We haven't received anything in the mail as of yet, but I called BMO Mastercard - and I was approved! The next steps inlucde getting Jordan a card and sorting out what our limit should be.
They actually approved me for: $10,500
Based on the budget we posted earlier in the week, our monthly credit card spending limit should be $1,200. If we spend more than that - we'll have to take it out of our allowances (or some other such thing - we actually haven't talked about that yet).
When determining what our credit card limit should actually be, I think we should take into account the above as well as our credit utilization. According to many folks who have weighed in on the subject, including
Gail Vaz Oxlade - you should never have a balance that is more than 30-35% of your credit limit.
So, if Jordan and I are planning on spending $1,200/month - our limit should be about $4,000.
Would you reduce your credit lmit, or leave it as is?
I'd leave it. Less hassle, and in the minuscule event you need to charge a major expense, it's there. Unless, of course, you think it might be too tempting.
ReplyDeleteIf you've got any problems being tempted by available credit, then I would reduce your credit limit. However, you need to make sure you have enough available, for example, to book a trip for both of you.
ReplyDeleteI just got the same credit card (well, the no fee one) but I never thought to ask what my limit was. Guess I won't know until it comes in the mail!!
ReplyDeleteI think if it's anything over $6000 for myself, I'll reduce it (but it probably won't be that high) -- even though I will never carry that balance, when booking vacations it can be a big airmiles point grab so I want to have a limit that accommodates huge plane tickets + hotel bookings all in one go.
We went to New York last year and my credit card limit was only $2000 and I couldn't book our tickets + hotel so the boyfriend had to do it =( It was really annoying.