I have a few cards w/ high limits 5K+. I just moved one of them down to 2K. And was about to do the same w/ another then thought I'd ask you if this was a smart idea or not.

Thanks in advance

 

I almost thought that you were an obsessive compulsive gambler for a moment,

 

REally i think that is just a personal thing. I have one card with a higher limit 6-7k that i keep just for emergencies. The other 2 are kept at 2k because i don't really want to have a huge limit of available cash show up when I get credit checks done. I have heard that some banks will see your large amount of available cash as a detriment. Have not quite figured out why that would be

I would say lower all but one, unless you really can't control your spending.

 

Banks can interpret high credit limits as a liability because it increases the total about of debt you can incure.

Say, you're got 3 cards each with a 5K limit. The bank may look at that and say you could end up owing your credit card companies 15k which would hamper your ability to pay a loan payment to the bank.

I've never worried about this stuff, and my FICO rating is over 750 (last time I checked).
I've got one card where I have a $25K limit

EDIT: I never carry a credit card balance...

 

Smart how? As in smart by what it will do to your credit scores, OR just smart by not having so much out there available?

As far as scores go, the lower the balance vs. the limit will help your score. So in that case it'll hurt by lowering it(affects auto-approving products mostly ie:applying for new credit cards).

But, as far as an actual loan officer at a bank looking at your credit, it will help. Lower available credit in a lenders eyes is always good. Also, anytime someone shows prudent decisions in their credit management, it's a BIG plus. Since most of the time people rely on local banks to manage their larger lending needs, lowering it is probably a good idea. If you don't need the credit, there's no reason to have excessive limits.

As a lender, I'd say as long as you've got another card, lower this one.

 

Thats what i thought.

Still seems kind of funny, they can look at me and see that I never carry a balance and pay all my bills on time but since I have good enough credit to get the large lines of credit it is a detriment.

Funny that we get dinged for the "possibility" of being in debt.

Ah banks and their credit scores.

 

It's not that large a factor. Only when a client is obviously a credit-seeker or heavy credit user. If someone has a ton of cards, but no balances and rarely uses them, it's not an issue.