What is the minimum credit limit on my card that will significantly help my credit score?

Sandtree

Hoppimike said:

Sounds weird I know. I just... don't really want to be increasing it forever so I'd really like to know what the lowest number is where it will be "enough"? Obviously my utilisation will always be low

£100,000 really, any less and clearly they think you are a nobody chump

As others have said, the "score" is a marketing tool used by credit reference agencies to get people to sign up to services. In the UK no lender will ever see that score and so its pointless thinking about it.

For the purposes of getting others to lend to you then its actually a complex interplay between multiple factors, lenders like it when they see other lenders have trusted you with large limits and you've used them responsibly however they also have to consider affordability if you go mad and max out all the lines of credit you have and so a large limit can simultaneously be a positive and negative thing.

Hoppimike

Alex9384 said:

Barlcaycard, Halifax and Nationwide certainly don't do any hard check when you increase your limit. I've done it with all three and they didn't do any checks. You don't need to ask anyone, just log in and find 'Amend credit limit'.

Yeah this is what I found too, at least on Barclaycard. So hooray! Thanks for the info and stuff  

born_again said:

Any increase is based on card providers internal scoring. As such no interaction with your credit file is required.

Best advice, forget about your "Credit Score" and make sure that you pay on time. It is your "Credit History" that lenders are interested in.
Only other thing that can affect getting further credit is having to much available credit compared to you income. As it's all based on affordability.

Interesting. There is still a lot of talk in this country about credit score though. Is it just easier for people to watch a score than to go through their whole history, I wonder.
I'm on the Credit Club on this site and also ClearScore. I mean... even if I ignore the numbers completely, I'm sure those sites are good places to get an idea of the shape my credit history is in too, right?

zemarcopolo

HSBC does perform a hard search on credit card limit increase. 

phillw

Hoppimike said:
There is still a lot of talk in this country about credit score though. Is it just easier for people to watch a score than to go through their whole history, I wonder.

Yes. There are some people on here that get triggered about it when you talk about a credit score because having a score of 1000/1000 doesn't mean you'll get all the credit you want and having a score of 1/10 doesn't mean you won't get credit.

Generally speaking, the things that increase your score should be things on your credit history that will make you more likely to get credit & the things that decrease it will be things on your credit history that will probably harm your chances of getting credit.

It's no guarantee though. Some lenders might take a punt if their loan book is healthy and they think they have a chance of making some extra cash off someone who is a little risky. They are essentially bookmakers calculating odds.

sleepyjones

I know the CRAs say you should only use 25% (ish) of your available credit, but cards like Vanquis tell you to use your credit to get a limit increase ... I understand that the CRAs are just making up your score, but does your usage (ie 10% of available credit VS 90% of available credit) have any affect on your "worthiness" to a new application?
And should it matter if you're just waiting for the statement to be produced to pay it off in full anyway. 

Thrugelmir

Hoppimike said:

Alex9384 said:

Barlcaycard, Halifax and Nationwide certainly don't do any hard check when you increase your limit. I've done it with all three and they didn't do any checks. You don't need to ask anyone, just log in and find 'Amend credit limit'.

Yeah this is what I found too, at least on Barclaycard. So hooray! Thanks for the info and stuff  

born_again said:

Any increase is based on card providers internal scoring. As such no interaction with your credit file is required.

Best advice, forget about your "Credit Score" and make sure that you pay on time. It is your "Credit History" that lenders are interested in.
Only other thing that can affect getting further credit is having to much available credit compared to you income. As it's all based on affordability.

Interesting. There is still a lot of talk in this country about credit score though. Is it just easier for people to watch a score than to go through their whole history, I wonder.

Misinformation abounds on social media. Easier to borrow than control spending and being a disciplined saver.  The credit industry wouldn't be happy if many people became savers either. Make them less money.  No one does anything out of charity. 

born_again

Hoppimike said:

Interesting. There is still a lot of talk in this country about credit score though. Is it just easier for people to watch a score than to go through their whole history, I wonder.
I'm on the Credit Club on this site and also ClearScore. I mean... even if I ignore the numbers completely, I'm sure those sites are good places to get an idea of the shape my credit history is in too, right?

Well your credit history is easy... Miss a payment and its a black mark. Too many black marks and lenders start to get the barge poles out. 
You do not need a 3rd party to tell you that.
Most credit ref's are now interested in referring you on for a kick back for signups to the co's they recomend, not the best deals you could get.

But there is always the issue of lenders lending criteria & appetite to take more on. Hence 0% balance transfer options. 

[Deleted User]

Thrugelmir said:

Hoppimike said:

Alex9384 said:

Barlcaycard, Halifax and Nationwide certainly don't do any hard check when you increase your limit. I've done it with all three and they didn't do any checks. You don't need to ask anyone, just log in and find 'Amend credit limit'.

Yeah this is what I found too, at least on Barclaycard. So hooray! Thanks for the info and stuff  

born_again said:

Any increase is based on card providers internal scoring. As such no interaction with your credit file is required.

Best advice, forget about your "Credit Score" and make sure that you pay on time. It is your "Credit History" that lenders are interested in.
Only other thing that can affect getting further credit is having to much available credit compared to you income. As it's all based on affordability.

Interesting. There is still a lot of talk in this country about credit score though. Is it just easier for people to watch a score than to go through their whole history, I wonder.

Misinformation abounds on social media. Easier to borrow than control spending and being a disciplined saver.  The credit industry wouldn't be happy if many people became savers either. Make them less money.  No one does anything out of charity. 

Misinformation indeed. Credit card companies don't care if you have controlled spending as they still get their merchant fees from everything you spend. Loan industry maybe won't be happy but people still need mortgages, car loans etc

zemarcopolo

sleepyjones said:

I know the CRAs say you should only use 25% (ish) of your available credit, but cards like Vanquis tell you to use your credit to get a limit increase ... I understand that the CRAs are just making up your score, but does your usage (ie 10% of available credit VS 90% of available credit) have any affect on your "worthiness" to a new application?
And should it matter if you're just waiting for the statement to be produced to pay it off in full anyway. 

The point is, using credit card to increase score is of no real life benefit. It doesn't increase your loan affordability neither does it encourage lenders to offer you loans or competitive rates. 
So, there is no point to use a credit card if you don't need it.

Hoppimike

Thrugelmir said:

Misinformation abounds on social media. Easier to borrow than control spending and being a disciplined saver.  The credit industry wouldn't be happy if many people became savers either. Make them less money.  No one does anything out of charity. 

I certainly used to 100% agree with this view.

I've been convinced now though that if you borrow money carefully for an asset that makes you significantly more money than the interest, then that is clever borrowing.

It's leveraging other people's wealth to increase your own.

To me that sounds smart and is surely a win-win!