Students...what are your credit limits?

[bakeacookie]

My first one they gave me 1500$. Then they closed it because of inactivity (I like to pay in cash). Then my dad pointed out I should start establishing my credit line, so I opened another one and they gave me 1500$ again. It's a good amount, and I always pay the balance on time. I don't like to be in debt, but since it's more convenient to pay with a card, I just do that (with the knowledge that I do have the cash to pay it when the bill comes in).

[VanessaJean]

My first one was 500.00 and I was 20 I think. Now I am 25 and my limit is around 15,000.

[Four Tails]

Technically, when I was 15, my first credit card had no limit because it was a copy of my parents' cards. I got one in my own name when I was 17 with a ridiculously low limit of $750. I went through almost a year of paying off my balance three times in a month just so I could make purchases. I got another card with a much, much higher limit when I was 18. As of right now (early 20s), I believe my combined limit on my Visa and AmEx is about $18,000 (haven't checked in a while).

[LSnyder]

First CC was a department store cc for $500 when I was 18. Second was $8,500 when I was 20.

[Serayane]

I don't have a credit card.

[ChickaPow]

You gals should read this website, its a very reliable and trust worthy site for those new to credit and interested in learning about it. Credit Scores: Shattering Some Common Myths - WSJ.com

I was 18 years old when i applied for credit with citicard (im 21 now), the only reason i got accepted was because i was a college student and my parents supported me. At first my limit was $500, then it increased to $1,200 and just 3 months ago it was raised again to $2,200. I've had a credit card for 3 years now, but i've only been using in for 1 year. I was pre approved for the increases and whenever i logged into my citicard i would accept their offer to increase my limits.

If you read the article about 30% if your credit score comes from credit-to-debit ratio, which is how much you owe vs how high your credit limit is. They say you should always keep your ratio at 10%. So if you have a $1,000 credit limit you should use up to 1%-10% of that, which is $10-$100 max. You should never use up 50% of your credit limit, because it can negatively affect your credit score, if you absolutely must i would use around 30%-40% no more.

If you can pay off your credit card bills completely every month, then having a high credit limit isn't a bad thing. But if you know your going to overspend and if you know you cant pay off your credit card in full, you will benefit from having a lower credit limit.

[Vinyl]

I'm 19. My first credit card is under my parents' account, so I don't count that. My own bank CC has a limit of $1,000, which suits me just fine. My third CC is a Nordstrom card, but I've only used it once for a store purchase, so I don't remember the limit on it. I don't think it was very high though.

[plain jane doe]

Originally Posted by ChickaPow

You gals should read this website, its a very reliable and trust worthy site for those new to credit and interested in learning about it. Credit Scores: Shattering Some Common Myths - WSJ.com I was 18 years old when i applied for credit with citicard (im 21 now), the only reason i got accepted was because i was a college student and my parents supported me. At first my limit was $500, then it increased to $1,200 and just 3 months ago it was raised again to $2,200. I've had a credit card for 3 years now, but i've only been using in for 1 year. I was pre approved for the increases and whenever i logged into my citicard i would accept their offer to increase my limits. If you read the article about 30% if your credit score comes from credit-to-debit ratio, which is how much you owe vs how high your credit limit is. They say you should always keep your ratio at 10%. So if you have a $1,000 credit limit you should use up to 1%-10% of that, which is $10-$100 max. You should never use up 50% of your credit limit, because it can negatively affect your credit score, if you absolutely must i would use around 30%-40% no more. If you can pay off your credit card bills completely every month, then having a high credit limit isn't a bad thing. But if you know your going to overspend and if you know you cant pay off your credit card in full, you will benefit from having a lower credit limit.

One thing I will add (maybe from the same article?) is that your credit score really does not matter unless you are looking to get new credit. If it's purely an issue of debt-to-credit ratio, not late payments or such, my impression is that a poor FICO score can be brought up very quickly.

Where I think a good credit score can be helpful for a college student is. Say you get a card with a limit of $1k. This is fine for college, you never spend that much. Then you finish school, take on more expenses you want to charge, so you would then like to increase your limit. If you have been using 75% of your credit and your score is not very good then you may have a problem getting more credit.

I believe, though, that balances are reported from your statement. So if you charge 75% but pay down to 0% before your statement comes in, then as far as they are concerned you use 0%. But I'm not totally positive about this one.

[olialm1]

My first CC was when I was 18 and it was $500.

[me_love_purse]

my first cc had $1000 limit. I probably only ran $300 cc bill per month tho. I lived very cheaply when I was at school (still am :))

[blah956]

i've had a macys card for 5 years. it was $200 and now is $1200. i've had a capital one visa card since i was 19 that i hardly use. it still has a high interest rate and a $500 limit. i called them two months ago to raise the limit but i was turned down.

a neimans card with $1500 and a victoria's secret card with a $1500 limit.

i'm 24

[mmmpurses!]

Originally Posted by plain jane doe

One thing I will add (maybe from the same article?) is that your credit score really does not matter unless you are looking to get new credit. If it's purely an issue of debt-to-credit ratio, not late payments or such, my impression is that a poor FICO score can be brought up very quickly. Where I think a good credit score can be helpful for a college student is. Say you get a card with a limit of $1k. This is fine for college, you never spend that much. Then you finish school, take on more expenses you want to charge, so you would then like to increase your limit. If you have been using 75% of your credit and your score is not very good then you may have a problem getting more credit. I believe, though, that balances are reported from your statement. So if you charge 75% but pay down to 0% before your statement comes in, then as far as they are concerned you use 0%. But I'm not totally positive about this one.

If you pay the balance on the statement cut-off date, by the applicable time that the bank states payment must be in by, then yes, it will report a $0 balance on a credit report. By the time the statement comes in (as when it comes in the mail or is ready for view online) it would be too late and balance reported to the bureaus already. Most CCs report whatever balance is on a credit card almost immediately after cut-off date/time.

FICO scores are also important not just for when applying for credit but also when getting car insurance and job applicants screening.

For best results with credit - number one rule is to pay on time, always. Next, the highest scores come with long average history and low "balance-to-limit" ratio - so for best results - never carry a balance representing more than 10-30% of an established limit. If you have multiple cards, keep card usage to no more than two in use at the same time. It is best to rotate the usage of them, so no one closes cards on you for lack of use.

Everyone's credit situation here is looking pretty good, congrats to all my first CC had a $400 limit - that was about 25 years ago

[plain jane doe]

Originally Posted by mmmpurses!

If you pay the balance on the statement cut-off date, by the applicable time that the bank states payment must be in by, then yes, it will report a $0 balance on a credit report. By the time the statement comes in (as when it comes in the mail or is ready for view online) it would be too late and balance reported to the bureaus already. Most CCs report whatever balance is on a credit card almost immediately after cut-off date/time.

I actually just discovered this isn't true. My FICO monitoring reported a balance increase in the middle of my billing cycle.

[ChiChi143]

My first CC was Capital One and it had a $500 limit.

[angelnyc89]

my first one was at 16yrs old AMEX limit: 3,000 now im 21 AMEX limit: unlimited