Credit card limit increase

[darada]

I am a high earner and very responsible with debt especially credit card debt. Have been with barclaycard for more than 25 years and always paid bill in full each month.

I recently tried to increase my credit limit from £11500 to £15K to help improve my credit score (already pretty good). Barclaycard refused. Woman on phone essentially says computer says no and that's that.

Bit baffled, and slightly miffed, by this. Any ideas why they'd refuse? I'm about as good and safe a customer as it gets. Thanks

Don't do it.

I used to be quite sensible with my money and ended up with access to quite a lot of credit. I settled debts straightaway. Then I got into bad habits followed by various changes of circumstances.

I wish I hadn't been allowed to clock up £8K of debt on one of my credit cards. I'm very pleased to have paid off more than half but it's taken a very long time and would take a lot more years, however, my elderly father has now decided he wants to rescue me from paying interest on them and is going to help me settle them over the next few months. It's only now that I can see a way forward in a much shorter term that I can even think how much I'm still paying in interest, the change that reducing it can make, and I don't even want to think what I've wasted in the last few years on this.

Having some access to credit is really really helpful and can make things more affordable too if you manage it well. But having a higher limit/improving your credit card score for its own sake sounds a bit like buying things on special offer you don't need/wouldn't want at full price, rather than getting a better deal/bargain on stuff you actually need/want anyway.

Reducing/paying off a mortgage and building up savings might not improve your credit score but they are achievements which will help you feel more secure even if your circumstances change.

And if you're paying off your card each month so as not to pay interest, the bank isn't making money off you. Also, offering ever higher limits is a bit reckless and I know some of their practices have been clamped down on over the last few years.

I pay in full and Amex recently asked me if I wanted to raise the limit from 20 to 25k. Change bank

I’m with Amex, pay every month and have had no problem getting a big limit. You also get cash back.

They make money from you even if you pay in full as they get a fee for every transaction, so don’t think you’re not a valuable customer just because you don’t pay interest.

You might be at credit limit overal. Everyone has kind of max credit available to them. That can be overall and bank can set their own.

I know what you wanted to do because credit available vs credit utilisation makes points. As in % of your credit availability utilised.

I thought they made money from the merchant when you use your card to buy stuff?

Open another credit card.