[quote=davelj]
Actually, this is one of the MORE rational decisions I’ve seen by a financial institution in the recent insanity. Pay off the $50K and I bet you’ll see your credit limit on the Barnes & Noble card increase. This is the price you pay for financial gamesmanship. 2.5% on $50K is $1,250 pre-tax. After tax, probably $900 or so. And you’re having to pay down the balance with a minimum payment, so you’re not getting the full $900 in the first place. And we’re assuming you didn’t have to pay a 3% transaction fee to get the $50K, which is highly unusual. All in all seems like waste of time given the hassle involved and the pittance of a return. I mean, why bother? I don’t get it.[/quote]
It’s not unusual at all to have the transaction fee waived when you open a new card. Citi, BofA, Capital One, etc does it. You’re thinking it’s a waste of time to make $900 for spending about 10 minutes opening a card? How rich are you? $900 for 10 minutes of “work” sounds like a great return for your time. Like the OP stated, the credit balance is only a small part of the whole puzzle. What if he has $100k in the bank and can easily pay of $50k immediately? How is that risky to offer him a $4k credit limit?
