Oh no – they looooove giving people credit because they want you using it all up so they can make more ;) So long as your credit score and history with them is good, at least (forgot to mention that part earlier – if you have crappy credit/payment history with them it’s much harder to get increased.)

I get why it’s awesome to do it, and right now I’d love to have higher limits: much like with your caddy you bought in ’08, I’m using a 0% card to finance furniture (so I can get past the college years of living out of plastic totes and crappy IKEA furniture) and therefore carrying a balance until that 0% period runs out. Of course, this won’t be forever, but I’d love to higher limits for in the future, as well.

But if it’s just as easy as calling them up, or hitting my fancy button, then it’s worth a shot!

For some (very irrational) reason I think I was just afraid of them saying something like “NO! How dare you ask for more money?!” and then cancel my account or something.

Hey Rachel! You found an oldie of mine :)

But great question indeed. First off, yes – it IS as easy as just calling them up and asking. That’s what I did to raise both of my cards. (Or you can try that fancy button of yours – even easier!). What this does is improve your “debt to credit” ratio. I.E. make it look like you’re even more responsible since the amount of debt *owed* compared to the total amount *open* for using becomes much much wider. For example, if you had a balance of $1,000 on a card with a limit of $2,000, then you’d be using 50% of your total credit. If, however, you had that same $1,000 balance but your credit line was $10,000 – ten you’d only be using 10% of your credit! Which looks much better, although of course it’s the exact same thing.

So that’s the pro. The con? You could now be tempted to spend all that extra credit you just got :( So if you’re not good w/ your cards or don’t trust yourself, then I’d say leave them alone and keep going about your business. But if you are responsible with them and/or never carry a balance (like I do), then increasing it would probably be a smart move.

Hope this helps!