Credit Card Inquiries

[Caseyb26]

I got my first credit card 7 years ago and have done well to mange it, paying it off every month. Since I use it only for gas and groceries, I have kept the same original $1,000 limit. However, I have since gotten married and had children so my usual monthly charges have obviously increased. The biggest impact on my report has been credit utilization and staying below the 30% mark. I have contemplated increasing the cards limit so that my charges will be under 30% but USAA requires a hard pull for limit increases. One hard pull is not a big deal to me, but we are also car shopping for a new family vehicle. I know multiple hard pulls in a short time span can reflect negatively, and I would like to avoid any more hits to my score. Would it be wise to increase the credit limit to stay below 30% utilization knowing that I will have another hard pull for the new car or would it be a safer bet to adjust my budget plan and leave to limit at $1,000 and use the card less?

[tagteam]

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@Caseyb26 wrote:
...USAA requires a hard pull for limit increases....

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In that event, you would probably be better off purchasing the car prior to requesting a credit limit increase.