Originally Posted by
writerguyfl
With our current economy, this suggestion could possibly lower one's credit limit without any increase in the credit line. As I understand it, whenever your credit score gets run, it postentially lowers your score. Additionally, banks have been slashing credit lines, even with their clients with near-perfect credit.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=adCwmmkzFI3U
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=102863572
Now, as a former hotel Revenue Manager (although not with any Marriott brand), it seems that huge holds on prepaid rooms is likely to be a lazy or poorly trained Front Desk person. (At least, that was always the reason in the 4 hotels I worked.) The computer system is programmed to obtain credit for the full room/tax plus an additional percentage for incidentals. Our computers couldn't tell if the room/tax had been prepaid. So, unless the Front Desk person did an override on authorization by lowering the amount, the guest always got hit.
Writerguy is correct, credit lines are getting reduced for no apparent reason, even for people with "perfect" credit and scores above 720. However, a couple of slight clarifications about your credit score being reduced whenever your score gets run, first, it can only be affected when it derives from being run at YOUR request, which is known as a "hard" pull. What this means is if the bank does a periodic update review of your credit, that is considered a "soft" pull, and does not affect your score. However, if you ask a bank for a credit line increase, then you are subjecting your account to review by a person, which means that if that person does not like what he or she is seeing, they may also instigate a line reduction, which might not have happened with an automated "soft" pull. If, however, you do apply for a line increase, which is granted, then your score is not affected in any way, it is only scores pulled which result in a turn down which negatively impact your score. I recently applied for a VERY NOMINAL, $1,000 increase on one of my cards, and was turned down flat, even though I pay my balance in full every month on that card. When that bank screwed up on a couple of things the following month and I had reason to speak with a manager, I related my increase request, and reminded of my history, that manager was able to get an override put through, so I got my increase, two months after I originally asked for it, and without a decrease in my score, because the additional credit was granted.