0

I currently have the Barclay Apple Rewards credit card which I received on 06/2018 with a $1,000 credit limit. I used it to finance the purchase of a $950 iPad for school. I was given 12 months to pay it off with a minimum payment of ~$87 a month. I paid it off in 2 payments ($150 in July and $800 in August).

I earned $12k when I applied for the card which is now ~$14k a year after a raise I got last week. Recently I used this card to pay $893 for my September rent because I like the idea of getting reward points for use at the Apple Store. I paid that off in 2 weeks.

My credit history goes back 1 year 8 months and I have 3 credit cards with almost 100 on time payments and 0 late payments. My Discover Secured card (received 03/2018) has a $200 limit and my Capital One Secured card (received 1/1/2017) has a limit of $550 so I have a total of $1750 in revolving credit at my disposal.

After paying off these balances, my credit score on TransUnion (currently 637) and Equifax (currently 649) rose 40 points and my FICO jumped to 653.

I want to be able to purchase a laptop for school and video editing projects. There's a student MacBook deal for the 15” laptop. It costs $2,700 and comes with headphones that I'll sell and put toward the balance. I can pay $1,000 up front and I want to finance the last $1,700 over an 18 month period, paying it off within 5 months. Based on my credit history and repayment history, I feel that this is a reasonable request. Please tell me if I’m wrong and if you can offer a better suggestion. I really appreciate it!

Improve this question
5
  • Is there a reason why you actually need such an overpriced (IMHO, at least) machine?
    – jamesqf
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 3:45
  • Mainly I see this as the opportunity to make a smart investment in a laptop that I prospectively won't have to replace in the next 5-7 years. I got tired of having to continually send in a high-end brand new windows laptop to the manufacturer (Asus) for service/replacement after 7 times making the laptop out of my possession for almost 3 months when I've only had it since last October. So in all, this is a peace of mind investment and at this point in time I can easily pay it down with no problem.
    – Cinematic Man
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 8:34
  • What are the interest rates on these cards and which one are you planning to request the increase on?
    – Anonymous Man
    Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 14:54
  • 3
    @Cinematic: A. It is not an investment unless it pays dividends. B. It is not smart when it is not the cheapest way to achieve your goal (though reliability does count as a plus to the total-cost-of-ownership) C. Never by something you don´t absolutely need with money you don´t have. That´s the opposite of smart!
    – Daniel
    Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 15:09
  • As a rule of thumb, (especially when just starting out) I would never have a line of credit (actually all lines of credit combined) that was more than 1 months earnings, as this will help prevent you from getting into trouble (as so many people do) with credit cards.
    – Glen Yates
    Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 21:44

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

Whether or not I think it is reasonable is irrelevant. The question is whether the credit card company thinks it's reasonable.

The simple thing to do is, Ask for the credit limit increase. If they say yes, problem solved.

If they say no, try applying for a credit card with a different company and see if they'll give you a higher credit limit. Shop around a little if necessary.

If someone will give you a card with the limit you want, problem solved.

If not, if you can't find any bank out there that will give you the credit limit you ask for, then you're out of luck and need to pursue an alternative way to finance this laptop.

Frankly I don't know how the credit card companies decide how big a limit to give you. Maybe there's a formula that one could find with sufficient research, but I think the easiest way to find out is to let the bank tell you. Ask for the increase and see what they say.

Improve this answer
1
  • One of the ways is looking at your payment history and that gives you a big plus. Particularly payments far above the minimums. A 1K CLI is reasonable in the OP's case.
    – doug
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 23:45
1

I would check with your school's financial aid office. Some of them let you borrow at subsidized rates for laptops.

Improve this answer
1
  • Get a ThinkPad, they have student rebates!
    – Daniel
    Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 15:12

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .