Denied a Credit Line Increase with a good FICO score

[aujrice]

Hi,
I recently tried to increase my credit line on one of my BofA credit cards from $3,500 to $6,000. I've had this credit card for 8 months but I also have another BofA credit for 5 years. BofA refused to give me a credit increase because I don't make enough money (I make $36k/year and have had this job for 1 1/2 years). I have a really good credit score in the 800s so I'm surprised that they denied my request.

Has anyone had this happen to them or know if this sounds right (not making enough money)? This may be irrelvant but in the credit industry I am a "deadbeat" i.e. I always pay my credit card bills on time. Let me know!

[ekrabs]

If your credit history is good, it might not be you. We're still deep in recession right now, and banks-- especially ones like Bank of America-- are taking drastic measures to shore up their defenses. Elsewhere, some people with very good credit scores are complaining that their credit limit got cut, so I'm not surprised that they denied you a limit increase.

So, again, it's probably not personal. It's just the way things are right now. In fact, we're living in extraordinary economic times right now. It's one for the history books.

[aujrice]

ekrabs, you think that BofA is using my income as an excuse not to increase my credit limit because of the economy? If that is the case, I can understand that. Thanks!

[ekrabs]

Well, I'm not sure if your income is involved.... In fact, I'm pretty sure it isn't.

Elsewhere, I know a couple of high income earners, one who makes roughly $80k and another over $100k, and both had their credit limit cut... without their prior approval! And yes, they also have high credit scores.

And when you add Bank of America into the mix, one of the largest banks that is suffering from this recession due to its large exposure to subprime loans, well.... So, I don't know if this is good news or bad news to you, but my guess is that it's not you. It's the economy and the bank in question.

By the way, here is a short article on how to deal with a credit limit cut.

[adam]

I was also denied a credit limit increase on my BOA card, but my Chase card had no problem doing it. I also have a good credit score and I make over $80k a year. Its funny because I had previously called and capped my limit on my BOA card at $10k after they had bumped it automatically over the years up to $22k or something, and here I was just asking for that back again and I was denied.

[nebcool]

Similar thing happened on my end...with CITI. I have 3 cards with Citi and I asked for an increase on certain ones. They first told me they couldn't raise the limit because of my income, however this tune later changed a bit when I spoke to the manager, who said they had a max credit limit across ALL my citi cards for someone in my income bracket. Thus, the only way to change a limit possibly would be to make more (though who knows if that would be the case) or to close out one of my cards, and thus extend the available credit for the others.

[PreJeaN]

For getting credit, smaller banks are where it's at. They won't give you the best interest on your accounts, but they're much more lenient during these tough financial times.

[jhnsmith978]

I am looking for some legitimate ideas, or suggestions you experienced that helped you to increase your credit score. I just had a credit score checked via Equifax, and my score is 654. So Can you people give me any advise so that I can boost up my credit score? thanks.
Repair Bad Credit Score

[dhofstet]

Don't miss payments, Get your Credit Utilization rate down.. (pay off debt and dont use any more)