.
I dropped them years ago. Auto insurance was okay, but the rates kept going up. Home insurance? Way too expensive compared to other places. They make it sound like they cover everything, but so does my new insurance—and for half the price.
Guess they need all that extra money to pay for Sam Elliott and Gronk in their commercials… maybe that’s why rates keep rising?
@Charlie
I would, but it’s my oldest credit card, so canceling it would hurt my credit history. And they told me I couldn’t even request a specific amount! It was all automated through the app.
When I called, the rep was rude and basically acted like something was wrong with me, which isn’t the case. I keep a close eye on my credit, and I got an alert from my monitoring service within minutes of applying for the increase.
Caden said:
If you pay off your cards every month, why do you need a higher limit? Or a new $30K card?
Credit scoring works differently now. The more available credit you have, the lower your utilization percentage, which helps your score. It’s actually the opposite of how it worked when I was younger. Funny enough, USAA tried giving me higher limits back then when I had no money and average credit.
Also, I don’t use a debit card for everyday purchases. I put everything on a credit card for rewards and fraud protection. My debit card stays locked away.
I was about to start a big home renovation and needed to buy materials. Didn’t want to max out my card because that would push my utilization too high, and I take my credit score seriously.